Exam preparation
Mr Falle – An introduction Mr Pattinson – Mathematics Mr Swanwick – Science Mrs Moss – English Mrs Kelleher - MFL
Return Tuesday 8 th January Exams 8 th Jan – 14 th Jan Full examination preparation for all subjects Timetable available on school website in due course Outside the hall 15 minutes before exam start Bring all required equipment Opportunity to build revision resources Develop understanding Vital part of the learning process
16+ applications ◦ Students have been completing these online ◦ Due in Friday 14 th December ◦ Students must; select their option choices for next year Write a personal statement, outlining the reasons behind their choices
Plan your day Lots of 30-45 minute sessions Meal breaks and short breaks scheduled Stick to your programme Little and often Research has shown that if you want to study effectively, you should spread out your revision rather than cramming.
Just looking at your notes won't necessarily help you learn them. Instead, you need to reorganise the information in some way e.g. mindmaps, flashcards, practice questions Revision should be challenging! This approach, called "depth of processing", is the way to ensure material gets lodged in your memory.
Mind maps 1. Pick a topic – write out sub-headings 2. Write all you can about those areas 3. Read topics in notes/books, close book 4. Continue mind map using a different colour 5. Using a third colour, add/correct using your notes 6. What did you forget? Check k throu ough the gaps ps in your knowledge
Self-examination methods are one of the best tools for revision Place a question/term/topic on one side Answer/definition/information on the other Test yourself Teach a relative
Writing exam answers is a skill. . The big mistake many students make is not practising the thing they will be tested on. If your exam involves writing an essay, you need to practise essay-writing. Merely memorising the material is not enough. Different subjects will have different structural requirements within their examinations Research confirms that practising retrieving information is one of the best ways to ensure you remember it.
Don’t just attempt and mark 1. Attempt in usual time allowance 2. Add using additional time – use a new colour 3. Add using your notes – use a new colour 4. Check the mark scheme 5. What did you miss? Revisit! 6.
The suggested ideas relate to a process easily explained by ‘memory, add, mark’. Memory – do something using your memory. 1. Don’t cheat! Add – add to what you’ve done using your 2. notes or share answers with a friend. Mark – now mark what you’ve got and add to 3. your answers again using the mark scheme or other resources
New research shows that a brief rest t after learning g someth thing g can help p you remembe ber it a week k later. . Other experiments have shown that a full night' t's s sleep p helps ps you learn new skills s or retain information. 8 hours a night is the ideal amount!
Mr Durkin i.durkin@hautlieu.sch.je
What do YOU need to revise? Content of the course will be completed by Early January – this means a lot of reviewing and revision in class time Mock papers - completed in January Constant review of lessons – looking back in exercise books 1:1 with teacher to highlight targets They will highlight the Gaps in knowledge and allow the focussed revision so that students are working on topics they struggle with rather than topics they know well
Students will all receive a copy of this next week in their lesson
Online resources www.corbettmaths.co.uk www.mymaths.co.uk www.drfrostmaths.co.uk www.mathsisfun.co.uk Khan academy on youtube Many, many more to find….
YOUR TEACHER! Ask for help – take in the question you are struggling with and get a teacher to work through the question with you.
Bite sized chunks – one technique Print off lots of questions • cut out each question and put in a pile • pick up a random question and try if for 2 • minutes (maybe during an advert break instead of looking at the latest Whatsapp post or snapchat) If you can do it – great • If you can’t then bring it into school the next • day
Little and often is the key to success in Mathematics 10-15 minutes a day is not arduous and will help the progress rise exponentially
Mr Swanwick d.swanwick@hautlieu.sch.je www.edexcel.com
They are worth 6 marks each. There are always two per exam paper. Each paper is out of 100, so 12 marks (12%) are awarded for these questions. It is well worthwhile answering them as they are generically marked, so marks are often easier to attain. They usually have the command words “suggest”, “explain”, “discuss” or “evaluate”. W eight is given to the ‘clarity of writing, which includes SPaG ’.
A particularly long single specification point. 1. A combination of points across a topic area. 2. A key practical. 3. Putting forward an opinion or balanced 4. argument (e.g. pros and cons, or where there are ethical, economic or environmental dimensions).
B2H – Explain how marram grass is adapted to survive in the hot, windy & dry conditions of a sand dune. B2H – Explain how substances are moved through a plant by transpiration AND translocation. C1H – Diamond, graphite and a fullerene – Explain in terms of their structure and bonding, their relative melting points, strengths and abilities to conduct electricity. C2H – Use the results of these experiments to explain, in terms of the behaviour of particles, the effect of changing temperature and the effect of changing concentration of the solution on the rate of this reaction.
P1H – Explain how momentum is conserved in the collision. Use Newton’s third law and Newton’s second law in your answer. Newton’s second law can be written as: Force = change in momentum/time P2H – Explain, with the aid of a circuit diagram, the method a student could use to investigate how the resistance of a single lamp changes with the potential difference across the lamp.
The examiner looks at the ‘indicative content’, which gives an indication of the areas that might be covered in a students answer. The answer is then put into a band based on the quality of the student response – so Level 1 is 1-2 marks; Level 2 is 3-4 marks and Level 3 is 5-6 marks. Once the answer has been assigned to a band, a judgement is made about which of the two marks to award. This is influenced by QWC. The examiner if looking for: Correct and intelligent use of appropriate scientific and technical language Is the answer well structured and logical Can the student’s expression be easily understood?
Preparation and familiarity with this style of question. Don’t panic at seeing a large number of lines. Read these questions at the start of the exam. Regular practice is key. Always sketch a brief plan of what you are going to write. Know what is expected by the command words. For instance ‘explain’ questions must have answers which include reasons backing up statements. Those which are ‘compare’, ‘discuss’ or ‘evaluate’ will require students to think about both sides of an issue, weigh them up and then come up with a final answer/conclusion. Timing – a six mark question should take six minutes. Look out for clues in the stem of the question and underline them.
Explain how substances are moved through 1) a plant by transpiration AND translocation. Look for clues in the question and underline 2) key words. Draw a grid as so: 3) Key ideas to include Transpiration Translocation Definition Substance moved Adaptations Description & Explanation of Method
Based ed on their performan ance e on this year’s papers, candidat ates es are offered ed the following advice: e: Recognise that the word 'explain' means additional scientific information is needed that is linked to the answer given. Use all the information given in the question to help construct the answer but avoid repeating the information which has already been given. Consider the context of the question to ensure they apply their scientific knowledge to the situation they are being asked about. Develop their practical skills knowledge to ensure they understand the difference between the factors being investigated and controlled variables. Check the number of marks given for the question and ensure that they have included enough facts to match the marks awarded. Use scientific terminology accurately where possible in responses. Always show the mathematical workings when doing calculations as a mark can be awarded for errors carried forward.
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