Building Practical Revision Resources

I am currently working with a Year 9 Science group who will shortly be going up to Year 10 in September. It is a small group formed from students who, in the main, have either EHCPs or IDP. Most have low self esteem and some have social, emotional or mental health issues. None of this should be seen as a barrier when it comes to revision because each of them will revise in a way that they have discovered works for them.

Unlike most groups in their year they receive a differentiated syllabus where some of the less necessary aspects have been removed in favour of more revision time. I am convinced that students struggle with revision because they have never been shown how to revise or they have been expected to revise in a way that is not appropriate for them.

My groups have regular study skills exposure that is closely linked to their current topic. The students practice revision in a safe environment where it does not matter if they make a mistake and get a low mark on an in-school end of topic test. It is far better for them to discover that a particular technique they are trying as revision, for example, for the Carbon Cycle does not work in a lesson than find out that it doesn’t work in their Science GCSE exam.

Students must be given the opportunity to fail and the reassurance that failure to understand a point is OK provided they ask for or accept help to put it right.

Revising the Carbon Cycle - a practical example

The photos below show one possible way of revising the Carbon Cycle. The student would need some post-it notes or small cards, some lollypop sticks and a flat surface. The idea here is that it is movable and the action of building it can be repeated over and over until it is in the long term memory.

1: Using the text book or classroom note copy up the 5 main areas and processes on to the cards or post-it notes and lolly sticks, thus:

2: Then arrange the main idea up the according to the classroom notes:

3: And finally bring everything together:

In conclusion

It’s perfectly understandable why students may struggle with revision if they haven’t had the opportunity to learn how to revise in a way that is appropriate for them. As these examples show, I believe that there are practical solutions that can enable students to find an effective way to overcome this and lead to exam success. If you would like to discuss your own child’s science revision needs, please get in touch..