4 Good study habits to better prepare for the PSLE

In order to succeed in school, it is important that good habits are cultivated. These habits would then enable your child to get through their studies, and eventually their exams, more confidently.

It goes without saying that having good study habits will help immensely in getting ready for the PSLE during this important year. If you’re stressing out about how best to get your child started on their revision, take a look at these four tips and start thinking about which methods you should employ at home to begin your preparations.

#1: Create a Study Plan

Preparing for a national exam is the student’s version of going into battle, and like any good general knows, having a strategy for the battle is crucial to attaining a positive outcome.

For each subject, sit down with your child and start going through the list of topics that will be covered for the PSLE. As the syllabus will likely not be completed in school before June, you should continually review the plan as the school year proceeds. Keep pace with what is being covered in school for your child, and ensure that your child is confident with their subjects, and not feeling behind in any topic.

By creating a study plan and getting your child to keep to it, you are not only enabling your child to stay up to date on all of their subjects, but also developing their confidence to face the exams. They would be less likely to be taken by surprise by any question that comes up in the exams, and would be able to answer them with confidence.

#2: Have a Consistent Routine

Children thrive on having a regular routine to follow, even though they may initially chafe at being given a schedule.

Set aside time every day for your child to complete their homework, to revise their work, and importantly, to rest and relax. Your child will then know that they are expected to keep on top of their homework, and to go through any subject areas of concern when they revise their work.

This is also the time when you will be able to pick up whether or not your child requires more specialised help (e.g. tuition) for any particular subject area, as you will be able to monitor their revision and their homework. In this way, any concerns can be quickly and readily addressed.

#3: Focus on Targeted Practice

While practice is always a crucial part of the study plan, it’s much better to make it targeted towards specific subjects and topics each time, so as to maximise the time that your child has.

As the exam date draws nearer, go through all the topics for all subjects that will be covered in the PSLE together with your child. There will inevitably be areas in which your child will be stronger and more confident in, and others in which they may be weaker and less confident about. Try to identify the topics that require extra revision time, and get them to do more practice questions for those areas.

This will enable your child to not feel as though they are wasting time covering topics they are already confident in, and also allow them to gain confidence in their weaker areas.

#4: Work on Time Management Skills

An essential skill for any student would be that of time management. This is particularly important, as students do not have an unlimited amount of time to answer their exam questions, and they must get used to working under time pressure.

One way to do this would be to conduct “mini exams” at home regularly. Arrange an area in the house that would mimic an exam room or hall as much as possible (no distractions, and only approved stationery or dictionaries allowed), and get your child to complete assessment papers within a stipulated time period. These assessment papers can be revision papers that you can find in assessment books, or past year exam papers.

This way, you will be cultivating time management skills in your child, and your child will be more confident in completing their exam papers within the stipulated time given.

This concludes the four basic strategies to start preparing your child for PSLE. As the date of the final exam approaches, you may find that there are other things to be mindful of, such as mental fatigue, anxiety, or physical constitution.

Need an extra boost for your child’s revision efforts? Geniebook’s suite of online learning tools specialise in giving targeted practice, being capable of identifying their strengths and weaknesses and generating worksheets to help reinforce their understanding for each subject.

Learn more about them in our various blog articles, or schedule a complimentary strengths analysis session for your child by clicking on the link below.