1. GRADE 11 STUDY SKILLS Lesson 2
Use post it idea from stress training- works well when processing lots of things

3. There are TWO groups of learning styles:
1) Right Brain vs Left Brain
2) Multiple Intelligences
Lets take a look at each in a little bit more detail and how that affects your learning....
If you understand your dominant style, this will help you prepare and focus in exams.

4. You want to understand each part, in order to understand the whole.
You like order in your classroom
You are comfortable listening to lessons and oral directions
You enjoy analysing problems to find the right answer
You prefer questions to have only right and wrong answers
You are organised
You prefer to study while sitting up at a desk
You think there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything
you find it easy to remember facts
You don’t enjoy writing creative essays
You enjoy doing calculations
You enjoy grammar more than literature
Use Activity 4_ My Study Style and fill in how many of the LEFT BRAIN responces apply to you?

5. You prefer less structure in the class.
You get bored listening to a lot of facts, and oral directions
You like to write or tell poems and stories
You like to daydream and sometimes take longer to answer
You sometimes take longer to answer questions because you think of more possible answers
You are more disorganised
You prefer to study while lying down on your bed
You prefer to do language, arts
You sometimes struggle to remember facts
You find it easy to write creative essays
You enjoy drawing or making music
You prefer literature to grammar
Use Activity 4_ My Study Style and fill in how many of the RIGHT BRAIN responces apply to you?

6. 7 Styles of Learning
Continue with the activity by allowing learners to reflect on the following:
Do you agree with these results? Take a look at the 7 Styles of learning on the next page. How many out of the points referred to in each section do you feel applies to you?
10min

7. Now that you know how to prepare well for exams, lets look at some skills to help improve in writing your exams.

8. Firstly…how to stay calm…
Before the Exam
Get good sleep the night before.
Give yourself enough time in the morning to do your regular routine.
Eat a good, nutritious breakfast.
Give yourself positive, reassuring statements throughout the day (such as "you can do it" or "you know the material, so relax").
Quit studying at least half-an-hour before the exam and do something relaxing.
Avoid getting to class too early. (The time right before the exam is usually spent worrying about the test.)
During the Exam
Avoid students who'll ask you questions before the exam. (This will only increase your anxiety.)
If possible, sit in the seat you normally occupy in class.
Be sure to read all directions.
Look over the test and do the questions worth more points first.
Don't change your answers. (Unless you’re sure you were wrong the first time.)
Read each question twice, slowly.
Skip questions you can't answer and go back to them later.
Ask the class if they have some other suggestions that are not on the list.

9. How well do you write in exams?
Reading your instructions before starting?
Know how many questions need answering?
Read through the paper before you start?
Plan the amount of time you’ll need per question?
Do you always remember to write your name on the paper because you are calm and ready to write your paper?
Do you write neatly and legibly?
Do you have time at the end of the exam to read through your paper?
Do you check to make sure you answered all the questions?
Do you check your numering to make sure its in line with the question paper.
Complete the checklist that learners can go through to see what COMMON mistakes they make in exams.
Count how many yes and nos you have.
Divide the list into 4 and give certain points to each group. Ask them to mind map reasons why its so important to follow these suggestions. Explain what could go wrong if these instructions are not followed. Ask the group to create an acronym (example on next slide) on an A4 page to go up in class that would help them remember to follow exam hints. Eg of anagram: Put these anagrams up in class.
R- read all instructions before starting
E – eat a good breakfast before coming
A – always check that everything was answered
D- Dont leave any questions out!
Give each group 10min to mind map and then allow 5min for the groups to feed-back to the class. Another 5min for acronym.
Total 20min to here

10. Can you make acronyms for exams? Use any words to
Examples of acronyms
Can you make acronyms for exams? Use any words to
help you remember.

11. How to understand the questions in exams
How to understand the questions in exams... Know what the KEYWORDS are asking of you.
Put defenitions up of the different keywords found in exam questions. Its important to understand these terms. Go through these terms in detail.
After this give learners a chance to see how well they grasp the concepts.

12. Important KEYWORDS KEYWORD DEFENITION/ MEANING Analyse
Break up into seperate parts and discuss, examine, interpret each part. This about each part very carefully.
Compare
Look at TWO or more things and then look at the similarities and differences.
Define
Give the exact meaning of the term or words. Definitions are short and exact.
Describe
Give a full explanantion by listing the qualities and different aspects.
Illustrate
Give realistic examples and explain very clearly.
Prove
Give facts to support an issue.
KEYWORDS-
Take a few minutes to go through these terms with the learners.
Now explain to the class that they will work in groups of 6. One representative will need to come forward and put their hand into a hat to select a word. These words were pre-cut from the list of keywords. The groups will then each take about 3min to come up with one question that they get to ask another group. As the teacher, your aim is to check that the group is using the keyword correctly in the question. Allow each group to ask one other group their question out loud and then that group discusses an answer and one representative shares the answer.
This task may seem very simple but its not about the information shared about the apples and oranges but rather about their understanding in the terms used in the question.
Total 10min for entire class activity.
An additonal document Activity 2_2Exam Verbs can be given as a hand out for learners to study from.

13. Assessments...
Remember that assessment refers to your formal tasks like tests, examinations and PATs that make up your term marks for a subject.
You can use your results in these assessments to improve in your future assessments.
This reflection process helps you see where you went wrong and how to prevent the mistake the next time round.
HOMEWORK Activity- Use this reflection form and consider your results from term 1.
Create a reflection form that can be used through the process of studying, writing and then receiving results. Explain that if you did this for each exam it will help you improve in the future.

14. Meet Ntsika... A Grade 11 learner hoping to improve on his grades.

15. In Term 1, Ntiska received the following results...
Look at Activity 6 and help Ntsika by giving him some suggestions to help improve.
Take a moment to record the following on Activity 6.
Eng: 64%
Xhosa 71%
Accounting 90%
Mathematics 60%
Life Orientation 45%
Business Studies 90%
Visual Art 90%
15min activity

16. Here are some more suggestions that might help...
Carefully work through your test when you get it back after its marked.
Take note of where you lost marks and what you need to work on and improve.
Redo the exam in your own time and see if now you get a better result.
Adjust your time frame for studying if you realise you misjuged how much time you would actually need to study.
Work through the list above. Explain that they will recieve the same reflection for themselves for homework. Ecourage them to take it seriously and see where they need to improve. Also encourage recording on a copy while studying for term 2 exams then the info would be current and accurate.
Complete Activity 7 for Homework

17. Are you actually a genius?
Something to challenge your brain...
If you have extra time in the lesson- give learners an opportunity to do this Critical thinking test that will teach them a skill in memorising info using pictures. One of these clips will appear at the end of each lesson to add an element of fun and critical thinking.They should take no longer than 10min.