11 Plus Exams Forum

Dear All,

I am a late starter. DD in Y5 - just started preparing in Y5. Wanted to understand
1. What are the best English resources for preparation from CCHS perspective.
2. DD's vocab is not very wide, so any recommendation to improve would be great
3. What kind of Reading Comprehension generally appears in exams? Is it more of a modern English or more of a classics?How has it changed in last 5 years - anyone aware?

Thanks

The past papers we did the comprehension was sherlock holmes, Thomas Hardy, Dickens etc. What I did was get a reading list (from *** where my son did their grp tuition) and work through some of those books. We read them together and talked about what wwas happening and looked up words he didn't understand. We read Carrie's War, The Railway Children, Treasure Island, David Copperfield together and he read Alice in Wonderland and The Wind in the Willows on his own.

Sorry just realised you said CCHS not CSSE! Might be slightly different I guess.

Get them reading a wide range of literature to broaden their vocabulary, especially more of the older stories with the flowery language.

Do a 'word a day' challenge; stick a post it on the back of the front door with a word on and they have to find out the meaning and use it in a sentence by bed time.

Beyond that there isn't really much else you can or should do.

Thanks everyone so far for the responses.
1. Are there any good books for vocabulary building? Is this just about reading good books or building vocabulary through some other means as well? There are some applications for mobile devices - is it worth buying? e.g. Word Builder?
2. Any really good recommendation / publication for reading comprehension?
3. Any suggestions for creative writing on similar lines?