GCSE 2018 no. 6: stress, struggles and success (hopefully) *Title Edited by MNHQ*

Whatsfortea CGP revision guide is good for Macbeth. Also recommend the York Notes for AQA sample exam questions. You could revise doing essay plans for these.
Basically on paper 1 you get the Shakespeare extract for your play and the novel extract. Don’t spend too long analysing the extract because the important thing is finding other key moments in the play to help answer the question.
For revision, know the sequence of events, how main characters develop through play/novel and main themes. Do these as file cards with bullet points, Also revise how characters link to main themes. Every question is either how a character is presented or about how themes are presented.
You need an awareness of structure, context and key quotes for each main character and theme. When you quote from the extract the important thing is to keep quotes short and comment on the effect or impact of a key word. Saying a lot about a little is better. The trick is to focus on the points you want to make, weaving in quotation or a bit of context as part of the discussion - basically sound confident!

It says on the FAQ section of the Tassomai website that if you start late (i.e. Easter holidays), then they will adjust the course, if you ask them
Yes mmzz that's what I read and I even quoted it to the guy on the phone!

DS is due to finish the history syllabus this week and guess what the teacher has planned for when they do.......a party, apparently they can all bring in party food, call me a killjoy but I would of preferred that they got on with revision and saved the party for after the exams!!

Thanks kick I'm really glad they did that for you and also wonder WHY they didn't for me It's too late now anyway, we're out.
sost cool patio. Best wishes to your dgd

DD has 8 exams after HT - one sitting on its own in the last week which is an easier subject for DD. She does have all three science higher papers in one week but they are spread out with a day in-between :-)

Thanks!

Sost - patio looks amazing hope your DGD is on the mend..

WhatsforTea - Past papers are normally on the exam boards websites - just google whatever the exam board is, the subject and past papers.

Sos loving the patio......and the mystery of the vanishing chair
Hope your DGD is feeling better, that must of been stressful.

I think DS will be leaving revising for exams which are after HT from next week, slightly concerned as he still has 12 exams and it is only a week plus they will be absolutely shattered after two weeks of exams, so he may not get as much done as he plans.

Patio looking good.

My own revision classes run from 9-4, with 3 sessions in the morning & 2 after lunch. Their total breaks are around 1h 45m, so each session is around an hour long. I can see them wilting if I go beyond 4. Therefore the 6 hours many of your DC are doing seems about right.

No study leave here until the bitter end.

Oh yes, I forgot about that - DS is seeing the RSC Macbeth on Thursday with school which will hopefully help him.

Whats we went to see the RSC screening of Macbeth a couple of weeks ago. We're also off to see the NT version (Anne Marie Duff & Rory Kinnear) at the pics on 10 May. It will be the 3rd time DD has been forced to see it (she also went to the theatre for J&H and Inspector Calls. Each time she has got something from it, even though she moans.

Bishop, DS used to get 3s/4s on that question but recently had been getting 7s. He used to panic, but now calms himself down and makes a plan. If it's a description, he just imagines what it'd be like to be in the photo (e.g. at a beach) and comes up with similies/metaphors/personification linking to the scene. If a narrative, just include as much description (setting, characters) as possible, and include feelings etc. He also did what your dd is doing, learning better words. Good luck to her.

DS has made some Macbeth flashcards and is now in bed watching a film. He's totally knackered, so I'll leave him to it for tonight He's writing a resignation letter tomorrow, as his job just isn't right for him. Might help him stop stressing as much as he'll have more time to revise/volunteer etc.

Also, does anyone know where to print maths papers off from? His teacher keeps promising to give DS some but never does (and never marks work ) and he wants to start doing past papers.

@brainmelt tassomai got back to me today and have dropped dd's target to 60%. She's much happier and has done loads tonight. Might be worth an email.

She also struggles with English language and has been doing lots of papers over the last couple of weeks. She did have a tutor but she got ill and cancelled and we decided it was too late and too much hassle to find a new one.

She's been using Mr bruff and Mr salles videos, and using YouTube and bitesize to brush up her spelling and grammar.

She is particularly struggling with paper 1 q5. She's decided she's rubbish and can't do creative writing. Tonight we've come up with 6 possible emotions / scenarios that she could shoehorn into any photo e.g. sad, lonely, happy, scared etc and looked up fancy words in the thesaurus and thought of some scenarios. She's going to learn them and hopefully will be able to use one of them. It's a bit primitive but I'm hoping it will just give her a bit of confidence so she doesn't panic. She just needs to scrape a 5 and her spelling and grammar are good. She just cannot come up with creative ideas.

Has anyone got any other tips on how to cope with that question?

Patio will be staying wet at this rate, Sostenuto.

DS3 is doing
Romeo and Juliet
Sign of Four
DNA
Power and Conflict poems
Another one for AQA.

Sost love the patio - great job!

Thanks all, will definitely check out Mr Bruff.
He's currently trying to decipher Macbeth (mum, what the hell does this mean??)

Ah just saw the text lists - thanks!

Sost the patio looks brilliant!

What's for tea my DD is doing exactly the same English as your ds.
I'm not sure I can offer any help though, apart from to recommend Mr Bruff again!
DD's English class has had some staffing issues (to put it mildly!) so it's the one she's probably least confident in.

Got to go puck up dd see you all tomorrow!