Every School Day Matters
The best teachers in Brighton can’t help you if you are not in school!
The effect of absence on progress
A whole year has 365 days; a school year has 190 days. That leaves 175 days to spend on family time, holidays, shopping and other appointments
No Absence
10 Days
Absence
12 Days Absence
19 days Absence
29 days Absence
38 days Absence
190 days of
education
180 days of education
178 days of
education
171 days of education
161 days of education
152 days of
education
100%
95%
94%
Very Good
Worrying
Make more progress than expected
Struggle to make
expected
progress
90%
85%
80%
Serious concerns
Make less than expected progress – lose one grade in
each subject
Eat That Frog!
Focus
Ludicrous Procrastination = A
Multitude of Ugly Frogs
Urgency
Four Steps to Success
1. Understand it
2. Condense it
3. Memorise it
4. Review it
Step 1. Understand It
A Theme is the main point of the text, it
can usually be found in the title.
Main ideas are like mini-themes that fit
together to give an overview of the
information.
Details hold everything together like glue,
each one is related to its main idea.
Top Tips for Understanding
“I keep six honest serving men,
they taught me all I knew: Their
names are
WHAT and
WHY and
WHEN and
HOW and
Top Tip: First and last
WHERE and
sentences of each
paragraph usually
WHO.”
Rudyard Kipling
contain the most
important
information!
The circulatory system
What is the main theme?
Blood moving around the
body.
What are the main ideas?
1. Blood cells
2. Blood vessels
3. The heart
And the details?
Step 2. Condense It

The Blood


Your blood is pumped by your heart.
Your blood travels through thousands of miles of blood vessels right within your own body.
Your blood carries nutrients, water, oxygen and waste products to and from your body cells.
A young person has about a gallon of blood. An adult has about 5 quarts.
Your blood is not just a red liquid but rather is made up of liquids, solids and small amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Red Blood Cells

Red Blood Cells are responsible for carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide. Red Blood Cells pick up oxygen in the lungs and transport it to all the body cells. After
delivering the oxygen to the cells it gathers up the carbon dioxide(a waste gas produced as our cells are working) and transports carbon dioxide back to the lungs where
it is removed from the body when we exhale(breath out). There are about 5,000,000 Red Blood Cells in ONE drop of blood.

White Blood Cells (Germinators)

White Blood Cells help the body fight off germs. White Blood Cells attack and destroy germs when they enter the body. When you have an infection your body will
produce more White Blood Cells to help fight an infection. Sometimes our White Blood Cells need a little help and the Doctor will prescribe an antibiotic to help our White
Blood Cells fight a large scale infection.

Platelets

Platelets are blood cells that help stop bleeding. When we cut ourselves we have broken a blood vessel and the blood leaks out. In order to plug up the holes where the
blood is leaking from the platelets start to stick to the opening of the damaged blood vessels. As the platelets stick to the opening of the damaged vessel they attract
more platelets, fibers and other blood cells to help form a plug to seal the broken blood vessel. When the platelet plug is completely formed the wound stops bleeding.
We call our platelet plugs scabs.

Plasma

Plasma is the liquid part of the blood. Approximately half of your blood is made of plasma. The plasma carries the blood cells and other components throughout the
body. Plasma is made in the liver.
Where are the blood cells made?
The Red Blood Cells, White Blood Cells and Platelets are made by the bone marrow. Bone marrow is a soft tissue inside of our bones that produces blood cells.




The blood is an amazing substance that is constantly flowing through our bodies.

The Blood Vessels

Arteries
Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood AWAY from the heart, much of which is oxygen rich. Remember, A A Arteries Away, A A Arteries Away, A A Arteries Away.
Capillaries
Capillaries are tiny blood vessels as thin or thinner than the hairs on your head. Capillaries connect arteries to veins. Food substances(nutrients), oxygen and wastes
pass in and out of your blood through the capillary walls.
Veins
Veins carry blood back toward your heart.





Condensing it – Flow diagram
The Brain
Left
•
•
•
•
•
•
Language
Numbers
Sequences
Words
Order
Lists
Right
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rhythm
Music
Pictures
Patterns
Creativity
Colour
Imagination
A quick test…
Call out the colour that each word is
written in …
RED
BLUE
BLUE
BLUE
YELLOW
BROWN
PINK
BLACK
GREEN
PURPLE
Call out the ANIMAL
whose picture is shown
DOG
ELEPHANT
CAMEL
DOG
CAT
FROG
LION
DOG
Step 3: Memorize It

Let’s bring it all together.

Your brain loves logic and creativity. Using
both sides of the brain is like your super
power!

Enter the super hero…. A – Maps!
A – Maps: Step Three
Memorize It!
• An A-Map is a logical pattern.
• And uses the hierarchy
• And is creative!
See how it all comes together!
They are flexible….
Condensing it – Flow diagram
The Heart
Let’s Recap…



You are awesome
You are intelligent
You now know A – Maps are logical and
creative so your brain loves them!
The secret to success…
•
You know the secret to success is…
1.
2.
3.
Understand it
Condense it
Memorize it
Initial Memory
Up to 75% loss in 24 hours
(without reviewing)
Review Strategy: Surf the Waves
10 minutes later review for 10
minutes
1 day later review for 5
minutes
1 week later review for 2 – 5
minutes
1 month later review for 2 – 5
minutes
Do this and you are laughing in the face of exams!
Get Organised
Urgency
Importance
A
1
B
2
Get Organised make a Timetable
Laugh in the face of exams!
Action
plan!
The Long – term
plan:
The Short – term plan:
Create an overall plan
of topics to be covered
before the exam.
Created week by week
Detailed and specific
And realistic! Include time
for fun, social activities,
dinner etc.!
Eat That Frog!