Gcse 2018 (10) The one with half term

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www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3256691-GCSEs-2018-9-Will-we-get-to-half-term-for-never-was-a-story-of-more-woe-than-this-of-Juliet-and-who-is-Banquo

Oops. Can't remember how to link nicely, so this will have to do.

Inmysparetime you are very welcome.
The threads fill fast, especially when there is an exam that nearly every year 11 takes. So, English language and maths to come.

I think that's a good plan - focus on English. DS needs to make sure of a 5 in English language too. He needs to prepare, but how do you prepare for English language??

Good grief! How long does it take me to write one short post! Massive x-posting going on!

That's exactly what I thought I wrote one small paraghraph whilst Teen......good job I'm not doing English Language next week, 'd be lucky to write a page.....

I found this site for anyone wanting help with Maths ...it also has great links to Maths at all levels and YouTube videos that talk through any Maths aspect you may not understand.
mathsaurus.com/gcse-and-igcse/

Copied and pasted from what Loose posted on the previous thread.

Same situation here. English language is causing the most anxiety. Dd has been consistently getting 3s although she managed a 4 in the final mock. She just freezes. Thanks for the tips above.

It's the one I'm most involved in. She's completely self sufficient in all other subjects but she's clueless about where's to start with EL.

This week I'd like her to:

Watch a Mr bruff or Mr salles video on each question and then do a timed practice of that question. We'll then mark it together.

Think of about 8 possible obvious interpretations or emotions she could find in a photo e.g. fear, loneliness, anticipation and look up some good vocab, think of good metaphors and similes and then learn them. It's likely she'll be able to use one or a combination of a couple of them.

There are some good language activities on YouTube. One where you take an extract and remove all the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs and then replace them with a new story. It's good for grammar and creative writing.

Dds main issue is she has no imagination. She freezes when she's faced with a blank page. It's the big 45 minute question that always let's her down.

If anyone has any other ideas I'd be very grateful.

Morning all - I was heartened by seeing the Chemistry Grade boundaries from last year (DD still working on old IGCSE syllabus)...so with a bit of luck a good paper 2 she could possibly get that A (60%).

Just a difficult revision period coming up with so much History to cover...

Morning all

BishopBrennan You mentioned German - my ds has German at the end finishing on 21st June. He seems to be neglecting it but he will cram after Physics exam on 15th June. He is out of the loop with friends so no distractions unless that suddenly changes.

Anyway....we have an appointment to hire a suit for Prom on Weds!! I am looking forward to it; I have visions of him in a blue mod style suit.

We are off out today driving to a local town, walking to a village scenic route 6 miles then getting train back. Lunch on the way. Ds is in good spirits (or he was yesterday...) gorgeous day here too.

Enjoy the bank holiday everyone.

Teen thanks for copy & paste of English advice.

Loose thank you for the informaion.

Am I right in thinking that if they pass Literature but not Language that counts as rhat vital English pass, no need for retake?

Teen you're amazing - I can never find my previous posts!
I'd really recommend Mr Bruff for the writing questions - he does one on description and one on stories using the same photo. You could find different photos and practise the descriptions using the same techniques, then use an online thesaurus to find some synonyms and try to expand vocabulary that way. Finding alternative words for colours is particularly good.

The confused face is me not finding my posts, the flowers are for Teen!
Technically, I think there was a change that meant a pass in English literature avoids having to resit. However, in practice universities and a lot of college courses want the language GCSE, so students tend to have to resit it anyway.

DD announced last night that she wishes to do distance learning for her A levels. Reasoning behind this is to escape all the toxic friendships and so she can do Biology which as she is doing foundation she doesn’t have entry requirements.

She is hell bent on doing A level Biology and feels that she is in a better mindset now and her grades dropped a few years ago due to toxic friends. She says she is coping with social side of school better during exam period as she doesn’t have to see as many people.

To keep peace and not run the risk of DD rebelling, I looked on internet for A level distance learning.

She is talking about asking school to let her sit mock higher Biology paper so she can prove to them she is capable.

She has currently chosen Maths, Geography and IT having previously chosen Maths, Sociology and Psychology. She has gone off the idea of IT, Sociology and Psychology and faces limited choice due to either not having done subject at GCSE or not having entry requirements. She is now considering Maths, Further Maths and Geography which I’m concerned about if she finds Further Maths too hard going she doesn’t have a fall back

Teenmum60 DS is doing History too. He said exactly the same thing yesterday to me about how much work there is. So far he has done 25ish hours and he is thinking that there are at least another 10 left.
Which board / options is your DD doing? For DS, it's the minutiae of the Cold War that he struggles to remember eg the names of the key players in the Hungarian uprising and the exact dates the events happened.

Oddsocks15 I think A level choices will change for some over the forthcoming weeks...I could not have envisaged DD looking at Chem A Level or even considering doing 4 A levels for the first year and possibility dropping one ...after Yr1...but it could well be on the cards.

I get the impression that Biology A level is really enjoyable - not so much plant biology so a syllabus that most DC can relate too.

DS is still mulling over his A level options. I think psychology and biology are definite but the other one is a bit flexible! He has two sixth form taster days at the end of June, which may focus his mind but some of it will depend on the numbers on results day.

Oddsocks15 what about the core practicals. The school has to submit a letter/ form to the exam board saying they were done. How can they do that if it's distance learning?

Maybe I'm getting confused? If your DD wants to do A Level biology, then she has to do GCSE higher biology first (surely?). It's GCSE higher biology that has the core practicals. It would make sense if A level Biology had them too, but I don't know for sure.

mmzz - I think its the first paper that is causing so much work (IGCSE - its an old syllabus again)

Development of dictatorship: Germany, 1918-45
A world divided: Superpower relations (Cold War)

but when I look at the second paper I think its just as bad :

The origins and course of the First World War, 1905-18
Changes in medicine, c1845-c1945

So much information ...

Ds has one called "health and the people" which is the entire history of medicine. I know it encompasses ideas from 1000 years ago, but it can't come up out date. It must stop somewhere. Maybe with the development of penicillin? I suspect it's quite superficial.

There was a BBC docu-drama back in 2014 called 38 days to war or something similar. It ran from the shooting of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand through to the Uk joining the war. That would be an excellent way to revise the causes. It really explained all the individual countries pressures and hopes ( eg the Alsace region etc)

DS is back on the history and maths again.

His History topics range from Elizabethan England, through to America 1920--1973, with WW1 and Power and the People c1170 to the present day,

He has spent an hour this morning researching cricket bats again, and trying to convince me its reasonable to pay £250 because the bat has been reduced from £460. Maybe its his way of working on his English Language skills and persuasive writing?????

DS spending most of half term on history with a bit of eng lang . He has depth and breadth studies which I think are a good concept but as they are the first its difficult to know how much detail they should know for the breadth study (British democracy 1215 to present day !!) in comparison to Germany between the wars for example. An interesting range of topics covered here - DS has your power and the people rumbled but not the USA. He also has Normans thrown in for measure. He struggles with the dates and names so will have to focus on the concepts and implications etc.

Really interesting to read your posts about changing A Level options. I have a couple of questions.....(a) how easy is to change - and when I say change I mean change literally all of them and (b) have any of you got dyslexic dc who are considering English Literature and History? After studying for her revision she has declared that she hated studying physics chemistry and maths but really enjoyed English and History. She would like to also do Gov and Politics and Computers Science (CS is a no brainier for her cos she’s really good at it). Worried that all the intensive written work might be a bit much and that grades might suffer. But she would prefer them. Arrrggghhh. Any advice gratefully accepted!!!!!

Should have said a bit of eng lang and sciences thrown in. The work he did on Eng lit improved his work dramatically before the exam but it may be harder to get the same level improvements for language. Practise and following the above tips hopefully will bring all the struggling DC on here up to the passes/grades they need though. I think building their confidence can also play a big part - it certainly helps DS not to freeze and be able to dredge up things to say.

Cblue - depends on the A-level blocks the school applies to see whether the subjects she wishes to study are in different blocks...

Thanks mmzz.

Hi, DS (very dyslexic ie scores right at the end of the scale at both ends on Ed Phsyc report) seriously considered history A level as he loves it but in the end decided to focus on maths, physics, CS and try and keep up the interest in History outside school. I think the answer to your questions depends on a number of things. eg does the dyslexia just affect writing/spelling etc as there are so many things to help with that now (lap top, voice to text technology etc etc) or does she , like DS, find it hard to form arguments, remember facts etc etc, Does she really love the subjects. Do the teachers/school understand her strengths and difficulties and how best she learns etc. I certainly wouldn't rule it out and I think the higher the academic level the less the dyslexia impacts etc - it is less about simple learning and simple written concepts but more about intelligence. intellect and problem solving so their difficulties become less apparent or can be overcome. I am also hoping with fewer subjects it will be easier for dyslexic DC to find ways to overcome some of their difficulties in a way there just wasn't time for in GCSEs

I do think its also important for DC to do something they enjoy and are genuinely interested in even if they might find it harder or get a lower grade.