revision skills @ lady manners and teaching... · revision skills @ lady manners “you only really...

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Revision Skills @ Lady Manners

This information in this revision skills folder will help you get organised for your exams.

Name

Form

7 & 8 November 2017

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Revision Skills @ Lady Manners

“You only really know something when you can remember it at any time.”

The Aim of Revision:

To the large amount of information about a subject down to a small

number of key-points and ideas.

When you are in the exam you remember these ideas, your brain finds the

information you need and you write out full answers.

Once you have revised a topic you will be able to recall all necessary facts

and you will have cut down your notes to a small number of cards or pieces

of paper.

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Contents

Contents Pages

Barriers to revising well 4 - 6

Mind Maps 7 - 12

Memory Methods 13 - 19

Using your preferred Learning Style 21 - 24

Exam Nerves and Healthy Eating 25 - 31

Planning your Revision Time 32 - 45

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I don’t understand

I don’t take in the information in the first place

I have this very often Often Sometimes Rarely a

problem Not a problem



I am distracted



I don’t feel good



My mind is muddled



I don’t think it is important enough



Barriers to Revising Well

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My mobile phone interrupts my concentration

I don’t have a good way of remembering





I don’t rehearse and practise things I need to remember



I don’t look back at my learning often enough to keep it in my head



I don’t look after my brain enough



I feel anxious when I have to remember in exams



Barriers to Revising Well

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Mind Maps

Mind Maps

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Mind Maps

The five essential parts of a Mind Map:

1. The main idea is in the centre as words or an image

2. The main themes come from the central image as 'branches'

3. The branches have a key word or image on the line

4. Topics of lesser importance are shown as 'twigs'

5. All branches connect to the central idea

Racism Good Samaritan

Education

1976 Race Relations

Martin Luther King Christian Black Equality for all

Non-violent protest

Help all / no matter relig / race

Parable from Jesus

Learn more

Know more

Don’t fear others

Equality - housing / educ / emp / goods

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Enzyme Mind Map

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Use these student notes and the Revision Guide to make your own Mind Map.

The central word is Enzymes.

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Revision Tip Highlight key points

Why not try underlining or colour coding particular pieces of

information? A series of different colour highlighter pens might be

useful here.

This is a very useful first step to breaking down long pieces of writing

into more usable short lists or diagrams.

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e=

Erm….

Something

Oh dear

Something else

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Method description:

A useful method Might use sometimes Wouldn’t use

1 1

2 2

3 3

4 4

5 5

6 6

7 7

8 8

9 9

10 10

11 11

12 12

Memory Methods

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Notes Page

Use this page to make notes to help you remember

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There are lots of methods to help you remember facts but use a variety and find the ones which work for you. Your memory works by association and creating links. Repetition is key. 1. Categories Sort your information into categories. You’ll be able to remember 5 sets of 4 linked items better than a list of 20 unrelated words or facts. 2. Narrative Put your items into a story. You’ve created links and the brain easily remembers narrative. 3. Loci Place the items on your list on parts of the body or around the room. This works on links again but to be effective you have to imagine the item in the place you are putting it. 4. Reprogramming Learn this first. It is easy because each item rhymes with the number. One—run, two-zoo, three-bee, four-door, five—hive, six-sticks, seven-heaven, eight-gate, nine-line, ten-hen. Then visualise running with item one on your list, putting item 2 in the zoo etc. To reprogram just put another 10 items in to your ‘run to the zoo’ scenario. 5. Mnemonics/ rhymes If all this seems like hard work… that’s what it is! You have to process information (do something with it) to remember it. But create the links in your brain and you’ll remember if forever—well, until your exams are over anyway!

Memory Methods

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You may be disappointed

if you fail, but you are doomed

if you don’t try.

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Below are 15 statements about ways of learning. Look at each of the

statements and decide how much it is like you. Score each statement

from 0 to 5.

If it is really like you score it 5.

If it is not like you at all score it 0.

Use the numbers in-between as well.

Not like me Really like me

0 1 2 3 4 5

1. I listen to music when I do my homework

2. I like it when we make things in class

3. To spell correctly I write it first

4. I remember how the pages of the

textbook look

5. I can remember the titles to my

favourite TV shows

6. Art is my favourite lesson

7. At break I like to run about a lot

8. I like the pictures in the books the best

9. I can remember the words to songs

10. When I spell I see the word as I spell

it

11. I know the theme tunes to my favourite

TV shows

12. Singing is my favourite lesson

13. I’d rather play sport than watch it

14. PE is my favourite lesson

15. When I spell I say the words in my

head

Learning styles

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Learning styles

Using your preferred learning style makes it easier to learn facts

Write down some methods that you could use to make learning easier for you:

Peer tutoring and assessment

Use colour and symbols to help you remember.

Place key information around your room on posters/post-its—move between them to revise .

Rewrite important information in your own words.

Use revision websites to aid revision

Self-assessment and review

Make a recording of your notes.

Put them in order—when you have revised a topic identify the key points, then put them in order of importance.

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Learning Styles

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It's normal to feel nervous about taking exams

Exam nerves occur due to anxiety about performing well. These nerves

are usually short-term and a natural reaction giving a positive effect

on energy and concentration. Feeing nervous is a positive reaction to

exams, it shows that you are feeling anxious about wanting to do well.

Here are some tips to help you control your nerves:

Revise: Make and stick to your revision timetable. This will make you feel in control

of your work.

Study everything: Don't not revise a subject because you don't like it or find it

hard. You'll still have an exam on it so it's important to cover everything.

Check dates and times: It's your responsibility to get to your exams on the

right day and at the right time so make sure you do!

Get organised: Make sure you pack your bag and check you have everything

you need for the exam the night before.

Coping Strategies

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Coping Strategies

Make yourself feel more positive by visualising the exams going well

Early to bed: Don't stay up late cramming for your exams - you need to be fresh

for the next day. So get to bed at a reasonable time and don't forget to set your

alarm for the morning!

Think positive: Make yourself feel more positive by visualising the exams going

well. Imagine you are confident and relaxed during the exam. Try to imagine the

scene in as much detail as possible. If you do have negative thoughts replace them

with this positive image.

Relax: Make sure you have time out in the lead up to the exams. Worrying

constantly won't help you do any better in the exams so take time to chill out.

Eat breakfast: Even if you don't feel like eating before the exam try and eat

something for breakfast, your brain needs energy to work.

Avoid caffeine: Drinking lots of coffee or other drinks containing lots of caffeine

is not a good idea as this can make you feel more nervous.

Keep calm: If you start to feel nervous, breathe deeply.

Don't panic: Say to yourself in your head 'I CAN do this exam'.

Perspective: Overall, remember that although exams are important, they are

not the be all and end all.

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It is completely usual to feel exam stress. What’s important is turning any negative feelings into positives!

Stress shows that you really care about your exams and that you are concerned with doing your best. It shows that you have taken a great interest in your subject choices and want to gain the grade you are aiming for.

Exam stress can affect different people in different ways. It may alter your sleep pattern, your eating, your personality and emotions to a certain degree. What is important is that you try to combat it to reduce the stress you are feeling and turn it into positive energy.

If you are feeling that exam stress is taking too much of a toll though, there are certain people you can speak to who will do their very best to help you:

Upper School Heads of Year - Mr Wallace and Mr Mulholland Head of Upper School - Mrs Dobson School Nurse

Don’t forget that your peers are going through this process just as you are. You

may find it relaxing and comforting to speak to your friends about exams and your

thoughts/worries/concerns, or even positive feelings.

Exam Stress

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Eating for exams When you're busy revising and thinking about your exams, it's easy to forget about

eating healthily and to just reach for the nearest piece of food.

But eating properly is just as important as revising properly – and can actually help

you to revise better.

Like revision, eating healthily should start well before your exam but – also like

revision – it's never too late to start.

Top 8 tips to help you eat healthily

1. Get the balance right It’s really important to eat a healthy balanced diet during the exam period (and all

year round, too!). This should include:

plenty of fruit and veg

plenty of starchy foods, such as bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta.

some milk and dairy foods

some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein

just a small amount of foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar

2. Base your meals on starchy foods to keep your energy levels up Starchy foods such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes are an

important part of a healthy diet and should make up about a third of the food we

eat.

Healthy Eating

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3. Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast

Having trouble concentrating? It could be because you’re not eating regularly enough to give your brain the fuel it needs. So it's important to eat regular meals and not to skip breakfast. For a tasty and healthy start to the day, base your breakfast on starchy foods such as bread or breakfast cereals with fruit and fruit juice.

4. Eat healthier snacks

Make sure you have healthier snacks with you while you're revising, to help keep you going. Save snack foods such as cakes, biscuits, chocolate and sweets for treats.

Instead, pick up an apple, some grapes, a currant bun or malt loaf with lower-fat spread.

5. Drink plenty of fluids

If you're feeling tired and lethargic while trying to revise, you might not be drinking enough water. Our bodies need water or other fluids to work properly. It's very important to make sure we're drinking enough.

We should drink approximately 6 to 8 glasses (1.2 litres) of fluid every day to stop us getting dehydrated, so keep a glass of water on your desk and take a bottle of water into the exam if you can.

Healthy Eating

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6. Get some sleep

Also think about how much sleep you're

getting and don't push yourself to revise too

late if it means you won't get enough sleep.

Decide what time you're going to stop

revising in the evening and allow yourself

time to relax before getting an early night.

That way, you'll be fresher for the day — and the revising — ahead.

7. Get active Get active to break up your day. You could go for a jog

in the park, a swim, cycle, or even just walk down to the

end of the road to your local shop. Even having a dance

around your room to your favourite song can relax you, clear

your mind, lift your mood and make studying seem easier

when you go back to it.

8. Think about what you'll eat on the day of your exam

Make sure you don't miss breakfast and you have some healthy snacks and a

bottle of water to hand.

Try to plan when you're going to fit in your meals on the day, because your exam

might cut into your usual meal times.

Healthy Eating

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Planning your Revision Time

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Revision Plan

Before starting your revision, think about:

which times suit you best, morning, afternoon, day or evening?

being comfortable - which surroundings and conditions help you to

concentrate?

how to vary the work you are doing and how you are doing it.

Here are some golden rules to help you revise:

try not to stare at notes, papers or books - have a break and start again.

break up your revision and study periods where you can. It's

easier to remember information from a few shorter study sessions than one long one. After 40 minutes take a 10 minute break. Don’t just sit there - get-up, make a drink, move about.

give yourself targets, rewards and breaks (but not too many)

avoid situations that irritate you, prevent you from concentrating or

distract you

get down to work, rather than wasting time thinking about how

much you have to do.

plan testing sessions to see what you know and what you need to

look at some more. Going over the same things again is an excellent way of making sure you remember the facts.

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Revision Plan

Area to Revise No. of Hours

English

e.g. Literature, Poetry, Composition

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Revision Plan


Maths

e.g. Solving Linear Equations, 3D shapes, Formulae, Similar

Shapes, Right angle triangles, Decimals, Fractions

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Revision Plan


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Revision Plan

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Revision Plan


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14 Killer Revision Tips

1. Start revising early 2. Don’t spend ages making your

notes look pretty 3. Take short breaks 4. Use revision guides 5. In study leave, start revising

early 6. Stick revision notes all around

your house 7. Get yourself snacks and drinks

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14 Killer Revision Tips

8. Sit at a proper desk 9. Don’t put it off 10. Don’t just read your notes 11. Don’t turn yourself into a

revision zombie 12. Do lots of practice exam

papers 13. Read the exam timetable

properly 14. Find the right environment to revise

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