by To help your children pass their exams, they must first, know how to prepare for the exam, and you will have to provide a conducive environment, ensure that the children are confident and emotionally stable and that the children’s basic needs are being met. As exams approach, ensure that they get enough rest and have revised properly. There are so many other things you can do to help the child pass upcoming exams, Read through as we …
How To Prepare For The Exam
Good parents generally want to help their children excel in their tests and exams. After all, they understand the importance of tests and examinations. These instruments of measurement are used to assess the children’s level of understanding of the subjects that have been taught. Parents want their children to excel in examinations; not only so that their children can make them proud, Unfortunately, but children also react differently to tests and exams. While some get excited with anticipation, others sweat, fret, and panic. These reactions are to be expected, especially when you consider that test and examination results have consequences.
5 Tips to Better Prepare for That Exam
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Study The Exam Pattern and Techniques:
Different examinations require different techniques and procedures. Hence, to effectively prepare your children for each exam, it is important to know what types of materials are permitted to read and the one that is not permitted. For instance, some examinations will not allow your children to sit with calculators, here, your children should not study with calculators as these exam machines are prohibited. Also, help your children to master the exam pattern in terms time allowed.
Hire A Private Teacher:
While it is advisable to always contact the classroom teacher for information about the children’s academic potential, this strategy has its limits. If the exam is being set by the classroom teacher, he or she might be reluctant to do anything to give your children an unfair advantage. This will be different if the exams are external. The teacher might be willing to share details on your children’s performance in the trial exams and what areas the child can improve in. A private tutor will likely give your children individualized instruction in specific areas of their weaknesses.
If your children are struggling in Calculation, for instance, the best thing to do will be to hire a Mathematics teacher who understands the common core standards and best practices in the subject. And because Mathematics requires a lot of practice, a busy parent may not be around to cover all the topics in the syllabus.
However, if you want your children to excel in their exams, make sure there is a professional around to supervise the children’s studies. Children do better when they are being guided.
Develop A Study Time:
From the beginning of the school term, semester or session, draw out a schedule for study. Every school has a timetable for their academic activities spelling out when lectures will start and end, and also when exams will begin. Therefore students and their parents have an idea of how much time they have to prepare for exams.
Hence exams should never come as a surprise to students. Most students make the mistake of waiting until the last minute before they start revising for the exams, only to discover that there is a huge amount of material to cover in each subject. Helping your children to plan ahead before the exams will eliminate the stress associated with last-minute reading and sleep deprivation.
Always Give Your Children The Best Support On The Exam Day:
No matter how long you prepare for it, the truth is that exams can be a very scary time for many students, especially children. Every parent wants his/her child to do well in exams and will want to render support in any way possible to actualize this. Whatever you do, do not force your children to engage in activities that may be counterproductive. One example would be denying the children meals, rest, and exercise. All work and no play make the student dull.
Parents should avoid pressurizing their children. Most parents make the mistake of compelling their children to revise for a greater part of the day, leaving them little time for anything else.
Also helping your children to break their revision into short periods will eliminate stress and help them assimilate better. This method is more effective than reading for long stretches of time. The brain needs to rest so that it can perform optimally.
Research has shown that students who eat healthy breakfasts on the morning of exams are likely to perform better than their peers who did not. So if you want to boost your children’s performance, serve high carb, high fibre breakfasts such as oatmeal, and whole grain bread alongside beverages and eggs.
Your Children Should Avoid Distractions:
Living in a technological world has its challenges. Your children may waste more time either watching or reading things that should be at the bottom of your priority list. Encourage them to always mute or switch off their phone or TV and computer whenever they are studying for an exam. They should just stay focused on the task ahead and then go back to their gadgets when they are free.
Revise Mock Papers:
Practice makes perfect. Practice exams and mock tests have proven to have a great effect on students’ study patterns and results. Apart from making students revise early, practice tests serve as a motivation for them to work harder.
Most importantly, mock exams help students realize which topics they have mastered and which topics they have not.
Knowing their areas of weaknesses before examinations will help them focus on learning specific topics and getting help before the examination day. Ultimately, mock exams are a good way for teachers and parents to know what kind of help to offer each student. Research has shown that formative practice tests go a long way to improving learning experiences as well as results.
Form A Discussion Group:
Another way to prepare your children for exams is to encourage them to form a discussion group when the examination period approaches, your children study in a routine and involve friends or classmates. Knowing that each one has their strength and weaknesses, they will learn from them and they will in turn learn from them. They get to compare notes and have difficult concepts explained to them in a way the teacher might be unable. All these make them better prepared for the examination.
Monitor your children’s school work:
One of the surest ways to guarantee insight into your children’s academic journey is to look through their schoolwork every day. This is an important tip to help your children prepare for exams in school. Any weighted assessments or examinations will be based on the topics that have been taught in class.
Looking through their schoolwork will allow you to understand what has been covered. You can also gain an understanding of your children’s comprehension of the topics through the teacher’s marking. If your children are facing a problem with a particular topic, you can address it with them or ask their teachers for help.
Understand your children’s learning style:
Everyone learns differently. Forcing your children to sit and complete countless assessment books may not be the most effective way of enriching their academic journey. In doing this, there is no engagement or interaction that children require to absorb information.
If you find that your children are not motivated to learn in this manner, perhaps you could look for enrichment programmes for primary school students. Some enrichment programmes are delivered in an interactive, light-hearted manner that is engaging to children. When children are fully involved in their learning, they remember better.
Familiarize Your Children with the Exam and Environment:
When something becomes familiar, it usually loses its mystique and holds over a student. Students also tend to feel more in control and more empowered when they know exactly what to expect.
In many cases, parents can find previous or practice tests online, and teachers can also direct parents to additional resources as well as serve as valuable test prep resources themselves. Not only should parents encourage their children to take practice exams, whether in one sitting or in chunks, but they also need to discuss the testing environment for example, if the exam is on paper or on a computer, where the test will be, on what day, and if opportunities for breaks exist.
Read Also: How to Learn Faster: 13 Scientifically Proven Learning Strategies
Read Over The Exam Procedures:
It is good to know what material will be on the exam and how the exam will be structured. Knowing what your children will have to do will help you prepare them. You can consult the testing website, their class notes, or the school for more information regarding the exam. Some questions you may want to answer include:
- When is the exam?
- What is being tested?
- Is it multiple-choice? Are there essays?
- How long is the exam?
- What supplies will they need (pencils, calculators, etc.)?
- Does the test accommodate certain learning differences?
The aforementioned points are meant to guide your children in preparing for exams. That said, they are not the only tips to successfully prepare for examinations. Others include creating a schedule, using memorizing techniques, calming your nerves during exams, and eating healthy like earlier said, just to mention but a few.
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