Revision Strategies
What are the habits of highly effective students? Watch this short video for some ideas.
Mind Maps
Mind maps are amazing tools for helping you map out your thought process in a very visual way. The video below talks about levels which is beneficial. In Music it might work like this:
Level 1: Keyword
Level 2: Explanation of keyword, why it's used, how it's used
Level 3: Examples from pieces.
Remember you can include images as well as text. Your mind map should be clear and easy to read, this is not a poster and should be read up-close so keep your writing nice and small.
Flash Cards
A deck of flash cards is a really good way of memorising keywords and new vocabulary in a way that is portable. Remember, the key is little and often so just reading through a pile of 10 flash cards a few times a day can help the new information stick.
A lot of people like to write the keyword on one side of the flash card and then the definition on the reverse. This can be a great way of then getting your friends and family to test you on your learning.
In the example video, the student goes into much more detail on their flash cards as they are used to strengthen deeper learning. Take note of how neat the flashcards are. By taking pride in your work you are more likely to remember what you are writing about.
Audio Notes
Your smartphone is likely to have a voice recorder app to take memos. It can be a great idea to read out things you have to remember (especially if you have to remember scripts in drama or French) and then listen back to them during the day. It's amazing how much time we waste on the bus and this could be time to really cement learning if reading isn't really your thing. Your teacher may even be able to demonstrate a musical keyword to you using an instrument that you could record.
If you have a PC, install a program called Audacity. This can be used to record audio and you could even make your own podcast to listen to or share with your friends.
Here is a link to download audacity for free:
http://www.audacityteam.org/download/
Life hacks: Revision Posters
Revision posters are a great way of displaying lots of information... but don't stop there.
If you stick your revision poster next to the bathroom mirror and read it whilst you brush your teeth each day (4 minutes per day in total) you'll be revising just under an hour every fortnight just whilst brushing your teeth! A good mix of text and images is key but don't spend half an hour designing the title as you have already learnt that bit!
PIXL Independence
This is a bank of resources that have been created for a wide range of subjects by the PIXL organisation to help you revise in a variety of ways.
Here is the link for the website:
Use the following details to login:
PIXL School Number = 701810, Password = indep5