If your child’s ISEB pretest is approaching, then you, as a parent, might want to make things as much easier for your child as possible. You might want to get your hands on resources that give a clearer overview of the types of questions that would be coming up in the pretest.
You will also want to know the layout of the test to help your kids ace the exam. For instance, the English section of the ISEB pretest comprises three categories which are all in the format of multiple-choice.
Apart from getting the right resources for the ISEB pretest practice, you will want to follow the below-given tips to help your child ace the ISEB pretest modules.
Read on to learn more!
Encourage Reading
You will want to encourage your child to read as much as possible when it comes to acing any exam. This is specifically crucial if you want to help your child ace the English module of the ISEB pretest module and English isn’t your native language.
Typically, children who find great pleasure in reading books during their childhood tend to find comprehension far easier to attempt and excel in contrast to reluctant readers. Children who love books are quite familiar with reading deeper into any given text and finding the answers to potential questions as compared to kids who rarely pick up a book outside of school.
If your child is a reluctant reader, you will want to encourage them to start their exam preparation by reading for at least half an hour every day. You might want to encourage them to select books of different genres that different authors write.
Apart from reading books, you might as well encourage your children to engage in audiobooks and improve their comprehension while listening to the narrator’s different expressions. Audiobooks can make the mid-twentieth classics more appealing to the ears.
Read on the Weekends
You will want to read together with your children over the weekend and help them prepare for the ISEB pretest. Usually, at the end of primary school, children don’t have time to read together during the week, so you can immensely benefit from the weekend and make reading a joint practice.
You will want to set a study schedule where you spend time together with your child to read books and go through the vocabulary and rhetorical techniques of the authors. You can also make reading a fun activity by having a discussion about your respective viewpoints on the character’s feelings and intent.
While going through the text together, you can point out particularly interesting expressions, sentences, and phrases. This way, you can help your child adopt an analytic approach for analyzing the texts.
Typically, the ISEB pretest comprises both non-fiction and fiction texts in its comprehension section, which is why you might want to encourage your children to regularly read the appropriate news for their age.
Subsequently, you might want to discuss interesting topics as a family. Encouraging your child to debate is as helpful as indulging in questions and answers about the chosen non-fiction text. Make sure to help your children form their own perspective about a text.
Focus on Vocabulary
When it comes to acing the English module of the ISEB pretest, vocabulary plays a crucial part in helping your child approach all questions. You will want to make vocabulary learning a fun, appealing, and interesting activity by using illustrations and color and making your children learn vocabulary in different contexts.
When it comes to improving one’s vocabulary, you can encourage your kids to learn as many antonyms and synonyms as possible. You can ask them to pick vocabulary from their favorite books and music and write a short story using those words.
Some Other Ways to Help Your Child Prepare for the Exam
Of course, tests and exams are a challenging part of life, which is why you will want to help your child beat their exam stress. Apart from providing your child with helpful learning resources, you will also want to assess their stress levels.
Children who are stressed end up worrying a lot and feel tense. Their stress might cause them to frequently complain about headaches and stomach pains. They might display a loss of interest in food and not enjoy those activities that they once used to love.
Children can also complain of irritability at night and have negative thoughts, which can further impact their mood.
In this case, it can help your child to be able to talk to someone about their studies. Support from their parents and tutors can increase the self-esteem of young children as it helps them put their thoughts into perspective.
As a parent, you will want to ensure that your child eats well and that they get enough sleep. Apart from helping your children set up a dedicated studying schedule and providing them with all the crucial learning resources, you will want to ensure that they receive the right fuel for their minds and body as well.
That said, you will want to discourage the consumption of high-sugar and high-carb foods and drinks. Instead of giving them energy drinks, fast foods, and caffeine, you will want to ensure that your children consume healthy, well-balanced, nutritious, and freshly prepared meals at home.
You might as well want to encourage your kids to have healthy snacks and plenty of water throughout the day.
When it comes to rest, you will want to discourage your child from pulling all-nighters – especially – the day before the exam, as this can adversely impact their performance. You will want to encourage your child to get sufficient sleep as this will help them sharpen their memory and boost their concentration span and thinking.
You will also want to set up a healthy study schedule to give your child healthy breaks between their study sessions. Encourage your child to play outside and get some fresh air every day. A healthy sleeping pattern will benefit your child far more than pulling an all-nighter before their exam.
