Year 10 RED HOUSE SCHOOL HOW TO REVISE (so you don t end up like the boy in the cartoon)

Year 10 RED HOUSE SCHOOL HOW TO REVISE (so you don t end up like the boy in the cartoon)

Task 1 Organise your notes, tidy up your desk/work area, make sure you have text books and exercise books. Task 2 Shopping make sure you have everything. Useful things for revision include; post its, highlighters, cue cards, colours (pens or pencils), lined & plain paper. Task 3 List all your subjects, then all the topics you need to revise for each subject. Write up your timetable (revise all subjects equally). Task 4 Get rid of all distractions (phones, ipads, tv etc). Music will distract, unless it s Mozart! Aim to revise for 3-4 hours per day during the holidays AND 2 hours after school.

STEP 1 UNDERSTANDING In order to understand something you need to break the information down into small parts. Those small parts are made up of: Theme main point of the text, usually found in the title. Main ideas they are like mini themes, they give an overview, Details hold everything together like glue. Top tips when trying to understand a topic: Main idea what the paragraph, section, chapter is called. Look for words that are repeated. Look for ideas that connect to each other. Look for details that give a clue to the main idea they describe. A detail is information that supports, or is about, a main idea.

STEP 2 CONDENSING 80% of the words you read in a piece of text are there to help the reader s initial understanding. Examples of such words include: the, and, is, whether, due, if. SO, once you understand a piece of text you only need to write 20% of the words to remember it. You can condense information in many ways. 1.Flow diagrams.

2. Bullet points. Greg s Day Shopping TK Maxx trainers tracksuit pink hat sister Morning Football Claris Park Afternoon Friends Homework Not done Not bothered Either method will work for any text.

HOW YOUR BRAIN WORKS Your memory thrives on a mixture of logic and imagination. This is because different things happen in different sides of the brain. Generally speaking the left side is for logic and the right side for creativity. LEFT RIGHT LANGUAGE RHYME LOGIC NUMBERS WORDS SEQUENCE ORDER RHYTHM & MUSIC PICTURES IMAGINATION CREATIVITY PATTERNS Our MEMORY is much better if we use BOTH sides to recall information. We do this by linking the LOGICAL side with the CREATIVE side. For example, make a flow diagram or write bulletpoints (LOGICAL) then use this in a mind map to use the CREATIVE side.

MIND MAPPING A mind map is an easy way to map down your thoughts from your mind! You can use it to make notes on a subject or to summarise a topic, or even to plan an event. Tips for mind mapping Use a mixture of colour and pictures. Use a mind map to organise your condensed notes. Use curved lines instead of straight lines. Use pictures to represent words and ideas e.g. Write or draw information on the lines. Make each main branch a different colour. Use key words only (no sentences). Enjoy using your IMAGINATION!

MEMORY TECHNIQUES MNEMONICS Mnemonics (pronounced "ne-mon'-ics") is the art of assisting the memory by using a system of artificial aids - rhymes, rules, phrases, diagrams, acronyms and other devices - all to help in the recall of names, dates, facts and figures. There are lots of examples of these memory triggers. BECAUSE Big Elephants Can t Always Use Small Exits NECESSARY Never Eat Cakes Eat Salad Sandwiches And Remain Young IMAGE CHAIN This is a simple, imaginative way to remember lists of words. You simply take each item on the list and link it to the next item by making a story in your head. Your story must be imaginative and creative. Make it unusual and funny. The more you make it stand out, the more memorable it will be.

METHOD OF LOCI LOCI uses LOCATIONS to aid memory, by linking the key words to objects around your house. Take a room in your house. Start from the door. What is the first thing you see on the left? What is next to that? What are the 8 things that you see as you continue round the room in a clockwise direction? Q Why was it so easy to answer those questions? A Because you see that room every day. You become so familiar with it you don t need to think when answering the questions. Now have a go Use the table on the next page to list the features of your chosen room. In the second column, write down the key words you need to remember. Now all you have to do, is create a silly or unusual link. Object in your room Word to remember

Remembering Numbers.Cracking the Code One of the hardest things to commit to memory is a date or number. Here s an easy way to remember any number from dates in history to pin numbers or birthdays. All we do, is turn numbers into letters and mnemonics. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 O A B C D E F G H I The Great Fire of London : 1666 = A F F F A Flaming Ferocious Fire The Gunpowder Plot : 1605 = A F O E Almost Fireworks Over England

Effective revision = WORK, REST then TEST If you work smart, revision is easy, simple and pretty quick! We forget about 80% of new information, 24 hours later, so we have to work in a way that suits our brain. Revise for 30 minutes, your understanding of the information and recall is good. Take a 5 minute break, chill out and allow the brain to digest and register the information. Spend a few minutes TESTING yourself, reviewing what you learnt in the past half hour, before you start on a new topic. If you do this, you will maintain a high level of recall of the new information and keep it in your head longer.

GETTING YOUR REVISION TO STICK Your then need to transfer the information from your short-term memory into your longterm memory. To do this you need to review a topic just before you forget! So the trick is simply, properly spaced revision. 10 minutes later review for 10 minutes 1 day later review for 5 minutes 1 week later review for 2 5 minutes 1 month later review for 2 5 minutes

OTHER METHODS OF REVISION FLASH CARDS Use index cards (ideally in different colours). Write questions on one side and answers on the other. Making the cards is revision, but testing yourself is the key. Answer right, put card on your right, if you get it wrong, it goes on the left. Next day, test yourself on the ones you got wrong. Repeat until all cards are on the right. HIGHLIGHT Colour code your notes and highlight key words and phrases to make them stand out. When you scan your notes your eye will automatically pick out the highlighted parts.

PAST PAPERS Many past papers are available online. Test yourself under exam conditions. Post-it Use post-it notes and write down the main points and write questions about the information. Then arrange the post-it notes on a wall, piece of A3 paper to see how the topics link to each other. Modelling Make a model or a picture to show the main points of a topic you need to revise. Games Make a game to help you remember key words.

Top tips from your teachers History 1.Get other people to test you on your revision; don't just test yourself. 2. Prepare model answers to possible questions - then practise adjusting them by changing the question slightly. 3. Get other people - to see whether they can work out what the question is from the way you write the answer. If they can't work it out, you are not answering the question properly. RS Revise key words thoroughly. Remember to add examples to b questions. Learn specific arguments/religious teachings for each topic. French, Spanish & German 1.Make sure you know what the examiner is looking for (developing ideas, give points of view and explaining them) 2.Be accurate with tenses. 3.Use a variety of vocab and complex structures. For reading Don t panic Work out the genre of the text Scan text Reread text Listening Use eyes first not your ears Read the question Listen, listen again Answer the question Graphic products 3D, coloured and annotated sketches Draw nets with a ruler - MEASURE the sides to ensure a correct fit Explanations - write a sentence to explain an answer, not lust a word or two Do not leave blank answers.

English 1.Think: punctuation and paragraphing. 2.Revise key vocabulary particularly poetic terms (stanza, simile, structure) 3.Read exam questions carefully. Use a highlighter as you read, to underline the key part of a question 4. Remember difference between presentational devices and language. DON T MIX THESE UP. Maths 1) Go over each Mathswatch test in turn, do the worksheets where you made mistakes. 2) Work on your speed for the easy questions so you can spend more time when you have to apply your knowledge. 3) Show your working for each question over 1 mark, it will definitely get you marks. PE For longer answers 1) check the time 2) read the question 3) recall knowledge 4) apply knowledge 5) write answer 6) read answer Biology 1.Learn keywords and definitions to use in detailed answers 2.Learn diagrams and their labels 3.Learn advantages, disadvantages and conclude. Physics 1.Include the formulae, show working on all numerical problems. 2.Remember all the units for every equation. 3.Look at the marks available for each question and make sure your answer includes sufficient points to gain maximum marks Geography 1.Learn key vocab, definitions and spelling. 2.Learn all diagrams, including labels/annotations. Practise drawing them. 3.Know your case studies!

Useful apps and websites; Studyblue flashcards http://www.studyblue.com/ (create your own flashcards and quiz yourself) available as an app and on a pc. Popplet http://popplet.com (mindmapping app and also available on pc) Type up your condensed notes on to wordle. Get a few friends together online and create a linoit (electronic post its) with GCSE questions on. Use apps like Educreations or Explain Everything to teach a lesson on something you needed to revise, then teach it someone else..

Useful apps and websites; http://getrevising.co.uk a website where you can make revision wordsearches, quizzes, podcasts and can access revision notes created by other people. http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/ A really good selection of bbc video clips. Click on secondary and search for a topic. Record your voice reading your notes, make it interesting by using strange voices or sing your notes! Songify and Autorap apps add effects to your voice.