Preparation in Year 4

Eleven Plus (11+) in Kent

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

11 Plus Mocks - Practise the real exam experience - Book Now
pp1
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:27 am

Preparation in Year 4

Post by pp1 »

Hi.

I'm a bit new to all this so was wondering if those with some experience could give me some advice on where to start with my Yr 4 daughter in preparing her for the 11+. We are in the West Kent area.

Should I be working my way through the Bond 9-10yr books or is this too soon and I should hold fire to year 5?
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Preparation in Year 4

Post by mystery »

Don't know. We don't know what the new test will be yet. It will be GL assessment or C E M. You can buy GL assessment practice papers at the shops and you can see one C E M practice paper on the Bexley website and read lots of discussion about C E M exams all over the different fora on this site.

Welcome.
leanmeamum
Posts: 736
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 4:14 pm

Re: Preparation in Year 4

Post by leanmeamum »

Until the test supplier/type is decided is you could start working on basic skills. English takes longer to master than Maths, VR or NVR so you could start with that. You could also start working on basic maths skills.

Most children pick up VR and NVR very quickly once they understand how the different types work.
pp1
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:27 am

Re: Preparation in Year 4

Post by pp1 »

thank you for your replies. If the exam is going to be different, then I am guessing the Bond books aren't going to be much help going forward?!
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Preparation in Year 4

Post by mystery »

Aspects of them still will be I would think. There's nothing much that new under the sun. If it's CEM there wouldn't be quite a few of the verbal reasoning type questions (that require logic and deeper thinking).
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: Preparation in Year 4

Post by scarlett »

My DD is working through the Bond 9-10 maths and vr. I'm going to buy some different maths books such as Schofield and Letts for her age and might occasionally give her some nvr just incase. I'm reading some good books with her and she asks to do the free rice ...which I like doing as well. Now the boys are both at secondary we have a whole hour together so can get a lot done..she doesn't seem to mind.....I think she likes the one to one. :D
peter45
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:38 am

Re: Preparation in Year 4

Post by peter45 »

We have 3 children, 2 at SS's. I would not start an formal 11+ work until they hit year 5. They need to read widely and have a very good grasp on timetables. One year spent doing prep. is more than enough. If they have the ability they will pass. Also they need to be taught maths ect in school first as you may teach it incorrectly.
scarlett
Posts: 3664
Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 10:22 am

Re: Preparation in Year 4

Post by scarlett »

Oh yes, still thinking my DD is year 4, she's year 5 now :oops: so obviously I'm starting 11 plus work. However, as Peter says year 4 is for general honing of maths and literacy. Sorry if I alarmed you!
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Preparation in Year 4

Post by mystery »

peter45 wrote:We have 3 children, 2 at SS's. I would not start an formal 11+ work until they hit year 5. They need to read widely and have a very good grasp on timetables. One year spent doing prep. is more than enough. If they have the ability they will pass. Also they need to be taught maths ect in school first as you may teach it incorrectly.
Probably very good advice to stop children getting fed up with it all - but these things are not set in stone. What is formal 11+ work as opposed to informal? And what if school never teaches the maths, or they don't teach it correctly?

Fast mental maths is always useful whatever the test - addition and subtraction facts, multiplication and division facts, quick conversions from cm to metres, litres to ml etc etc, mental maths tricks and shortcuts. If the test turns out to be one that involves high speed but not a huge amount of thought then this will be beneficial as there won't be time to write down much or any in the way of workings. And if it turns out to be one that involves more creative thinking in maths it is still useful to have unburdened the brain from the mental arithmetic load.

My year 5 DD is good conceptually, but probably a lot slower at mental arithmetic than is desirable at this stage. If I had year 4 again I would probably aim at doing lots of stuff completely mentally and build speed somehow or other (haven't a clue how).

Reading well is always going to be useful in any test, understanding maths vocabulary, building up receptive vocabulary - all useful.

The Kent test is still going to be multiple choice, and the writing (if we still have it) would still only be looked at in the case of a marginal fail. So you can pass the test and not be at all great at school-type KS2 writing.

My guess is we end up with a C E M test like Bucks and Bexley (read those fora) or a GL assessment test like our current one from but with some chunks cut out and some others added in, and each of the two papers containing more than one subject discipline rather than as now a pure NVR paper, a maths paper, a VR paper.

Good luck.
leanmeamum
Posts: 736
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 4:14 pm

Re: Preparation in Year 4

Post by leanmeamum »

mystery wrote:

My year 5 DD is good conceptually, but probably a lot slower at mental arithmetic than is desirable at this stage. If I had year 4 again I would probably aim at doing lots of stuff completely mentally and build speed somehow or other (haven't a clue how).


Good luck.

It is lot better and faster to actually put calculations on paper> It might seem like wasting time but it is not.

They can see the calculations on paper and quickly work out if the answers look right. When it comes to checking work at the end, they have to only go through their calcs to see everything is ok. Mental is good but no guarantee it is correct the 1st/2nd or any other times. When it comes to checking your work at the end, you have to do all the mental calculations again and may get different answers which will have to be re-done........

I insist on all my students putting their working out on paper as it helps me to understand their mistakes better - was it a silly mistake or an error in their thinking process/understanding of the problem.

I've seen lots of my students actually become faster as a result of putting their thoughts on paper - they learn to write really fast. The marks jump up as a result as silly mistakes can be spotted by them as well.

The children who did the CEM actually found that they were finishing the Maths on time if they wrote their calcs on paper as distractions around them, did not impact their thought process.
Post Reply