11+ CEM Reading 2017 Exams

[BlueBerry]

Thanks Tinkers, that will be fab. I'll be keenly waiting to see the results for Reading Boys.

[pia102007]

CEM mock exams for sep 2017

How many mock exams should appear ?
too many stress out them or make them practise more?

Any pointers?

[Aethel]

Exams for the sake of it, pia, are rarely helpful.

If you are tutoring, ask advice from the tutor: they may run or arrange mocks anyway.

If you are only sitting Berks then all you need is CEM style mocks: don't pick GL or the questions will not be the same types as those your child will likely see in the real thing.

[Tiredmum191]

Hi everyone, can I join in? Sorry i haven't read through the whole thread. I'm hoping to sit my son for the Sept tests.
He is a reluctant reader and I've given up nagging him to read. I've tried everything! He just can't seem to stick to one book and finish it. I now feel that I will have to get him to memorise vocabulary. I'm getting very stressed about the whole thing really. He's a bright boy but struggles to work quickly and takes forever and a day to write a story.
I'm going to draw up a timetable for him to start seriously in the Easter holidays.

Anyone else stressed? Or just me

[BlueBerry]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

My son is also hopping to sit the reading exams in Sept 2017 & I'm quietly panicking too. I can completelt relate to what you have described with yours DS, my DS is exactly the same.

I'm not really sure what to suggest as I don't know to tackle my DS on this. On one hand I don't want to him to her stressed but on the other hand, the exam is 6 months away and we've done little or no preparation.

Luckily, Reading is his favourite school so I'm hoping that this will give him the impetus to work hard. What I'm finding is that we haven't got the time to actually study - I work full time and he's very keen to carry on with all of sport activities.

[Aethel]

Hi Tiredmum, welcome to the thread!

I've heard many times how reading lots is "vital": my DD2 is a slow reader due to dyslexia, though she loves adventure stories. We are currently reading bedtime stories chapter by chapter as a substitute: it means we can cover more oestoteric words than she would be comfortable reading herself. Also audio books are great for kids who aren't so quick at reading themslves.

I think for every mum who posts about their DC happily doing 8 hours a week intense tutoring you'll get another one quietly panickin in the sidelines that they are not doing enough!.... I'm not convinced the pushier ones necessarily have better pass marks or happier children.....

[BlueBerry]

Apologies for all of my spelling errors

[BlueBerry]

Aethel,
Thanks for your post, it made a refreshing read. DS used to be a keen reader but unfortunately that all changed halfway through Year 4. I did get some audio books for him but he's currently resisting that too. Now I'm making him learn 5 words per day..... we are still stuck on the words from 3 weeks ago! Sometimes, I wonder whether this is all worth it as I'm placing enormous stress on myself and I can't really express how important these exams are to him. It's not helping matters that our first choice is a super selective school

[BlueBerry]

How's everyone getting on? We aren't doing terribly well at the moment

[semb]

I'm making him learn 5 words per day..... we are still stuck on the words from 3 weeks ago!:(

Could you be a bit sneaky and weave the words you want him to learn into conversation with him when driving him to his sports clubs / bringing him home after work? That way he will hear the new words, and get the meaning from the context, and then if you include those words as part of a vocab list at the weekend when doing your preparation he will see them written down - but as they will also be a bit familiar to him from your conversations he might not resist so much?

e.g, "wouldn't it be great if we had a subterranean room underneath our house? It might be rather arduous to build, but then it would be fab to have a clandestine place to go, I might find it quite tranquil....."

Sorry, not a great example, but you see what I mean! More work for you to put the words to use, but maybe it might help a bit?