Yr 11 support thread - the scaffolding is holding up well

[pointythings]

Because we need a new thread now that things are really hotting up!

Draylon Revising English language:
Mr Bruff (?) or
Can your DS explain to you what they are looking for in each type of question, the structure needed to answer the question, and the key technical terminology to look for and to use?
For creative or other writing, what type of English should they be using, formality of language, key sentence structures etc.

Is DS2 the only one doing Economics this afternoon? Two papers back to back. He's desperate for an A* so I hope he comes out of school with a smile on his face later.

DS1 is in the same Exam Hall doing two A-level papers this afternoon, as well.

They both have loads of exams this week. It could be a very trying time.

Good luck with your week twirly🤞

DS dd OCR history today and said it was 'alright'. Same answer for every exam so far except maths which was 'shit'!

He's knackered though! I am desperately trying to keep him awake so that he goes to sleep at a decent time tonight. Too long over half term waking at 11am and going to sleep at 1am his body clock is all over the place. He really doesn't know what to revise for english tomorrow but I have written some flash cards for him with all the advice red gave earlier on in the thread (thanks for that!) in the hope it gives him some pointers. Got a bit worried when he said he didn't know what a verb and an adverb was though

I did have to google comma splicing myself however!

DD said AQA history was 'so good' - very happy because she wants to study it at university and has her heart set on an A*. Fearful she's neglected biology and maths to revise for it though, so will be pushing revision tomorrow. As for English language there really isn't much revision you can do, DD says just learn answer formats for each question and make a list of language/structural features to note or include in your works

DD said AQA was hard but good, which sounds pretty balanced to me. Revision session before English Lang tomorrow, followed by Geography revision, followed by Geography exam. So she's going to be knackered this time tomorrow.

Maybe that's what it means. I though Antwerp was in Belgium!

DS says AQA economics "went quite well" and was chuffed that he got an exchange rate question right when others didn't.

In theory he is going over his geography case studies for tomorrow
at the moment (AQA english language in the morning and WJEC Geography (B) in the afternoon).

Wednesday off to cram for (AQA) maths and economics on Thursday then AQA B2 and B3 biology on Friday. Then it's the weekend before starting again!

Antwerp absolutely is in Belgium. I don't think you get marks for it being quite close to the Dutch border.

Ds had WJEC history, said it was straightforward except for one of the shortest questions which was "a bit niche"!

Depends which time in history the exam is asking about though. In the reign of Elizabeth I, for example, it was 100% in the Spanish Netherlands. If you tried to claim it was in Belgium in that context you would be wrong.

Just realised I think I've misread earlier comments, ignore me.

I told my pupils for last minute revision to read an extract and decide how they would comment on structure, what are the language devices used and analyse using more than one inference. Remember that all questions are marked by different markers so if you make a great point on Q2 and Q3 that can be applied to Q4 just rewrite them linking explicitly to the language in Q4. If they are worried by the structure question watch some film trailers and talk through how characters/ settings are developed.
Q5 needs you to be creative but remember to read the whole question which will inform you of the expected audience, purpose and register. Remind yourself of how to use punctuation effectively. Try to use a variety of sentence structures including fractured for effect. Think of all the powerful language memorised for Literature and adapt it, eg the use of manacles in London could be adapted to writing about the cold manacling creatures to their homes.
Plus keep calm and read a thesaurus! Good luck to all your DC. This is all for AQA.

Oh dear. I was hoping that everyone would give awful reports of AQA history. Ds is really disappointed with the paper. He's predicted an A* and it's his favourite subject but is currently moping which is very out of character.

That's very true tiggy. A case of noticing what you didn't do, rather than what you did.

Hana, in my experience, for some pupils, including one of my own, the worst they think they have done the better they actually have. They understand the nuances of the questions which makes them more judgemental of their own performance. Hope your DS is feeling better now.

Just sent this to ds in preparation for AQA English Lang tomorrow.

Thank you all. He's slightly less morose. He really enjoyed the course and the political history (very grumpy at missing out on voting on Thursday). All fingers crossed for August results. Onwards and upwards with English Language tomorrow.

DD1 definitely tends to do better in papers she classes as 'hard'. Fortunately taht has been pretty much everything so far.

Hope he's feeling better today Hannah. Fingers xed for a good exam today to get his confidence back.

DC1 was bothered about the political cartoon in yesterday's history. Uncle Sam, FDR and the New Deal. Was it critical or supportive? I thought it could be interpreted both ways when we found it online.

Well to think I was concerned that hot weather might be an issue!
It's bucketing down and blowing a mini gale here!!

Yeah, horrible here too! I'm feeling oddly guilty because I usually give ds a lift partway to school in my way to work, but I'm at training today and going out later so he'll be getting there himself. Which he did for the previous 4+ years before I started this job!

Ds is delighted at the weather. He has a long Sherlock type coat that he bought at a vintage shop and any excuse to wear it!
He'll boil coming home though......