Is this a good start ??

[Manny0311]

Hello

Any constructive advise and feedback is welcome and taken on board here..
I have started my DS on the IPS papers which have 50 Q's and need to be done in 30mins.
He's done 3 so far this week. Got 78,80 and 82 % today.
Frustrating when you see and go through the silly mistakes he makes and the answer you get back, "oh yeah, I didn't see that, but i know it" !!
He has also been doing the daily 5-6min tests which IPS produce where he has been getting 99-100% which are only 10 questions.

I have asked him to do the worded/logic questons right at the end because they involve tables, grids etc..

I was going to start him on the full length papers from GL Assessment next.

Any points of view please ??

[Sally-Anne]

I have started my DS on the IPS papers which have 50 Q's and need to be done in 30mins. He's done 3 so far this week. Got 78,80 and 82 % today.

That's a good start.

Frustrating when you see and go through the silly mistakes he makes and the answer you get back, "oh yeah, I didn't see that, but i know it" !!

Which question types is he making mistakes on? There is a thread here which shows where mistakes are most commonly made. http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 12&t=24313" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (I will turn that into a Sticky in a moment, so it stays at the top of the Bucks section, for the benefit of this year's parents/children.

He has also been doing the daily 5-6min tests which IPS produce where he has been getting 99-100% which are only 10 questions.

It sounds from that as though sustained concentration may be an issue for him - it sometimes is in the early days.

I have asked him to do the worded/logic questons right at the end because they involve tables, grids etc..

Yes, circle the question number, mark any answer and come back to them at the end. He must mark something, simply because if he runs out of time to tackle them properly, there is still a 1 in 5 chance that he will mark the right answer.

I was going to start him on the full length papers from GL Assessment next.

I would leave these until later on - they are fairly tough, and could dent his confidence at this stage. The Tutors papers http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/shop/s ... %5B0%5D=32" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; are probably a good next step, and then Learning Labs (Red & Green) http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/shop/L ... Education/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If needs be, you can divide the papers into two sections of 40 questions in 25 minutes before attempting a full 50 minute paper.

[patricia]

Personally I would not start GL Assessment until just before the real tests. Set 1 is a tad easier than the real tests but I like to give them to my children leading up to the real exam in order to practice in exactly the same format/look.

The first step up from the 50 question papers would be the The Tutors epapers they are of a medium difficulty.

Silly mistakes will occur. I record all tests on an A4 sheet inside the children files. I show score, time and where any problems lie. I can guarantee the problems will always be vocabulary and silly mistakes. I always record the sillies so the child and parent can see an overview. Eventually once all techniques have been mastered the odd silly is acceptable 3 plus is not.

I encourage and eventually insist that children must score 100% on certain types, therefore giving leeway to make educated guesses on vocabulary questions. They are not walking dictionaries.

100% on all codes [C L N U] all maths [G I K P] finding words [O and R]
99/100% hidden 4 letter word, compounds and Zs.

Patricia

[Manny0311]

Many Thanks again to you all..

He seems to be slipping up on:-

codes, two words which are different and loses a couple in the closest meaning. He also lost marks in the filling in the 3 missing consecutive words !

Maths is spot on each time. I think the Kumon maths he has done over the years has really paid off on the general quick thinking arithmetic.

I went through codes yesterday - the ones where you need to match the numbers to the words so hopefully he's got a better understanding of it.

We'll see as it is on the paper he'll do tomorrow, but as I said he's roaming around 80% over the 3 already done.

I think the concentration point which was raised is very valid so it's going to take practice. And he does have a short attention span at the best of times !

Sally Anne - You mentioned the tutors papers...are these the ones which are published by Dynamite ?

Regards,

Manny

[patricia]

The Tutors are not Dynamite.

See following link.

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/shop/s ... rch&page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Codes will come with practice. Finding the missing 3 letter word is one of the harder questions as it also involves spelling. I will see if I can find an old post of mine for you.

Patricia

[patricia]

You need to find a THREE letter word that is MISSING from the part word which is written in capitals.

The missing word can go at the beginning, at the end or between any of the letters.

The sentence is always a clue to what the whole word should be, NOT the missing three letter word.

Sometimes you can see the big word and missing word immediately.

The children GATED in the hall
The children GATHERED in the Hall

If you cannot see the answer straight away start looking for letter blends that do NOT go together. e.g.

His general KNOWGE was outstanding.

Possible answers:

WED
AGE
LED
ONE
BAN

You KNOW that the letters W and G do NOT go together; you therefore know the missing word MUST go between these letters. Try sounding out the words from the options given, if not WRITE IT DOWN in a logical manner, not randomly.

KNOWWEDGE = not a word
KNOWAGEED = not a word
KNOWLEDGE = definitely a word, does it make sense in the sentence?

His general KNOWLEDGE was outstanding = Yes

You can also look for letter blends that often DO go together e.g.

He was a very ABLE student.

Possible answers:

MAP
RIM
SIP
CAP
RIP

Words often end in ABLE therefore start by trying to put the words offered in front of ABLE. Try sounding out the words from the options given, if not WRITE IT DOWN in a logical manner, not randomly.

MAPABLE = No
RIMABLE = No
SIPABLE = No
CAPABLE = Yes, does it make sense in the sentence?

He was a very CAPABLE student. = Yes.

If there are no clues from the letter blends then you will have to sound out or write out all possibilities.

Speed writing. Not neat writing.

Patricia

[Orson]

Your son appears to be doing reasonably well. Particularly emphasis now needs to be placed on fine-tuning certain methods, taking more care and effective checking.

It's time to step things up a little regarding practice papers. However, the GL Assessment packs should not be done until the month leading up to the test. There are eight papers and I would tackle two per week. There's some very good advice on this site regarding what to do next.

Just curious - How does one score 99% in a test containing ten questions?

[Manny0311]

Orson

Thanks for your kind advice.

My mistake ! If he gets 9/10 on an IPS daily short test paper I guess that would be 90% as opposed to it being 99%

Thanks for pointing that out

[Orson]

#pedant

[Manny0311]

So should I finish the remaining IPS papers before I move DS onto "The Tutors" papers ?

He has 7 more of the IPS to do...Just hope he gets the hang of them eventually !

So stressful all this.. I don't know who is worse me or him when I mark them each time !