As we move ever closer to exam season, our focus shifts towards planning revision lessons and tasks that will help our students to shine. They’ve spent the better part of two years tackling the varied and often fascinating range of topics offered by the boards and have (one would hope!) developed a wide range of skills. However, when it comes to preparation for the exam itself, the demand for effective communication of knowledge and factual recall can make it difficult for students to remember and apply this content in focused ways; indeed, what we often see is an attempt to splurge everything they know onto the page in a bid to bag marks.
The challenge, therefore, is to engage students in revision activities which embed both the skills and content they’ve learnt whilst also enthusing them. This is particularly hard when you’re hitting week three of revision and the words ‘practice question’ draw the inevitable groans!
Memory specialists tell us that the key to effective revision is motivation and applying of our knowledge in targeted ways. By getting our students to work with others, we can improve their weaker areas through peer advice, deepen their understanding and foster a spirit of competition.
The resource …
The resource I’ve created, ‘History revision challenge game’, will help to engage students in active and collaborative revision, and apply their skills to practice questions. It can be adapted to suit any topic or style of assessment. By working with and against one another, students will be able to recall and apply their knowledge in meaningful ways.
Download the classroom resource
This article was first published as a newsletter.
