It’s Spring and the days are getting longer, the blossom is out, life feels a bit easier as we shed the confines of winter…unless you have to revise for exams! Home ed is great because you can stagger your exams and take the pressure off (one reason I offer home ed families my two year English literature and language course with staggered exams). You’ve also realised that there is no intrinsic need for the 9-10 subjects that are taken at one go in school, which means there is time and space to develop passions and other forms of learning; and/or better support a child with specific learning differences such as dyslexia or with issues such as anxiety. Yet even with a reduced load revision still looms.
I think we can all recall our own experiences of revision: for me it seemed to be taking endless notes on sunny days when I’d rather have been doing anything else – the dog was well walked, my room was unusually tidy, my revision timetable impeccably colour coded. Yet the revision still loomed.
And this is the problem – we will find ingenious ways to avoid doing something we know needs to be done, but something that we have pigeon-hole in our minds as boring, repetitive, overwhelming and a deprivation of other pleasure.
Yet when it’s done it feels great for both the student and the parent!!
Imagine the sense of relief and empowerment washing over both you and your child as the revision process transitions from a daunting task to a well-oiled machine. The once persistent cloud of nagging dissipates, replaced by a harmonious rhythm of learning and discovery. You watch, perhaps with a cup of tea in hand, as your child engages with their studies not just with focus but with genuine interest and enjoyment. The subjects come alive, discussions bloom, and knowledge deepens, turning what was once a battleground of procrastination into a sanctuary of growth. This newfound harmony in your home education journey underscores the beauty of learning, not just for exams, but for the joy of expanding one’s horizons. The sense of achievement is mutual, celebrating not only academic milestones but the strengthening of your bond and the shared joy of learning. This is the place we want to be – or somewhere very close.
Revision Insights: Lessons from From Classroom Expert to Home Ed Teacher
For part of my 16 years as an educator, I worked in a sixth form college in Oxford for well over 13 years as both a teacher and co-ordinating the pastoral team. As a sixth form the focus was exams, exams, exams: A-levels, GCSEs, re-takes, and intensive bespoke revision courses. And of course, I was there for my children when they went through their exams too. Here are some of my top tips for revision I developed over the years.
First things first: need I say that you will have to ask your child to – ‘turn off your phone, log out of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter’ etc ? As a student, be honest with yourself: if you haven’t got much will power then ask someone to help you keep away from digital distractions. Work out a deal when you can get access to your phone/games/social media and stick to it. Your future self will thank your past self.
Revision Mastery: Knowledge, Ideas, and Techniques for Home Study Success
In the humanities and English what is required is an ‘informed personal response.’ Informed relates to knowledge, personal is your reflection on that knowledge, and response is your exam techniques.
Revision is about consolidating what you know, filling gaps of understanding/knowledge, reflecting on what you know and perfecting technique in that order! Treat any tests or mocks as a way of highlighting your knowledge/ideas/ and technique ‘gaps’ – which makes me think of the London Underground warning:
When you are revising, beware the temptation to simply copy out notes, or the textbook. Don’t think that because you don’t know something, purchasing another revision guide is the key. Most likely you have most of the information you need already – so go back through all the lesson notes and worksheets you’ve already completed and check them. If you are missing information, for GCSE BBC Bitesize is a good, quick guide and will plug a lot of gaps fast – and cheaply!
Make a revision timetable. Now take that revision timetable to someone who knows you well and ask them how realistic it is. Be prepared to make another one that reflects your style of learning, has more breaks in it and has realistic daily goals, rather than one that would work for the ideal student we all think we should be.
Do look at past papers, but don’t rush into doing lots of complete timed ones yet. You need to reflect on what you’ve learned and come up with your own ideas and key points/ quotes to support them.
This is how I have structed the countless revision courses I have run over the years: once you have studied a subject, then do the past questions for that subject. The first go don’t use a timer, just see what you can recall. Check it. Go back and fill in any ‘gaps’ using your notes. Try the paper again – getting better? Once you’re happy the knowledge is secure then try that section of the paper to time. Then move onto the next topic. When you do your next timed paper, do the section you just revised and the one previously revised. Keep adding sections. That way you keep early revision fresh, technique honed and you build up a positive experience answering questions and feel relaxed tackling a complete paper in timed conditions.
Tick off topics as you learn them – nothing feels better than seeing that list shrinking and feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Crafting Time Together: Gentle Strategies for Balancing Revision and Joy
There is no one right way to revise. In fact, you might find different methods work best for different subjects. The key is to be flexible. Remember to eat, sleep and do fun things when you aren’t revising. Don’t worry if you slip from your revision plan occasionally. It isn’t the end of the world, so just keep going!!! Recall the saying, “If you can’t make a table, make a chair!”
Revise early in the day and reward yourself in the evening. If you want to revise in the evening, keep it to a quick review of what you did that day, or talk it over with someone rather than attempting anything new.
Have a clear goal for each chunk of revision time. Keep to shorter chunks of time – 45 minutes is seen as the maximum – because nothing is too bad if it is only undertake for short while. Use the Pomodoro technique, which alternates 25 minutes of work with 5 minute breaks – there are lots of handy, free timers online. In your breaks get up, move around, walk, enjoy fresh air and re-oxygenate your brain!
Alternate your chunks of time between your ‘best’ subject and your ‘worst’ subject to stay positive and engaged.
Reviving Revision: Creative Ideas to Energise Notes and Learning at Home
The path to effective revision isn’t one-size-fits-all; you may discover that varying strategies suit different topics better, so pick and mix from the ideas below. Adaptability is crucial, and variety aids learning:
- Traffic light your revision notes as you make them, green, confident, orange, need to focus more on this, red needs to be checked out during a revision lesson. Review the traffic lights as you go so you can track your mastery.
- Make your revision fun and varied: create mnemonics, use highlighters, bullet points, symbols, mind-maps, lists, recordings and revision cards. Quizlet and Kahoot can be useful – use them when you’re in the car and make the most of unproductive time.
- Cover the walls – one wall for each subject you’re studying and pin up colourful notes, mind-maps, posters (lots on the internet, look by subject and exam board, someone will have done one for you!). This is a great way of making your revision relevant and come alive – when my aunt studied nursing she had a full size diagram of the human body above her bed so she could lie and look up and go on a ‘revision journey’ round the poster. She is dyslexic and says this brought all the hard factual things alive. In the exam she just had to close her eyes briefly and there was her diagram imprinted in her mind. She passed with flying colours!
- Teaching something to others increases your recall of it by around 400% . Talk through what you’ve learnt and ‘teach’ it to someone else. Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
- Think about what you will do when the exams have finished – make a poster, write it up large and then create a countdown target it to in weeks. You’ll see that the revision period is quite short compared to the great plans you have for the long summer once they have finished.
- Use your mocks and tests – yes, revisit your mocks/tests and use them to help you pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses. Over-rehearse the weak areas so you know them off by heart, and then add them to your strengths.
- For audio learners, make recordings of your notes, then make notes of what you can remember, listen back and fill in the gaps.
- The memory works better when it has a rhythm – this is why singers and rappers find it easier to remember all those words. So when you’re studying, chew gum or tap your hand as you repeat the key concepts to yourself – this will increase your recall.
- Walk! Walking is a great memory aid, so pick up your flash cards and say them out loud to yourself as you stride up and down. You’ll be connecting your brain actively with the rhythm of your walk and the sound of voice.
I want to leave you with a thought that’s been a guiding light in my teaching and home ed journey: the path to effective revision is as unique as our children themselves. Embracing the fluidity of learning, along with a commitment to self-care, makes all the difference. Remember, it’s perfectly fine if things don’t always go according to plan. In those moments, we adapt and move forward, inspired by the idea that if one project seems too daunting, there’s always another way to create something beautiful and valuable. I hope the insights shared here empower and encourage you. Here’s to finding our way together, one day, one lesson, and one revision session at a time.
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