Yr4 11 plus preparation

Eleven Plus (11+) in Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wrekin

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Petitpois
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Joined: Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:44 am

Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by Petitpois »

We have decided to not do tuition for DD2 this year.

What I am focusing on instead is a follows

1) A significant improvement in the quality of handwriting and technique
2) complete and speedy mastery of 1-12 timestables, basically instant recall on any question e.g. 9x7 = eeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr 63. I think she should have got thus by now, but we are where we are.
3) weekly 100% 10 out 10 on the class spelling test. I am hoping that home practice on these weekly spellings, becomes child initiated rather than parent.
4) as many books as possible, ratburger atm.
5) 100% maths homework completion with average score above 90%, target 100%. Extra work on any topics or methods she does not get. When we did column addition last night she went from left to right rather than right to left. Ie started with the hundreds rather the units.

Adhoc vocab building and grammar. E.g we asked dd2 to give a list of adjectives and she surprised us with enchanted, so she is picking up word range.

I think this is a right touch possibly light touch parent led programme. What would you drop or add to this??
Midlandsmom
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Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:25 pm

Re: Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by Midlandsmom »

I saw the title and was thinking, no, it's too early, but actually what you're doing is the same as us. My yr4 is beginning to be more interested in books. Currently only Jacqueline Wilson, but I hope her interests may diversify, given time :D

So, I'm thinking encourage reading, but not so much that she decides I'm nagging and rebels! Do normal homework and spellings, get stronger with times tables. That's our lot for this year. I haven't decided yet whether she will sit the 11+, will revisit at the end of y4 and see where she's at :)

I don't bother so much with handwriting, our school seem to be pushing this anyway at the minute.
MSD
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:08 pm

Re: Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by MSD »

Petitpois wrote: 1) A significant improvement in the quality of handwriting and technique
PP - I wouldn't bother with writing if you are primarily aiming at passing a CEM test. They don't give monkey's if you can't string a sentence together. For English just read, learn/ memorise few words, and repeat the same thing next day and keep doing this for couple of years :)
Midlandsmom
Posts: 275
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:25 pm

Re: Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by Midlandsmom »

MSD wrote:
Petitpois wrote: 1) A significant improvement in the quality of handwriting and technique
PP - I wouldn't bother with writing if you are primarily aiming at passing a CEM test. They don't give monkey's if you can't string a sentence together. For English just read, learn/ memorise few words, and repeat the same thing next day and keep doing this for couple of years :)
This is true, perhaps we should focus on teaching them advanced and speedy shading skills instead! :lol:
patricia
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Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:07 pm

Re: Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by patricia »

I would add...

I like my children to be rock solid with their multiplying, dividing, addition and subtraction. So many children can give me an instant answer for 8 x 7 but what is 56 divided by 7. The silence is deafening!

With regard to the spelling try to get your child to use those words in their weekly literacy lessons.

The reading must include "out loud" for those words they skip over and those words they cannot pronounce and therefore get the total wrong meaning.

My favourite mispronunciation from one of my children

INTERPRET said INTER - PRET

I said to said child ooh that’s a lovely word INTER - PRET, what does it mean? No idea. What if tell you it says INTERPRET, oh yes I know what that means...

Hand writing - I say yes I would like beautiful writing for school but for 11 Plus ABSOLUTELY NOT.

If your area uses a separate answer sheet, the question booklet can be as scruffy as you want as long as you (the child) can read it. Neatness, slows you down

Patricia
MSD
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:08 pm

Re: Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by MSD »

For Maths get no. 1 to no. 5 Schofields and Sims Mental Arithmetic books. Going by this years content, those will be sufficient to cover most question types. Don't bother with no. 6 - our tutor's planning to drop it based on last two year's dumbed down Maths content.

It appears with Maths they are moving away from word problems and providing a certain advantage to children who are not great at comprehending the actual question. Fair enough though - Maths should really test number skills and not English skills. They are already doing a good job of that in the English section :D
MSD
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:08 pm

Re: Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by MSD »

With NVR be careful not to start too early and burnout the child. Avoid long NVR sessions and concentrate on consolidating areas in short bursts. Ideally, start on NVR no earlier than 4 or 5 months before the test.

Again variety in NVR is the key, but 3D nets/cubes haven't appeared for a while now and probably won't appear again. The closest source for this years content would be your standard Bond books.
Yamin151
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Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:30 am

Re: Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by Yamin151 »

Do what's required for school, read loads and talk loads. No minimum scores, no obvious measurements. Let her be, plenty of time for that later. Sounds just a bit official and pressured to have these minimum mark objectives.
booellesmum
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Re: Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by booellesmum »

patricia wrote:I would add...





The reading must include "out loud" for those words they skip over and those words they cannot pronounce and therefore get the total wrong meaning.

My favourite mispronunciation from one of my children

INTERPRET said INTER - PRET

I said to said child ooh that’s a lovely word INTER - PRET, what does it mean? No idea. What if tell you it says INTERPRET, oh yes I know what that means...

Patricia
My favourite one was when DD1 in year 6 at the time pronounced Barbara as bar- bar - a.
She had never heard that girls name out loud!
Yamin151
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Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:30 am

Re: Yr4 11 plus preparation

Post by Yamin151 »

Lol, my own personal mis pronounciations:

Phoebe - I thought it was pronounced "Fobe" until I was about 14!!
Gaol - as in "jail" I pronounced as in "goal" for football!!

Sure there are others.....

I was a very keen reader and my mum spent hours reading to me too, so there are always a few that slip through, funny really!
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