REVISION GUIDE

This revision guide was produced for our teaching staff to deliver to students. Having seen the benefits we would like to make it available for Students and their Parents/Carers to view.
Section 1: GETTING ORGANISED/STARTED Section 2: REVISION STRATEGIES/TECHNIQUES Section 3: LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF Section 4: SITTING YOUR EXAMS

What is revision?
Revision is whatever you make it. But lets get clear (a) what youre trying to achieve, and (b) what revision can do for you.
1 Revision is FIXING IN YOUR MEMORY things that you know. Like a computer, your memory holds information in store for future reference. Revision is like saving information on a disk. If youve done your coursework, the input and the processing of the data has already happened: you have learned and understood the topic. But the knowledge needs to be stored in your memory, so it can be called up later. 2 Revision is LEARNING TO UNLOCK YOUR MEMORY in the exam. All the information stored in a computer cant be on screen all the time. When you want a piece of data, you have to call it up: you need a menu or code to access the information. Your mind works in the same way. Revision gives you memory prompters which can be used to bring what you know into your mind when you need itin the exam room! 3 Revision is LEARNING TO ADAPT WHAT YOU KNOW to an exam. If your computer printed out long lists of numbers, when you asked for a graph, youd be pretty annoyed. Thats how examiners feel when you dont answer their questions! Revision is a chance to think about how you would select and use the things you know, to answer specific exam questionsin the style required and in the time available.
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RE-VIS ION = SEEIN GA

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GAIN

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If you havent already covered and understood a topic, you wont be revising: youll be learning. This is harder to do on your own and it takes longer.
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Talk to a teacheras in, NOW! - about any topics you think youve missed or misunderstood. (They may or may not be important: its always worth asking) If you do have some catching up to do, allow for extra time in your revision plan.

So the best time to start revising is ?

Never mind when your first exam is. The best time to start revising is TODAY.

If its the beginning of your course: terrific!

Why not review some of your notes from time to time throughout the year? You dont have to be too heavy about it: just pick a topic, and see whether it rings a bell. That shouldnt be too painfuland it all adds up!

If its 6-8 weeks before the first exam: great!

This is pretty much the IDEAL TIME to be starting an intensiveand sensilbeFinal Revision Phase.
: EKS E W E 6-8 ENSIV INT and BLE I S N SE

If its 3-4 weeks before the first exam: OK

If you havent started yet, your Final Revision Phase is going to be intensive. Really intensive. But dont panic. It can still be sensible as wellprovided you get moving NOW. Cramming is not the Easy Option: youll need to be a lot more hardworking and efficientfrom now onthan those who started work weeks ago Bur you can do it!

If its less than 2 weeks before the first exam: Panic!

Only kidding. You can still do itif youre up for it. But if you really havent started revising yet, theres a problem somewhere. If you dont know what it is, Unit 4.1 is a good place to start. Get it sorted
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Get organised
Get organised for learningdont wait for your teacher or your mum or dad to organise you. Once you get into those good habits you will have made the connections and it will be easy! LAST WEEK DID YOU . YES

NO

Plan your week? Set any goals or targets? Prioritise what you had to do? Set any deadlines? Meet all your deadlines? Give in all homework? Arrange any social activities? Spend time relaxing?

If you answered no to four or more of these questions you may need to get more organised! The list below will help you for schoolwork and homework. Tick any you

ARE YOU A PROCRASTINATOR? Procrastinators put things off until the last minute and seldom get them done on time. When this happens you can get into a decline which ends in feeling bad about yourself. Think of some positive things you can say when you feel tempted to procrastinate. THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT The place you work as well as the way you work can make so much difference. Create the learning environment that suits you. Write a paragraph describing your favourite learning environment. Where is it? Any music? Food for grazing? With friends? What clothes? Using books or internet? Time of day? Swap these ideas with a neighbour and see if they have similar ideas.

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Planning for timetable types

Some people are timetable types, and some arent. Timetable types are quite good at estimating how long a task is going to take them. They try to finish tasks when they are supposed to . If youre not sure this is you, it may still be worth giving a timetable a gojust for a week: it is the most effective way of planning revision. (But dont panic: Unit 3.3. Offers an alternative approach)

Drawing up a timetable
Draw up a blank timetable for all the weeks you have available between now and your first exam. (Or photocopy the one opposite.) Divide each day into hourly or half-hourly sessions from 9am to 9pm: dont worryit wont all be studying. Enter your commitment: times when you will not be able to revise: Include: Lesson (and break) times at schoolincluding extras, like sport, and travel time. Meal times (very important!) Other activities in your normal routinelike household chores. Now enter appointments with yourself. Choose and enter:

One Big Thing per day that is really important to you and FUN: meeting friends, your favourite soap, or whatever, plus. Two other things per day that will not take long, but that will make your life easier and more normal: a bit of fresh air, a break to listen to music and so on.

Space them out over your day if possible. Dont let them take up too much time: two hours (max) for your One Big thing and half-an hour to an hour for the others. The open times left on your timetable are for revision, and you should enter what you intend to study in each hourly or half-hourly period. Over the page, youll find some further tips on how to map out which subjects to study, in what order, and for how long.

IT R O F GO

Take a copy of the timetable opposite and work through our checklist, for the current week
Enter things you regularly have to do, and will be doing throughout your revision period, in RED ink, so youll remember to transfer them to each new weekly timetable, when you actually start scheduling revision.

How long should a revision session be?

Youll be tempted to try and work for hours without a break. Especially at night. And as the exams approach, youre more likely to feelor to be toldthat youre not working hard enough, than that youre not taking enough breaks! But here are the facts.

Short

bursts

You concentrate better in short bursts. work faster and better if you:

In a two-hour study slot, youll

short! Make it count! Make it

study 25 minutes and break for 5 minutes (four times) or study 50 minutes and break for 10 minutes (twice) than if you study for the full two hours in one go! You take in and remember more in short bursts. Like your stomach, your brain gets full: it needs to digest what youve fed into it, before it can take any more. havent taken point, that you n ai rt ce a at d, minutes? Do you ever fin en reading for the last few e be in what youv ings settle. : time to let th nt oi P n io at ur Its called Sat You get less tired in short bursts. You can keep going over a longer working day, if you break up the time. And youre less likely to suffer eye strain, headache, backache, hunger pangs and so on!

Short

bursts Breaks motivate you to get down to work. Breaks, and what you do with them, are something to look forward to . That session wont seem so bad if you know youll be due for a break and a treat in a short while.

Prescription fo r The real three Rs

REST RECREATIO N RELAXATION

Breaks help you stick to your revision plan. You need refreshment, fresh air, exercise, other peopleand funon a regular basis. By allowing for these things in your schedule, you stop them from stopping you getting down to uninterrupted work during your study time. Breaks give you a chance to de-stress. Switching off is very important, if youre not going to let exams get to you. As long as thebreak is short and/or scheduled, it shouldnt load you with guilt, either: its the only way to revise sensibly.

STUDY GRAPHS

My Personal Study Environment Time Temperature Lights People Place Position Food Sounds Clothes Timetables There are many good reasons for using revision timetables: To avoid a last minute rush the night before an exam. To share revision time between subjects.

What goes wrong with timetables Cover too many weeks ahead. Drawn up in too much detail. Over ambitious and unrealistic Revision Times Morning9.00am11.00am Afternoon1.00pm5.00pm Evening6.00pm9.00pm

REVISION PLANNER Week beginning _____________________ FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

9.00am

10.00am

11.00am

12.00pm

1.00pm

2.00pm

3.00pm

4.00pm

5.00pm

6.00pm

7.00pm

8.00pm

Fill in your commitments, times when you will not be able to revise lesson times, travel time to and from school, other activities in your normal routine household chores.

REVISION PLANNER Week beginning _____________________ FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

9.00am

10.00am SCHOOL DAY

11.00am

12.00pm

1.00pm

2.00pm

3.00pm

4.00pm

5.00pm

6.00pm

7.00pm

8.00pm

9.00pm

Fill in your commitments, times when you will not be able to revise lesson times, travel time to and from school, other activities in your normal routine household chores.

Section 2

Doing your REVISION

The best revision methods involve being active. So dont just sit there DO SOMETHING!

Active or passive revision?

Active revision means involving your eyes, ears and hands in a variety of ways. Revising actively is the best way to make sense of the material youre revising and also helps you to remember it.

Active methods of revision include: writing revision notes, reading notes aloud, recording key points onto an MP3, phone or tape, discussing topics with a friend, testing yourself, getting others to test you, rewriting notes, doing examples, trying past exam papers and using revision websites. Use as many of these methods as you find useful.

Passively reading through your notes and books is a very poor method of revision. It doesnt help you to understand or remember what you are revising. Dont just sit there reading page after page until you get bored.

Making Notes
Notes are meant to be short memory-joggers! There is no point in simply re-writing your class material.

Keep your notes as brief as possible. One idea is to reduce all your notes into key words (a whole subject should fit onto 1 side of A4 paper).

The brain remembers things best by seeing them or storing them in different ways. For example, if you read about the causes of World War 1 draw them in a diagram and then discuss them with a friend or teacher. You are more likely to remember what you revise if you are able to articulate what you have learned.

Use highlighter pens to colour code your notes.

Use Mind Maps, flowcharts, spider diagrams and other visual tolls to make your notes more distinctive. (Examples of these can be found in this booklet.)

How to make a Spider Diagram

.... A Step by Step Guide ....
Spider diagrams are sometimes called Graphic Organisers and they come in various shapes and sizes including the traditional spider. Below are 4 illustrations of different types of Graphic Organisers and examples of how you can use them.

Star diagram

Spider diagram

Fishbone diagram

Cycle diagram

Using Post-it Note Memory Joggers

Buy yourself some Post-its which can be used to write keywords, concepts, vocabulary, quotes, formula, etc and then stuck around the house in the rooms that you spend a lot of time in (with parents permission of course). This means that you have a ready source of revision in your line of vision, even when you are not formally revising!

Prime Numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17,19

Revising using Mnemonics

Mnemonics (pronounced without the Mnemonics) need not be as complicated as it sounds. This word literally means 'memory. It's about putting something memorable into your mind to help you recall information. You create a code using rhymes, phrases or acronyms which helps you to recall information that is essential for doing well in your exams. Mnemonics have been used for centuries in education. Anyone remember these? 'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour' This stands for the musical notes E, G, B, D, and F. Never Eat Shredded Wheat It refers to the points of a compass North - East - South - West. 'Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain' refers to the colours of the spectrum Red - Orange - Yellow - Green - Blue - Indigo - Violet. The point is you have fun making up your own to remember keywords, formula and key facts for any subject you like. Remember that Mnemonics should be short and memorable. The funnier the better however ludicrous the Mnemonic is! Below are some further examples relevant to your subjects for revision. Once youve read these try making up your own, then write them on a Post-it, stick them on a wall or mirror somewhere at home and memorise them! KINGS PLAY CARDS ON FAT GREEN STOOLS the order of taxonomy in biology = Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. OIL RIG In Chemistry in relation to Electrons = Oxidation Is Loss, Reduction Is Gain. SOHCAHTOA Trigonometry in Maths = SOH ... Sine = Opposite leg divided by the Hypotenuse. CAH ... Cosine = Adjacent leg divided by the Hypotenuse. TOA ... Tangent = Opposite leg divided by the Adjacent leg. DIVORCED, BEHEADED, DIED, DIVORCED, BEHEADED, SURVIVED helps you to remember what happened to the six wives of Henry VIII

Revising with an MP3

You may learn best by listening so why not 'talk'! Do some revision by recording onto your MP3 and then listen to these while lying in bed, or travelling in a car, or walking to the shops. This also takes the 'guilt' out of being out and about instead of in front of the books.

Revising with Friends

Another great way to revise is to talk about what you do know about your subject to your friends who are also studying the same subjects as you. Take it in turns because you will learn insights on your subjects from them that you may not have even considered before and help clarify anything you have not fully understood! Be careful though to be disciplined about using your time for revision and not just for idle chit chat!

How to make a Mind Map

...A Step by Step Guide
You can turn your subject lesson class notes into a Mind Map by following the instructions below. There are 3 examples of Mind Maps over the page! Start from the centre of the page and work out. Make the centre a clear and strong visual image that depicts the general theme of the map. Use a combination of key words and appropriate images. Put ideas down as they occur and wherever they fit. Put main subject words on main lines and key words for each subject on branch lines. DO NOT USE TOO MANY WORDS ON YOUR MIND MAP! Use colour to depict themes and to make things stand out. Anything that STANDS OUT on the page will stand out in your mind. Use arrows, cartoons or other visual images to make the Map more memorable.

The Hungry Caterpillar Is a Revision Resource that Students and identify with and may find useful when learning ways to aid revision. Click here to view

Mastering your Memory

70% of what you learn today can be forgotten within 24 hours if your dont make a special effort to remember it. However, dont worry too much because your memory is amazing.
Ive forgotten already!

Jot down everything that is in your bedroom. Write down every phone number that you know. Remember some adverts from the TVhow many can you think of?

Yes, your memory is good but can you remember what you have learnt this week? Your memory works best when you get good at making associationslinks between things that connect the learning. TRY THIS Learn these pairs of nouns: 1 Car / ring 4 hat / sausage 2 house / book 3 sky / rabbit 5 computer / flower

Research shows the best way to remember is to make those sorts of connections. Rhyming is a powerful way to help you remember. Here is a shopping list to memorise. Take a minute to memorise, then see how many you can recall. Now, create a wacky rhyme for each work and a mad image to go with it. How many can you remember now?

How did you learn them? Did you make mental pictures? Use other words to link them together, making sentences? USE MNEMONICS TO HELP YOUR MEMORY This means using letter make up phrases that help you remember. Here are two examples. This is a formula for trigonometry you need for Key Stage 3 maths: Sine = Opposite/Hypotenuse Cosine = Adjacent/Hypotenuse Tangent = Opposite/Adjacent The first letters say SOHCAHTOAwhich is made easier to remember. Spelling necessary is hard to remember.

Ice cream Carrots Potatoes Baked beans Soap Chocolate Biscuits Bread Orange juice Pork chops

Learning names is easy if you use alliteration. For example: Gentle Joe or Saucy Sarah, Perfect Paul, Mad Matthew

tip

But Never Eat Cakes, Eat Salad, Sandwiches and Remain Young is easier to remember. MAKE UP TWO OF YOUR OWN MNEMONICS Using mental pictures, associations, mnemonics and rhyming techniques are powerful aids to your memory. Advertisers know thiscan any of you remember any radio advertising slogans? Why did your learn them? Did you need to? REVIEW is an essential part of learning and memory. If you top up your learning on a regular basis you will find it stays with you. Review NOW all the tips you have learnt this lesson about how to improve your memory

WEBSITES TO SUPPORT LEARNING

ICT www.teach-ict.com www.ict4me.co.uk Languages www.rgshw.com/languagesonline www.linguascope.com user name:hanson password:Sutton www.modlangs.co.uk user name: 50025 password: path5nice www.ashcombe.surrey.sch.uk/curriculum/modlang/index_students Business/Communication www.ocr.org.uk www.iw-chameleon.co.uk www.ict.com Business Studies www.edexcel.org.uk www.businessstudiesonline.co.uk

Health and Social Care www.nhs.uk www.dh.gov.uk/en/socialcare/index.htm www.practicalcaring.com

English www.podcastrevision.co.uk www.rsc.org.uk/learning/learning.aspx

for Shakespeare specific revision

All video/ DVD resources available to be viewed for free at the TV room, Media Museum, Bradford Art www.artchive.com www.artcyclopedia.com www.world-arts-resources.com Drama www.sparknotes.com

PE www.revisionworld.co.uk www.physicaleducation.co.uk/GCSE/gcse.htm www.arrowvale.worcs.sch.uk/sportscollege/pe.htm www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/ www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/ www.sportengland.org/ www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize www.teachpe.com www.educationforum.co.uk/PE/peoffline www.arrowvale.worcs.sch.uk/sportscollege/pe_revision_quiz Social Science Geography www.scool.co.uk www.bbc.http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/managing_resources/ tourismrev1.shtml www.geographypages.co.uk/revision.htm www.scalloway.org.uk/ www.georesources.co.uk/ www.revisioncentre.co.uk/gcse/geography/

Social Science History www.johndclare.net www.schoolhistory.co.uk www.historymad.com

Science www.aqa.org.uk www.samlearning.co.uk Maths www.nlvm.com www.mathisfun.com Music www.soundjunction.org www.gwhite.co.uk/music/index

Technology www.technologystudent.com www.design-technology.info www.design-technology.org Other websites which offer information for most subjects: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/bitesize www.samlearning.co.uk www.alite.co.uk/PAL username: hansonsch password: 4rUha5Uc

Section 3

Feed your body and Feed your brain

What you put inside your body really does affect your brain. Write down here everything you might eat in a normal school day. Check the list below to see if you have eaten foods that are good for your body and your brain... or not.

Ma k e a the fo list of o do ea d you t what and say y could ou e place at in its .

GET GOOD RESULTS WITH THESES Carbohydrates such as wholemeal bread, bagels, muffins. Fruit - you need that vitamin C Vegetables - especially greens. Lean meat or cereals, nuts and beans if you are a veggie. Bananas - good for stamina Cereals - especially oats Pasta and rice Salad WATER - essential for learning - drink at least eight glasses a day. Chocolate - some say it is good for you!

AVOID THESE Sugar and any sugary food like sweets Coffee Alcohol! Fizzy drinks, especially colas Artificial flavourings lots of e numbers Too many fatty foods such as chips and burgers Chocolate - some say it is bad for you!

Sleep is Make crucial to o s eight ure you g . e h t o u r s. relaxa tion e Use a xercis you n e gettin eed help if g to s leep. you d awak o lie in be If e, us d to thin e the time positiv k happy, e about thoughts yours elf.

Try to exercise at least three times a week by: Cycling Dancing Walking Swimming Jogging Aerobics (get a video) Team sports Have fun, enjoy yourselfdo something everyday that you enjoy.

Make a list of the things your enjoy doing. Do they include any of the things that are good for you? If not add some.

WORK H A PLAY H RD... ARD... AND SL EEP WELL

LOOK AFTER YOUR BRAIN

We all know that good athletes have to be fit. They have to eat well, sleep well and practise hard. They have to look after their bodies. To learn well you need to look after your brain. You can improve brain power by: Getting plenty of sleep; this allows your theta and delta waves to buzz. Your brain need time to sort out information that has come in during the day.

Drinking lots of water - it helps to conduct electricity and speeds up learning by 30 percent. Dehydration will lead to headaches and tiredness. Water does not mean tea, coffee or coke... it means pure H2O. Eating a balanced diet. Plenty of brain food like fish and green vegetable really does help! Trying brain exercises helps connect the right and left hemisphere for whole-brain learning. Exercise in general helps enormously; your brain uses up 20 percent of your total oxygen intake. Regular aerobic exercise is therefore very important. It also improves your mood and is helpful when you are stressed. Avoiding too much chocolate, coffee, sugar, coke, foods with E numbers and, of course, alcohol; these are bad for your brain. They interfere with the messages being passed from one cell to another.

Coping with your STRESS

Everybody gets nervous, but you can learn to reduce your nerves.

Talk about it

Think about the people you know who will listen to you and make sure you talk to them. Your listeners can be friends, family, teachers or others. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of maturity and strength to realise when you have difficulties and to feel confident enough to share those difficulties with others.

Take time out to have fun

During the revision period make sure you give yourself some time to do the things you enjoy. Do the things that relax you and take your mind off your studies.

Do some exercise

One of the best ways of dealing with stress is to exercise as you will find that after exercising your muscles are relaxed and calm.

Think positively

A lot of exam success can be put down to positive thinking. Thinking you might fail drains away your confidence, makes you worry more and makes you less enthusiastic about working hard. Dont tell yourself things like, Im useless at this subject or I havent got enough time to revise properly. Replace this unhelpful self-talk with statements like, This subject is difficult but Ive had difficult subjects before and understand them or I can get my revision done in time when I plan a proper revision timetable.

Relax your muscles

Muscle relaxation doesnt simply mean doing nothing with your muscles; it involves tensing and relaxing them. Start by tensing and then relaxing the muscles around the head, face, neck and shoulders. Then work down your body tensing and relaxing your arms, hands, back, stomach, hips, legs and feet.

Eat Well

Eating well reduces the overall stress on the body and can also make you feel good about yourself. Try eating a variety of foods.

Use breathing techniques

Here is a step-by-step approach to help you relax:

1. Sit comfortably and close your eyes. 2. Breathe in slowly through your nose to the count of ten. 3. Hold this breath while you count to ten again. 4. Now let out your breath slowly and count to ten once more. 5. Repeat this three times. 6. You can use this technique at any time when you feel nervous, such as on exam days.

Use mental imagery

Mental imagery is a bit like a daydream and can help you relax your mind. Start by getting yourself comfortable. Close your eyes and start to breathe deeply, concentrating all the time on your breathing. Now form a picture in your mind of a pleasant scene such as a tropical island, a valley, a woodland area. Try to include smells and sounds. Explore the scene and enjoy the surroundings. When you are ready, slowly open your eyes.

Section 4

Sitting your EXAMS

Exams measure not only what you know, but how well you take them!

The night before

Only attempt light revision using your revision notes and try not to do any totally new revision. Get all the equipment you will need (pens, rulers, calculators etc) ready the night before. The last thing you want in the morning is to be rushing around trying to finds things.

Try to get a normal nights sleep (if you can!).

On the day
Get up in plenty of time.

When you leave home make sure youve got with you everything you will need for the exam. If you want to, do some last minute revision by flicking through your revision notes. Dont spend too long waiting outside the exam room as this can make you feel more nervous than you already are. Make an agreement with your friends not to talk about the exam.

Compose yourself

The moment you first open your exam paper is always a bit of a shock. The exam never looks or reads quite the way you expect it to, so be prepared for this. Ease yourself gently into the exam, and resist the temptation to start answering the first question immediately. Dont worry about your classmates who may already be scribbling away. If necessary, begin by taking a couple of minutes to write down anything you are afraid of forgetting. If you are the sort of person who freezes in exams or finds that your mind goes blank, it may be better for you to get writing as quickly as possible so that you can get your ideas flowing.

Read the instructions carefully

Read the whole paper through carefully, noting all the instructions given about the number and choice of questions. If you have a choice of questions, select and mark those questions you feel confident that you are able to answer well. Decide on your question order then start by answering the questions you know you can answer well. This gives you more time to think about the difficult questions and boosts your confidence. It can be a mistake to tackle difficult questions first, as you might run out of time to do the questions you can answer more easily and fully. One of the most common ways that pupils fail is simply by not answering the right number of questions.

Budget your time

Always take a watch with you. Before the day of the exam, work out roughly how much time you can devote to each question or section. This will depend on: how much time you have for the whole exam, the total number of questions, the type and difficulty of each question and the marks given to each question.

You may also wish to write down approximate finishing times for each question or section to help you see the progress you are making, so take a watch in with you. As youre taking the exam, you may find yourself falling behind the schedule you set for yourself. Dont panic, simply work a little faster. Dont fall into the trap of spending the most time trying to answer the questions about which you know very little.

Tackle the questions

Read every question at least twice, picking out key words. Think about the question and analyse it before you get into your answer. Get a sense of how long and detailed an answer is expected. For essay-type questions outline the main points you intend to include in your answer. Without an outline you are likely to stray from the point or forget important points. Remember to stick to what the question is asking!