11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi

I am trying to get my son up to a level 7 this year and have bought some of the CGP books,however he is finding some of the work difficult as some of it has not been covered in school yet. He took an hour to do 1 page last night of The Workbook level 5-8 and is quite disheartened. Does anyone know of any other books that are good and still thorough, but perhaps a little easier?

Thanks

You could try the CGP book, 'Topic-based Sats Practice'.

Alternatively I find the Lett's Books in quite a good format. It has on the cover KS3 Success. Questions and Answers. There is a study book which accompanies it. At one stage Asda were selling them fairly cheaply. Each topic has 3 sections: multiple choice, then answer basic questions, then answer typical Sats questions. Former pupils have liked this book more than CGP and it is broken down into manageable sections, listed at the front of the book.

You might want to go through the topics he has already covered first as revision before tackling any new stuff so he doesn't get discouraged.

Have you tried the BBC KS3 Bitesize Maths website?
For each maths topic there's revsion followed by an on-line test.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/maths/

Smiths do their own series of workbooks that are quite friendly. Several per year for KS3.

Sorry I don't really have an answer on this one, but it sounds as though you are wanting him to teach himself topics that he has not covered at school yet. Depending on the topic, that is going to be a difficult thing for him to do at that age whatever the book. Are you doing it with him? Do you know an older child who could help him?

Sorry can't really be more specific as not sure why you are having to do it this way round. I can imagine myself in this situation if the school was letting me down in some way. Then I think I would look at purchasing some kind of course rather than relying on revision guides.

Have you tried putting this query into the maths forum as there are quite a few up to date maths teachers who answer on there?

Thanks for the replies...I have ordered some Letts books and we will try those.

I am trying to help but some of it is over my head - my maths isn't great at the best of times and I also have "baby brain" We are trying to get him up to level 7 so that he can go up a group as he really wants to be in the 2nd set.

What he can do, he can do well, we just need to work on the tricky bits.

The Usborne Illustrated Maths Dictionary is really useful, qand has internet links for each subject.

Have you spoken to his teacher about this? There may be additional help available in his school, such as a Maths club. At my sons' school this is run by 6th formers so not as daunting as a teacher! The teachers are also ready with additional teaching on a specific topic if he is finding it tricky.

Thanks yoyo123, i have got one of those. sp I have spoken to his teacher and he says he is "fine" My son really wants to get to a level 7 by June so that he can do into the 2nd set. His teacher thinks he will manage it but I thought some extra help at home would be good too.

If there was a club at school it might be a useful "fun" thing for him to do alongside your help at home. Then if he comes up against anything a bit tricky he can ask in a less formal environment than class.