Year 11 Mock Exams are December 2 - 14 Keep calm and revise

REVISION WHY? To work out something you’ve found difficult before. To help remember something you’ve learned before. To make it stick in your mind for longer. To be prepared for a test, exam or interview. To do as well as you can in a test, exam or interview. The Mock exams should tell you what you need to work on towards your exams next year.

Common mistakes? REVISION What are they?

REVISION Common mistakes? Leaving it to the last minute. Not allowing enough time. Not planning your time. Too many distractions. Not having a dedicated workspace. Working late at night. Copying out everything rather than noting key points. Simply looking at rather than working through a topic.

Planning REVISION For example: When to revise? School Homework First make a list of any commitments that take up your time. Sport Family Leisure For example: Babysitting Work

REVISION Planning Work out how much time you could use for revision: 22 Oct – 4 Dec = 44 days Halfterm 5 x weekdays = 5 x 2 hrs 10 hrs Weekends = 4 x 1 hour 4 hrs + Over 3 weeks = 14 hrs Now work out how much time you have next term: 4 x weekdays = 4 x 45 mins 3 hrs Weekends = 2 x 1 hour 2 hrs + 5 hrs Over 5 weeks = 25 hrs

Planning REVISION Total time available for revision: Next term 25 hrs Halfterm 14 hrs + Total 39 hrs If you have mock exams in approx. 6 subjects, this allows 5.5 hrs per subject.

When? REVISION Use your planner! Use a calendar too Chunk your time Write down what topics you will revise on which day, and for how long Use a calendar too So your family can see when to let you get on with it! Chunk your time Research shows we focus better and are more motivated when we break tasks down into chunks Plan blocks of 30 mins with 5 min breaks between Vary the topics – it’s more interesting Allow time at the end of a session to review/read over/check through everything you have covered

What? REVISION Ask your teacher! Make a hit list Go through your books Look at the Maths and Science homepages on Sharepoint Use MathsWatch, Kerboodle and Sam Learning, etc Make a hit list 3 topics you feel least confident about, or seem the least familiar Study these topics first and allow more time later too

REVISION TECHNIQUES And how we learn

How much do you forget? Or - what can you recall, when?

How much can you recall if you review?

So, how do you do it?

Strategies for Visual Learning Visual cues Colouring in Noticing shapes “see the page” Spider diagrams (mind mapping) Concept maps (mind mapping)

How to mind map?

Strategies for Auditory Learning Play a particular piece of music/song for a specific topic. Say things out loud Record and playback Tell someone else make up songs/rhymes

Strategies for Kinaesthetic Learning Active writing Make notes Cut up to form ‘jigsaw’ Sort out Make Flash cards

Tricks of the Trade - Revision Making it stick

Remind yourself-again and again Revise something one night (eg:I hour) Read through it the next day (eg:15 mins) Take another quick look next week (eg:10 mins) Keep "topping up" until the night before the exam

"Look, Cover, Write, Check" read it hide it write it out check to see if you got it right. (This technique is good for spellings, diagrams, equations and lists of facts etc.)

Remembering labelled diagrams Draw a copy of the diagram - but without the labels Fill in the labels from memory

Highlighting Highlight key words / key ideas Makes it easier to revise later, plus scanning through your books looking for the key stuff helps you to remember it. Use different colours for different categories

Make a summary of the information Try to get the whole topic onto one side of A4 paper. It's the act of making the sheet which fixes the information in your mind. Use "spider diagrams" - they really help to show what's in a topic. Now try reducing it even further onto a post-it note!

"Flash Cards" Put topic headings on one side Details on the other Or Questions one side Answers the other These can help you to remember facts and equations. Carry them with you, and look at them when you have a spare moment (lunch queues, break times, on the bus...). Look for online apps to create flash cards.

Make "jigsaws" List things on a sheet of paper Cut the paper up Jumble it Then sort it out

Here's a jigsaw example….. Mouth Grinds up the food Oesophagus Connects the mouth to the stomach Stomach Adds acid to the food to break it down Duodenum Connects the stomach to the small intestine Liver Makes bile to break down fats Small Intestine Absorbs nutrients into the bloodstream for transport around the body Large Intestine Recovers water from the digested food Rectum Waste is stored here, ready to leave the body Anus Waste leaves the body This works for Kings, Queens , dates, who did what in a play, all definitions, and much more.

Work out "what could they ask me about this?" E.g: a question about acids and alkalis you'll be expected to know about the numbers on the pH scale the colours that Universal Indicator goes what "neutralisation" means, etc.

Practice on real exam questions The more you can try, the better. You wouldn't expect to do any other performance without a realistic rehearsal, and this is no different. ?

Identify your strong and weak areas Go through your exercise book or revision guide Put Green blobs beside stuff that you're happy about Red blobs beside the bits you find more difficult. Now you know what to ask your teachers about at those revision sessions.

Work with somebody else There's an old saying: "the best way to learn is to teach". If you can explain stuff to somebody else, then you know that you've got it straight yourself. “I know” “You’re very clever”

Be clear about what you're expected to know If not - how do you know if you've revised it all? Check with your teachers if you're not sure. Go along to any revision sessions that you can. Get different teachers to explain any confusing bits- they may explain it in a different way.

Highly effective Moderately effective Useful Limited use Practice testing Practice papers; working through problems; applying and/or solving activity Distributed (‘spaced’) practice Schedule of revision Moderately effective Elaborative interrogation Generating an explanation; devising your own questions; explaining to others Self-explanation Explaining how new information is related to known information, or explaining steps taken during problem solving; Interleaved practice Implementing a schedule of practice that mixes different kinds of problems, or a schedule of study that mixes different kinds of material, within a single study session Summarization Reducing information to smaller notes Useful Highlighting Keywords/mnemonics Imagery use for text learning Limited use Rereading Restudying text material again after an initial reading

Be positive – it will all help! Happy revising and good luck! Make a plan Stick to it! Keep reviewing your work Be positive – it will all help! Happy revising and good luck!