Revision tips for dyslexic DS

[Iamaworrywart]

My son has Y7 exams coming up in a couple of weeks and I would appreciate some revision tips, now that there are so many subjects to revis for at the same time.

Thanks

[Kez100]

I wouldn't stress over year 7 but if he really wants to revise, we find you tube is our sons friend. He is severely dyslexic too.

[Kez100]

I wouldn't stress over year 7 but if he really wants to revise, we find you tube is our sons friend. He is severely dyslexic too.

[goinggetstough]

Agree that year 7 exams aren't vitally important but they are a building block for GCSEs etc. My DC is dyslexic too and has a poor short term memory. So my tips from my experience would be :

• help him check that his notes are organised.
  
• revision skills don't seem to be taught so do explain to him that he has to find the best way of revising for him. Some people use mind maps, others find it easy to learn by rote, but few find copying out notes page by page as a good revision technique.
  
• tape notes so they can be listened to
  
• my DC revises a topic and then he asks me to test him.
  

For all those parents who say that DCs should revise by themselves I agree if it works for your DC but for a child with SEN parental help can be a great help.

[lelly88]

I agree with going gets tough SEN kids sometimes need extra help with revising, my DS will go to his room with work to revise and will be heard pacing up and down chanting things, he always asks to be tested, he learns best that way. In yr 7 the science teacher gave out some tips to help them with revision and getting a parent to test them was 1 of the techniques.
He also likes to picture the page in his mind. He has a VERY visual memory (highly visual-spatial). He enjoys computer revision. BBC bite size ks3. Manga high maths games.
Maths-
www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/book7/book7int.htm
This is an interactive site where you can fill in the answers on line. We used this and it was very good.
He uses online flash cards for Spanish - flash cards flashcarddb.com, very useful. Science was basically look through all the years Assessments and learn those.
History was have a go and don't worry!
Geog was learn the diagrams and elaborate from those.
Good luck.
The earlier you start the better.

[ThatVikRinA22]

just marking place - DD has just been tested and shows a positive result and is in the midst of GCSE....

[lelly88]

I would also say yr 7 exams were important in our school as the children were moved from streams (A,B and C) to sets 1-4. A/B were generally moved to sets 1-3 and C to set 4.

[Iamaworrywart]

Thanks for all your advice, I have just purchased a book on mind maps for children so will try that with him. DS finds it particularly hard to write essays even though he is able to use a laptop and can touch type any suggestions for helping him prepare for these?

[IdontknowwhyIcare]

Ds isn't dyslexic but he does have vision problems, so has always struggled with reading and writing.

If your son uses a computer for all his work I suggest he sets up a template with seperate spaces for the subject, the objective, the stated learning outcome, and then bullet points as he goes through the lesson. DS does this and then he can reorder the bullet points, expand on them and build up to an essay. It does take practice but it really works. He is currently writing his gcses and expected to get A/A*, B and C. He wants to take history, economics, philosophy and eng lit!!!! For a levels, so it does work but takes practise.

He also likes mind maps very large, I get them printed on A3 and we stick them everywhere. Also he has flash cards for me to ask questions, basically plain postcards and a fact on each, these are added daily, as in today it's a formula for something in science, a history date or treaty, etc. All in random order. Also we have both recorded podcasts for him to listen to. Pages from science history and English books.

Good luck, it does come together with time practise and patience.

[Buntingbunny]

I think my dyslexic DD1 revises by accident. She never stops talking, bits of history, bits of science, what she's been doing in maths. I think, that without realising it, this is her way of ordering her thoughts.

I'm mildly dyslexic and I know I find science, geography and maths vastly easier than MFL or date heavy history. I think that if DD1 and I can order our thoughts into a logical story or pattern it gets past the horrible short term memory into a working bit of brain.

My best friend and I both got A's for English lit, which we both hated, because we decided we'd only do it on the bus. Clearly simply reading was dull, so we quoted bits and tested each other out load.

DH calls it the cardboard boss trick. He always tells the trainees to imagine explaining their problem to a cut out boss and only to bother the real one if it still doesn't make sense.

If your dyslexic and hate writing you may hurriedly scribble down rubbish, but its far too embarrassing to do that if you think you may have to explain it to a real person.

[Buntingbunny]

LOUD, sorry that word refuses to to stay in a functioning brain cell, i've typed out load before grrr!