ONSLOW ST AUDREY’S SCHOOL
YEAR 8
REVISION GUIDE
2015
Year 8 Exam Timetable
Monday
27/04/15
Tuesday
28/04/15
Wednesday
29/04/15
Thursday
30/04/15
Friday
01/05/15
English
8.50-9.50
1 hour
Science
8.50-9.35
45 mins
Maths Paper 1
8.50-9.40
50 mins
PE
8.50-9.40
50 mins
Maths Paper 2
8.50-9.40
50 mins
BREAK
10.40-10.55am
BREAK
10.40-10.55am
BREAK
10.40-10.55am
BREAK
10.40-10.55am
BREAK
10.40-10.55am
CDE
11.00-11.50
50 mins
Spanish
11.00-11.50
50 mins
History
11.00-11.50
50 mins
Music
11.00-11.45
45 mins
Geography
11.00-11.50
50 mins
Lunch
12.35-1.10
Lunch
12.35-1.10
Lunch
12.35-1.10
Lunch
12.35-1.10
Lunch
12.35-1.10
French
1.15-2.05
50 mins
When students are not in examinations, they will be in lessons. Where examinations run over two lessons, then the teachers timetabled for the
second lesson will be in the Hall for that period and take students back to their lesson afterwards.
Year 8 Revision Guide
Revision Tips
Revision Tips
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to pass exams, but we can give you lots of tips on how to use
your study time more effectively. This guide has been written to remind students about how to
revise and how to learn. Many of the learning and revision strategies in this booklet are applicable
to KS3 but also to the final examination of a degree level course.
Although this booklet contains superb advice, great tips and fantastic study skills, the guide isn’t as
important as the person reading it – YOU! It is you who have to put them into practice and apply
them to your work. If you do, we’re sure that you will improve your performance and your study
skills. But to get better at something, you have to practise!
So, over to you – happy studying and good luck!
Revision means ‘to look at again’. You need to look at things again as part of learning as well as in
preparation for exams. But we need active ways to do this ‘looking again’.
Revision gives time for reflection and learning. You can start to see the big picture, you can add in
more details and examples. You may discover something you still don’t understand and you can ask
your teacher about it again.
The idea is to revise each major section of your work shortly after you have finished it. For instance,
you could draw a Mind Map of each major topic you cover. Keep the Mind Maps because they will
be very useful for revising before exams.
 HOT TIP: Be active and change the way you think. WHY?
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Revision helps learning
Revision increases your achievement in exams
Achievement in exams gives you wider choices later on
Achievement will make everyone proud of you!
You will feel great!
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Revision Tips
It is important to be positive about yourself because people who think they can do well find it
easier to learn. Think about five things which you felt good about doing – scoring a goal, asking
someone out … think about how you felt when you did those things… …and get yourself into a
positive frame of mind.
 HOT TIP: Get yourself a vision of success. WHEN?
Make sure you know when your exams are. Teachers will revise with you and give you advice about
how much revision to do, what you should revise and many will give you special notes to help with
revising.
Make yourself a revision timetable.
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Fill in leisure, relaxation and family commitments
Put in some sessions that you can devote to revision
Share out the available revision sessions between your subjects
Allow extra sessions if you know some subjects will take longer than others
Vary the subjects – don’t do all your Maths revision on day one!
Here’s an example for one weekend:
Saturday
Sunday
Morning
Football
English
CDE
Morning
Maths
Geography
Lunch at Gran’s
house
Afternoon
Science
Languages
Still at Gran’s
house
Evening
Video
French
History
The ideal length to revise one topic is 25 to 45 minutes.
You remember more at the beginnings and the ends of sessions, so create more beginnings and
ends by stopping for a brief break or doing a brain gym exercise.
 HOT TIP: Stop and start – create brief breaks. WHERE?
The ideal study room is light, airy and quiet, with shelves and a desk. Some people are lucky enough
to have this and enjoy working in it. Don’t worry if you haven’t got this. You can still try to get some
of the elements.
Vary your revision place. It’s a good idea to put up posters, lists and post-it notes in other places in
the house.
Some students find they revise well with friends and it is a good idea to do this sometimes as a bit
of variety and fun.
Ban the television! Television is too distracting, so make sure it is turned off when you are working.
Remember to keep a space in your revision timetable for your favourite programmes.
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Revision Tips
Lots of students find that some background music helps the revision process. Classical music such
as Mozart can help to stimulate your brain waves. Avoid music with lyrics as you are likely to
concentrate on these rather than your work!
 HOT TIP: Don’t forget the Ideal Study Conditions for revision. HOW?
There are three easy steps to doing revision well:
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Change
Challenge
Treats
The first step is to try change. By changing what is in our exercise books or textbooks into a
different form, we kick start our brains into action – we start thinking about new ways of presenting
and digesting the information and start learning.
Ways to change things:
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Outline cards
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Make diagrams
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Labelled drawings
Outline Card
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Time-lines (for history)
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Mind maps
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Charts and flowcharts (for processes)
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Audio tapes (great for languages)
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Mnemonics
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Use colours and highlighters
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Spider Diagram
 HOT TIP: Flick through outline cards before the test
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Revision Tips
We work best when we are faced with a challenge.
Challenge yourself to really sort out a topic that you have found difficult.
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Will taking a new approach and turning it into a chart, diagram or Mind Map help?
Get someone to test you after you have learned something new.
We learn extremely well when we have to teach someone else – why not try teaching
one of your parents, a brother or sister, your grandparents or even your friends?
Get them to ask you questions about what you have just taught them – can you answer
their questions?
 HOT TIP: Believe in yourself – you CAN do it!
Don’t forget to allow yourself some treats. Break up your revision sessions and plan some treats to
look forward to: fruit, chocolate, a drink, ten minutes in the garden, glancing at a magazine, going
for a walk…whatever will motivate you.
Remember, breaking up your revision gives you more stops and starts and more stops and starts
increase your learning.
Relaxation is important to help you stop feeling the pressure of exams and getting stressed. Find a
simple technique that works for you and practice using it when you are stressed or can’t sleep.
Have you tried any of these?
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A warm bath
Visualising yourself passing the test
Brain gym exercises
Stroking a pet
Deep breathing
Meditating
Going for a walk
Asking someone to give you a head massage
Yoga
Losing yourself in some soft music?
 HOT TIP: Feed your brain! Fresh fruit, water, fish and vegetables give you brain power!
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Creativity Design & Enterprise
Creativity, Design & Enterprise
For this exam you will need a pen, pencil, rubber and ruler
The CDE examination will:
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Last for 50 minutes
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Be taken in the Hall
Revision:
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To support your revision you may wish to photocopy or photograph pages from your
journal/folders
Your teacher may suggest other resources e.g. the CDE website, shared area or the
internet
Topics to be covered are:
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Design process
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Product Analysis
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Hygiene, health and safety in the food room
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Stitching techniques and equipment
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Ugly dolls
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Arts Award (Harry Potter work)
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Pop Art
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Business
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Computer Science
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Year 8 Revision Guide
English & Modern Foreign Languages
English
Reading Exam
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In the table below are the AFs (Assessment Foci) for your English exam.
Choose from the independent revision activities to practise the skills required for each AF.
Exam Length
45 minutes
(10 minutes
planning time/
35 minutes
writing time)
Skills Assessed
AF2 – your ability
to understand,
describe and
select
information from
texts.
AF3 – your ability
to deduce and
interpret
information and
ideas from texts
Independent Revision Activities
• Complete the ‘Understanding Information from Texts’
activity sheet on the ‘Revision – KS3’ page of the English
Faculty website
• Find and read a newspaper or magazine article.
Summarise the five key points that are being made in
that article
• Complete the ‘Interpreting Information from Texts’
activity sheet on the ‘Revision – KS3’ page of the English
Faculty website.
• Using the same article you used for AF2 (above), make a
list of five things that the writer wants us to think that
are NOT clearly stated in the article (i.e. what is being
suggested or implied?)
AF5 – to explain • Complete the ‘Using Language Effectively’ activity sheet
and comment on
on the ‘Revision – KS3’ page of the English Faculty
writers’ use of
website.
language at word • Using the same article that you did for the activities
and sentence
above, pick out individual words from the article. Why
level
have these been used? What ideas are linked with
these words? What does the writer want the reader to
think when they read these words?
Have you visited the English Faculty
website yet? Key Stage 3 students
must use accurate punctuation and
grammar to achieve a Level 5 or above
in their exam
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Year 8 Revision Guide
English & Modern Foreign Languages
French
VOCABULARY TOPICS
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Describe where you live: type of house, the country you are from, the weather
SPORTS AND HOBBIES:
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to say what sports and hobbies you and other people do on different days and at
different times.
To say what you like to do as well as what you do and with whom.
SCHOOL:
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To be able to tell the time in French to describe your school day
How to say what school subjects you study and what you think of them. Give your
opinion about them.
TARGETS
For a Level 3 you need to use:
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Connectives (et, mais, car, parce que)
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Variety of opinions and reasons
For a Level 4 you need to add in:
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Varied vocabulary to provide extra details
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A variety of different verbs in the present tense, correctly changing the spelling
according to who you are talking about
For a Level 5 you would need to use the near future tense.
HOW TO LEARN THE VOCABULARY:
Look - Say - Cover - Write - Check: Look at the word and its meaning, Say the word to
yourself, Cover it up, Write it down, Check it.
Sticky Notes: Put post it notes around your bedroom on places where you look regularly
(e.g. mirror in bathroom).
Vocabulary Ranking: List new vocab from the easy ones to the most difficult. Spend most
time learning the most difficult one.
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Year 8 Revision Guide
English & Modern Foreign Languages
Spanish
TOPIC
LEARNING OUTCOME
KEY VOCABULARY
1. WHERE I LIVE
2. HOME & MY
BEDROOM
To be able to talk about your home and Vivo en el campo, la costa... Mi casa es
where it is. To be able to talk about
...
your house and your bedroom
Mi casa tiene … En mi dormitorio hay
una cama, una mesa...
1. TOWN & PLACES
IN TOWN
2. DIRECTIONS TO A
PLACE
To be able to identify different places
in town. To be able to give and
understand directions
Voy al polideportivo, al parque, a la
playa ...
¿por dónde se va...? Siga todo recto;
tome la primera a la derecha...
1. SPORTS
2. FREE TIME
ACTIVITIES
To be able to talk about sports and
your hobbies. To be able to give
opinions and reasons
En mi tiempo libre monto en bici/ voy de
paseo/ nado en el mar, etc.
Me encanta(n)..., me gusta(n) mucho...,
no me gusta(n) nada porque
ARRANGING TO GO
OUT
To arrange going out. To accept or
decline an invitation. To be able to
read the time
¿Adónde quieres ir? A la bolera/ al cine/
al parque de atracciones, etc
FOOD
To express opinions and say why. To
buy food and drink in a shop.
Restaurant talk
¿Te gusta…? Sí / no porque… ¿Cuánto
cuesta? Cuesta... ¿Tiene ...?
Remember to use espanolextra
User name: onslow15
Password: onspanish
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Humanities & Music
Geography
You need to be able to show a good understanding of the following topics, and know the key words
and definitions within each topic.
China
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Where is China and be able to name some attractions of China
Why the one child policy was introduced
How the one child policy was implemented
What the consequences of the policy were
Know the benefits and disadvantages of the Three Gorges Dam
Ecosystems
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Food chains and food webs
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How plants and animals have adapted to their environment e.g. lianas wrap around
trees to reach the sunlight
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How people are damaging ecosystems e.g. building roads
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What we can do to reduce deforestation
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What does sustainability mean?
Coasts
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How the sea shapes the land: you need to know the following key terms: erosion and
types of it (abrasion, attrition, hydraulic action, solution), transportation and types of it
(traction, saltation, suspension, solution)
What conflict there may be at the coast and why?
What are the benefits and disadvantages of a large leisure complex in a small coastal
town?
LEVELS
Level 4
You understand how you can improve and damage the environment
Level 5
You can describe human and natural processes and how these lead to changes in
the environment. You understand interdependence and how our actions affect
others
Level 6
You understand how people may wish to use the same environment in different
ways, and often conflicting ways. You can suggest sustainable ways to manage the
environment
Level 7
You can explain how people may wish to use the same environment which can
often create conflict; you can also describe some ways in which people can manage
the environment to avoid conflict. You can explain sustainable ways to manage the
environment
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Humanities & Music
History
There are three main topics that you should revise:
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The Tudors — who they were and how they ruled
The Tudors and religious changes
Elizabeth and threats to her throne.
The areas you need to ‘revisit’ are:
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Who the Tudors were, what their religion was and how they ruled.
How Elizabeth managed threats to her throne — Mary Queen of Scots and The Spanish
Armada.
You will also need to remember how to analyse sources of evidence. For this, you must remember
the ‘checklist’:
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What is the source? (picture/photograph/quotation/writing/artefact/diary, etc.)
Is there a date/ is it primary (from the time) or secondary (after the time of the
event/person’s life)
Who wrote it/how can we tell, e.g., is it signed?
What is the motive/purpose (to inform/ persuade/misinform, etc.)?
Who is it aimed at (the public/private use/a particular group)?
How do we know if it is useful or not? Can we rely on the information we get from the
source and does it fit in with other things we know about the period of history?
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Humanities & Music
Music
In year 8 you will be examined on general musical terms, the ukulele, the keyboard, the 12-bar
blues and film music.
The Ukulele
Revise the chords below. Practice playing them, reading and drawing the chord diagrams.
The Keyboard
Revise where the notes are on the keyboard and how to play basic chords such as C, F, G and Am.
12-Bar Blues
Revise the order of chords in a 12 bar blues sequence in G and the notes in walking bass.
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
G
G
G
G
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
C
C
G
G
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
D
C
G
G
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
G B D E
F E D B
G B D E
F E D B
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
C E G A
Bb A G E
G B D E
F E D B
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
D F# A B
C E G A
G B D E
D D D D
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Mathematics
Mathematics
Year 8 Sets 1-3
Year 8 Set 4
Number skills with all four operations
Averages
BIDMAS
Fractions and Percentages of Amounts
Solving - all methods
Fractions and Percentages of Amounts
Angle Calculations
Simplifying expressions
Properties of Shapes
Area of Rectangles, Triangles
Area of Trapeziums and Parallelograms
Area of Compound Shapes
Ratios and Proportion
Expand and Collecting like terms
Expanding Double Brackets
Sequences
Money Problems
Using a calculator
Area and Circumference of a Circle
Angles in Polygons
Boxplots
Nth Term
Ordering Numbers
Negative Numbers
Adding and Subtracting
Multiplying and Dividing
Equivalent Fractions
Function Machines
Angle Properties of Shapes
Money Problems
Solving Equations
BIDMAS
Multiplying and Dividing with Decimals
Scales
Fraction Diagrams
Money Problems
Percentages
Area and Perimeter - Counting method
Bar Charts
Averages - Mean, Median and Mode
Multiples and Factors
Measuring with a Ruler and Protractor
Properties of Polygons
Calculating Angles on a Straight line and about
a point
Calculating Angles in a Triangle
Equivalent Fractions
Ordering Fractions
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Science Sport & Health
Science
All students in year 8 will complete a one-hour science exam to assess their attainment and
achievement over the academic year.
The exam will cover everything your child has learned in year 8, as well as covering many key
concepts taught in year 7. Written practical skills will also be covered.
The exam is comprised of SAT questions so will prepare students for their end of KS3 exams.
Revision Topics
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Food and digestion
Respiration
Microbes and disease
Ecological relationships
Atoms and elements
Compounds and mixtures
Rocks and weathering
The rock cycle
Heating and cooling
Magnets and electromagnets
Light
Sound and hearing
Revision Tools
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KS3 revision guides
BBC Bitesize
All students should be completing a minimum of one hour revision a week in addition to their
normal science homework.
If you have questions or concerns then please contact your child’s subject teacher.
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Year 8 Revision Guide
Science Sport & Health
Physical Education
Revision Topics
All
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Boys ONLY
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Girls ONLY
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Health related Fitness (HRF)
Preparation for exercise
Football
Gymnastics.
Basketball
Handball.
Dance
Netball.
Sports Leadership
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Skills and characteristics of sports leaders
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Skill drill scenario.
Revision Tools
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Revise key words
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Revise teaching points for specific skills learnt in lessons
e.g. the teaching points for a chest pass
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Displays around school to help.
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Use the internet to revise different sports
Students should be doing revision for at least one hour a week.
If you have questions or concerns then please contact your child’s subject teacher.
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