The Key Steps
The first thing you need to do is get organised. There are a few different things to consider when your exams are coming up:
So the first thing to consider is where you will be revising. Ideally you should have a quiet place away from distractions. In our modern world of the internet and mobile phones then this needs a bit of thought. Trying to revise sitting on the sofa with the TV on, your family bustling around you and your phone next to you is not going to lead to a good revision session. Ideally I would suggest having a desk to work on in a quiet room in the house. If you don't have access to a desk, then find somewhere that is away from as many distractions as you can manage. Leave your phone in the other room so the temptation just to check Facebook or send a quick message isn't so accessible.
The next question to answer is when to revise. Now the best advice I can give you is start early and revise often. Your GCSE exams may not start until May but the earlier you start your revision the better it will be. Cramming the last few days before the exam will never give you the same result that you could get if you start a long time in advance. Learn the work as you go along first of all. Then from the start of March, begin your revision timetable.
What's a revision timetable? This is how you solve the when and what questions. Much like you have a timetable of what lessons to go to when at school, you need to devise your own revision timetable for home. If you have started early enough then my best suggestion is pick two subjects to revise each day. These should then be revised in 30 minute blocks. So that's one hour of revision each day. The best idea of how to structure this is to do your 30 minutes of subject one, have a break and then do the 30 minutes of subject two. Trying to revise for long periods of time is silly as your brain stops taking in information efficiently after that 30 minutes. There are lots of templates on the internet for revision timetables so have a look and create yourself one...Then stick to it!
Finally, we need to think about how to revise. These is not one correct way to revise as each of you is different. What works for one of you may be useless to someone else. So you need to give a few ideas a try in advance of your exams to see which works best for you. It may be that you use a combination of ideas. When I was revising for my exams (all those years ago!) I would read my notes and create a summary version with as many pictures as I could. Then I would pace around my room reading it aloud and repeating it over and over again. I'm sure my uni friends thought I was a little bit crazy with all the pacing in circles and talking to myself thing but it worked and I learnt my stuff. Some different revision techniques to try then:
Hopefully those techniques will get you started.
So there you have it:
Finally, one thing to remember is...If you work hard in school and revise outside of school, you will be well prepared for the exams and that means they will be less stressful and you will score higher marks.
- Where are you going to revise?
- When are you going to revise?
- What are you going to revise?
- How are you going to revise?
So the first thing to consider is where you will be revising. Ideally you should have a quiet place away from distractions. In our modern world of the internet and mobile phones then this needs a bit of thought. Trying to revise sitting on the sofa with the TV on, your family bustling around you and your phone next to you is not going to lead to a good revision session. Ideally I would suggest having a desk to work on in a quiet room in the house. If you don't have access to a desk, then find somewhere that is away from as many distractions as you can manage. Leave your phone in the other room so the temptation just to check Facebook or send a quick message isn't so accessible.
The next question to answer is when to revise. Now the best advice I can give you is start early and revise often. Your GCSE exams may not start until May but the earlier you start your revision the better it will be. Cramming the last few days before the exam will never give you the same result that you could get if you start a long time in advance. Learn the work as you go along first of all. Then from the start of March, begin your revision timetable.
What's a revision timetable? This is how you solve the when and what questions. Much like you have a timetable of what lessons to go to when at school, you need to devise your own revision timetable for home. If you have started early enough then my best suggestion is pick two subjects to revise each day. These should then be revised in 30 minute blocks. So that's one hour of revision each day. The best idea of how to structure this is to do your 30 minutes of subject one, have a break and then do the 30 minutes of subject two. Trying to revise for long periods of time is silly as your brain stops taking in information efficiently after that 30 minutes. There are lots of templates on the internet for revision timetables so have a look and create yourself one...Then stick to it!
Finally, we need to think about how to revise. These is not one correct way to revise as each of you is different. What works for one of you may be useless to someone else. So you need to give a few ideas a try in advance of your exams to see which works best for you. It may be that you use a combination of ideas. When I was revising for my exams (all those years ago!) I would read my notes and create a summary version with as many pictures as I could. Then I would pace around my room reading it aloud and repeating it over and over again. I'm sure my uni friends thought I was a little bit crazy with all the pacing in circles and talking to myself thing but it worked and I learnt my stuff. Some different revision techniques to try then:
- Flash cards: Create yourself a bank of flash cards and then test yourself with them. A flash card has a question or a key word on one side and on the reverse is the answer or definition. These are great if you are revising on your own but they can also be used to rope in help from family. Hand your flash cards to someone at home and even if they don't know anything about Science they can still ask you questions and tell you if you got it right or wrong.
- Practice Questions: Download all the old homework questions and past paper questions and then answer them. The exam board websites have all the old exam papers and mark schemes on there so make use of them.
- Study Groups: After revising a topic independently, get a friend or two together and teach each other about part of the topic. So one of you might teach about how temperature affects rate of reaction while another teaches about how concentration affects rate of reaction. Having to explain the ideas to someone else helps you think it through thoroughly.
- Revision Posters: Summarise all those pages of your exercise book into one poster of the key facts. Put the poster on your wall and read it frequently. As time goes on, cover up sections with a post-it note and see if you can remember what it says under there.
- Revision Songs: If you learn song lyrics after hearing a song once, then this might be for you. Rewrite your favourite songs to review your science. One of my previous students did a version of Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise all about the Haber Process.
- Revision Videos: There are revision videos for all of the topics you need for your exams on the Westlands Science Youtube Channel. Watch them.
Hopefully those techniques will get you started.
So there you have it:
- Where? A quiet location away from distractions.
- When? As early as possible and at planned times.
- What? Know what is on your exams and what your areas of weakness are.
- How? Pick a technique or two from above and try them out.
Finally, one thing to remember is...If you work hard in school and revise outside of school, you will be well prepared for the exams and that means they will be less stressful and you will score higher marks.