This document provides various revision techniques for students to use in preparing for exams. It suggests using sticky notes and posters around the room to remind students of important concepts. Mind mapping is recommended as a way to organize information and harness brain power. Exemplar materials and videos can demonstrate high quality answers. Other techniques include summarizing by reducing information in stages, filling in gaps in sample answers, identifying mistakes in sample answers, peer assessment, quizzes, and using mnemonics and imagery to remember concepts. The goal is to engage students through active recall and application of knowledge in different formats.

1. Revision techniques
Some ideas for use with students in
lead up to exams
David Drake
Advanced Skills Teacher
http://humanitiesastwiltshire.blogspot.com

2. Use the whole learning environment
Write important words,
diagrams and phrases
on sticky notes or A4
sheets that can be
stuck where students
see them every day.
On your walls or
doors... anywhere will
do.

3. Mind Mapping
• This is a powerful technique that allows you to make the
best use of your brain power.
• The Mind Mapping technique harnesses the full range of
your cortical skills, making you more productive and
creative.
Resources:
How to make a mind map
http://www.mind-mapping.co.uk/make-mind-map.htm
Video tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLWV0XN7K1g

5. Exemplar material
• Photocopy the work and give to students who
have to identify why they are good answers by
underlining in one colour key vocabulary, in
another colour underlining connectives, in
another etc. Don’t just read it – do something
with it!
• Build up an exemplar student booklet which can
be distributed within and between classes

6. Video the learning
Make a video of the
learning to summarise
points and record the
learning
Use the RSA animate
style and a whiteboard
or large sheet of
paper:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZvpF6gaGH4

7. The Henry distillery
• Make notes from original notes
• Make notes from notes etc
• Each time, make notes on smaller piece of paper
• Emphasis on the process of summarising the
information, rather than the notes themselves
• Reduce to main points
Not enough to make notes and leave (repeat,
repeat, repeat) - making notes does not mean
copying out the book
• Reduce topic to a tweet!

8. Fill in the gaps
• Give students a written answer which has
chunks of text missing
• Students fill in the gaps to make an A*-C grade
answer
• Clues dotted around the room on the walls, only
allowed to get up and look once though!
• Allows everyone to be successful. “Look, you’ve
just created a C grade answer – you see, you
CAN do it! (SEAL)

9. Ivor N.O. Idea
• Give students an exam answer(s) that has
been written by ficticious student – Ivor
N.O. Idea
• Paper has a variety of mistakes on it or is
badly written
• Get students to identify the mistakes and
make corrections – be the teacher

10. Building the answer
Take basic answer
Students to add detail to an
answer or use connectives to
elaborate a response

11. Grade it and feedback activity
• Students answer a written question
• Answers swapped and peer assessment
takes place
• Verbal feedback to be given by student to
their partner
• Key element - Opportunity to rewrite using
the feedback they have been given

12. Consequences game
• Supply a question
• Students create an introduction on the top the paper and
fold over
• Pass to next student who writes next stage - then fold
over
• Pass to next student who adds next stage, fold over
• Game continues until the requirements of the question
have been met.
• Final person unfolds the answer and reads. Examples
read to class and students decide if a good answer and
why/why not

13. Pub quiz
• Create questions for homework
• Create teams of 5
• Have a round per lesson and record
scores on a leader board
• Successive rounds lead to a grand final
between highest scoring teams

14. The student as teacher
• Create a new seating plan where students of different
abilities are sat next to each other. Reading each others
work regularly to feedback. Get the students to do the
teaching!
• More able students can also be tasked with creating the
plenary for a designated lesson or revision session
• Place more able boy with less able girl? – Study shows
the boy will then help the girl and learn by teaching

15. Game-show
• Students to create a game-show format as
a vehicle to deliver revision questions
• Could be done as whole class, but best
within groups
• Process of making the format and
questions is as important as the final
game

16. Steps to success
• Create ‘steps to success’ templates or
‘success ladders’ to show students what
they have to do in stages when answering
a question
• Model the requirements through question
and answer starters and pleneries
• Students to create their own ‘steps to
success’ ladder for another question

17. Building an answer as a team
• Set a question
• Each student can only contribute one word
each time to the answer
• Go around the room building an answer.
The teacher intervenes as appropriate
points to provide structure through the use
of sentence starters and connectives

18. Mnemonics
• Use mnemonics to help remember certain
patterns or sequences.
• A mnemonic is a way of helping you remember
information using abbreviations, words or
phrases.
For example, to remember the colours of the
rainbow, you could use the mnemonic: Richard
of York Gave Battle In Vain, using the first letters
of each word to remember the colours Red,
Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.

19. Learning journey
Pick a journey or story that you
know well – route to school?
Associate an image with places
along the route in order to
remember key information.

20. Picture it
Revision through images
Working in teams to draw a key word
where others guess (Pictionary)

21. Key terms
Associate terms, images and definitions
– create a crib sheet to use in future (cut
and paste)
Repeating the process important
Do on computer?
Repeat and aim to get faster each time

22. Revision techniques
Some ideas for use with students in
lead up to exams
David Drake
Advanced Skills Teacher
http://humanitiesastwiltshire.blogspot.com