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Secondary education

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Study tips and websites for those with children in Y11

64 replies

noblegiraffe · 08/01/2017 11:51

I've seen lots of threads with parents asking for good books and websites for revision for various subjects so thought it might be a good idea if we could collate them into a thread for reference.

How to study:
www.cultofpedagogy.com/learning-strategies/ - evidence-based strategies for effective revision such as 'retrieval practice' (practising remembering key facts - e.g. Self-testing), 'spaced practice' (coming back to the same topics at increasing intervals to increase chances of remembering them), 'interleaved practice' (mixing up questions to practise identifying the type of approach needed).

How to set up a revision timetable and make revision less daunting
missdcoxblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/29/how-to-prepare-for-exams/

Good websites for maths
mrbartonmaths.com/students/gcse/ a million resources for every topic
corbettmaths.com 5-a-day questions for regular revision, videos to explain each topic, and worksheets to practise the topics (with answers)
mathswebsite.com hegartymaths - you need to create a free login, it has videos with explanations of topics, then questions then goes through the answers. It keeps track of what has been watched.

Study tips for maths
The key thing for maths is that to learn maths, you have to do maths. You can't revise maths effectively by reading a book.
Ideally you'd have a pen and paper and do a question, check the answer, if correct try a harder question. If incorrect do not leave it but go back and try to figure out where you went wrong, then try more questions on the same topic.
Don't just do past papers over and over, use past papers (or mocks, or checklists from school) to identify weak topics, then focus on those topics using a revision guide, videos and worksheets linked to above. Then go back to past papers and identify more topics.
If a pen and paper aren't available (e.g. Revising on the bus) then revision cards with a question on one side and the answer on the other are good (Pearson sell ones like these). Look at the question, think about how you would do it, then check the other side. Bus time can also be used to self-test formulae, methods or facts (Corbettmaths sell ones like these ).
Do not do questions that you do not have the answer for, there's no point. Always check the answers (past paper mark schemes are on the internet) for any questions that you do.

Make sure your child knows off by heart (because so many get these basics wrong):
Prime numbers up to 30, square numbers up to at least 12 but better 15 squared, cube numbers up to 5 cubed.
Formulae for the area of a triangle, parallelogram, trapezium (new for 9-1 GCSE).
Formulae for the circumference and area of a circle (SO many students, even at higher, even at A* muddle these up)
THEIR TIMES TABLES (honestly, knowledge of times tables is so important for foundation students it can really be the difference between a pass and a fail).

I'm sure I'll think of more but that's probably enough for now. Anyone got any good sites/tips for other subjects?

OP posts:
Madhairday · 07/04/2017 11:06

Thankyou for this thread, really helpful.

Would appreciate any recommendations on English lit revision (Inspector calls, Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol) and how to revise for the unseen poetry exam as this really phases dd.

Toffeewhirl · 07/04/2017 22:50

Very useful, thank you.

thecatfromjapan · 13/04/2017 11:20

.

t875 · 16/04/2017 16:08

Great ideas here. I'm watching this. 😊 Pin Terest have great revision stuff too mind maps. And Memrise is great.
Does anyone know of any revision methods for science ( additional)
Thanks x

t875 · 16/04/2017 16:09

Scrooge Macbeth etc there was a great write up on this on line via google. There is also revision guides for these subjects Smile

Cat0115 · 16/04/2017 16:35

For any text (Lit): group quotations into ideas in the order that they appear in the text. Then write them up on to large pieces of paper and stick them up around the house. As you pass it,say it aloud. To revise further get someone else to say the first part and then student has to finish it. E.g. 'Fair is foul......'. Quotation then learnt x 4 (read/write/recite/recall).

Cat0115 · 16/04/2017 16:40

To revise essay structure for higher grades make sure they use key phrases and terminology: '....'quotation'....Shakespeare's use of this metaohor here suggest to the audience that....'(So student has made reference to text, used key term to reference writer method,shown understanding that the writer made a choice and what the impact on an audience might be (or reader).

Cat0115 · 16/04/2017 16:47

....and for unseen poetry students need to get their timings right... (AQA) unseen no. 1 is worth 24 marks so write three times the amount for this than the 8 marker which comes last on this 165 min paper. These tyoes of unseens can and should be practised regularly. Find a poem on poemhunter.com and formulate a question using the word 'How...?'.E.g. In the poem 'Anne Hathaway by C.A.D How does the poet convey her ideas about love'.

Cat0115 · 16/04/2017 16:49

Apologies for typos.
Currently marking Lit mock scripts in a freeeeezing house so fingers are blue!

portico · 16/04/2017 18:10

Hi cat0115

I note you stated you were marking scripts. This level of commitment in holidays is indicative of all teachers. I have always saluted and recognised the great contribution of all teachers.

This is wonderful and I wished all parents recognise the out of working hours time teachers spend on marking and prep work. I am pretty sure in other countries teachers are more revered than here in England.

portico · 16/04/2017 18:13

The York Revision Notes, and the Hodder Evision notes are good for AQA Lit.

I am starting to get impressed with Cambridge Press AQA GCSE Eng Lang books. I am pretty sure their Eng Lit books would be just as accessible. I will try those soon.

SaDo12 · 17/04/2017 09:16

For anyone doing Edexcel RS Unit 3 and 10 Mr McMillan on YouTube is good. He also has good revision techniques

portico · 17/04/2017 09:51

This is a useful diagnostic for Ed Excel Maths. It is their International Lower Secondary Curriculum Mathematics. It is pitched at UK Y9 age, but covers a lot of Ed Excel, and may be useful at Foundation level.

Downside, it is one paper, so no separate calc/non calc papers. Useful diagnostic.

qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-international-lower-secondary-curriculum/maths.coursematerials.html#filterQuery=Pearson-UK:Category%2FExam-materials

Cat0115 · 17/04/2017 13:49

Thank you Portico. Your kind words are really appreciated. Even more so because I have just been diagnosed with Shingles AGAIN! Not good timing at all!

lukins66 · 06/05/2017 08:16

Thank you so much, some very useful links.
Good Luck to all DC starting exams soon x

portico · 29/06/2017 21:28

Hi Noble. Just wanted to give you heads up, that I bought the Pearson 9-1 Student Book GCSE 9-1 Edexcel Higher. Great book, with a huge amount of differentiated qns. I know you teach Ed Excel. Great for you to buy one copy, and do questions in class.

Even better is the Pearson Trget Grade 5,7, 9 books. £1.99 per copy to schools. I bought them. They are concise and great.

By the way Ds1 achieved 86% in EOY9 maths, so hoping he gets moved from Set 3 to set 1. Even though he is not n top 20 of year, they look at interim tests and he did average...so on tenterhooks.

portico · 29/06/2017 21:37

Sorry, typo. He is in top 20 of year.

noblegiraffe · 12/01/2018 23:42

Might be time to bump this thread.

OP posts:
sassymuffin · 13/01/2018 00:51

Free revision resources:

www.fastpastpapers.com

www.s-cool.co.uk

www.revisionworld.com

The Student Room also has a GCSE revision section, just click on the GCSE tab at the top of the home page. thestudentroom.co.uk

Foxjar · 13/01/2018 12:06

Wow op your op is superb and sooooo useful. Have printed it off. Thank you.

Foxjar · 13/01/2018 12:08

One question re all the online resources and revision cards if they are doing the higher level should they start straight off with those resources or do both. Do the higher resources include everything the foundation do?

BackforGood · 14/01/2018 19:51

Thanks for starting this, and bumping this NobleGiraffe - really appreciated.

Does anyone have any hints / tips for preparing for the 'Listening' part of MFL GSCSEs please ?
dd says when she is writing the answer to the one question (having to think what the answer is, then translate her thought into French / German), the tape starts asking the next question, so she misses that information, etc...... I can see the theory about practising to get quicker, but how can I (as a mere parent, non-linguist, and without the listening tapes) help her with this please ?

pipilangstrumpf · 15/01/2018 23:02

Thanks noble!

alwayslearning789 · 16/01/2018 19:22

Just wanted to say Thank You to noblegiraffe for starting this useful thread ( as always!) and also to all who have shared valuable information. Much appreciated.

HidingFromTheWorld · 04/02/2018 22:17

Bumping this as someone has enquired about revision guides tonight Smile