TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Study Skills Planning

TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Study Skills Planning Reading for Information Memory Exam Skills Go here

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Memory Exam Skills PLANNING Planning for Effective Study Get Yourself Organised! Study Plans Learning Styles

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Memory Exam Skills Planning for Effective Study Prepare a detailed study plan Be realistic ial Allow time for soc activities Dos e Don’t prioritise th most subjects you enjoy Don’t put off the enjoy subjects you least Don’ts

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Memory Exam Skills Get yourself organised! All of the libraries shown on the map are within a couple of miles of Tynecastle OPENING HOURS 1. Find a quiet place to study Bedroom ? Dining room ? Study ? Local library ? 2. Organise your study space • • Keep it tidy! Make sure you have all of the equipment you require close at hand: pens Maths pencils highlighters sticky notes paper PE 3. File your notes Music French • only £ 6. 97 • Allocate a box, file, folder or drawer to each of your subjects. Check out your local supermarket! Group your notes by topic. Keep them organised.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Memory Exam Skills Study Plans A study plan is vital to ensure you don’t become overwhelmed with all of the work you need to do for each subject… or leave everything to the last minute! Use this guide to help you develop your own study plan: 1. Prioritise your subjects. 2. Work out how much time you will be able to spend studying each week. 3. Use the study planner template to produce your study plan. 4. Print it off, share it, display it! These templates use Microsoft Excel. If you do not have this software at home use the computers in school, or print off the pdf file and complete it by hand. Find these templates on the webpage. Example Study Plan Template Blank Sheet (pdf. file) If you have an i. Pod or i. Phone you may wish to use My. SQA Study Plan available free from the App. Store.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Memory Exam Skills Learning Styles Try this online quiz to determine your preferred learning style. After the quiz look at the study tips for your preferred learning style. Alternatively, if you already know your preferred learning style click on the icon to take you directly to the study tips for your preferred leaning style.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading READING FOR INFORMATION General Reading Tips Reading Strategies Skimming Scanning SQ 4 R Reciprocal Reading

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading General Reading Tips Lots of the knowledge you require to pass exams comes from books, online texts or your own class notes. Therefore reading skills are vital to successful exam preparation and revision. Use the tips below to help you when revising and also when reading exam questions! BEFORE DURING • Identify the purpose of your reading: • For fun/pleasure • Fact finding • For understanding • Focus on HEADINGS and emboldened words • Read-Cover-Recall • Check what you understood by hiding the text and recalling the information you remember • Underline key ideas, names and words • Read-Cover-Record-Check • Memorise facts by reading, covering, recording (on voice recorder or written note) and then checking against original text • Highlight key words in one paragraph to obtain an overview of the whole passage • Look up any words you don’t understand AFTER

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading Strategies Successful students use a range of reading strategies. For example if you are looking for a piece of information then it is not necessary to read a book in detail from cover to cover – scanning would be a more appropriate strategy. Read the descriptions of the reading strategies below. The last three are VERY useful for studying and revision. Strategy Description Purpose Detailed reading Reading the whole text carefully and thoughtfully. This Complete can be a challenge if you lack interest in the topic. understanding Reading for Reading at whatever pace suits you. The more you enjoyment read the better reader you become. Pleasure Skimming Finding out what a passage, extract or book is mainly about. General impression Scanning Looking for specific detail by running your eye down the page quickly. Fact finding SQ 4 R A combination of the above strategies following six Understanding and steps: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Record, Review. studying

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading Skimming When you skim a page you get an idea of what it’s about. You only need to read: Forms of energy transfer There are many forms of energy transfer. These pictures show examples of the types: Sound ical m Che Potential al The title and sub-headings The first sentence from each paragraph The last sentence of the passage If the chapter you are reading contains a summary then read that first Everything that happens involves a transfer of energy. The sun has provided most of the energy which is useful to us. Electric 1. 2. 3. 4. ENERGY Nuclear tic kine Heat You should also pay close attention to any diagrams, graphs and charts. Energy can be stored in the forms of chemical, nuclear of potential energy: it is harder to store other forms. Your turn: Skim the passage opposite then try answering the questions below. Light Energy transfer 1. What is the passage about? 2. How many forms of energy are there? 3. Complete the sentence: Machines are devices which ____ One form of energy transfer can lead to another. If you clap your hands, chemical energy stored in your muscles is converted to movement then sound. When you travel on a bike or in a car and the brakes are applied, movement is converted to heat in the brakes. What energy transfers take place when some paper is burned? Machines can control the rate of transfer of energy and how much useful work it does. A human is an example of a machine in which energy transfers take place.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading Scanning Task 1 When you scan text you are looking for a specific piece of information. You do not read every word but instead you should run your eye down the page fairly quickly. Scan the Periodic Table of elements to see if you can find gold (Au). H Li Be B C Na Mg Al Si K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Cs Ba La Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb N P As Sb Bi Task 2 He Ne Ar Kr Xe Rn Scan the passage ‘The Lady with the Lamp’ so you can fill in the missing words in the sentences below. Read the sentences first. 1. Florence Nightingale was named after _______. 2. Florence’s parents expected her to _______ yet in 1851 she went to _______ for nursing training. 3. Florence’s nursing team in Scutari, Turkey improved the_______ and reduced the _______. The Lady with the Lamp Florence Nightingale was born on 12 May 1820, and named after the Italian city of her birth. Her wealthy parents were in Florence as part of a tour of Europe. In 1837, Nightingale felt that God was calling her to do some work but wasn't sure what that work should be. She began to develop an interest in nursing, but her parents considered it to be a profession inappropriate to a woman of her class and background, and would not allow her to train as a nurse. They expected her to make a good marriage and live a conventional upper class woman's life. Nightingale's parents eventually relented and in 1851, she went to Kaiserwerth in Germany for three months nursing training. This enabled her to become superintendent of a hospital for gentlewomen in Harley Street, in 1853. The following year, the Crimean War began and soon reports in the newspapers were describing the desperate lack of proper medical facilities for wounded British soldiers at the front. Sidney Herbert, the war minister, already knew Nightingale, and asked her to oversee a team of nurses in the military hospitals in Turkey. In November 1854, she arrived in Scutari in Turkey. With her nurses, she greatly improved the conditions and substantially reduced the mortality rate. Extract from BBC History Florence Nightingale.

TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading Planning SQ 4 R is a well known reading strategy. It is a great method that helps you read and remember the information contained within a text – perfect for studying and revision! SQ 4 R has six steps: S Q R R urvey (or skim) uestion ead espond ecord (or write) eview Watch this short video:

Planning SQ 4 R TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading

Planning SQ 4 R TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading Task Use the SQ 4 R strategy to learn about the principles of Greek Architecture. THE PRINCIPLES OF GREEK ARCHITECTURE (eg. the Parthenon) or more rarely at the front and rear only. Roofs were laid with timber beams covered by terracotta tiles, and were not domed. Pediments (the flattened triangular shape at each gable end of the building) were usually filled with sculptural decoration or friezes, as was the row of lintels along the top of each side wall, between the roof and the tops of the columns. In the late 4 th and 5 th centuries BCE, Greek architects began to depart from the strictly rectangular plan of traditional temples in favour of a circular structure (the tholos), embellished with black marble to highlight certain architectural elements and provide rich colour contrasts. These buildings were famously adorned with a huge range of Greek sculpture - pedimental works, friezes, reliefs and various The Parthenon, on the Acropolis. types of free-standing statue - of a figurative stone masons and builders, the Greeks set about nature, depicting mythological heroes and replacing the wooden structures of their public events in Greek history and culture. buildings with stone structures - a process known as 'petrification'. Limestone and marble Classical Orders was employed for columns and walls, while The theory of Greek architecture was based on a terracotta was used for roof tiles and ornaments. system of 'Classical Orders' - rules for building design based on proportions of and between the Decoration was done in bronze. individual parts. This resulted in an aesthetically pleasing consistency of appearance Greek Building Design The typical rectangular building design was regardless of size or materials used. There were often surrounded by a columns on all four sides three orders in early Greek History of Greek Architecture The history of art and architecture in Ancient Greece is divided into three basic eras: the Archaic Period, the Classical Period and the Hellenistic Period. About 600 BCE, inspired by theory and practice of earlier Egyptian Classical Orders Ionic Corinthian Doric architecture: the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The Doric style was common in mainland Greece and later spread to the Greek colonies in Italy. The Ionic style was employed in the cities of Ionia along the west coast of Turkey. Where the Doric style was formal and austere, the Ionic was less restrained and more decorative. The third style, Corinthian, came later and represented a more ornate development of the Ionic order. The differences between these styles is most plainly visible in the ratio between the base diameter and height of their columns. Doric architecture (exemplified by most surviving Greek structures, like the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens) was more popular during the Classical age, while the Ionic style gained the upper hand during the more relaxed Hellenistic period.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading Reciprocal Reading Predicting Questioning Use Reciprocal Reading to help obtain information from text. Follow these four stages when reading to help develop your comprehension skills! Clarifying Summarising Predict the content of the text. Ask yourself questions about the text. Clarify all unclear, difficult or unfamiliar aspects of the text. Summarise the important information from the text. What do you think the text will be about? Identify central themes and ideas that warrant further consideration. Look up any unfamiliar vocabulary in a dictionary. Highlight or underline important information. What do you already know? Make up questions on unclear parts, puzzling information or connections to other concepts. Find answers to your questions from the previous stage. Re-write the main ideas in your own words to promote understanding.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Exam Skills Memory Reading MEMORY Improve your memory! Mnemonics Flash Cards Visual Memory Revision Notes Mind Mapping

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Exam Skills Memory Improve your memory! Memory is the process by which information is encoded, stored and retrieved. Cognitive function and brain efficiency can be improved through simple lifestyle changes such as incorporating memory exercises, healthy eating, increased physical fitness and stress reduction. Stress Management Meditation has been shown to increase the control over brain resource distribution, improving attention, concentration and self-regulation. Exercise has been shown to improve cognitive performance Memory Exercises To improve recollection you should group the items to be remembered in threes and then concentrate upon the central member of each group. …so set aside some time in your study plan to get active! These foods can improve your memory! onions leeks broccoli parsley celery citrus fruit tomatoes green tea blueberries cocoa grapes

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Exam Skills Memory Mnemonics A mnemonic can be used to help you remember a single thing like a rule, equation or a short list. Try making up your own mnemonics to remember information for your subjects: • Use the first letter of a series of words to create another word or short sentence. • If you make it silly, rude and downright distasteful you will remember it!!! • It may also help to link the letters to things you know e. g. people, places, addresses.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Exam Skills Memory Flash Cards On one side of your flash card write a question or statement. On the other side write the answer or accompanying information. Using flash cards and sticky notes helps with information recall. logb(mn) Maths n · logb(m) Aspects of PE fitness Physical Skill related Mental Beveridge's Five Giants History Squalor, Disease, Want, Idleness, Ignorance You can also use flash cards and sticky notes to learn important vocabulary. • Write the vocabulary you need to learn on sticky notes. • If possible stick them to the corresponding objects in your house. • Otherwise display them in a prominent place so that your brain frequently processes the information. • Use different colours and shapes of sticky notes for different topics – this will help group your thoughts together. la botte Available from

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Exam Skills Memory Visual Memory Both sources below show notes a pupil has made on Coastal Scenery. COASTAL SCENERY ON CHALK HEADLAND Weathering and erosion can create caves, arches, stacks and stumps along a headland. Caves occur when waves force their way into cracks in the cliff face. The water contains sand other materials that grind away at the rock until the cracks become a cave. Hydraulic action is the predominant process. If the cave is formed in a headland, it may eventually break through to the other side forming an arch. The arch will gradually become bigger until it can no longer support the top of the arch. When the arch collapses, it leaves the headland on one side and a stack (a tall column of rock) on the other. The stack will be attacked at the base in the same way that a wave-cut notch is formed. This weakens the structure and it will eventually collapse to form a stump. A picture speaks a thousand words… Do not be restrained to writing, using pictures and labelled diagrams is often a much more effective way to learn!

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Exam Skills Memory Making your own revision notes Why make notes? 1. Making notes makes you concentrate on what you are learning. 2. Notes help you understand because you put ideas into your own words and diagrams. 3. Notes link new knowledge with what you already know. 4. Notes are vital for revision. 5. You remember things getter when you have noted them down.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Exam Skills Memory Making your own revision notes Bullet points and abbreviations (abbr. ) will help to minimise reading and writing time Drawing boxes around any key words will make them stand out A different colour of pen for each topic will help you visualise the topic Underlining or highlighting key words will deepen your understanding

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Exam Skills Memory Make your own revision notes When you are making up your own revision notes don’t just copy from a textbook, class notes or online material – it will not help you to understand or remember the material! Read • Read the text • Look for key words • Look for HEADINGS, bold etc. Cover • Cover the text by closing the book, hiding your class notes or minimising your browser Recall • What you can remember? • Try to order your thoughts • What are the key points? Write • Take notes on the key points • Have you missed anything? • Review and edit if necessary Read Cover Try using you phone to record your notes then listen back to check. You can listen again on the bus, at the gym or on your way to school. Check Record

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Exam Skills Memory Mind Mapping A mind map is like a spider diagram but with much more detail. A good mind map shows: • Clear links between related information • Pictures and diagrams • 5 or 6 key facts branching from a central topic • Different coloured branches • Words on a line same length as the word You can fit a whole topic on an A 3 page It will look different for each person – it’s how you link information together! The mind map below was made in two minutes using the Wise Mapping website. Sign up here for free!

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Reading Exam Skills Memory Tools of the Trade These items of stationary could prove really useful for note making purposes! And you can buy them here: (in-store or online via the links below)

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Reading Exam Skills EXAM SKILLS The Year Before The Night Before The Big Day

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading The Year Before Past Papers Look at past exam papers to familiarise yourself with the type of questions you will be asked and the structure of the exam. You can access past papers and marking instructions on the SQA website. Key Question Words Make sure you understand the meaning of key question words. Check the table to find any you are unsure of. Equipment and Timing What are you allowed to take into the exam with you? Exactly how long is the exam? Take note of the number of marks for each section and then calculate how much time you have for each question. Practice past papers under timed conditions. Prelims help you to discover the weaknesses in your subject knowledge, how effective your study skills are and identify your strengths and weaknesses under pressure. Calculate Work out mathematically. Compare Are things alike or are there differences? Which do you think is best? Why? Contrast Look for differences. Define Give the meaning. Describe Write in detail. Discuss Write about the important aspects of the topic. Are there two sides to the question? Consider the arguments for and against. Evaluate Judge the importance or success. Explain Make clear. Illustrate Give examples which make the point clear. Interpret Explain the meaning in your own words. For example, you may be asked to interpret a graph. Justify Give reasons to support an argument or action. State Write briefly the main point. Summarise Bring together the main points.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading The Night Before Get Organised Swot Up Get a good sleep! Sort out everything you need so as to avoid a rush in the morning. Some students prefer to take a complete break the night before but most people do some last minute revising. By briefly reviewing the main points in your notes you can prepare yourself mentally. Don’t stay out late with friends or stay up to watch a movie. It not any better staying up all night trying to cram in lots of last minute studying – you need a good sleep to provide you with energy to be focussed and alert during the exam! ü ü ü SCN card Pens and pencils Spare pens and pencils Sharpener and eraser Correction fluid Highlighter Ruler Calculator Protractor and compass Dictionary Watch Double check the date, time, location and level of the exam(s) you will be sitting the next day. Even if the exam is in the afternoon a disrupted sleep pattern the night before won’t improve our performance.

Planning TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Memory Exam Skills Reading The Big Day THE EXAM DAY Get up the first time your alarm goes off. Don’t hit the snooze button! BEFORE THE EXAM Check the paper for the correct subject and level. DURING THE EXAM Highlight key words in the questions to focus your attention on what you are being asked. Plan how you are going to answer. Eat a healthy breakfast. Fill in all personal details. Re-read difficult questions or come back to Read all instructions carefully, highlight important instructions. them later. Dress comfortably. Layers are useful as exam halls tend to switch from roasting to freezing quickly! Note the start time of the exam If you get stuck, go on to the next question and work out when you are due and come back to the unfinished one later. to finish. Stay until the end of the exam and check your answers. THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES Get to school early. PRESENTATION Ignore other people’s fears Read through all questions. If there is a choice of questions Write legibly, keep your work neat. and worries. Remind circle the ones you intend doing. Show all working and underline final yourself of all the great studying and revision work Decide how long you will need answers. Score through anything you do not you have done! want to be marked. for each question. Visualise the end of your exams if you feel nervous. Ensure all graphs and diagrams are accurate and clearly labelled.

TYNECASTLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDY SKILLS Study Skills Planning Reading for Information Memory Exam Skills Go here