Starting Early - Need help

Advice on 11 Plus VR papers and problems

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baadil
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 11:32 am

Starting Early - Need help

Post by baadil »

Hi,

We would like to start our son on preparing for 11 Plus exam. We plan on preparing him ourselves and would like to know where to start. I understand that we can purchase papers and mock exams etc but we are worried that within a couple of months he might simply memorize the answers (after doing them over and over) and not really get practice on the real problems.

So instead of starting him on practice papers etc, we were thinking of getting some books/software etc and start teaching him each individual problem types. Then on occasional basis we can give him some mock tests to work on.

Is this a good approach? If yes, could someone please recommend some material for us to get started on? We are looking for VR, NVR, English and Math.

If this is not a good approach, could you please recommend a different one?

Thank you,
DJ
First-timer
Posts: 698
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:47 pm
Location: Essex

Post by First-timer »

Hi there!

You don't say where you are based or how much time you have until the 11+. If you look at the forum for your county you will find more specific help and advice re which books to use. If you have years of prep ahead of you then a more general approach is a good start. If the exam is only a few months away then I would consider using practice papers as a tool to highlight which areas need specific tuition.

I tutored my DS for the Essex 11+ in a short tim. My prep would have been quite different if I'd had a year to play with. The most important thing is that you find out the exact format of the exam and buy/adapt materials accordingly. For example, I used the Bond books for Maths and VR but had to be really selective about their English books as they did not accurately mimic the Essex exam. Some counties use different VR type questions. Sometimes it is the answer format you need to watch out for - is it multiple choice or standard written answers?

Have a good old browse on your forum. I'm sure you'll find useful advice.

Good luck!
Last edited by First-timer on Tue Nov 23, 2010 3:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
baadil
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 11:32 am

Post by baadil »

First-timer wrote:Hi there!

You don't say where you are based or how much time you have until the 11+. If you look at the forum for your county you will find more specific help and advice re which books to use. If you have years of prep ahead of you then a more general approach is a good start. If the exam is only a few months away then I would consider using practice papers as a tool to highlight which areas need specific tuition.

I tutored my DS for the Essex 11+ in around three and a half months. My prep would have been quite different if I'd had a year to play with. The most important thing is that you find out the exact format of the exam and buy/adapt materials accordingly. For example, I used the Bond books for Maths and VR but had to be really selective about their English books as they did not acurately mimic the Essex exam. Some counties use different VR type questions. Sometimes it is the answer format you need to watch out for - is it multiple choice or standard written answers?

Have a good old browse on your forum. I'm sure you'll find useful advice.

Good luck!
Hi,

Thank you for the reply. We are in the Essex (Ilford) area, same as you. We still have 3 years to go but we want to start him early, slowly but steadily. This is why I was looking for ways to start him off on learning the methods instead of going through papers.
I will have a look at other forums but any additional assistance is always helpful :-)
KS10
Posts: 2516
Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:39 am

Post by KS10 »

Hi!

I found 'First Aid in English' a great help with tightening up on vocabulary and grammar and as you have 3 years you'll have plenty of time to cover a lot of it. If you do use this you will need to buy the answer book as well. I've read of just one other parent who rates this book, but that doesn't mean that others haven't used it or haven't found it useful. I'm sure a few people will come along soon to discuss its merits and drawbacks.
baadil
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 11:32 am

Post by baadil »

KS10 wrote:Hi!

I found 'First Aid in English' a great help with tightening up on vocabulary and grammar and as you have 3 years you'll have plenty of time to cover a lot of it. If you do use this you will need to buy the answer book as well. I've read of just one other parent who rates this book, but that doesn't mean that others haven't used it or haven't found it useful. I'm sure a few people will come along soon to discuss its merits and drawbacks.
Thank you KS10. I have looked at the book reviews on the Amazon Website as well and it does look good. I will get that for sure.
EmeraldE
Posts: 431
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:56 pm

Post by EmeraldE »

Hi there

If you have 3 years I suggest reading and lots of discussion about words. A good vocab is very important, especially if you have Verbal Reasoning to undertake. Play word games and keep a dictionary (one your DC writes of all his/her new words and their meanings)

Also I would suggest to work on basic arithmetic..speed and accuracy and mental maths. Also being adept at comprehension is important and a good prep for grammar school itself.

Remember to keep it fun or they will get terminally bored :D
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