Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Education

Join the discussion on our Education forum.

GCSE Revision planning for teen with dyspraxia

2 replies

Suemumof4 · 07/10/2022 10:24

Hello hive brain 🧠. I have a 15 year old son who is approaching GCSEs this summer and who is struggling to organise his time and concentrate for long. He says he can manage 20 mins at a time. He has tried revision planning but I think in a very basic form. I’m going to spend time this weekend helping him think of different ways he could try. Are there any resources out there or help with what works. I am a very logical and organised person and find it hard not to over organise!! Thanks

OP posts:
TeenDivided · 08/10/2022 19:12

@Suemumof4 I promised I'd reply. Sorry this is ridiculously long.

My DDs both have dyspraxia. I helped DD1 organise revision to good success in her GCSEs a few years back.
Basically I organised revision with DD1 to guide what was needed, but I was the one who scheduled and tracked things as it was too overwhelming for her.

Presumably you have mocks to plan for too?

Global planning
For every subject write the list of topics/units to be revised.
With your DS estimate how much time is needed to learn each topic. Don't forget revisiting and testing time too. You can't learn something once, you need to revisit it.
Add everything up and get a total time.
Then think how can it be planned, eg 1hr on school days, 2hrs per day at weekends / half term?
How many hours would that make. Enough? If not enough where can you either find more time and/or reduce time on subjects?
Jiggle around until it fits and seems reasonable. Better to aim for less and do it than aim for far to much and give up quickly.

Medium planning
Onto your plan of sessions assign subjects so the amount of subject time equals what you think is needed. Think what might work best. Is 1hr of maths in 3x20min blocks better or worse than 20 History, 20 Min French 20 Maths? re some subjects better left to the weekend when fresh whereas others can be done after school?

Short term
looking ahead only a week assign actual topics to the sessions. eg Chemistry - exothermic v endothermic, History - causes of 2nd WW, Maths - Pythagoras. Also how are these going to be done - from revision guide making cards, being tested by Mum, using Seneca, practice questions? (see end)

For actual GCSEs we went in phases. Something like
Phase 1 revision cards completed
Phase 2 working through maths/science/Eng Lang she didn't understand
Phase 3 revise for pre-half term exams (and any post half term that were content heavy)
Phase 4 exams to half term
Phase 5 half term & final exams

Ultimately though I had to do most revision 1-1 with DD as otherwise she didn't focus but we didn't have Seneca/Tassomai which might have helped.

Revision techniques

  • cards / mind maps - trying to reproduce without looking, or a question on one side and answer on back
  • online apps like seneca or tassomai
  • explaining to someone else
  • past questions
  • being tested by someone else
  • CGP guides are good, you can also buy quiz cards
More or less anything except staring at notes hoping it goes in. Active.

This worked for us as DD was willing.

TeenDivided · 08/10/2022 19:16

Someone on MN made a commercial system to do the planning/tracking that I just described (and did on Excel). I think it was this: thestudybuddy.com/
It basically is a magnetic board and then small magnetic cards with subject topics on specific to individual GCSEs so you can move them around. probably a lot more besides.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread