Y7 Exams - history and geography in particular - and physics

[Quinteszilla]

DS assessment has come through, and he has fallen from attainment 2 to 5 in History and Geography. He struggles with King John and the Battle of Hastings in particular. Are there any good resources I can find to help him revise?

He also blames Physics for his grades dropping in science.

You know what? I would let him have his half term holiday having a nice time, but make an appointment to see his form tutor as soon as possible when school starts again to find out what!/ going wrong and how to help. Another few days won't hurt- and you might be guiding up him in quite the wrong directions. He's only been at secondary school for a term and a half- no need for panic.

Um - this is year 7 - as in age about 12 ?

Give him a break. It is a long way to the end of school years.

The key to acquiring knowledge is to enjoy it and find some relevance in it - so is there some local spin you can put on King John or the Battle of Hastings ?

The other key is to have the confidence to say you don't understand and ask questions.

Maybe you had a good education experience because everyone was not looking over your shoulder and assessing you constantly and overtly. Maybe neither you nor your parents had any idea of the minutiae of your "performance" when you were 12.

Relax - and try and get your DS to relax.

I think he might benefit from reading more widely - perhaps a subscription to first news? And some historical fiction - rosemary sutcliffe types good at this age.

Children in year 7 only benefit from wider reading if it is initiated by them. Parent led broadening, such as taking him on a visit to Battle Abbey where Hastings happened can be useful. To be honest, the wider reading is not likely to increase his marks at this stage, because the assessments will not be looking for evidence of it.
Key things include knowing the technique for answering the different styles of Q they have done (no idea what these are, but might be, explain, describe, what does the content of the source tell you....) as well as the key content for the topic.

After half term, it will be poss to find out about both the content and skills he is expected to have. Many schools actually say homework for this age group should not be set for half term, because the children need a proper break. So may well be best to just let him have a few days and then start again once you have more info.
Best of luck.

We have not only done revisions! They have chilled, lazed about, played basketball outside the house, been on the trampoline, we have been for walks in the common, baked caramel cheese cake ( yuck) and made apple dumplings from scratch. Plenty of time for childhood and chilling!