Year 10

RED HOUSE SCHOOL

HOW TO REVISE (so you don’t end up like the boy in the

cartoon)

Task 1

Organise your notes, tidy up your

desk/work area, make sure you have text

books and exercise books.

Task 2

Shopping – make sure you have everything.

Useful things for revision include;

post its, highlighters, cue cards, colours

(pens or pencils), lined & plain paper.

Task 3

List all your subjects, then all the topics

you need to revise for each subject.

Write up your timetable (revise all

subjects equally).

Task 4

Get rid of all distractions (phones, ipads,

tv etc). Music will distract, unless it’s

Mozart!

Aim to revise for 3-4 hours per day during

the holidays AND 2 hours after school.

STEP 1 UNDERSTANDING

In order to understand something you

need to break the information down into

small parts. Those small parts are made

up of:

Theme – main point of the text, usually

found in the title.

Main ideas – they are like mini themes,

they give an overview,

Details – hold everything together like

glue.

Top tips when trying to understand a

topic:

Main idea – what the paragraph, section,

chapter is called.

Look for words that are repeated.

Look for ideas that connect to each other.

Look for details that give a clue to the

main idea they describe.

A detail is information that supports, or is

about, a main idea.

STEP 2 CONDENSING

80% of the words you read in a piece of

text are there to help the reader’s initial

understanding. Examples of such words

include: the, and, is, whether, due, if.

SO, once you understand a piece of text

you only need to write 20% of the words

to remember it.

You can condense information in

many ways.

1.Flow diagrams.

2. Bullet points.

Greg’s Day Shopping

TK Maxx – trainers tracksuit pink hat – sister

Morning

Football

Claris Park

Afternoon

Friends Homework

Not done

Not bothered

Either method will work for any

text.

HOW YOUR BRAIN WORKS

Your memory thrives on a mixture of logic and imagination. This is

because different things happen in different sides of the brain.

Generally speaking the left side is for logic and the right side for

creativity.

Our MEMORY is much better if we use BOTH sides to recall

information. We do this by linking the LOGICAL side with the

CREATIVE side. For example, make a flow diagram or write

bulletpoints (LOGICAL) then use this in a mind map to use the

CREATIVE side.

LEFT

LANGUAGE

LOGIC

NUMBERS

WORDS

SEQUENCE

ORDER

RIGHT

RHYME

RHYTHM &

MUSIC

PICTURES

IMAGINATION

CREATIVITY

PATTERNS

MIND MAPPING A mind map is an easy way to map down your thoughts from your

mind! You can use it to make notes on a subject or to summarise a

topic, or even to plan an event.

Tips for mind mapping

Use a mixture of colour and pictures.

Use a mind map to organise your condensed notes.

Use curved lines instead of straight lines.

Use pictures to represent words and ideas e.g.

Write or draw information on the lines.

Make each main branch a different colour.

Use key words only (no sentences).

Enjoy using your IMAGINATION!

MEMORY TECHNIQUES

MNEMONICS

Mnemonics (pronounced "ne-mon'-ics") is the art of assisting the

memory by using a system of artificial aids - rhymes, rules,

phrases, diagrams, acronyms and other devices - all to help in the

recall of names, dates, facts and figures.

There are lots of examples of these memory triggers.

BECAUSE – Big Elephants Can’t Always Use Small Exits

NECESSARY – Never Eat Cakes Eat Salad Sandwiches And

Remain Young

IMAGE CHAIN

This is a simple, imaginative way to remember lists of words. You

simply take each item on the list and link it to the next item by

making a story in your head.

Your story must be imaginative and creative. Make it unusual and

funny. The more you make it stand out, the more memorable it will

be.

METHOD OF LOCI LOCI uses LOCATIONS to aid memory, by linking the key words

to objects around your house.

Take a room in your house.

Start from the door. What is the first thing you see on the left?

What is next to that?

What are the 8 things that you see as you continue round the

room in a clockwise direction?

Q Why was it so easy to answer those questions?

A Because you see that room every day. You become so familiar

with it you don’t need to think when answering the questions.

Now have a go Use the table on the next page to list the features of your

chosen room.

In the second column, write down the key words you need to

remember.

Now all you have to do, is create a silly or unusual link.

Object in your room Word to remember

Remembering Numbers…….Cracking the

Code

One of the hardest things to commit to memory is a date or

number.

Here’s an easy way to remember any number from dates in history

to pin numbers or birthdays. All we do, is turn numbers into

letters and mnemonics.

The Great Fire of London : 1666 = A F F F

A Flaming Ferocious Fire

The Gunpowder Plot : 1605 = A F O E

Almost Fireworks Over England

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

O A B C D E F G H I

Effective revision = WORK, REST then TEST

If you work smart, revision is easy, simple and

pretty quick!

We forget about 80% of new information, 24

hours later, so we have to work in a way that

suits our brain.

Revise for 30 minutes, your understanding of

the information and recall is good.

Take a 5 minute break, chill out and allow the

brain to digest and register the information.

Spend a few minutes TESTING yourself, reviewing what you learnt in the past half hour,

before you start on a new topic.

If you do this, you will maintain a high level of

recall of the new information and keep it in your

head longer.

GETTING YOUR REVISION TO STICK

Your then need to transfer the information

from your short-term memory into your long-

term memory.

To do this you need to review a topic just before

you forget!

So the trick is simply, properly spaced revision.

10 minutes later review for 10 minutes

1 day later review for 5 minutes

1 week later review for 2 – 5 minutes

1 month later review for 2 – 5 minutes

OTHER METHODS OF REVISION

FLASH CARDS

Use index cards (ideally in different

colours).

Write questions on one side and answers on

the other.

Making the cards is revision, but testing

yourself is the key.

Answer right, put card on your right, if you

get it wrong, it goes on the left.

Next day, test yourself on the ones you got

wrong.

Repeat until all cards are on the right.

HIGHLIGHT

Colour code your notes and highlight key words

and phrases to make them stand out. When you

scan your notes your eye will automatically pick

out the highlighted parts.

PAST PAPERS

Many past papers are available online. Test

yourself under exam conditions.

Post-it

Use post-it notes and write down the main

points and write questions about the

information. Then arrange the post-it notes on

a wall, piece of A3 paper to see how the topics

link to each other.

Modelling

Make a model or a picture to show the main

points of a topic you need to revise.

Games

Make a game to help you remember key words.

Top tips from your teachers

History 1.Get other people to test you on your revision; don't just test yourself. 2. Prepare model answers to possible questions - then practise adjusting them by changing the question slightly. 3. Get other people - to see whether they can work out what the question is from the way you write the answer. If they can't work it out, you are not answering the question properly.

RS Revise key words thoroughly. Remember to add examples to ‘b’ questions. Learn specific arguments/religious teachings for each topic.

Graphic products

3D, coloured and annotated sketches

Draw nets with a ruler - MEASURE the sides to ensure a correct fit

Explanations - write a sentence to explain an answer, not lust a word or two

Do not leave blank answers.

French, Spanish & German 1.Make sure you know what the examiner is looking for (developing ideas, give points of view and explaining them) 2.Be accurate with tenses. 3.Use a variety of vocab and complex structures. For reading Don’t panic Work out the genre of the text Scan text Reread text Listening Use eyes first not your ears Read the question Listen, listen again Answer the question

Geography 1.Learn key vocab, definitions and spelling. 2.Learn all diagrams, including labels/annotations. Practise drawing them. 3.Know your case studies!

English 1.Think: punctuation and paragraphing. 2.Revise key vocabulary particularly poetic terms (stanza, simile, structure) 3.Read exam questions carefully. Use a highlighter as you read, to underline the key part of a question 4. Remember difference between presentational devices and language. DON’T MIX THESE UP.

Maths 1) Go over each Mathswatch test in turn, do the worksheets where you made mistakes. 2) Work on your speed for the easy questions so you can spend more time when you have to apply your knowledge. 3) Show your working for each question over 1 mark, it will definitely get you marks.

PE For longer answers 1) check the time 2) read the question 3) recall knowledge 4) apply knowledge 5) write answer 6) read answer

Biology 1.Learn keywords and definitions to use in detailed answers 2.Learn diagrams and their labels 3.Learn advantages, disadvantages and conclude.

Physics 1.Include the formulae, show working on all numerical problems. 2.Remember all the units for every equation. 3.Look at the marks available for each question and make sure your answer includes sufficient points to gain maximum marks

Useful apps and websites;

Studyblue flashcards http://www.studyblue.com/

(create your own flashcards and quiz yourself)

available as an app and on a pc.

Popplet http://popplet.com (mindmapping app

and also available on pc)

Type up your condensed notes on to wordle.

Get a few friends together online and create a

linoit (electronic post its) with GCSE questions

on.

Use apps like Educreations or Explain

Everything to teach a lesson on something you

needed to revise, then teach it someone else..

Useful apps and websites;

http://getrevising.co.uk a website where you

can make revision wordsearches, quizzes,

podcasts and can access revision notes created

by other people.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/ A

really good selection of bbc video clips. Click on

secondary and search for a topic.

Record your voice reading your notes, make it

interesting by using strange voices or sing your

notes! Songify and Autorap apps add effects

to your voice.