Help your Child Study for Exams

Its that time of the year when children are preparing for their final term in school. From stepping into high school to facing the boards, the final school term involves more of serious studies and less of extra curricular activities.

It is not only the children who gear up for exams but also the parents! Parents are actively involved in every aspect of this preparation be it motivating them or staying awake for them. Here are some tips that will help your child study for his or her exams.

There are basically two main goals your children need to keep in mind when studying for an exam. The first is obviously to learn the subjects matter well enough to do well in the exam. The second is to learn it well enough so that you remember it for the next school term.

The days before the exam

Make sure all the memorising is done a few days before the exam. The best way to ensure last minute cramming up is to revise what has been taken in class on a daily basis. This makes it easier to learn as the exams draw near. "Jayasree, a class X Maths teacher in Chennai is of the opinion that "I find most children cramming up in the last minute and this causes panic. They tend to forget what they spent so much time studying. My advice to them is to go over their class notes everyday and then a few days before the exam, to look over their class notes and homework. They will feel more confident."

If it is a Maths exam, pin up or stick a sheet complete with all the formulae on the wall in their room. The more they look at it, the better their chances of recollection.

Mock exams

Encourage your child to prepare mock question papers and answer them. If they are in the habit of studying with friends, ask them to prepare papers for each other. You too can prepare papers for them. An easier alternative is to buy previous years papers from the bookstores or getting them from senior students. Make sure they take these exams a couple of days before their actual exam. It is always a good idea to encourage them to solve questions without knowing which section they came from.

Revision

Once your children complete the mock exam, go over their difficult areas. If they are willing to talk it over with you, great, or else encourage them to go over them with their friends. These areas are usually the topics that they had trouble understanding when they did their homework. If your children want to go back to their tuition teacher for clarification, make sure they do so well in advance.

The afternoon before the exam, get them to review their notes. They can solve some questions and go over what they memorised. If they have listed summaries of topics, they can go over these too. The night before the exam, get them to relax. If they have done their revisions well, they deserve a bit of loosening up. Allow them to do something fun like watching a movie, going out for dinner, playing their favourite musical instrument and so on. For some children, the fear of competition may prevent them from doing so. Try and encourage them to relax.

The final one hour before the exam, get them to go over their formulae sheets. It is always better to tell them to avoid talking to their friends as something they say may confuse them. Most important, make sure they do not cram at the last minute. Anything they learn in such panic may just slide in from one ear and out through the other. Here's wishing your children the very best following these tips.