Year 11 Study Skills and Revision March 2017

Transcription

1 Year 11 Study Skills and Revision March 2017

2 When is the right time to begin revision for my GCSEs? What do you mean? I have already started! I think I ll leave it till after Easter About two weeks before my exams start Probably just do it the night before

3 What s the right answer? As soon as you can! What do you mean? I have already started! I think I ll leave it till after Easter The sooner you start the less you will have to do each day and the less stressed you will be. About two weeks before my exams start Probably just do it the night before

4 Do you remember your learning style? Each person has different learning styles that benefit them. There is no right or wrong answer to which is best for you most people have a mix of learning styles. By discovering and understanding your own learning styles, you can improve the way you learn. Based on your learning style, which are the best ways for you to revise? Revising with others in study groups? Revising by yourself? Podcasts/GCSE pod? Listening to music? Use of pictures/diagrams? Visual learning through imagery and spacial understanding Auditory learning through listening, sound, and music Physical learning through hands-on, tactile interaction Logical learning through logic, reasoning and systems Social preference for learning in groups or working with other people Solitary preference for learning alone via self-study

5 Where to revise? It is absolutely key that you have a designated space to revise. 1. Decide on a space in your house where you will revise. 2. Make a list of all the things you will need to revise: pens/highlighters/colours

6 Revision Timetable Look at the master exams timetable. Write in your exams to create your own exam timetable and begin to think where you will fit revision in for your subjects.

7 How long to revise for? Studies show that we focus better when we chunk our time revising for 20/25 minutes than having a 5 minute break before continuing. Once you have done two or three of these chunks, have a longer break 30 minutes for example. Alternate your topics so you re not just studying one subject E.g. Mon Thurs 6.00pm Break 7.30pm End E.g. Fri Night off Sat/Sun 10.00am Break End

8 How long to revise for? Start planning how long you will revise for this may be different in the week to the weekend. What commitments do you have in the week that may make it difficult to revise? When will you give yourself time off? Complete a grid similar to below: Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun 6.00pm Break 7.30pm pm Break 7.30pm Play netball 6.00pm Break 7.30pm hours 2 hours 2 hours Night off 10.00am Break am Break hours 3 hours

9 Revision time budget Count up total amount of hours you are planning on revising from now until your last exam. As you will find some exams harder than others, work out your standard revision time = 70% of total hours Divide this amount by the number of exams you have not subjects, actual exams. This is the amount of time you should be spending on each one! Putting the two together Now start plotting out when you will revise for which exams.

10 Understanding why we are slow to start The best from everyone, Do any of these apply to you? What can you do if so? Ask for help from others study group? Talk to someone about your feelings? Ask for some positive praise from your teachers? Seek help from parents/guardians if you feel this way, or speak to one of your teachers/pastoral team Realise this is about YOU and YOUR future! Find somewhere quiet to revise. Let your family know you are revising and not to disturb you. Be disciplined set yourself targets and avoid distractions Ask for guidance about how much to revise With the buzz also comes anxiety start now to save worries later

11 The best from everyone, Getting organised Start putting your notes together your books and revision guides. Don t forget you can use useful websites too. Get one good revision guide for each subject if you can use the advice of your teachers and know what works best for you. Audit your notes any gaps? Fill them ask friends/teachers/revision guides. Make lists of the gaps and tick them off. Identify your challenge areas. If you don t understand them now, how will you revise them? Ask someone else/your teacher/the revision guide for help.

12 E.g. English Language Exam: Exploration in Creative Reading and Writing (Reading a fictional unseen text) Inference/listing skills Language analysis skills Structural analysis skills Critical evaluation skills Creative writing skills: writing a story/description SPAG The best from everyone, Exam: Writers Viewpoints and Perspectives (Reading 2 unseen non fiction texts from 19 th -21 st century.) Inference/listing skills Language analysis skills Summary comparisons skills Comparison of language and point of view skills Creative writing skills: writing a story/description SPAG

13 E.g. English Literature Paper 2: An Inspector Calls and P+C poetry and unseen poetry. Paper 1: Romeo and Juliet and A Christmas Carol All students need to have an understanding of: characters Themes writers purpose historical context a range of learnt quotations for the above texts. Language analysis skills Structural analysis skills Critical evaluation skills All students need to have an understanding of: characters Themes writers purpose historical context a range of learnt quotations for the above texts. Language analysis skills Structural analysis skills Critical evaluation skills Power and Conflict poetry: 15 poems need to be learnt from the Power and Conflict cluster. Students need to understand the subject of the poem, themes, context compare language and structure. The best from everyone, Unseen poetry Students need to be able to analyse language and structure of unseen poetry.

14 Science The best from everyone, Science E.g.

15 The best from everyone, Maths E.g.

16 The best from everyone, Where to start? Different ways of starting. The easy way: think of the subject you are most confident with and start here. This will get the ball rolling and give you a confidence boost. The logical way: start with your first exam! The challenging way: choose the subject you struggle with the most and begin here. It will be all downhill from here!

17 The best from everyone, Understanding revision The way most of us tend to revise is to read through things several times and hope that some of the information sinks in. This isn't the best way to revise. You need to unpick the information and then explain it to yourself. Your brain learns the best when you ask it to make connections and create meanings.

18 The best from everyone, What actually is revising? Reading through your notes first of all refreshing your memory! Then the hard work Shrinking two years worth of work into a handful of pages/notes that are easier to read through that just have the key facts/info you need! Lists Mind maps Cue cards Acronyms Summarising the key points

19 The best from everyone, The ideal place to be in before the end of the Easter break? I have made sure I have filled all gaps in my notes/knowledge I have made sure I understand all topics I have re-read all work done for all topics for all exams I have made notes on all topics to put them into smaller notes/cue cards/mind maps etc. What next? Now I can really spend the time going over and over and over them, memorising them, testing myself and doing past papers to practise my exam skills

20 The best from everyone, Reflection, targets and rewards At the start of every revision session, take 5 minutes to plan what you want to achieve in this session At the end, take 5 minutes to review feel positive about what you have achieved and target-set for your next session. Tick off what you have done so you can see your progress. Reward yourself when you hit targets a chocolate snack, an hour on your games console, an hour on social media etc

21 Revision techniques Remember, we all have different preferences when it comes to learning. Find what works for you! Note taking Produce notes which get shorter at each session as you remember more and need less prompts. Read notes out loud. Test yourself or get someone to help test you. Revisiting notes after a day, a week and a month really works. 5 repeats on different occasions to remember. The best from everyone, Revision cards Read through the work you ve done and write the key facts down in bullet points on small cards. Using different colour pens and highlighters are useful to represent themes or topics or to emphasise key words.

22 The best from everyone, Buzz words Highlighting or writing key words in a text. Wordle.net is good for this. Acronyms Create an acronym using silly phrases or words. Acronyms are simply abbreviations created from the first letter of each word in a phrase or series of words.

23 The best from everyone, Mind maps A mind map is a diagram that connects information around a central subject. Think of it like a tree. At the centre is your main idea, say poetry, and the branches are subtopics or related ideas, such as types of poetry, famous poets and poetry publications. Greater levels of detail branch out from there and branches can be linked together. Flow charts Organising key events/processes into a timeline. Story boards / cartoon strips Write and draw key stages in a

24 Voice recordings Record yourself reading your notes and pop it on your MP3 player. The best from everyone, Work in groups Test each other on your knowledge using quizzes and buzzwords. Annotations Read through text and highlight or write notes about key words and phrases. HAND REVISION Draw around your hand and use different sections to represent different things that you need to revise. The idea is that you visualise your hand having memorised what goes where when you look at your hand in the exam.

25 The best from everyone, Practice papers This will make you feel more comfortable in the exam and will help you practice your technique.

26 The best from everyone, And finally Last minute revision is worth it breakfast sessions and before exam preparation lessons will help just one thing may stick in your mind and get you those extra marks to raise your grade. Your key facts sheet can be read as you wait to go into the exam it will all help.

27 The exams Before... The best from everyone, Check the structure of the exam (e.g. short answer section and an essay) and how the marks are awarded/timings etc. Make sure you have everything you need the night before books you are allowed to take in, equipment including a calculator for science and maths. Keep to normal routines bed and getting up at normal time. Allow time for your brain to get into action have a shower. Eat breakfast at home, at school or eat some fruit as you walk to school. Keep repeating to yourself It is only 2 hours it will be over by 10.45, I will be fine. If you keep having worrying thoughts then just say STOP and think of something positive. Leave yourself time to go to the toilet before the exam Take water into the exam - your ability to remember and your concentration improves by 70% if you are hydrated. Don t worry if you think you have forgotten it all before you go in - if you have revised it will all be there and will come back.