A zip file of Biology papers are available by either e-mailing Mrs Day eday6512@ocnmail.net or by getting paper versions from Mr Houchen
(i) B2 Components of Life paper ie 11 Triple Science and / or (ii) resitting B1
Influences on life ie in the main 11 Scad 1 or 2 resitters. The folder
contains past papers and mark schemes for the November 2012 papers (higher and
Foundation), with an examiners report on (a) how to approach 6 mark questions
and (b) guidance on Command words used in papers and how to approach multiple
questions/lomh answer questions. Paper versions are available direct from Mr Houchen
Monday, 25 February 2013
Useful Websites for History Revision
Here are some useful
Websites for History revision
American West
http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/west/
Medicine through Time
Saturday, 23 February 2013
Blog Sites
Check out the useful links to the right of this post; all the subject blogs are there as well as other useful sites. The video bar is set to show revision videos so check this out too.
Friday, 22 February 2013
Revising for RE
R. E: In house
revision guides given to students; Ethics and Philosophy. See individual
teachers. Professionally published CGP revision guides are available to buy
from SLB at less than they cost in the shops. They are specific to the course
and
cover
everything that could come up in the exam.
Revising for PE
P.E:
GCSE
PE students should use their exercise books for revision, they can also use the
BBC Bitesize website. PE staff will also produce some mind maps and revision
notes for them. Students will do some past papers in lesson time and they can
purchase a revision guide
Revising for History
History:
Students in previous years have
found the Curriculum Group Publications (CGP) History Revision Guide very
accessible and useful. These are available from the Department for a reduced
price of £2.75. Furthermore, students have also found that using the
"ZigZag" revision materials builds confidence and understanding:
these are also available from the Department. Students can also ask staff
for past exam papers and markschemes to go with them, in order to help
them work on their exam technique
Revising for French or German
French & German:
Letts
Revision Guides and CGP Revision guides that cover the new exam specification
are available from Waterstones. £15.00 approx including a CD.
Pupils can get the
password from their MFL teacher.
Organisation code: 5047
All pupils have their own
login to Kerboodle (Nelson Thornes/ AQA online Learning Space.) There will be
lots of extra resources from Kerboodle on there for extra practice. There are
also self assessment tests/ practice papers/ exam tips (loads of good stuff!)
Students need to be learning the vocabulary from their vocab
booklets independently, regardless of whether or not it has been set as a learning homework.
The
vocab booklets contain all of the foundation and higher vocab required for the
exam. This has been taken directly from the specification.
Revising for English Literature
English Literature:
·
AQA GCSE English Literature Poetry
and Anthology (ISBN-10: 1408505991)
·
GCSE Anthology AQA Poetry Study Guide
(Relationships) Higher (ISBN-10: 184762488X)
Regardless of whether you are sitting Language or Literature or
both (Higher or foundation) you will have received a GCSE folder of
revision resources which will be used in class but will also be available for
revision nearer the exam period .
Revising for English Language
English Language:
Visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english
Guides you can buy:
Heinemann have an excellent range of
books and materials for students www.pearsonschools.co.uk/gcse2010/aqaenglish
Don't Get Stressed
Try to reduce anxiety, because it uses up working memory, leaving a much smaller capacity available for processing and encoding new information
Sleep is Vital
Sleep is vital
We spend approximately a third of our lives sleeping and it's never as important as during revision time. Sleep plays a critical role in memory consolidation – this is when the brain backs up short-term patterns and creates long-term memories. The process is believed to occur during deep sleep, when the hippocampal neurons pass the patterns of activity to another part of the brain called the neocortex, which is responsible for language and the generation of motor commands.Recent research in Nature Neuroscience has shed new light on how memories are decluttered and irrelevant information is deleted during this process. This results in the important memories (the pathways that have been strengthened through repetition) becoming easier to access.
What is revision?
Revision
is fixing in your
memory the things that you
know. Think of the computer.
It can reproduce the
It can reproduce the
information you have put into it,
provided you ask it the right
questions. Unlike the computer,
your memory needs refreshing
regularly, but if you do this, the
information can be ‘called up’ in
the same way.
Revision
is learning to unlock
your memory. You need to have
memory prompters to help you
to ‘call up’ what you know.
Revision
is learning to select
and adapt what you know.
Surviving the Exams
|
««««««««««
When you
are sitting your exams you are going to feel nervous (to a greater or
lesser degree).
This is
normal. Use that nervous energy to help you. Don’t let it panic you into writing too soon.
««««««««««
|
Read the instructions and descriptions (rubric) at the front of the exam. Make sure you know which sections to read and which questions to answer. It will tell you how long you have and how many marks there are for that paper. Follow the instructions carefully. The examiners are on your side. They are trying to find ways to give you the marks. They are not trying to take away marks from you. But if you make it like hunting for a needle in a haystack, it is very difficult for the examiners to find anything worth giving a mark to.
One of the most
common mistakes is that people don’t
read the question properly and answer the question they think they read, or
wanted to read, not the actual question. As good as the answer may be, if it’s
not the one to the question, it won’t get any marks.
Address the
question showing understanding and detailed explanation. You must demonstrate clear thinking and
understanding of the topic. A muddled answer is hard to award marks to. Plan
your answer. Even if it is jotting down all the key words that you associate
with that question, numbering them, and then using them to construct a full
explanation. It may help to underline or circle the questioning word (how, why,
what, explain, compare, contrast, describe, outline etc). Also highlight the
key words or concepts mentioned in the question. Doing this gives you a
breathing space if you need it, and helps to clarify your thoughts and ideas, so that you can communicate them
clearly.
|
In
an exam, everyone’s writing gets more untidy than it would be normally.
However, it must be legible. If
the examiner can’t read it, it doesn’t matter how good the answer is. If
you know this is a problem for you. Practice writing out answers. Get
someone else to read them to check that it is legible.
|
R
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Revision Tips The 'Dos'
Here is a list of 10 Do's that you should stick
to when you revise. It doesn't work for everyone, but in general I think you
should stick to these guidelines.
1. Make a revision
timetable
These are always extremely helpful
to make you stick to your timetable and actually do your revision. So many
people tend to procrastinate and end up doing nothing at all during the day, so
making a good timetable is key. Try and make it as realistic as possible. Making
a timetable that makes you do 10 hours of work a day is not realistic, and is
damaging to your motivation. Try to give yourself breaks in between sessions. One or two hours per day will improve your grades significantly
2. Give yourself motivational breaks or treats
The worst part about revision is
getting yourself motivated. Once you actually start some revision, it isn't too
bad, but it's the initial stage that people get stuck on. It's kinda like the
pre-nerves before an exam, or before a speech or a performance. Once you
actually start the exam or begin the performance, your nerves die down. With
revision, the tricky bit is to get yourself started, and once you're in the
mood and in the zone, you should be free to go.
Either give yourself a break, or a treat. For example, make yourself do 1 hour of revision, then a 15 minute break. Or give yourself some sweets. Just that extra injection of energy!
Either give yourself a break, or a treat. For example, make yourself do 1 hour of revision, then a 15 minute break. Or give yourself some sweets. Just that extra injection of energy!
3. Put on some music
Some people may say music distracts you from your
work, but I find that it keeps you entertained and free from boredom, so it
prevents you procrastinating. Just put your music on a nice playlist, and let
it run in the background - nothing too loud or disruptive, but just so that it
puts you in the mood for work.
4. Make your own revision notes
4. Make your own revision notes
This is strongly recommended. By making your own notes, you
are at the same time learning them, finding out what you know and don't know,
as well as putting everything you know in order and brainstorming them. I'd say
that making your own notes is the single most important part of revision and
actually getting to know the content.
5. Highlight and annotate your notes
Making
things stand out is key to learning from your notes. Try using different
coloured highlighters, and annotating on the margin. Experiment and work out
what is best for you. I find that highlighting in different colours make things
stand out.
6. Regular exercise
Scientists say that regular exercise is important for your concentration and I'm not going to argue with them. Rather than just staying in your room and trying to do 10 hours of revision a day, go outside and go for a run or play football with your friends. Although you should be working hard for your exams, you should equally reward yourself with something you like doing, like playing football, or another hobby. Something physical. This will make your mind sharper and allow you to focus on your work when you have to.
7. Drink lots of water/fluids
Scientists say that regular exercise is important for your concentration and I'm not going to argue with them. Rather than just staying in your room and trying to do 10 hours of revision a day, go outside and go for a run or play football with your friends. Although you should be working hard for your exams, you should equally reward yourself with something you like doing, like playing football, or another hobby. Something physical. This will make your mind sharper and allow you to focus on your work when you have to.
7. Drink lots of water/fluids
This also helps with your concentration. An easy
way to know whether your hydrated enough is to look at the colour of your
urine. It should be a very pale yellow, and not a strong yellow!
8. Try and work in the mornings and relax in the
evenings
It depends on the person, but usually people work better in the mornings and less so in the evenings. Depending on what suits you most, make your revision timetable accordingly. If your a morning person, make sure you do majority of your work in the morning and afternoon, and give yourself a treat in the evening! If your an evening person, do the opposite, although I would recommend the former. Getting up early, doing your work, and then relaxing in the evening is a perfect combination of working as well as giving you a treat in the evening. Perfect for motivation.
It depends on the person, but usually people work better in the mornings and less so in the evenings. Depending on what suits you most, make your revision timetable accordingly. If your a morning person, make sure you do majority of your work in the morning and afternoon, and give yourself a treat in the evening! If your an evening person, do the opposite, although I would recommend the former. Getting up early, doing your work, and then relaxing in the evening is a perfect combination of working as well as giving you a treat in the evening. Perfect for motivation.
9. Go through lots of past papers
Getting a rhythm of what the exam board's papers
are like is your responsibility. Your teachers should help you out with this and
supply you with plenty of past papers. If they don't give them to you, ask. You
should find that although the exam board changes the paper every year, the
syllabus does not change, and so the questions they can ask you are very
limited. Every year, there are questions that are asked over and over again, or
are tweaked very slightly. It is in your interest to learn the answers to those
questions. Make sure you look at the markscheme and see where the marks are
awarded. Exam technique is key.
You can compile a sheet of questions and answers
that you want to memorise. Make sure you go through the past papers after
having made your notes and learning them. There is no point simply doing past
papers before you have started your revision. This is a waste of a past paper,
and if there are a limited number of past papers available, this is the last
thing you want to be doing. As you come nearer your exam, you want to be doing
those past papers to get a feel for the exam and asking your teacher any
questions which you are struggling with!
10. Make flashcards
If there are things you keep forgetting time after
time and you just can't remember it, make a flashcard. Hole-punch all your
flashcards and attach them all together using a treasury tag (or a piece of
string). These things are so small that you can carry them around with you
everywhere you go. It's so easy to learn things on a flashcard, because it's a
small piece of card. There's only one information you need to take in when you
read a single flashcard, rather than a whole page of A4. It's much more
satisfying to read, and you will have learnt that annoying fact in no time!
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