GCSE 2018 (7) [wine][wine][wine][wine]

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A new thread to take us through the exams
Link to old thread

Thanks, korma. I just found myself asking DS3 if he was really revising Chinese or just reading Reddit. He sighed and showed me his laptop screen. I might take a step back for a bit. I'm in danger of becoming that parent.

No porridge for breakfast here. Are a massive pile of Cheerios sufficient? Cold pizza for lunch and eating out tonight, DS3's choice, (so probably Nando's.)

Ellen I agree DC are different even in the sam family. I am involved with DS revision as he needs it and prefers to work that way (and I’m actually enjoying spending time with him). DD1 disappeared upstairs to her room each day and I had to presume she was revising, DD 2 somewhere inbetween

Any breakfast at all has to be a good thing. Large amounts of Cheerios sound fine to me!

EllenJane my input in revision is to check in with dd at least once a day - asking whether she needs to tweak anything and focus on some subjects more than others etc (currently yes - she needs to put more emphasis on chemistry), and at the end of the day's revision, to ask her if she is pleased with how revision went. She is quite happy to discuss it and I will make suggestions.

Other than that my role is to test her with flash cards when she asks me and to talk her down when she starts getting wound up and anxious about exams.

EllenJanethickerknickers You hit the nail on the head when you said its different for each DC.

I'm finding with DS1 that his work rate drops like a stone when left alone. When he's in the same room, he, almost cheerfully(!), gets on with it. eg Tassomai when i'm around, he does 10 quizzes per hour. When I'm downstairs and he's in his room, its 3 per hour. So, this morning he revised while I did a mountain of ironing and he's made good progress.

On the other hand, DS2 would massively resent me hanging around, even now, when he's only in year 9. He would not allow me to tell him what to do, because he's fiercely independent and he will make his own mistakes.

TBH, I think Ds1 has the attitude that is better for exams, but Ds2 has the better one for life.

Okay a couple of things worrying me - the first is English Lit CIE. She has her poetry and prose exam on the 22nd (which apparently also includes a question on her set text which is "A Secret River") and then on 25/5 she has her Drama text which is "Macbeth".

She is worrying me because she is refusing to spend time on revising or on practising possible questions on 'A Secret River' or Macbeth - she says she has done tonnes of practice questions in class with the teacher. Very little English lit revision is taking place.

I've also heard a lot of you remarking that your dc are memorising quotes - but she isn't feeling the need to do this. She tells me that there are two options on questions for the A Secret River and Macbeth - i.e. an open question where you discuss a theme pertaining to the whole book / play (for which you would need a few quotes to illustrate your point) or an extract question where a section of text is given, and as she will be doing the extract there is no need to remember quotes.

Should I leave her to it? (she suffers from anxiety so I can't push her too far), or will she be scuppering her chances by not learning quotes (and by not question spotting and doing more Eng Lit revision in general)?

She is not chasing an 8 or 9 and is perfectly happy with a 6 or 7 (as am I). I guess what I am saying is that perhaps learning quotes is necessary for an 8 or 9?, but that it should be feasible to get a 6 or a 7 without doing this (as long as you know, understand and engage with the texts, which she does)? What do you think wise peers?

Sorry - that was long!

hmc I think you need Looseattheseams help on the quotes. DD is learning quotes to go with characters and themes, but I get snarled at if I ask for more 8nfo.

Ellen do you think they could use that as a legitimate quote on Monday?

So iGCSEs have moved onto Latin, whereas GCSEs are starting with RS and the sciences this week.

DD has been tennis coaching small children this morning and has fled upstairs to her pit with a bowl of pasta. I believe the grunt as she fled meant she did want roast chicken later, but I need DH to give me an official translation later.

I wish I knew! DS will also be doing the extract questions for the novel and the play. I think there is much less need for quotations in those questions (they'd definitely need them for the whole text questions) and they do need to really focus on the language in the extracts in front of them.
I guess being able to contextualise the extract (e.g by knowing this is a new development for a character who was previously referred to as being 'quote') would be useful but I don't know whether it's necessary as such.
The easiest way to learn quotations is to keep them really short-one or two words is often good enough. They're easier to 'embed' in an answer then too (which CIE really like).

stickerrocks igcse RS is also on Monday!

hmc I don't know enough about iGCSE to be able to comment in depth but the other GCSEs that print an extract still expect you to refer to the rest of the play or novel. This is where the supporting quotations are very useful. It's how skilfully you use them that determines the very highest grades.
I think Brainmelt's DS is doing the same spec as you and may be able to clarify!
On a positive note - yes, doing loads of practice questions in class should have prepared her well. She could revise from these in fact to keep the main points/quotes fresh in her mind.

Just adding - other boards have extract questions too, but they're a starting point and you have to refer to the rest of the text to answer the question.

I hope it didn't sound like a criticism when I said about being involved in revision. I was more thinking I should be doing more, rather than anyone else doing less. But DS3 is very reluctant to let me get involved, even in science which is my area.

Hmc, when DS1 and 2 did Eng Lit old style GCSEs it was an open book exam. They had to be familiar with the texts to be able to find relevant quotes but it was so much easier. For the CIE exam can your DD have a pristine text in the exam? Otherwise as loose says, revising from the practice questions might be enough?

Thanks Sticker, Cherry, Loose

I think I will get her to select a few short pithy quotes that capture something important and ask her to try and remember those.

Meant to say TheSecond - isn't that exactly how it should be - work steadily all year the you don't need the last minute revising. DS has plans to create notes from the first day and revise as he goes along for A level (I'll believe it when I see it)

Oratory1 you're probably right, and I do trust him, but it feels weird that his first exams start on Monday and he is just chilling.

Don't panic Thesecond. I know of families who are going for a day long shopping extravaganza today as "they've worked hard". DD was actually desperate for us to go to Bilbao for the European rugby finals this weekend because we set a precedent in Edinburgh last year. I hope she is doing something constructive upstairs, because I'm downstairs with a glass of wine (got to go to work tomorrow for a revision course, so I won't have a drink this evening).

Ok, hmc, I have here the advice of DS’s cricket team, all of whom are doing the same texts as your DD.

Macbeth: open text exam. You need to know where to find your quotes on themes quickly, but obv. don’t need to learn them.

Poems: you will be given the poem and you don’t need to refer to others in the group, so no need to learn quotes. Important to learn ‘all those technical terms’ though. (Pause for a heated discussion about what enjambement actually was)

Secret River: [generally agreed by our survey of 11 boys to be a ‘top book’] there will be two questions, one on a given extract and one on a theme. 2 thirds of our survey said that they would do the extract question whatever it was, so weren’t learning quotes. The other third said ‘but what if the extract question is a stinker, eh?’ They are learning a couple of quotes for each theme, but are making sure all of them are linked to Thornhill, in case the essay is about his development.

At this point, the umpires decided that the rain was not going to stop, and we all came home!

Those boys will go far 😂😂

Can we all send in our gcse questions for the next match

hmc DS doing same but different texts. Not learning any quotes by heart just knowing structure themes and characters etc really well. kingscote said it all

Need to get into English mode for revision and I will double check but I am pretty sure DD doesn't need to learn quotes. She is doing edexcel igcse.

She definitely isn't memorising any quotes o I am hoping I am right 😬

DD has been asleep since midday is this normal?

Just put my head round the door to try and wake her so she sleeps tonight, she opened her eyes and went back to sleep

Most likely, it sounds as though she is sickening for something. Or (don't want to worry you but maybe she) has taken something that is making her sleep?

Hmm DS doing edexcel igcse and should ideally be learning a quote or two for the modern prose question (Of Mice and Men for him). He did coursework so only one book for the exam. The rest is poetry which they get given in the exam. DS didn't learn any quotes for the mock and says he could get by without them but for better marks needs to throw some in - depends what type of mark you are aiming for and it is only one question.

Hmm DS doing edexcel igcse and should ideally be learning a quote or two for the modern prose question (Of Mice and Men for him). He did coursework so only one book for the exam. The rest is poetry which they get given in the exam
DD doing the same exam Oratory1 I think the exam is a week on Tuesday..
DD has a mixture of exams this week mainly Edexcel IGCSE but GCSE Computer Science - just to confuse matters.
Oddsocks15 - has your DD taken any antihistamines? I'm normally OK with them but this afternoon I went back to bed because the tablet made me very sleepy.