Furthermore, here are 5 ways to create an exam study guide for your child.
1. Start At Least 1-2 Weeks Earlier
It is usually best to begin the exam preparations (with your customised study timetable) way before the school publishes theirs, or at least 1-2 weeks before the exam date.
So, in the weeks leading up to the exam, start scheduling regular periods in the evening to study. You may decide to have your child study for an hour every weekday and give them the weekend off.
You can also have them spend longer hours on subjects that they find difficult; something like mathematics.
Draw up a timetable for the period leading up to exams, and outline when your child will study each day.
By encouraging a consistent schedule, you’re helping them build a healthy study habit.
2. Be Guided By The School’s Exam Timetable
basically, a timetable should help you test your exam study guide.
As soon as the school’s exam timetable is released, go through the exam procedures, to give more context to the preparation you’ve been doing so far.
It is always a good idea to know what subjects will come first and also have a general idea of how the exam will be structured.
You can reach out to their class teacher, or the school for more information regarding the exam. For older kids, some questions you may want to clarify include:
- When is the exam starting?
- What is being tested?
- Is it multiple choice? Will the child have to show their work? Are there essays?
- How long is the exam?
- What supplies will they need (pencils, calculators, math-set, etc.)?
3. Create Study Aids
It is important for your child to be able to memorise information and recall it on demand.
To boost their memory, you should encourage certain studying practices – study aids like educational posters, educational apps, or educational resources on YouTube.
Using these aids on a daily basis will help them learn efficiently instead of just cramming information from a book.
Create a sheet of math formulas that they need to know, and have them memorise the formulas.
Encourage them to write these formulas down in the margins of the exam paper as soon as they receive them.
Teach your child to go through reading passages and underline important details, such as the main character, purpose, and tone.
Invest in flashcards too. They work well for learning vocabulary, science facts, and historical dates.
4. Do A Mock Exam
Some schools provide a review guide to aid exam study guide and preps. Whether or not this is the case at your child’s school, consider gathering materials to carry out a mock exam before the real one.
You can consult their notes and textbooks to see what type of information might be in the exam, and harvest questions to test them from.
If your child is taking a standard test or exam, you should be able to easily locate practice exams from past question materials given in previous years.
The past questions will help your child have an idea about the type of questions to expect and how the exam is structured.
These can be gotten online or from your child’s teacher.
If after the mock test, you realise your child still needs professional help, you should consider hiring a tutor.
Not sure if your child will need a tutor? Click here to learn more
There are many tutors who specialise in helping kids prepare for different types of exams. You may also ask an older student/sibling who has already taken these exams for more insight.
5. Let The Child Pursue Other Activities
While you will want to encourage your child to do their best, you should not overwhelm him/her.
Do not focus exclusively on the exam in the weeks leading up to it.
Have you read: How To Help Your Child Prepare For An Exam
Instead, allow your child enough breaks to focus on their friends, hobbies, and other activities.
In fact, it is advisable to focus on the exam during their scheduled study time.
And as the time draws closer, ask your child how they are feeling about the exam.
They might be feeling nervous, anxious, or scared about the exam, which is why it’s important to identify these feelings early on so that you can support your child before the exam.
Please, also reassure your child that the exam result does not matter as long as they were prepared for it and gave it their best shot.
You can say, “It is natural to feel worried or anxious but what matters about the test or exams is that you tried your best. If you don’t pass, everything will still be ok, and you will have gained knowledge that’ll come in handy someday in life. Remember, mummy and daddy, are proud of you”
These exam study guides will make a whole lot of difference if you try them out.
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