GCSEPod - Education Anywhere

Nicola Greener, English teacher and author of The Crucible topic and Media and Non-Fiction Texts, gives us her tips on answering specific types of questions in English

It is useful when considering how to answer exam or coursework questions in English, that you consider different question types.  For example, some questions will ask you whether a passage or phrase is effective, or will ask you to fully explain how a writer creates an idea in their work.

So, it is useful to consider the meaning of these phrases and make sure that you understand what is being asked.

Let’s deal with effectiveness.  Many questions in exam papers will ask you to evaluate the effectiveness of the writer’s use of language, which they use to create a particular effect.  This question is therefore asking: does the writer draw a response from the reader, or highlight and emphasise a particular point?

For example, you may be asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the following phrase: ‘“The children were as quiet as mice”. Here you will recognise that the writer has used a simile, but what qualities do children and mice share?  Asking this question will help you to decide whether the phrase is effective. The comparison emphasises the aspects of the children’s behaviour that is quiet and hardly noticeable.  A good answer would be something like - “This simile is effective because it emphasises how little noise the children are making and that they are still; hardly moving, so as not to be noticed”.

This is the same when we consider metaphors.  When looking at the phrase: “the lake is a mirror for the clouds”, we ask the same questions as before: what is the writer trying to emphasise and what are the qualities of the comparison?

A good response to the phrase would be: “The writer is using a metaphor to create a picture in the mind of the reader of the reflection of the clouds in the lake. The lake is described as a mirror because the still, flat surface allows the movement and motion of the clouds to be reflected”.

Watch out for more blogs on how to deal with different question types in your English exam!

Image: SteveWeaver@Flickr:cc

We’ve seen blizzards of snow, ponds turning to ice, and temperatures plummeting to -22 degrees, so Louise Bessant, author of our Circulation title, tells us how we keep warm

During the ‘big freeze’ your homeostatic mechanisms have been working hard to keep your body functioning, despite the sub-zero temperatures.

Homeostasis is ‘maintaining a constant internal environment in the body’ and thermoregulation is when your body keeps its internal temperature constant.  Even when your fingers feel numb and the hairs on your arms are standing on end, your core body temperature stays at around 36-38 degrees Celsius.

This is very important to protect your vital organs and cells, and to maintain an optimum temperature for your enzymes to work in.  It’s ok for your extremities to feel cold, but it’s certainly not ok for the chemical reactions in your body to stop!

Receptors in our skin and hypothalamus detect the stimulus of the cold weather.  The hypothalamus co-ordinates our responses to this, using different effectors:

Shivering
This response is the rapid contraction of muscles. Energy is released, which keeps you warm.

Goose bumps
It’s not the bumps that keep you warm, but tiny muscles which contract to make the hairs on your arms stand on end.  This traps air under the hair, which helps to insulate you.

Vasoconstriction
We lose a lot of heat from our body to the environment; especially from our head area!  To reduce this the blood vessels contract.  This makes them smaller, so less blood can flow through; therefore less heat is lost through your skin.  Blood flow can be diverted away from extremities, towards the core, to minimise heat loss further.  This is why your fingers and toes can look pale in the cold.

Our body uses negative feedback to control temperature. If temperature is rising too high your body can lower it, and if it is falling too low your body can increase it.  Our bodies have antagonistic effectors; antagonistic means they have opposite effects. For example, hairs standing on end vs flat hairs.  These antagonistic effectors are beneficial to us as it means we can have an incredibly sensitive response to a change – keeping things just right.

Click here if you’d like to learn more about how the body controls temperature.

Image: jpctalbot@Flickr:cc

With exams coming up for many of us over the next few weeks (weather permitting!), History teacher, Emily Thomas, offers up some advice for a clear-minded approach

Here are some top tips for staying calm during the exam period:

1. Know what the exam demands of you in advance. If you have done practice exams in class, look over these. If not, ask your teacher for past papers or look on your exam board’s website. Think about how many questions you are expected to answer, and from which sections. You might also give some consideration to how much time you will spend on each section. Remember, GCSEPod’s ‘Recommended for you’ page shows you titles relevant to upcoming exams

2. Arrive in good time and with the right equipment. There’s nothing worse than having to be shown to your seat by an angry teacher when everyone else has started, or not having a calculator in Maths if you need one!

3. Avoid scaremongers like the plague. Before and after every exam you will encounter the scaremongers. They are people who, whether they know it or not, make themselves feel better by standing around comparing how well they are going to do/have done in comparison to others. A conversation with these people is guaranteed to be pretty confidence shattering. Go straight home after the exam.

4. Get some rest between the exams. Your timetable will have ensured that you have already covered everything at least once. Resting after exams is more valuable than looking over the same thing for the tenth time. The brain uses calories, and exams are exhausting.

Above all, stay calm. The fact that you are reading this demonstrates that you want to do well, which means you probably will. But don’t over-do it: your sanity is more important than any exam result and if you find yourself getting really stressed, talk to someone who’s been through it all before: a teacher, a parent, or an older friend perhaps. They’ll help you put things into perspective.

Image: gsdi10@Flickr:cc

With Science exams often calling for knowledge of human evolution, Louise Bessant (author of our Circulation title), discusses how contemporary science relates to this

In October 2009, it was revealed by scientists that ‘Ardi’ had been discovered.  But who was Ardi, and why is she so important?  This 4.4 million year old hominid (meaning ‘human-family’) from Ethiopia was about 1.2m high, hairy, and changed scientists’ thoughts on the evolution of humans.

Scientists worked for 17 years on Ardi, and they now think that Ardipithecus ramidus (to use her scientific name) may be the earliest human ancestor discovered that could walk upright.

Prior to the discovery of Ardi, ‘Lucy’ had been the oldest known hominid, but she was only 3.2 million years old.  This discovery is so important because scientists did not know what older hominid species looked like.  One of the lead scientists, Tim White, said “Ardi is not an ordinary fossil. It’s not a chimp.  It’s not a human. It shows us what we used to be.”

So, how have human’s evolved? Scientists believe we are not from monkeys and other apes, we are related to them as we are descended from the same ancestor; from something called a common ancestor.  Scientists don’t know what this common ancestor was, but they think it lived 7–9 million years ago in the forests of Africa.  Ardi is not our common ancestor, but is very close.

Over time, the different species evolved due to natural selection. This happens because most living things show variation.  Individuals with good characteristics for their habitat survive and breed, and pass on the good features.  Some were best suited to staying in the trees, due to their strong wrists and long limbs.  These features were passed onto future generations until they evolved into the monkeys and apes we recognise today.  Species that were not adapted to their environment became extinct.

Others evolved to be able to walk upright because of the shape of their pelvis and feet, but scientists don’t know why they did this.  It could have been to look for food as forests disappeared, or to look for a mate and carry food to it.  As time went on, hominids developed larger brains to enable them to learn and solve problems.  Scientists do not yet agree on how all of this happened, so will need more evidence and data to support their theory.  The debate of how human evolution happened carries on, just as it did in Charles Darwin’s time.

Remember that being up to date with what’s going on in the world of Science can be really useful for your GCSE exams. Click here for more information on evolution and natural selection.

Image: kevindooley@Flickr:cc

With Christmas just around the corner, you may be worrying about mocks or exams in January (or thinking about Christmas food!), so History teacher Emily Thomas offers up some easy-to-digest advice

Many GCSE subjects require students to process and memorise what can feel like an impossible amount of information. The feeling that you are drowning in facts, figures, and arguments is completely understandable. As GCSE students you are studying up to twelve separate subjects. Remembering what you learnt last week can be hard enough, let alone remembering everything you have learnt over the last two years for the exam.

But do not fear. There are ways of making all this information digestible. The ‘takeaway’ is one of these ways. It is an idea borrowed from the business world. When giving presentations, some modern business people like to finish with a takeaway. This doesn’t mean that they order in burgers and chips for everyone. It means that they finish with one message (the takeaway) that their listeners should take with them.

In my GCSE classes, I find that the idea of the takeaway helps students remember important messages from week to week. At the end of every lesson I ask each student to come up with his or her own takeaway sentence. It needs to be small enough to remember, but dense enough to be useful.

You might, for example, spend a whole history lesson debating whether or not World War Two was good for America. You will talk about a range of social groups, look at sources and discuss different interpretations. There is no way that you can memorise the entire lesson, and nor should you try to.

You need to strip it down to the basics. Get into the habit of looking over your work at the end of the lesson or revision session. Think about how you would explain your learning to someone who knew nothing about the topic. Use no more than one sentence. Write the sentence underneath your work and underline it. Or, even better, put it on a post-it note and stick it somewhere at home where you can’t avoid seeing it.

To revisit our example of the lesson on America and World War Two, your takeaway might be “WWII boosted the American economy and gave opportunities to women, but some minority groups faced discrimination”. Although it lacks detail, the key message is there. It is only once you are confident with key messages that you can start to pad out your revision with the details.

To begin with you might find it difficult to strip a whole lesson or topic down to a single sentence. You might worry that you’re missing something. If this is the case, do it gradually. Start with limiting yourself to ten lines, and then strip those ten lines down to a sentence. After a while, once you get good at it, see if you can reduce your takeaway to a few words and abbreviations. For example, “WWII good for economy and women, BUT bad for minorities”.

Give it a try. And if it goes well, reward yourself with a real takeaway. Why not try it out on some of your relatives over the Christmas holidays!

Image: ginnerobot@Flick:cc

Nic Worgan, English teacher and author of Animal Farm and Poetry from Other Cultures: Cluster One and Two, offers up some advice on how you can make working in a group work for you

Chances are that at some point during your school day you will be put into a group to work on a particular task. As a rule, you get out of a group work task what you put in, so they shouldn’t be used as an opportunity to catch up on the gossip from the weekend! Here are some suggestions for getting the most out of your group work and making it a positive learning experience.

1) Make sure everyone in the group is involved. This is easier said than done, as your group could consist of someone who dominates the task and someone else who is very quiet. The best way to overcome this is to go around the group and make sure that each person puts forward their ideas or comments. As a group, make sure those ideas are discussed. Remember that everyone in the group can contribute something and the more ideas that are shared and explored, the better the learning that will take place.

2) Be supportive and interested in the ideas of everyone in the group. Support and encouragement from each group member will ensure the most productive group work and develop important skills for everyone.

3) Always try to give further suggestions to develop everyone’s ideas. Don’t be afraid to do this. Sometimes a “wrong” answer can lead to the most productive discussion, as getting something “right” first time doesn’t always lead to productive exploration.

4) A simple idea, but one which is often overlooked, is listening to each other. It is an important skill that needs to be developed for your GCSEs and beyond. If you don’t listen to other people’s ideas, you can’t be involved in the exploration and you might miss something really important!

It is no coincidence that group work is used a great deal in the classroom. If done well it can develop several important skills and provide you with an excellent learning experience. It is up to you to take advantage of it!

Image: ramamiguel@Flickr:cc

GCSEPod and our team of Maths teachers have been hard at work for the last few months, making Maths as useful as possible for you!

You might be thinking how can we make Maths easy-to-understand with audio, and surely it’s not possible to revise Maths without trawling through pages and pages of examples in exercise books?

Well, through a mixture of well-explained scripts, an interesting voice and lots and lots of images – we think we’ve managed it! Our images even show the working out you’ll need to know for your exams.

The ‘Test Yourself’ section at the end of each title will make sure you’ve understood what you’ve just watched, and if you get any questions wrong you can flick back and listen to the relevant chapters again.

Maths is relevant to many areas of everyday life, whether you like the subject or not! So it’s useful not only for your GCSEs. In our ‘Ratio and Proportion’ title we’ll be looking at wine gums, charities, boys, recipes, girls, toilet roll and starting up your own business – all in relation to Maths!

In ‘Number Operations’ we pose the question - ever since the first calculations were written down, how could Mathematicians be sure that anyone reading a calculation would interpret it in the same way and come up with the same answer? Answers on a postcard (or you could just listen to the title)!

‘Powers and Roots’ states that the moon is approximately 384 million, 400 thousand metres from the earth. But do you know how to put this into standard index form? Listening to this title will help you find out. If you buy a whole topic from GCSEPod you save 20% over buying the individual titles. Using Maths can help you to work out exactly how much you’re saving!

So watch out, GCSEPod Maths is coming soon…

Image: Irargerich@Flickr:cc

With many of us taking exams this month, or taking mocks at some point in the future, Hazel Chee, a French and Spanish teacher, gives us her tips on surviving revision and exams

School can be stressful at the best of times, throw in exams and you may feel overwhelmed.  Worry not! Regular reviewing of work and careful scheduling can help make your anxiety disappear.  Completing homework is the bare minimum you should do.  Become an independent learner, take responsibility for your own learning and don’t leave it all to the last minute.

It might be useful to make a timetable, set attainable goals, and stick to it.  You could also make a list of the subjects you need to study.  Prioritise your time, study your least favourite, or most challenging, subject first.  No-one can learn things in detail without taking short, regular breaks.  You’ll need the time to process the information.

Don’t stress – it’s only an exam, NOT the end of the world.  Should you find yourself stressed – calm down by taking slow deep breaths.  Sit up straight, inhale slowly through your nose, feel your rib cage expand then breathe out slowly through your mouth.  Repeat this simple exercise at least 5 times.  You should feel better at the end of it.

Make sure you eat healthily and are not filling up on junk food.  Yes, it may be quick and convenient, and yes it’ll be a quick burst of energy, but it won’t last.  Instead, try eating a piece of fruit rather than chocolate before an exam.  It won’t leave you hungry and energy will be released slowly into your system, giving you more opportunity to concentrate in the exam.  Keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water.  Caffeinated drinks are not a good substitute.  Above all, get a good night’s sleep.

During the exam, If you don’t know an answer, stay calm and move onto the next question.  However, remember to go back to it.  If you’re still unsure – make an intelligent guess, go with your gut feeling, and try not to leave any blank spaces.  The examiners aren’t out to trick you – they want you to demonstrate your knowledge.  Regular, thorough revision is the way to go - don’t forget GCSEPod can help with this!

Image: Comedynose@Flickr:cc

An acronym is a word formed from the initials of other words, where each letter stands for something.

Acronyms can be useful if you’re having trouble remembering key processes in Chemistry or need help with planning your writing in English. They can really help to jog the memory at nerve-wracking moments in exams!

Here at GCSEPod we thought we’d write down some of our favourite acronyms to help you with any upcoming GCSE English, Maths (coming soon) or Science exams.

In Chemistry, you might be struggling to remember what happens during oxidation and reduction in the extraction of metals part of your course. Try OIL RIG to help you remember what happens to electrons during these reactions:

Oxidation
Is
Loss

Reduction
Is
Gain

If you’re taking an English exam where you need to write descriptively, the acronym DAME MOP will inspire you!

D is for dialogue; include brief snatches of speech or conversation.
A is for atmosphere; set the scene and establish the mood.
M is for movement; tell the reader about what’s happening and people’s actions.
E is for emotions; add people’s thoughts and feelings.

M is for memories; try to perhaps include a flashback. Flashbacks make the structure of your writing more sophisticated and therefore get you higher marks.
O is for objects; these are always good to include because they enrich your writing with precise descriptive detail.
P is for people; it is probably impossible to write a descriptive piece without including people.

The order we carry out calculations in Maths is extremely important, you could lose marks in the exam if you don’t carry them out in the correct way. BIDMAS will make sure you don’t trip up!

Brackets
Indices (powers and roots)
Division or Multiplication
Addition or Subtraction

You may know this as BODMAS, where the ‘O’ stands for Order, but the acronym means the same thing. Remember GCSEPod Maths is coming soon.

Please feel free to leave a comment on this post if you have any acronyms of your own, we’d love to hear them!

Image: Allyrose18@Flickr:cc

With some of us taking GCSE English exams in November, Nicola Greener, author of topics such as Media and Non-Fiction Texts and Great Expectations, offers up some advice on how to examine poems

When you read a piece of poetry for the first time you need to be as open minded as you can and rid yourself of any preconceptions about what the poem may be attempting to do. When reading, think about who is speaking, and why? Consider who the poem is addressed to; is it you, the reader, is it to a loved one from the past, perhaps even a government or an unborn child? Then think about the poet’s attitude to the reader; is it aggressive or passive; loving, or filled with excitement?

Once you have read over the poem several times it’s best to take the poem line by line in order to begin to extract the meaning.

First, look at the title of the poem; does it connect to the subject matter of the poem or is it in contrast to the themes and ideas, and if so why is this the case?

Then consider the subject matter. Write down in your own words what the poem is about; does it describe an experience, a situation, or a landscape perhaps?

Now look at the mood of the poem; is it reflective or nostalgic, in other words is it looking back at the past? Is it political, perhaps commenting on war?  Is it philosophical; meaning truth-seeking or thoughtful? Then consider whether the mood changes at any point and what effect this will have on the reader - is it shocking or does it help to evoke an emotion?

Next we need to look at the craftsmanship of the poet and ask what techniques they have used in their poetry and how these techniques affect the way the poem is read.

Firstly, consider structure - perhaps the poem is an ode, a sonnet, or a ballad? Does it have verses which are regular or irregular and how does this reflect the subject of the poem?

Next look closely at the poet’s choice of words.  Are the words vivid or striking? Are they representing an idea and can they be considered symbolic, or do they convey a theme? Looking at the poet’s choice of words will lead you to look at imagery, which is created through similes, metaphors, personification and symbols – always look closely for colour or the use of nature to represent theme or subject.

Now look at the movement of the poem or its rhythm - is it slow or fast, regular or irregular? Consider the sound features of the poem. You will have heard of onomatopoeia, alliteration and assonance, which you can pick out, but general terms such as ‘musical’ can also say something about the effect a poem has. Finally, does the poem rhyme? What would be the reason for the rhyming or the lack of rhyming?

At all times you must remember that the way a poem is constructed and the meaning that is created are always linked.  Poetry is a specialised use of language, and the value of any use of language is to say something.  This could be to communicate a feeling or an idea, but always seeks to create a response in you, the reader. Think about how you feel when you read a poem and then extract how the poet has been able to create that feeling in you.

This is useful advice whatever the poem – be it Poetry from Other Cultures, British poetry or even a poem you’ve written yourself!

Image: KristianD@Flickr:cc