We use assessments ourselves all of the time to assess whether or not someone likes us, or how good a movie is or a song, or band and so on. Assessments are a necessary thing. We learn many things to gain a qualification. We want a qualification to show various people and ourselves that we can do something or other and to what standard. This means some sort of assessment is entirely necessary. Tests are not the only way we can assess, but they are the most common, and most likely you will have to do many in the course of your life. 

So, assessments are just something we have to live with and exams are the most common type of assessment and so let’s learn some tips on how to best get the marks in an exam.

Exam tips to follow during the exam

• To reduce the stress you can imagine the test as something else that you see as less important, but that you still want to do well at such as a video game. Each question is a new end of level boss or challenge. Just do the best you can in each case.
• Keep an on the clock. You know how much time you have and you know how big the test is. Try to move through the test so you will have the right amount of time on all of the questions. It would help to practise this a few times before the real thing by timing yourself doing past papers.
• Keep an eye out for command words before jumping straight in with the answer. (Eg. State, describe, explain.) Different subjects have different command words. Use your revision guide, ask a teacher or a revision website to find out more.
• Ensure you have not missed any questions. Sometimes when it might be completing a table, or a diagram you might not notice the question.
• For multiple choice questions, if you’re not sure which one is right, start eliminating the ones you know are wrong and, if needs be, guess out of the remaining options.
• If you cannot answer the question in around a minute or so, mark it with a symbol of your choice (Maybe an arrow) in the margin and come back to it later. 

Exam Preparation

• Practise past paper questions and mark them yourself to learn how to get marks in different questions. You can also get examiner reports. These write about certain questions in the test and how students tended to lose marks in that question.
• Get familiar with command verbs. Command verbs are verbs at the start of an exam question (e.g describe, identify, explain) that can often give you a clue as to how much detail you might want to put into an answer.
• Practice time management. When completing practice questions in preparation, time yourself and give yourself roughly a minute or two per mark.
• Make sure you know what will be on the paper you are about to sit. For example, what topics and what types of questions. Eg. “Calculator paper 1” might have specific topics and you know you can use a calculator, so you don’t need to practise any mental arithmetic for it.
• Get plenty of rest! Often students prepare and revise too much, so their brains are not able to function properly when trying to understand harder concepts or during the actual exam. Keep an eye on your energy levels. If you are finding it harder than you normally would, maybe you need a break.
• Revise steadily a little bit at a time way in advance of the test by reading over your notes after the lesson rather than spending hours every night in the last couple of weeks before the exam. Imagine you were planning to run a marathon in 1 year. You should start training now. You wouldn’t run everyday in the last couple of weeks before the marathon.

Last Minute Prep

• Eat a good meal before the exam and have a good night’s sleep before the exam.
• Don’t revise too hard the night before, Let your brain be fresh.
  

  

5 REASONS WHY GOOD STUDY SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT 

A bit about the author, Paul H:

Paul is a qualified and experienced Physics, Maths, and Science teacher, now working as a full-time tutor, providing online tuition using a variety of hi-tech resources to provide engaging and interesting lessons.  He covers Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Science from Prep and Key Stage 3 through to GCSE and IGCSE. He also teaches Physics, Maths, and Chemistry to A-Level across all the major Exam Boards.

You can enquire about tutoring with Paul here

The post Preparing for Exams appeared first on The Tutor Team.

Chances are, if you’re studying Physics A-level or GCSE you’ve been set work that includes previous exam questions or specific targeted practice of the concept you learnt that day.

So why are practice questions essential in Physics?

It’s simple. Physics practice questions reinforce your knowledge by testing your recall and embed understanding by allowing you to apply your skills and knowledge. It’s sometimes called ‘shed loads of practice’ or SLoP and there are lots of excellent resources out there to help you prepare for your exams with practice questions.

Types of questions

We can divide the Physics content up into different styles of question. Firstly you have the single-answer question, multiple choice, or match up the answer. These you simply need to recall information to answer correctly. Completing multiple practice recall tasks will drill these into you and hopefully mean these are easy marks to obtain. By practicing this recall, you become faster and more efficient, and are more likely to get the marks!

Then we have written questions which include tasks such as asking you to recall knowledge or explain a phenomenon, or perhaps design an experiment. And finally, we have mathematical or formula-based questions which ask you to recall or use physical formulae to arrive at a numerical answer.

HOW TO REVISE: 5 STUDY TIPS THAT REALLY WORK

Why Practice Short and Longer Answer Questions?

Physics questions may employ simple recall of one word or phrase, or longer explanations. There are also 6 mark explanations for some exam boards or tasks which require you to write a plan for an experiment.

Learning the material can be done in lots of ways, including retrieval practice, use of knowledge organisers, and flashcards as examples. However, it is vital to practice these style questions so you are familiar with how the exam board wants you to phrase the answer. Therefore, finding previous exam questions from your exam board is the best way to ensure you are primed to gain maximum marks.

Different Exam Boards

Each board has a unique style. Some will expect experiment design to be written in a particular way, for example including ways to minimise errors. Other exam boards will expect a greater emphasis on how to interpret the data. Some will expect more flowing prose whereas some are happier with bullet point answers. It’s important to use the short and long answer questions from previous papers to ensure you are confident with the style required.

These are similar style questions from the AQA GCSE specification and the Edexcel IGCSE specification:

	Question	Answer
AQA June 2018 Paper 1	A student wanted to determine the density of a small piece of rock.   Describe how the student could measure the volume of the piece of rock.   [4 marks]	Level 2: The method would lead to the production of a valid outcome. Key steps are identified and logically sequenced. Level 1: The method would not necessarily lead to a valid outcome. Some relevant steps are identified, but links are not made clear. No Relevant Content. Indicative Content: part fill a measuring cylinder with water measure initial volume place object in water measure final volume volume of object = final volume – original volume   fill a displacement / eureka can with water water level with spout place object in water collect displaced water measuring cylinder used to determine volume of displaced water
Edexcel June 2019 Paper 1	A student investigates how current varies with voltage for a metal filament lamp.   Describe a method the student could use for their investigation.   [4 marks]

Familiarise yourself with mark schemes

As you can see, the style of marking is quite different. The AQA question requires a valid method in a logical sequence. The IGCSE separates each marking point independently. Knowing the style of answer you are expected to give is extremely important to being able to give an answer that will obtain maximum marks!

Through completing lots of past paper questions you will also become familiar with these mark schemes, and know what sort of answer they are looking for. Consequently, you will be more prepared for your exams.

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Why Practice Mathematical Questions?

The other sort of common question in Physics is the mathematical style question. With these mathematical questions it’s easy to see why we need to utilise practice tasks. They enable you to become familiar with rearranging equations, substituting numbers correctly and understanding significant figures and rounding, therefore, the more practice questions you complete, the more confident you will be with tackling these questions in the exams.

Familiarity with the maths skills is essential to both pace and accuracy in exams, and repeating similar questions can drill the expectations into you. This hopefully makes the exams a little less daunting! Many physics concepts are underpinned by mathematics. Subsequently, being confident with the formulae can help you to understand what’s going on with the physics.

Some Examples

For example, consider the idea of Hooke’s Law. This is a simple equation

force = spring constant x extension

Being able to rearrange this and use it to find any missing component is important. For example we can rearrange this equation to find the extension of a spring with known spring constant under a given force (up to the limit of proportionality).

extension = force/(spring constant)

Let us take another example, the more complicated equation of gravitational force

F=G (m_1 m_2)/r^2

Here the rearrangement is not so simple, for example to find r:

r=√(F/(Gm_1 m_2 ))

Completing plenty of practice questions, which ask you to find different missing values, subsequently allows you to become an expert in rearranging each type of equation.

Calculator Comfort

Secondly, practicing our mathematical equations allows you to be comfortable with how your calculator works, therefore, I would highly recommend a Casio scientific calculator, as this will do everything you need. I’ve used the same calculator throughout school, university and now in my teaching career!

Whichever choice you make, it is really important to be familiar with the nuances of how the calculator works. Key things to discover and practice are:

• Using standard form
• How to convert fractions to decimals (in physics you should always give your answer as a decimal to an appropriate number of significant figures)
• Using trigonometric functions
• Changing from degrees to radians (A level)
• How to input
• How to square and cube numbers, and how to find square and cube roots.
• What order to input things in order to generate the correct value

All of these things are important, and practice will enable you to successfully navigate these using your own calculator.

Summary

In conclusion, I hope I have opened your eyes to some of the ways in which using practice questions can help you prepare for your exams. As well as embedding knowledge they can also help you understand the exam board expectations and even help you with using your calculator!

A bit about the author, Joanna P:

As a fully qualified teacher of Physics with 10 years teaching and tutoring experience including as Head of Department in a very successful Independent Girls’ School, Joanna’s undergraduate degree was in Natural Sciences from Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, and her MSc in Education was from Loughborough University.

An experienced 1-2-1 tutor and examiner for Edexcel, Joanna has as excellent track record of results in my students including improved grades up to three times above their university predictions from school. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and a Chartered Science Teacher, sitting on the Education Group for the Association for Science Education and serving as Regional Secretary for the East Midlands, showing her commitment to exceptional physics and science teaching practice.

You can enquire about tutoring with Joanna here

The post Physics Practice Questions – Why Are They So Essential? appeared first on The Tutor Team.

Mock exams: 3 ways to help your teenager prepare

Many students, parents and teachers are feeling very stressed right now, as no one is quite sure exactly how teacher assessment will take place this year.  At least we have seen the back of the wretched algorithm, but what else could happen?  So far at The Tutor Team, we have heard of schools who are discussing a set of mocks when (if) schools reopen after half term.   We know that many teachers are already setting assignments, including some that are done under timed conditions during the online classes.  Other teachers have pressed students to get their written coursework finished and handed in for assessment.  As you might imagine, this is all causing some anxiety.

So, how can a student prepare for teacher assessment?

Find a professional tutor

Prepare for teacher assessment

 Last year was hugely stressful for teachers, students and parents when we all discovered teacher assessment would decide grades.  However, teachers will be much more prepared for it now, and many are probably feeling a mix of déjà vu and resignation. I know this is how I am feeling right now.  But how can a student prepare for teacher assessment?

To put it simply, it is now essential that students focus on every assignment, every online lesson, every test and every mock exam.  Teachers use evidence of performance across the school year to help them to predict grades and write reports, but now those performance indicators become crucial for a student.  With teacher assessment, those practice assignments, test results and lessons will be informing grades, so it makes sense to score the highest grades personally possible across the rest of this academic year.

Also, attending the online lessons being provided by the school is mandatory, not optional.  Any student who starts cruising now, thinking it’s all fine because of exam cancellation, is likely to get a rude awakening.   Teacher assessment means that there is still assessment, however it is done.  Students will be graded.  Giving up now really is the worst possible thing to do.

5 ways to help your child raise their grade

Students should work steadily, carefully and to their very best ability over the lockdown and beyond.  It will take concentration, dedication and stamina.  But, at the moment, a student cannot afford to turn in a piece of work that has not been done to the best of their ability.  They cannot afford not to revise for tests – they need to be consistent.  Parents can help them out by setting a routine, making sure they get online for their lessons and giving them space to work.  If you don’t have a separate space for them to work, can you purchase noise-cancelling headphones so they can really concentrate?

It’s also worth saying here that whilst students with their own bedrooms have a quiet place to study, do make sure they emerge for meals, breaks, and when they have finished their work day.  It won’t be great for their mental health if they are in their bedroom all day every day – they need to be in the wider home at times and to get outside for exercise too.

Need an experienced tutor to help your child reach their full potential?

You can contact a tutor here 

Or contact our friendly and knowledgeable office team to get a bespoke tutor match

A Bit About Me 

I am Dr Janet Rose, an Oxford University graduate and a trained teacher.  I have both a Masters Degree and a DPhil in History, and  I have been teaching IGCSE, A Level and prepping students for the HAT for 13 years.

As well as being a mum, grandmother, professional tutor and education blogger, I am the Founder & Managing Partner of The Tutor Team

You can find me and connect with me on LinkedIn here

Based in beautiful, rural Wiltshire, our offices are in an old converted water mill.  We are a family business, where I work with my daughter Tess, my son Anthony and my daughter-in-law Anita.  I am also ably assisted by Lisa, my wonderful PA.   We understand parents’ concerns about their children’s education, because we are all parents ourselves.  That’s why we set extremely high standards for our tutors and are very proud to have a team of 81 qualified, experienced teachers and university lecturers offering high-quality private tuition.

Anita manages The Tutor Team Facebook page, and our Instagram, where you can get study tips, educational videos and posts every week.

The post How to prepare for teacher assessment appeared first on The Tutor Team.

Revise for your exams – 5 Study tips that really work

1. Set up practice mock exams for them

Using past papers for exam practice is an excellent way to prepare for mock exams.  In fact, after revision is done, there is no better way to prepare than doing a paper under timed conditions.  

You can help your teenager by finding a paper on the exam board’s website and setting up a practice exam.  It says clearly on the front of every paper how long they have to complete it.  Make sure they are in a quiet place with no distractions, put the paper on the table face down, set a timer, and when they are settled tell them to turn over the paper and begin.  When the time is coming to an end give a 5-minute warning and when time is up tell them to put their pen down.  Here are links to the main exam boards, where you can find sample or past papers.

AQA

OCR

Pearson (Edexcel)

WJEC (Eduqas)

CAIE (Cambridge)

2. Proof read their practice essays

If your teenager is preparing for an essay-based exam, you can help by proofreading their practice essays.   Although you may not know the marking criteria,  you will still probably be able to help with SPAG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) and you can check if everything makes sense.  

In addition, make sure there is a decent conclusion at the end and make sure they have answered the question.  This is vital, because they will never get a high mark unless they have answered the set question. 

Help your child with English comprehension

3.  Test them using their flash cards

If you read my recent blog on exam revision skills, you’ll know that your teenager should have prepared flash cards as part of their revision strategy.  Firstly, you should encourage them to run through their flash cards at every opportunity.  Secondly, you can also work with them – take the flash cards and test your teenager on them.  Only do a few at a time though; little and often is better.  If your teenager has not yet prepared revision flash cards, they should still have notes on each topic, so you could use those instead.  

These practical techniques will help your teenager prepare for their mock exams and give them a great start to the year. 

Need a professional tutor to help your teenager succeed at mocks and tests?

You can choose a tutor here 

Or contact our friendly and knowledgeable office team to get a bespoke tutor match

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When your teenager revises for exams, the most important thing to remember is to use active revision techniques.  If they try simply to read over the material and remember it, you will find that very little of the information goes into their memory.  What you need to do is find ways to help them revise actively or, to put it another way, do something active that helps the information go into their long-term memory. Encourage them to try these 5 revision techniques that have been proven to work. 

Free guide 7 websites to help your child get good grades

Study Tips to Help you Revise – Advice for Students

Revise by underlining or highlighting notes

Grab a set of highlighters or coloured pens and when you read over your notes, underline or highlight the key points.  You don’t need everything, choose the most important points in your notes and colour them bright.  This not only helps you to decide which are the key points you’ll need to remember for the exam, but the act of highlighting them helps to fix the points in your memory. 

Make sets of flash cards to revise

Use the key points you have identified and highlighted in your notes to make your own revision aids. This is a very effective way to revise.  Buy a set of simple record cards and write out the key points for each subject.  Try not to fill up more than one side of each card – you need to keep it simple.  Use bullet points!  You will also need to adapt the information for each subject.  For example, if you are doing history you will needs cards for each important person, each key event (including the date), the key themes or concepts, and the key points for the topics you have studied.  You could then arrange your events cards into a timeline to give you an overview of the course.  If you are doing English Literature you could make a card for each character, each theme, a plot outline, literary devices and the main points for every poem in your anthology.  Design your own cards to suit your subject. 

Starting the school year with A* study skills

Repetition is important

Once you have your flash cards, don’t put them away; keep them out and carry groups of them around with you so you can run through them several times a day.  Get into the habit of memorising one or two of them whenever you have a spare moment or ask someone to test you.  Waiting for the bus?  Go through some cards.  Free period between lessons?  Ask a friend to test you.  When you get home from school – run through a group of cards and ask a parent to test you.  Keep using them.  Repetition is important. 

Study Tips from Top Tutor Jessica

Use practice exam questions to revise

Use the information on the flash cards to help you revise with practice exam questions.  Go through specimen or past papers and practice writing exam answers, using the flash cards to help you when you need it.  Gaps in your information?  Write a new flash card.  Can’t remember the information you need to answer a question?  Use the flash card as a prompt and then memorise the information.  If you have a tutor, ask them to mark practice questions for you and point out any gaps in your knowledge. 

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Revise by writing timed practice questions

A few days before your exam, start writing timed practice questions.  If possible, write a complete exam under timed conditions.  Again, if you have a tutor, ask if they will check it for you.  By this point you should know your information and exam technique, but a timed exam paper will tell you if you need to work on your timings.  Do you have plenty of time left over?  You are probably missing something – go back over your notes and think about what else you should cover in your answer.  Too little time?  This is your chance to revise your technique and trim your answers.  Remember, however, that you may write faster in the real exam when you have adrenaline spurring you on. 

Using these 5 techniques should give you a good foundation for your revision.  Good luck!

Are you looking for a professional private tutor to help your child with exams and tests?

You can contact a tutor here 

Or contact our friendly and knowledgeable office team to get a bespoke tutor match

The post How to Revise: 5 study tips that really work appeared first on The Tutor Team.

Your A levels are finished, UCAS is behind you and you’re off to university.
Starting university should be exciting and fun, but it can also be a bit scary.  Here are 5 tips to help you settle in: 

1) You may be moving into halls or a shared house

Particularly in halls, the people you are sharing with are likely to be strangers and some of them may not be your first choice of housemate.  But, social distancing accepted,  do make the effort to try and get to know them, as university is a time of life when you will meet people from totally different backgrounds, locations and cultures.  Sometimes the most unlikely friendships can spring up from getting to know your housemates.  I am still in touch with several of the housemates I met at university and one of them became my closest friend.  Take a chance – it will be worth it.   

2) Join in from the start

Everyone is new, everyone is uncertain, so now is a good time to get involved with the hobby, club, society or sport that you always fancied trying.  Usually there is a freshers’ fair where you can find out about these opportunities and there will be something for everyone.  Even if your freshers’ fair is cancelled due to Covid this year,  you are likely to find opportunities somewhere on the university website or associated websites.  If you don’t know where to start, the student’s union is usually a good bet. 

3) Don’t forget to carry your NUS card

This is a great benefit to being a student as it gives you access to numerous discounts.  It can make all the difference when you are on a tight budget.  https://www.nus.org.uk

4) Talking of budgets, remember that you need to make your money last at university

Don’t be like one of my students, who blew his student loan on new clothes, shoes and a roaring social life – before realising he actually had to eat for the rest of term!  Make yourself a budget and stick to it.  No one is saying you shouldn’t have fun, but if you run into financial trouble university life will soon stop being fun at all.  If things start to go wrong with your money, talk to your university or college as soon as possible.  They should be able to help. 

5) If you take on a part-time job, first check that this will not be a problem with the university

Some universities have rules that restrict the number of hours you can work whilst doing a degree.  Once you have established that, you may find work in the local community, or within the university itself.  Some of my students, for example, have found part-time positions in the library or student café.  It may be harder than usual to pick up a part-time job this year, but if this is what you want – go for it.  

Most of all, enjoy this time.  You have worked hard to get here and the next 3 or 4 years should be some of the best of your life.

Work hard and have fun! 

Need a University tutor to support your degree and help you reach your academic potential?

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However, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that any student who does not ‘feel their calculated grade reflects their ability’ should be given an opportunity to sit the exams ‘at the earliest reasonable opportunity’.  In reality, all being well, this will be October and November 2020.

Revise for your Exams: 5 study tips that really work

So what do you need to know about the exams 2020?

The grade you will receive for GCSE or A Level will have been calculated based on assessments you have completed and rankings supplied by your teachers.  You will receive these grades on 13th August for A Level and 20th August for GCSE.

What if you are unhappy with your result?

1. The exam boards will be making exams available to you in the autumn
2. If you decide to sit the autumn exams any coursework (NEAs) you previously completed will not count.  Your exams alone will determine the result.  The exception to this is Art and Design.
3. If you request it, the exam boards must give you a new certificate with your new results
4. The exams will be in the same format as the original summer exams would have been

What are the dates for the autumn exams 2020?

In England the AS and A-Level exams 2020 will start Monday 5 October and finish on Friday 23 October. 

GCSE exams 2020 will begin on Monday 2 November and finish on Monday 23 November.

The deadlines for entry are:

(GCE AS & A-level) – 4 September

GCSE (except English Language and Mathematics) – 18 September

GCSE (English Language and Mathematics) – 4 October.

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Will you get a new certificate?

You will not get a new certificate automatically.  You will be able to request a new certificate if the grades on your retakes is higher than the calculated grade you were given.  However, you will have to request this from the exam board/s. 

Art and Design Arrangements

There will be a chance to retake Art and Design in the autumn exam series.  This subject, of course, is assessed differently.  So what will the arrangements be here?

Students retaking Art and Design will complete a portfolio of work and a task which is set by the exam boards and undertaken in supervised conditions, in a set timeframe.  60% of the marks will be on the portfolio and 40% will be on the set task. 

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Science, Geology and Spoken English Practical Endorsements

In the case of the required endorsements for some subjects, the autumn series of exams will treat these as it would in any normal year.  This means that your endorsements will be carried forward.  What if you did not complete the practical element before your school closed?  In this case those students who have not completed the assessments could do so in the autumn term if their exam centres are able to accommodate this.

Our View

If you decide to take up the opportunity to retake your exams, we suggest you start work at the earliest possible time.  This will ideally be in August, because deadlines are tight, especially for A Levels.  With exams designed to start on 4th September you will want to get yourself back up to speed with any subject you are retaking, including refamiliarising  yourself with notes and books, plus starting revision and exam technique practice.  

Are you looking for a professional private tutor to help your child succeed in their exams?

You can contact a tutor here 

Or contact our friendly and knowledgeable office team to get a bespoke tutor match

The post Exams 2020: how to retake your GCSEs or A Levels appeared first on The Tutor Team.

The single most important thing you can do to help your child succeed at English is to encourage them to read.  By the time they get to GCSE/IGCSE they will need pretty advanced reading skills, to be able to understand, analyse and respond to a variety of texts.

For Literature this will include a novel (prose), a drama (play) and poetry.  For Language they will have comprehension passages to decode and analyse.  These passages will have both explicit information (easy to find) and implicit information (much harder to find).

It is amazing to me how many students, particularly for literature, come for tutoring to help them understand and interpret the works, but when I ask them if they have read the book the answer is ‘no’.  To be honest, if your child expects to do well in a literature test, they do actually have to read the book.

Jekyll and Hyde: a free GCSE English Lesson:

Last month I had a student who has just sat his mock on Jekyll and Hyde without having read any of the book besides that I had done with him in tutorials.  Every single week I urged him to read the book, or even the next chapter of the book, so we could work on it.  But it never happened.  I did my best and he got the equivalent of a B grade (which is pretty miraculous) but he would have scored top marks had he actually read the book.  I had taught him the analytical skills, practiced several unseen extracts with him, and taught him the themes, context etc., but he fell down on linking the extract he was given to the wider book.  This was obviously going to happen because he hadn’t read the rest of the book!

Don’t let your child be this student!  Help them get into the habit of reading, and encourage them to explore the world of books.

9 books your teenager should read this summer

Discuss books with them or even films

 To really help them succeed at English, encourage them to talk about the books they are reading.  If you can read it alongside them and get into the habit of discussion, it will be the very best preparation for both English Literature and English Language.  Whilst reading is a great start, it isn’t enough – they are going to have to discuss what they are reading for GCSE/IGCSE and above.

If you can’t think of any good questions to ask them you will find them on the internet as questions for book clubs

 If all else fails and you really can’t get them to read the books, then a last resort is to watch the film (if available) and discuss that instead.  I cannot say strongly enough that this is no real substitute for reading.  The script is very likely to differ from the book and the literary devices that a student needs to know for exams are just not there on the screen.  But if you are really stuck and they are clearly not going to read the book, go for the film in the short term.

Free GCSE English Lesson: Frankenstein

Develop narrative writing with visual prompts

 Narrative writing is another important skill to develop.  It is a key skill in English and is taught from a relatively young age in school.  Narrative writing is the ability to write stories, or a creative piece of work.  Key elements are setting, character, atmosphere and plot.  If you can get your child writing creatively, you will give them a real chance to succeed at English.

However, it can be pretty difficult to just sit down and write a story.  Some students will also find it harder than others if they do not have the strongest imaginations.  So, help them get started by using visual prompts i.e. pictures.

When I start this skill with GCSE and younger students, I often help them make a simple visual prompt on BitPaper.

We start with some images.  We then brainstorm words and phrases they can use to describe the setting, we add in characters, then we work out the plot.  By the time we finish a simple board such as this will be covered in the student’s notes and they will be ready to write their story.  It is amazingly effective.  Try it with your family.

How to get high grades in English Literature

To succeed at English, develop narrative writing with story starters

 Another way to develop narrative writing skills with your child is to use story starters.  These are more difficult than pictures, so I suggest you move onto these after your child has got used to writing with pictures.

What is a story starter?  Here are some examples for you to use

Story Starters

 You can make this into a game for younger children or older ones who lack confidence.  To do this you write out your story starters on paper, cut them out, fold them over so they can’t be read and mix them up.  Put them in a pot/bowl/box – raffle ticket style – and ask your child to choose one without looking.  Whatever they pull out of the box, that’s their story beginning.

Encourage them to invent characters for their stories

Once your child is writing stories, they will need to develop characters.  You can help them here too by giving them prompts.  What does the character look like?  Sound like?  How old are they? How do they move?  What is their personality like?  What nationality or culture are they? Is their anything unusual about the character?

Remember that a character doesn’t have to be human. There is a very popular series of books aimed at children/younger teens where the characters are cats.

 The writer Asimov used robots.  I often use this Asimov short story with older students to teach writing from a perspective.  The narrative voice here is the computer and the human characters are viewed through the perspective of the computer.

Asimov Short Story – True Love

I also frequently use robots when I am teaching characters.  You can try this too.  I have a PowerPoint I have created, but you can just collect images of different types of robot to acheive the same result.  If you put ‘robot’ into Google Images, you will have hundreds from which to choose.  Also put in ‘friendly robot’, ‘helper robot’ and ‘scary robot’ to see what comes up.

The idea is to have different types of robots, from friendly-looking cartoon characters, to helper robots, to scary robots with evil intent.  Obviously, if your child is young, you might want to go easy on the scary robots as we don’t want to give them nightmares.  Show them to your child one at a time and ask them what characteristics the robots have.   I have used this lesson many, many times and what is interesting is that every child has exactly the same idea about the robots’ characteristics.

Next, try to identify why they think this way.  What has the robot designer done to give the robot these characteristics?  Is it the colours used?  Do they have facial expressions?  Big eyes?  Bared teeth? Why do we react to these characters the way we do?

Next, ask them to write a story about a robot.  They can choose one of your pictures as a visual prompt or make up their own robot character.  It is amazing how many students will opt to make up their own character at this stage.  If your child chooses this option, they have gained in confidence as a writer and your hard work is paying off.

Creative Writing: Anyone Can Do It!

Encourage them to read, understand and critique newspaper articles

It isn’t just fiction that your child also needs to have a good understanding of various non-fiction text.  A rich resource to practice with is newspaper or magazine articles.  You can use these as comprehensions to check understanding and to practice extracting information from the text.  They will need to be able to find and understand both explicit information (obvious in the text) and implicit information (less obvious and needs a deeper understanding to extract.

You can ask: is the text objective or subjective?  What is the purpose of the text e.g. to inform, to persuade, to entertain etc?  Who is the likely audience for the article?  How effective is the headline?

Help them succeed at English by understanding writing to persuade

A key skill that your child will need to know is writing to persuade or argue.  These skills are not just useful for studying English; they are useful and important life skills.  The ability to make an effective complaint when we haven’t had the service we should have received, when we want to change something important, or when we want the other party to agree with us – all this is the art of persuasion or argument.

As well as the ability to craft an argument, there are also well-known language devices used in persuasive writing and one of the best places to see/hear this in operation is in political speeches.  A political speech is a carefully-crafted piece of writing usually designed to persuade and full of devices such as repetition, emotive language, rhetorical questions and the rule of three.  All of these are recognized persuasive devices.  Listen to this famous speech – can you spot the devices?

Obama Yes we can speech   (go to 9:48 minutes for the relevant section)

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