Summer Year 7 Exams

Parental Guidance and Advice

This guide had been put together to show you how you can help your son/daughter revise and prepare
thoroughly for their end of year exams. Each subject that they will sit an exam is included in this booklet.
Subjects such as PE, D&T and Music will not be examined in a written form due to the nature of the
subject but instead are being assessed through practical lesson based tasks.

To revise effectively pupils should try to do an activity rather than just reading the information. By
processing the information and re-interpreting it in some way the content is more likely to be remembered.
Examples of how this might be done include:
Read and re-draft
Condense notes onto cue cards or Post-it notes
Highlight notes
Be tested by a family member
Use example questions
Record, rewind, replay
Mind Maps - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wZ5wV5dPZc
Lists
Storyboards

To make something memorable your child should be encouraged to use HAIR - Humour, Association,
Imagination and Repetition e.g. To remember the colours of the light spectrum we might use the
mnemonic Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain or to remem-
ber how to spell the word rhythm we might make up a silly
rhyme like Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move.

This graph highlights the importance of taking regular breaks.

Our concentration span in the course of 2hours dips and
follows the bottom line but if we break for 10 mins every 20
mins our concentration levels are heightened so our brain
function follows the top line.

Parents can help in a number of ways:

Ensuring that your child starts to revise early, a little and often.
Help them to plan out what will be done when to ensure that all topics are covered by the
exam.
Discuss the progress of the revision regularly with your son/daughter to make sure that they
stay on track throughout the revision period. Milestones and small rewards can be very
effective in helping them through what can be an onerous experience.
Getting involved in the revision. Asking your child to answer questions or explain what they
have revised. Get your son/daughter to write themselves questions, then test them on the
answer two nights later. Create lists of facts to remember and test them on it.
Encourage your son/daughter to switch off their mobile
phone, TV and other electrical devices so they can concen-
trate fully on revising and nothing else.

This graph highlights the importance of revisiting topics as

often as possible in order to commit the information to our
long term memory.

Without going back over a topic after it is originally studied,

80% of the information is forgotten.

We hope you find this guide useful and informative. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to
contact the subject contact teacher or myself.

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Subject English
Contact Teacher Mrs Raku: rakuc@hattonacademy.org.uk

Topics Studied English is a skills based subject and we will therefore be assessing the
skills of reading and writing.

Useful Revision Strategies Reading the pupil can read any book / article and discuss it or write
and Activities about it. When reading any text, ask and then answer, the following
questions:
What is the purpose of the text?
Who is this text written for (audience)?
What is the format?
What type of language has been used and why?
Writing the pupil can practise writing skills by keeping a diary or writing
letters to friends or family. More formal letters could be written to a local
newspaper. Key writing skills include:
Variety and accuracy of punctuation
Precise and ambitious use of vocabulary
Variety of sentence construction
Effective use of paragraphing
Try the following tasks:
Describe walking around a spooky house without using the words
and, but, so or then.
Write a conversation between two friends after a terrible day at
school without using the word said. For example,
It was awful today, whined Sophie.
It was worse for me, moaned Dawn, An hour of Dr Jekyll for science and
then Mr Hyde in History!
Choose ten random words from a dictionary and write an opening
paragraph for a story making sure you include all the chosen words.
Useful websites www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/english
www.educationquizzes.com/ks3/english
Useful books CGP produce a useful range of books

Advice to parents on
helping their child prepare
for the exam
KS3 English Scary Bits - This book bridges that scary gap (hence the
name) between primary and secondary school English. It covers the basic
reading, writing and grammatical skills.
KS3 English Complete Revision & Practice - Complete Revision &
Practice just what it says. This book combines all the key topics from
the KS3 National Curriculum in plain, simple English with loads of
practice tasks.
As English doesnt test a topic pupils get very anxious about what to
revise. Please reassure them that if they have worked hard throughout
the year, they will be fine. Encourage children to look at the websites listed
above and try some of the activities.
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Subject Mathematics

Contact Teacher Mr Marston: marstonj@hattonacademy.org.uk

Topics Studied The four main areas of Mathematics are assessed:

Number
Algebra
Handling Data
Shape
Students will sit an exam paper based on their ability, although in
general:
Set 1 will sit a level 5 7 paper
Set 2 will sit a level 4 6 paper
Sets 3 and 4 will sit a level 3 5 paper
Useful Revision Strategies Mathswatch video clips and the supporting worksheets, which can be
and Activities accessed through our VLE (Frog), are an excellent form of revision for
maths.
Reading textbooks and revision guides does not generally help students
in Maths. Instead, students are encouraged to complete questions and
practise the skills learned in class.
Your child has completed a levelled test every half term this year. From
these tests, a list of strengths and weaknesses is available. Working on
the weaknesses would benefit your child the most. The list should be in
your childs maths book. Please contact your childs teacher for another
copy if required.
Useful websites www.mymaths.co.uk (Login: hatton and Password: ratio)

Useful books
Advice to parents on helping
their child prepare for the ex-
am
Mathswatch clips are also available through the VLE (Frog). These are
video tutorials based on a maths topic which poses questions for your
child to answer. It also provides the answers which means instant feed-
back is given. There are also worksheets available for each clip for fur-
ther questions if needed.
Any maths textbook can be a good source of practice questions.
The style of exam will be similar to those sat at the end of Year 6.
Maths is often learned through repetition. Spending a short amount of
time every day can really help students make rapid progress.
Mathswatch clips are very useful for setting tasks or twenty questions on
basic number skills such as multiplication and division
Identify maths in a real life environment from simple money related
tasks.
Discuss mathematics with your child. Ask them to explain topics / skills
to you.

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Subject Science
Contact Teacher Mr Salisbury: salisburyn@hattonacademy.org.uk
Topics Studied Solids, Liquids and Gases and the particle model
Heat transfer and measuring temperature
Chemical and physical processes
Dissolving
Acids and Alkalis
Reactions of metals and acids
Chromatography
Separating mixtures
Thermal decomposition
Digestion and nutrition
Sexual reproduction, child development and birth
Asexual reproduction
Organs and organ systems in human biology
Cell structure and specialised cell function
Respiration, breathing and circulation
The effects of smoking, alcohol and drugs on the body
Microbes, the bodys immune response, infection and immunity
Animal and plant classification
Adaptation, evolution and extinction
Inheritance and variation
Selective breeding
The solar system
Balanced and unbalanced forces
Speed and acceleration
Electrical circuits, current and voltage
Force and its effect on objects, Gravity and Friction
Magnetic fields and Electromagnets

Useful Revision Strategies
and Activities
Useful websites
Useful books
Advice to parents on
helping their child prepare
for the exam
Students make notes in lessons throughout the year which form the basis
of their revision at exam time.
Just reading through books is not active revision. Students should try to
make revision cards or mind maps, create lists of things to remember or try
look, cover, draw for important diagrams.
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/science/
www.docbrown.info/ks3science.htm
www.educationquizzes.com/ks3/science/ (requires a 5 subscription)
Past paper questions are available here but be careful to ensure that they
are of the correct topic: http://www.mathsmadeeasy.co.uk/scienceks3.htm
There are many key stage three revision guides available, mostly very
cheaply from high street and online suppliers. As these books cover the
entire key stage three science course, use the list above to make certain
that students only revise material that they have studied this year.
In science, there are always a number of facts to remember then ideas that
need explaining. The more able your child is, the more they will need to
explain themselves to reach their expected level. Make sure that they use
the scientific language in their explanations often these words are what
the assessor is looking for.
A broad rule of thumb for difficulty in science is described by DEAL.
Level 4 - Describe the students describe scientific ideas but dont explain
them or say because. They are likely to accurately say what happens in
an experiment but not be able to tell you why.
Level 5 - Explain the students can now use scientific ideas to explain why
things happen
Level 6 - Analyse the students can look for patterns in complicated data
or reach conclusions by weighing up opposing arguments. They enrich
their explanations by explaining why other ideas are wrong, based on the
evidence.
Level 7 - Link the students draw together broader areas of study to show
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a more thorough theoretical understanding. Their explanations will show
depth and a grounding in accepted theory.
Subject Art
Contact Teacher Mrs Swain: swainj@hattonacademy.org.uk

Topics Studied Colour and colour mixing theory and practice.

Pencil observed drawing

Media oil pastel, powder paint, watercolours, collage, biro, biro and
wash, card manipulation, mono printing, clay

Design idea and development using the skills taught.

Artists studied Klimt, Niki de St. Phalle, Hundertwasser

Useful Revision Strategies Pupils should practice the core skill of drawing from observation. This is an
and Activities essential skill.

They can draw anything, but it is best that they look at what they are
drawing and it is in front of them and they do not copy from photographs
or draw cartoons/manga.

They also need to know how to mix primary, secondary and tertiary
colours.

Useful websites The Tate Gallery website is interesting and pupils can interact if they enter
the tate kids section kids.tate.org.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/art
The National Gallery www.nga.gov/kids

Useful books How to Draw . books are helpful and any Art reference books broaden
their understanding of the subject as a whole and will give them ideas
about how to tackle their own work.

Advice to parents on help-
ing their child prepare for
the exam
You cannot beat actually GOING to a gallery or museum, for example,
Leicester and Birmingham museums are both worth a visit. Northampton
Derngate Shoe museum is interesting and Abington Park Museum,
Northampton both have a wide range of things to interest, but not too big
as to be overwhelming.
A trip to the free museums and galleries in London is definitely a brilliant
family activity.

Pupils will be guided through a series of lessons during class time, with a
final piece of their designing being produced under exam conditions. They
can discuss their ideas at home and practice outside of class time.

It is essential that students bring a pencil (preferably 2B, available from

Colemans/W.H. Smith), a rubber and a biro pen.

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Subject Drama
Contact Teacher Miss Brennan: brennans@hattonacademy.org.uk

Topics Studied Theatre Skills including:

Characterisation, Multi Role, Freeze Frame, Thought Tracking, Mime, Nar-
ration.

Evacuees

Physical Theatre

Useful Revision Strategies
and Activities
Silent Movie
Writing definitions of the theatre skills;
Learning key words and terminology;
Look at the picture of a freeze frame and analyse what is good and how it
could improve.
Visit the Year 7 Blog site and go through the PowerPoints that have been
made available. They cover all of the key aspects of what we have cov-
ered.

Write a monologue from the point of view of an evacuee. How might they
have felt being moved from their homes? If you were acting your mono-
logue out, how would you perform it using facial expression, voice and
body language?
Create a character profile for an evacuee. How would you use the Magic 7
to show the character to an audience?
Watch some YouTube clips of Silent Movies and analyse what you see.
Considering that the actors cannot speak, what do they do to tell the story
to the audience?

Useful websites www.hattondrama7.blogspot.co.uk

www.youtube.com

Useful books None as this is a practical subject

Advice to parents on help- Question your child about what the different skills are and how they are
ing their child prepare for used. Also ask them what they think went well in their performance work
the exam and how they could make it better.

Test your child on the key terms and definitions that can be found on the
drama blog.

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Subject Geography

Contact Teacher Mr Poulton: poultonc@hattonacademy.org.uk

Topics Studied The students have studied the following topics this year, their end of unit
test will ask them to use skills and knowledge they have learnt across
these topics:

Map skills using OS grid references, scale, compass points

World Geography where continents and oceans are and location of

major rivers and mountain chains

British isleslocation of major cities, mountain ranges and rivers

Useful Revision Strategies The best way for students to revise the topics is to use an atlas and to try
and Activities and play memory games to learn the locations of places.

There are a number of websites that help with learning and revising the
skills like using grid references.

Useful websites http://mapzone.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/index.html

http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/worldquiz.html

http://mapzone.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/toolspages/learning-
games.html

Useful books Atlas

Advice to parents on Ensure that they have access to a range of resources as suggested.
helping their child prepare
for the exam They can use the tick list to work out which areas are their key weakness-
es and prioritise these.

You can work with your child to help them prepare by testing them from at
atlas, or from the maps in their books.

Their OS map can be used to revise their map skills especially OS map
skills. This can even be used to plan a journey or walk!

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Subject History

Contact Teacher Mr Green: greenp@hattonacademy.org.uk

Topics Studied The Roman World

Students are given an introduction to the origins and foundation of Rome.
They study the mythological and archaeological evidence for the creation
of the city, how the city developed from a monarchy to a republic and how
Rome was governed. Students then examine Roman life including;
culture, sport and everyday life. An investigation into the organisation,
features and history of the Roman army follows before an in depth study
of Roman Britain.
Your child should also focus on their source skills and attempt to revise
source interpretation/analysis.

Useful Revision Strategies
and Activities
Useful websites
Read through your exercise books and ensure you are comfortable with
the subject material. Make mind maps or flash cards to help you revise
the different topics.
Check out the YouTube channel for audio visual resources and complete
the interactive activities on the BBC Bitesize website to test your
knowledge.
Consult the recommended KS3 revision guides for further assistance or
borrow a textbook from the History Department.
If you are struggling with any aspect of the material please remember to
talk to your class teacher.
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/history/
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Romans/romansmain.htm
www.schoolhistory.co.uk
www.youtube.com/mrgreen1066

Useful books KS3 History Study Guide: The Study Guide by Richard Parsons.
Letts Revise Key Stage 3 - History by Christopher Lane.
The Rotten Romans (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary and Martin Brown.

Advice to parents on
helping their child prepare
for the exam
Encourage your child to talk to you for 5 minutes a day about the topics,
try and challenge them to reveal a new fact every day.
Check that your child is revising properly by working through the
interactive games and puzzles on the recommended websites.

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Subject ICT
Contact Teacher Mr McMorrow: mcmorrowa@hattonacademy.org.uk
Topics Studied Pupils in year 7 learn how to use many of the basic tools that they will re-
quire to master, later in their school careers. They follow a number of top-
ics in which they will explore and experience different types of software.
While they work they should consider the target audience and purpose of
what they are trying to make.
The topics they will look at are designing, implementing and evaluating
projects in the following areas:
Spreadsheets
Presentation Software
Interactive multimedia presentations
Programming (scratch)
Desktop Publishing
Databases
Useful Revision Strategies All the questions and activities are on the ICT VLE and Frog at
and Activities ict.hattonschool.org.uk/vle
We have access to a resource within the school called I am learning,
which can be accessed through the school Frog VLE. Students that are
struggling with a topic can search I am Learning for the topic and answer
the questions and activities on the site. When they have completed the
activities, they can see their teacher to ask to help them with any problem
areas, as I am Learning can highlight any questions that were not an-
swered correctly.
While in school we tend to use the Microsoft suite of programs, there are a
whole host of other, free offerings available. Google Docs is a free service,
offered by Google that enables you to create documents, presentations,
and spreadsheets at no cost. If pupils want to learn how to write code, a
great website to use is the Code Academy, which is a great site that re-
wards you for completing exercises. Another great website is Teach-ICT,
we have used many of their resources, and find that we can get a great
deal from them. If there is an area a pupil is not happy with, this website
may have another angle on it that a pupil can engage with.
Useful websites http://ict.hattonschool.org.uk/vle
http://scratch.mit.edu/
http://www.codecademy.com/
I am Learning (Via Frog)
http://teach-ict.com
Useful books In ICT especially in year 7 books are of limited value, as by the time many
have been printed, the software has been changed.
Advice to parents on All the courses we study as part of ICT in years 7 are held on the ICT VLE.
helping their child prepare Each lesson has resources, extension material and any homework set. If a
for the exam child is finding a topic difficult, then revisiting the lesson, or going back to
the previous lesson to look in any areas that they did not understand
would be a first step.
They should also use10 I am Learning as a tool for revision.
Subject MFL: German or Spanish
Contact Teacher Miss Sherred: sherreds@hattonacademy.org.uk

Topics Studied Written test on describing yourself and your family.

It will be similar to the spoken test which was done this term.
Pupils will need to write over 100 words introducing themselves, describ-
ing their personality and appearance.
They will also be expected to explain who is in their family and their pets,
and describe at least one member of their family.
This will all be done from memory.

Useful Revision Strategies Practice saying what you intend to write

and Activities

Mind maps

Practice writing out from memory.

Colour coding sentences to learn.

Copy, cover, write, check to help learn key vocabulary.

Useful websites www.linguascope.com (Username: hatton Password: harry or henry)

www.languagesonline.org.uk
www.zut.org.uk - you need to pay a fee and register to this site between
9am 4pm, however it is free at any other times

Useful books German or Spanish dictionary

Exercise books - as all topics covered will be in these books to revise

from

Advice to parents on Ask your son/daughter to speak to you in the language.

helping their child prepare
for the exam
They should be able to tell you about themselves, their family and their
clothing.

Test them on the key vocabulary. Can they spell all the words correctly?
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Subject RE
Contact Teacher Miss Morton: mortonh@hattonacademy.org.uk

Topics Studied Judaism

Students have looked in some depth at the historical background of
Judaism and their scripture, as well as Jewish practice in the modern day.

The Life of Jesus

Students have looked at the life of Jesus with a focus on the significance
and importance of the figure of Jesus to Christians, as well as the
meaning and significance of his miracles and parables.

Hinduism
Students have looked at the religion of Hinduism, including the practices
of the religion today and important and inspiring figures from their History
and scripture.

Useful Revision Strategies All students will receive, prior to the exam, information on what the
and Activities questions will be structured like and how best to go about accessing the
questions.

It is also important to establish a study ritual or ways of studying that are

effective. This could include studying at the same time each day or in the
same location, and using strategies that you know to be effective.

Useful websites http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/

http://www.educationquizzes.com/ks3/religious-education/

http://www.rsrevision.com/contents/ks3ks4ks5.htm

Useful books Additional materials, including books, are available from the RE
department on request.

There are various books available in the library that cover the topics we
have covered, including the major religions and their practices.

Advice to parents on Help students to allocate set times when they will undergo revision in the
helping their child prepare subjects they are due to be examined in. If need be, a revision timetable
for the exam can be made. Make sure to include breaks at appropriate times and
ensure that it becomes part of their routine.

It is also important that students discuss the topics at home and can go
through ideas and concepts from the course with someone else. Also
ensure that you are encouraging students to think more deeply about the
issue.

Finally, ensure that pupils get a good nights sleep before the examination
and are properly equipped with what they need in advance.

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