Download History Revision - Leytonstone School

Leytonstone School
Great things will grow
Headteacher: Ms Grainne Smyth BA (Hons)
Sunday, 07 May 2017
Dear Parent/Carer,
Parental support is 8 times more important in determining a child’s academic success than social class. The
Campaign for Learning found that parental involvement in a child’s education can mean the difference
between an A* and a B at GCSE. The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert in any of the subjects
your child chooses to make a real difference. You also don’t need to give up your life and other responsibilities
– you just need to know how best to spend the time you do have. One of the hardest demands on students is
that of understanding the long-term importance of doing the best they can, and learning to shelve short-term
fun at times in the interest of long-term benefits (not easy even for adults). Children will also differ in their
levels of maturity, their ability to take responsibility for their learning, organisational skills and levels of
motivation. This is where parents come in. Your support, encouragement and interest can make a spectacular
difference to your child’s motivation and ability to cope with the academic and organisational demands of the
exam period.
So how can we keeping the motivation up?
For Students
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Don’t stop going to, or working in, lessons you find hard or dislike – talk to someone about any
difficulties you are having – there is always a solution
Revise your revision schedule if necessary and stick to it – even when you don’t feel like it. Don’t wait
until you are in the mood – the further behind you get the less you will be in the mood (agree the
schedule with your parents for a hassle-free life)
Resist the temptation to bury your head in the sand if things are getting out of hand – talk to your
parents/tutor/teachers/Head of House
Ignore what friends and others are doing or saying – you are working for an easy life for YOU now and
later – let your friends have the hassle of redoing coursework or even the full GCSE
For Parents
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Agree the balance between work and social life and stick to the agreement. Again, flexibility is the key
– if a special night comes up, agree that they can make up the work at a specified time
All students fall behind, feel demotivated or overwhelmed, or struggle with the balance of social, work
and school demands at times. When your child feels like this, berating and threatening them will have
a negative effect. Talk to them about the issues, acknowledge their feelings and adopt a sensible
attitude in wanting to find a solution
Be flexible – use the 80/20 rule. If your child is sticking to what they are supposed to be doing 80% of
the time, they will be doing alright
Leytonstone School, Colworth Road, Leytonstone, London, E11 1JD
Tel: 020 8988 7420, Fax: 020 8988 7430
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.leytonstoneschool.org
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If your child asks for your support, encourage them by helping them to see the difficulties in
perspective. Teenagers often take an all or nothing ‘catastrophic’ approach to difficulties – “I’ve
messed up this essay, I might as well give up.”
More information about how parents can help with revision strategies is the ‘Parents Guide to GCSE Revision
by Letts’ which can be found on our website
http://www.leytonstoneschool.org/our-learning/subjects/history/
Please have a read through this with your son/daughter to plan out what will work best for your family.
The History department would also like to take this opportunity to provide you with some specific resources
that you can use together as a family in order to prepare for the upcoming History exam.
Firstly, I’d like to draw your attention to the resources on aiding memory. It’s very important that your
son/daughter understand that simply re-reading their notes or wishing to remember something is not enough
to commit information to our short-term memories. We must make the information we want to retain
meaningful. In this booklet are several strategies that can be used/adapted to aid them in the process of
remembering the content from our course of study.
Secondly, please encourage your son/daughter to visit the school’s ONEDRIVE cloud storage:
https://goo.gl/xmMRJq
In this shared file area is an incredible amount of revision materials, including: printable revision guides with
activities, sources and practice questions for each topic of study; past examination papers and their
corresponding mark schemes for the past 6 years; printable flashcards for each topic and other guidance on
answering questions, including model answers. We highly encourage you and your child to access and take
advantage of the wealth of resources available.
If you’re looking for something off the shelf, we recommend the following revision books:
AQA GCSE Modern World History Revision Guide 2nd Ed, by Ben Walsh - £5.99
GCSE AQA History B Modern World History Guide, by CGP - £5.49
There are also numerous excellent resources online that you can use together to practice and revise content.
We encourage use of the following sites:
http://www.leytonstoneschool.org/our-learning/subjects/history/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/
http://www.johndclare.net/
http://www.revisegcsehistory.co.uk/
https://getrevising.co.uk/
Also on our History page on the Leytonstone School website is an overview of the course content pupils are be
responsible for. This has been designed to allow pupils to rate themselves (on a traffic light system) according
to their knowledge. We recommend starting to revise those areas where they feel they are red, first. There
are numerous documentaries that can be watched on ‘Youtube’ as a family, for all aspects of the course. We
Leytonstone School, Colworth Road, Leytonstone, London, E11 1JD
Tel: 020 8988 7420, Fax: 020 8988 7430
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.leytonstoneschool.org
encourage you to do some of your own searches on any of the topics to see what comes up. Equally there are
a number of excellent books about these topics. Some top picks are:
Russian Revolution:
Ten Days that Shook the World – John Reed
A People’s Tragedy – Orlando Figes
Nazi Germany:
The Coming of the Third Reich – Richard J Evans
The Hitler Myth: Image and Reality in the Third Reich – Ian Kershaw
Inside Nazi Germany – Detlev Peukert
Race Relations in the USA:
Race Relations in the USA since 1900 – Vivienne Sanders
America’s Original Sin – Jim Wallis
Origins of the Second World War:
The Origin of the Second World War – A.J.P Taylor
The Second World War – Antony Beever
The Cold War:
The Cold War: A New History – John Lewis Gaddis
A Brief History of the Cold War – Lee Edwards
We very much appreciate all your assistance in helping us to prepare your son/daughter for their history exam.
Even spending 15 minutes a day discussing with them about their learning, or getting them to teach you about
one of the topics, will be an immense help in building their confidence and their understanding. We wish
every success for your son/daughter in their upcoming exams, and know that with your support and their
efforts to begin revision now, they will be able to achieve their full potential.
Should you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact me directly.
Many thanks,
Brandon Hughes
Head of Humanities
Leytonstone School, Colworth Road, Leytonstone, London, E11 1JD
Tel: 020 8988 7420, Fax: 020 8988 7430
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.leytonstoneschool.org