Exam papers are often set by schools to start children thinking about their exams and to focus their preparation. However, while schools play an important role in exam prep, they are not the only source of this preparation. For children to do well, and to reach their full potential, exam preparation needs to take place at home as well, and past papers play an important role in this.
Here we look at why parents are so important, and how past and sample papers can support the supporters:
The Role Of Past Papers And Parental Support
Of course, parents want the best for their children, and they want to play their role in helping their children to achieve their full potential. But, for some parents, this becomes tricky when it is in relation to academic subjects. Their own school experience, lack of confidence in exam papers, or poor academic ability may stand in the way of them helping their children. Not only is this detrimental to the child, but it is also unnerving and upsetting for the parent.
There is always the concern that if the child sees the lack of confidence in the parent, their level of anxiety will increase. To overcome this problem some parents turn to tutors, allowing them to provide moral and emotional support while the tutor provides the academic know-how. But, what do you do if you are a parent that wants to provide that level of support but you are unable to afford the services of a good tutor?
Firstly, you don’t settle for a cheaper tutor with no experience, or dubious knowledge; this is worse than no tutor at all. The answer instead is to source past exam papers and use teacher resources like https://studentreasures.com/teachers-lounge/lesson-plans/first-grade/. By having past papers that you and your child can explore together, you can start to overcome your academic concerns while providing helpful resources for your child. If you source both blank exam past papers and those that have the answers and workings shown, then you can bridge any gaps in your knowledge easily.
Motivating And Encouraging Persistence With Exam Papers
Two areas where parents often find themselves having roles to play are in providing motivation and encouraging persistence. Providing motivation for anything with a child, especially a teenager, can be difficult, and exam revision is no different. However, if good studying habits are started early, then motivation is easier to find.
Motivation support can take many forms, including reward systems and project management, as well as simply being there when needed. A child who knows there is a set time for revision or homework, and that there is a reward at the successful completion of that time, is more likely to be motivated than a child who sees no end and no reward in sight.
Past papers are useful here because they can be used to set work goals. For example, agreeing to work through five questions per night on a specific number of subjects or areas, before stopping and being rewarded.
Rewards are an important element to aiding perseverance. Children who see that their effort rather than their outcome is being acknowledged are more likely to try and risk getting things wrong. Children whose effort is valued learn to see opportunity in wrong answers, rather than failure.
