St Columb’s College

January February 2020

Revision Pack

Year 8

How to Revise

There are a few things that you can do to make your revision for

the Christmas Exams as effective as possible.

Revision Environment:

You should try to make sure you have good surroundings when you

are trying to revise.

Find a quiet place so you don’t get distracted

Make sure you are sitting comfortably

Keep background noise a minimum e.g. TV, radio.

Make sure the area is well lit so you don’t strain your eyes.

Revision plan:

It is suggested that making a revision plan helps some people to revise more effectively.

Included in this pack you will find a suggested revision timetable. You can download more copies

off the school website.

Make a list of all your exam subjects and try to assign an amount of time needed for each

subject. For example if there is an area that you find difficult, then maybe you should

give more time to this subject.

Revise often and try to do a bit everyday.

Break your revision time down – aim to study each subject for no more than 15-20

minutes at a time.

Include time off and breaks in your revision plan. Aim to take a 5 minute break after

every session.

Remember to include variety in your plan – not only in the subjects you revise but also the

techniques you use.

Revision techniques:

Here are a few ideas as to how you can revise most effectively.

Create memory aids such as diagrams or mnemonics (e.g. for the

order of colours in the rainbow:

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet

- Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain).

Write key facts on pieces of cards and display them around your

house or even on the way to school.

Study with someone at home or with a friend and test each

other’s knowledge

Remember to reward yourself. Use rewards as incentive to do the revision.

On the day before the exam:

Use your revision tools (e.g. diagrams, mnemonics etc) to check facts

Keep calm – don’t try to learn new topics so close to an exam.

Don’t stay up all night.

Please remember that revision isn’t a competition. It’s not about who stayed up all night and

revised the longest. It is about finding the right revision methods that suit your way of

learning. Try out some of the techniques mentioned and you will find that revision isn’t as scary

as you first thought. Getting started is often the hardest bit.

Some Useful Revision Websites

http://www.nwlg.org/pages/resources/knowitall/index.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/

Revision Timetable

Day Revision Slot 1

Revision Slot 2

Revision Slot 3

Revision Slot 4

Revision Slot 5

Revision Slot 6

Time

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Revision (January/February 2020)

Subject English

Year Group 8

Examination length 1 Hour 15 Minutes

Areas/topics

to be covered

for revision

Comprehension:

Understanding of character – how is the character described in what he or she says

and does

Selection of textual evidence to support views – picking out facts and quotes to

support your responses

Understanding of setting – how does the location of the story add to its effectiveness

Understanding of writer’s techniques – how does the writer make his or her story

interesting or exciting?

Writing:

Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation

Creative Writing – imaginative story telling

Awareness of audience – who are you writing for?

Question

type(s) (e.g.

diagrams,

mapwork,

sources etc.)

Comprehension:

Factual Recall

Question on Character

Question on Writer’s Techniques

Creative Writing

Equipment

requirements

for

examination

Pen!

Revision (January 2020)

Subject Geography

Year Group 8

Examination length 1 hour

Areas/topics

to be covered

for revision

What is Geography?

3 different types of geography.

Key Geography definitions

Studying Geography – using photographs and sketch diagrams.

Locational Geography:

Oceans and continents of the world.

Countries of the British Isles, Britain and UK

The Political Map of Northern Ireland – the counties, towns and cities.

The Physical map of Northern Ireland- the rivers, mountain ranges and

Loughs.

Geographical Skills:

Latitude and Longitude: how they are measured and be able to give the

latitude and longitude of places using a map. Key lines of latitude and

longitude.

Graphs: Primary data. The different types of graphs used in Geography.

Settlement:

Definition of site and settlement

Factors that encouraged the growth of settlements e.g. rivers, fuel supply

Definition for function, land use, urbanisation and suburbanisation

Land use patterns in cities – CBD, inner city, suburbs

Traffic problems and solutions

Question

type(s) (e.g.

diagrams,

mapwork,

sources etc.)

A variety of questions will be used: Open ended requiring answers with full

sentences, interpreting and identifying diagrams, heads and tails questions

Equipment

requirements

for

examination

Pen, pencil, ruler, rubber

Revision

tip(s)

List and learn all key words – test yourself.

Read through your notes and use spider diagrams to summarize and organise key

points.

Study the maps really carefully so that you can recognise and name places shown on

maps in the exam. Read Chapter 8 of the ibook for other revision tips.

Revision (Jan 2020)

Subject Home Economics

Year Group 8

Examination length 45 Minutes

Areas/topics

to be covered

for revision

(and amount

of marks to

be allocated)

Personal Hygiene-Let’s do Home Ec booklet p. 3

Washing up routine- Let’s do Home Ec booklet p. 7

Equipment names and Uses-Equipment booklet p. 3-7

Accident causes and prevention- Keep your Home Safe booklet p. 4 & 5

Contents and uses of First Aid box – Keep your Home Safe booklet p. 14

Basics of First Aid – Keep your Home Safe booklet p.15

Parts of the cooker- Keep your Home Safe booklet p. 13

Comparing and contrasting- Keep your Home Safe booklet p. 10

Basics of the Eatwell Guide-Eating Well booklet p. 5 & 6

Question

type(s) (e.g.

diagrams,

mapwork,

sources etc.)

Short knowledge questions

Short skills questions – TSPC – Compare and contrast

Short paragraph questions

Equipment

requirements

for

examination

Black pen and pencil

Revision

tip(s)

Mind maps

Look, cover, write and check

All materials for revision are the booklets you have been working on since September.

Revision (January 2020)

Subject History

Year Group 8

Examination length 1 hour

Areas/topics

to be covered

for revision

(and amount

of marks to

be allocated)

General Areas:

Bias;

Types of sources;

Measurements of time;

Dates (AD/BC).

Claimants to the English Throne.

Dates of events of 1066

Battle of Hastings – Causes, events and reasons William won.

How did William control England?

William uses force – the Harrying of the North.

Norman castles – Why William built castles, features of a Motte and Bailey, how to

attack/defend a castle and how castles changed.

The Feudal system.

The Domesday book.

Key words.

Question

type(s) (e.g.

diagrams,

mapwork,

sources etc.)

Source questions.

Cloze procedure (fill in the blanks).

Sentence questions.

Short essay.

Labelling

Equipment

requirements

for

examination

Pens

Pencil

Ruler

Revision

tip(s)

For each topic know the following things:

Date/People involved

Causes of event

Details of event

Results of event

Use ibook and hardback notebook

Make notes on topics in spider diagram format and then test yourself to see how much you

know.

Subject IT

Year Group Year 8

Examination length 45 Minutes

Areas/topics

to be covered

for revision

(and amount

of marks to

be allocated)

1) Internet Safety

Protecting your Digital Footprint

Dangers whilst using social media

Measures for staying safe online using social media

Features of the “Report Abuse” button

2) Folders and File management

Keyboard shortcuts

Folder management

3) Email

Benefits of the use of email

Key terms – sender, recipient, delivery receipt, read receipt and structure of an

email.

4) Word processing

Key features used within a word processing package

Question

type(s) (e.g.

diagrams,

mapwork,

sources etc.)

A combination of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 + 6 mark questions.

Equipment

requirements

for

examination

Blue or black pen

Revision

tip(s)

Use the booklets provided for revision – electronic copy as an iBook/Google Drive or within

shared area:

1. Internet Safety

2. Files and folders

3. Email

4. Word Processing

Revision (Jan 2020)

Subject Mathematics

Year Group 8

Examination length 1 hr

Areas/topics

to be covered

for revision

(and amount

of marks to

be allocated)

Sequences and patterns (nth term)

Fractions Decimals and Percentages

BIDMAS

Pictograms and Bar Charts

Rounding

Algebra (Substitution and Simplifying expressions)

Averages (Mean, Median, Mode)

Range

Negative Numbers

Calculations

Fractions of Quantities

Question

type(s) (e.g.

diagrams,

mapwork,

sources etc.)

Use Year 8 Book 1 to help revise.

Questions will be similar to work done in class and any assessment work to date.

Equipment

requirements

for

examination

Pen

Pencil

Ruler

Rubber

Calculator

Revision

tip(s)

Use Textbook, Corbett Maths and MathsWatch for support.

Revision (January 2020)

Subject R.E.

Year Group 8

Examination length 1 hour

Areas/topics

to be covered

for revision

1. Prayers: Know the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be. 10 marks

2. St. Columba: knowledge about his life – early years, life in Ireland, life in

Scotland.

Be able to explain how his life influences us. 20 marks

3. The Bible: Know and understand what the following terms mean regarding

the Bible – “Word of God;” Inspired”. Know the sections of both the Old

and New Testament and be able to name the books in the Pentateuch.

Knowledge of the Dead Sea Scrolls and their importance. Looking up Bible

references, copying some out and answering questions on others. Know and

understand the Story of Sarah and Abraham. Know and understand the

reasons why the gospels were written and why there are differences in the

gospels. Pgs.22-38 of textbook. 20 marks

4. Advent/ Christmas. Know the story of Jesus’ birth and what it tells us about

Mary Pgs. 65-73 of textbook. 10 marks

5. The Land of Palestine in the time of Jesus Pgs. 76- 81 of textbook. 10

marks

6. The Jewish Sabbath and The Temple Pgs. 82-87 of textbook. 20 marks

Total: 90 marks

Question

type(s) (e.g.

diagrams,

mapwork,

sources etc.)

Short Knowledge questions.

Short Paragraph questions

Cloze passages.

Looking up Bible references and writing them out/answering questions on them

Equipment

requirements

for

examination

Pen

Gideon Bible –every pupil was given one of these at an Assembly earlier in the year

Revision

tip(s)

Learning off by heart is the key to success in this exam.

Get someone to test you on your knowledge

For topics that ask you to explain ( e.g. meaning of Our Father/ influence of St.

Columba/ importance of the bible stories) do out a spider diagram based on class

notes.

Year 8 Science Revision (Jan 2020)

Subject Science

Year Group 8

Examination length 1hr

Areas/topics

to be covered

for revision

(and amount

of marks to

be allocated)

Revise your scientific skills booklet – to include drawing scientific diagrams, labelling and

naming apparatus, using a Bunsen burner and recognising hazard symbols.

Microscopes - The parts & functions of a microscope to include: eyepiece lens, body tube,

objective lenses, stage & clips, coarse & fine tuning knobs, iris diaphragm, light source. How to

calculate total magnification.

Levels of organisation – cells, tissues, organs, organ systems and organisms

Animal & plant cells

Identify & know the functions of the following parts of cells: Nucleus, cytoplasm, cell

membrane, chloroplast, cell vacuole, mitochondria, cell wall. Differences between plant and

animal cells

How to prepare & stain a piece of onion tissue to view on a slide

Specialised cells - how some cells are adapted such as: Ciliated epithelial skin cells, red blood

cells, egg & sperm cells, nerve cells, palisade cells & root hair cells

Motion and Forces – Speed, distance and time. S,D and T graphs – graph drawing skills.

Forces and what they can do

Hooke’s Law

Question

type(s) (e.g.

diagrams,

mapwork,

sources etc.)

All Structured Questions to include drawing simple diagrams and /or graphs – pupils will require

a pencil, ruler and rubber.

There will be calculations – pupils will require a calculator.

Revision

tip(s)

Concentrate on content covered in your note book, especially the end of topic tests. The

questions will be of a similar style in your examination.

Yr 8 - Technology & Design KS3 Revision List for February 2020

Duration - 1 Hour

Areas/topics

to be covered

for revision

(and amount

of marks to

be allocated)

Safety

Colour coding of common safety signs – eg what do red/white signs mean

Write out Workshop Safety Rules

Identify hazards and control measure for equipment you use – eg strip heater and polisher

Plastics

Explain the terms Thermoplastic and thermosets

Know about the plastic used for the desk tidy

Advantages and disadvantages of using plastics for products

Uses for common plastics

Recycling plastics

Tools and processes

Identify and describe common tools used this year

Identify and describe workshop machines/equipment used this year

Production plan (stages followed to make it) for pen holder

Design

Sketching tools and equipment you used eg try square - colour and shade

The design of the Kettle - useful design feature of this product

Design a Desk tidy suitable for teenagers (11 -14 years old)

Marks awarded for

Originality

Quality of drawing and clear labelling (materials and features)

Question

type(s) (e.g.

diagrams,

mapwork,

sources etc.)

Most questions will require a short answer of 1 or 2 sentences

There will be pictures of tools and equipment you will have to name

For some questions you will have to label parts of a diagram

You will have to sketch in 3D some tools that you have used

You will be asked question on the design of a kettle – study this product at home

You will have to design a Desk tidy that will appeal to a young person – Research the internet

for examples and images of desk tidies and useful features useful for a teenager

Use your (a) notes in your book (b) theory booklet

Use the website – technologystudent.com (good info on tools, plastics and manufactured

boards. Download images of Desk tidies and practice drawing your design - remember to label

all parts and materials used

Equipment

requirements for

examination

Pen. 30 cm ruler HB pencil, Colouring pencils,