Someone posted a GCSE revision planner..

[Phosphorus]

As the title says, I read something on MN, but not necessarily this topic, where a parent had posted a funky GCSE revision timetable/planner.

I added it to my watch list, but it has dropped off. Does anyone remember the thread?

It might have involved a fridge or notice board, and magnetic markers/labels..

Oh, it was probably ds's, on the back of an envelope

yup, that's pretty much the state we're in.

This guy though had a system. Matching the syllabus for each subject to a revision topic. It loomed amazing.

But I can't find it, and we are facing doing it alone. Woe is me (us).

They can make one one agetrevising.co.uk here as well as accessing other revision materials.

Sorry here

Phosphorus - was it the guy who started this thread:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/2911384-Helping-my-son-structure-his-GCSE-revision

He had a detailed spreadsheet and described how he translated it into post-its on his website here: www.mcgurl.co.uk/agile-project-method-for-revision/

Oh, that's actually really interesting! Yes, as he says, the execution looks OTT, but it's pretty much what I've always said to mine - break everything down into small topics and have some sort of plan because you want it to be as easy and straightforward as possible when you actually sit down to do some work.

Yes - agree with the breaking down approach.

Although he got excellent GCSE results last year I discovered this year that DS really had few planning/ organising revision skills and was beginning to become a bit unstuck when he started revising for his AS levels this year.
I ended up sitting down and breaking up the syllabus with him into manageable chunks.

I was shocked by two things I discovered in the process:

1. he claimed he had never seen a copy of the syllabus and all its constituent parts broken down before.
2. Very little had been done at school in terms of study/revision skills

We spent a whole weekend sorting, organising and reviewing his notes and structuring them in ringbinders with the following subdividers for each topic (this was Maths/Further Maths):
Syllabus summary/ Notes/ Completed worksheets/ booklets/past papers (done)/Past papers (to do).
The look of amazement on his face when it was all sorted made me feel as if I'd just shown him some amazing magic trick. I just felt terrible that I'd never spent time with him organising and planning with him before because I'd stupidly assumed he KNEW all this stuff.

OnlyTea , ye, that's it!

Thank you. My eldest is going in to year 9, and seems utterly baffled by the concept of revision. I don't think a syllabus has ever entered their mind.

my dd absolutely needed to be taught how to revise, that was far more important than a timetable (I don't think she ever had a revision timetable).

Finding out which syllabus she was following, getting copies of it where necessary (maths), deciding that her class notes were completely useless for revision purposes, getting decent materials (revision books, workbooks, online resources (tassomai, khan, lit charts, something for French), ensuring that she had something to work with for each area of the syllabus, making good & concise notes (index cards), seeking help when she couldn't do that because there was something she didn't understand, lots and lots and lots of practice for skill areas (maths), identifying what needed to be learnt by rote (e.g. history dates/facts, poetry, French, geog case studies, maths facts, some science stuff) - keeping those notes separate & close at hand for loads of repetition, printing reams of past papers - working through them & then actually correcting/learning the stuff you've got wrong.

^I started that with her in the summer holiday at the end of year 10 ... she was a long way behind where she needed to be in maths & chemistry so she started with those & then started working on everything else from September for mocks.

(it did work - as a way of offering encouragement rather than bragging - in maths dd got an 8 after being predicted a 5 at the end of y10 & an A* (with very high UMS) in chemistry after being predicted a B)

the other thing she had to get past was the attitude that if school/teachers didn't tell her to do it then it didn't need to be done - e.g. all independent learning, learning material not covered in class but in syllabus etc And of course general teen bravado covering up the fact that she had no idea how to revise.

Some kids might learn all that earlier/on their own/with more supportive school* but dd needed to be taught it all. I'd say she was a fairly independent learner now ... I don't expect to be doing that for A level.

*I expect a certain amount of eye rolling that she didn't spontaneously acquire those skills but that often comes from parents whose kids are explicitly taught them in school so the parents can remain smugly uninvolved!

I need to keep an eye on this. My son has just finished year 10 and he needs to get revising and working this year.

Great thread! Dd has just finished year 9 and has absolutely no idea how to revise and I'm embarrassed to admit I don't have a clear idea either Will be studying the above and see if we can get a plan in place...

Great post Laniakea!

I would also add study bloggers /YouTubers great to watch especially if your Dd refuses to take any advice from her mother who can't possibly know how it all works