Monday, 08 October 2018

By ASP School Projects

Now is the time to start preparing for the year-end exams. Do not fall behind.

Imagine it’s the night before your children’s year-end exam begin, they are cramming their work, you can see how tired they are, and there is just one thought in your mind, ‘If only they started earlier!’ We have all been there, wishing we could turn back time to help our children prepare in advance. However, this year can be different, because this year you can start right now to encourage your children to study for exams. Preparing for exams in advance the best strategy for exam success. As Alexander Graham Bell said, “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.”


5 Reasons why your students should start studying for the year-end exams in advance:
1. Preparing in advance requires a schedule.
2. Studying in advance helps set goals.
3. Preparing in advance builds stamina.
4. Take the stress off.
5. There is time for self-assessment through exam papers.


1. Preparing in advance requires a schedule.

We all know what a study schedule is and how to use it. However, when your children don’t study in advance, a study schedule has no value, because they will probably just try to cram all the information in one day. A study schedule becomes the grid to which you measure your progress and if that’s not in place your children will have no idea which topics they have or haven’t covered. If you need more information on how to set up a schedule, read our blog ‘Four tips to help you set up a schedule for a successful school year.’


2. Studying in advance helps set goals.

Preparing for the exams in advance helps set smaller goals that guide you to achieve bigger goals. Once again, this can be done through a schedule that set the goals for the day and week ahead, for example, if each of your children studies one to two chapters a day, in a month they will be through all their work and ready for the exams. Therefore, smaller goals help achieve bigger goals.


3. Preparing in advance builds stamina.

When your children start their preparation for exams, their concentration capacity might not be to their full capacity. It’s the same as with getting fit for sports – you won’t be able to run a marathon on you first day of exercise. You start with jogging 500m on the first day, then increasing the distance gradually to 2, 3 and 5km’s. Then you increase your speed to run 5km’s a little faster; and so, your endurance grows. It takes a gradual increase of workout intensity to finally be able to run the full marathon. Just like training for a marathon, you don’t start the study process by trying to study a whole term’s work in one day. You study one topic for 20 minutes and then take a 10-minute break. Later, you increase the study time to 30 minutes with a 10-minute break, and so forth. This way, the student gradually learns how to sit still for 1 – 2 hours and concentrate at full capacity.


4. Take the stress off.

Preparing for tests in advance really makes children stress less, simply because they know they got through all their work. How stressful is it when we know there is work we didn’t study, and the angst of not knowing whether it will be in the test paper? Therefor by preparing in advance, your children will have one less thing to stress about.

Stress also has a negative influence on growing children’s ability to perform. To help your children handle stress in a healthy way read our blog, ‘7 Techniques to help young children deal with stress.’


5. There is time for self-assessment through exam papers.

It is well-known that exam papers help children prepare for tests and exams, because the learners will know what to kind of questions to expect. Where will your children find the time to work out practice exam papers if they don’t study in advance? Working through practice exam papers will give your children the exam confidence they need to ace their exams, however it does take time to prefect the art of writing exams.


To learn more about the benefits of exam papers read our blog ‘The best way to know that you are prepared for your exam is through self-assessment.’ To purchase your children’s own practice exam papers, visit our website: www.aspschoolprojects.co.za.

Read our other blog articles for more inspiration:
‘Five reasons why working hard now pays off later.’
‘How to deal with exam stress.’

We hope you enjoyed this article and that you will encourage your children to start preparing for their year-end exams as soon as possible.

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