With the PSLEs approaching, parents and students may feel the effects of exam stress. It may look like the kids are taking it easy, but they have their own anxieties and fears, just as we do. Their whole academic future depends on the outcome of this major examination.

During the last phase of PSLE revisions, we hope you have graduated from long study hours with heaps of memorization to smart study tactics for a quick recap and maximum recall while effectively using all the revision time. There isn’t much parents can do at this stage except cheer the children on to this last leg of the journey.

In this blog, we’ve included a little something for the students and some last-minute tips for parents. Let’s dive right in!

PSLE Last-lap Advice for Students

We’ve almost reached the end of the PSLE marathon. This is a crucial time for you as a student to stay motivated and continue your efforts to the end! Let’s set you up for PSLE success with a game plan for the last lap of your preparation journey:

1. Rehash your timetable and revision schedule.

So we’ve reached the final leg of this journey. Let’s set everything else aside and concentrate on effectively preparing for exam day. Rehash your revision schedule with your parents’ help and set a realistic schedule that helps you have at least one round of revision for all the subjects before D-day is here. Keep it as detailed and organized as possible.

2. Work with strategy and start a prioritization process.

Strategize effectively to prioritize topics that carry more weightage than others. If you face difficulty in covering all the subjects once before the exams, you can have your parents approach a teacher for help in prioritizing topics that are more important than others. This will give you the maximum help in your last-minute preps.

3. Build a short-notes resource.

Short notes are a great resource for several reasons. They are a great way to help you recall information and act as an effective quick-recap tool just before exams. Keep these points in mind as you prepare your quick notes. Include as much information as you can in the shortest way possible. Using tools like mind maps or flow charts will be effective. Important points to remember in each topic, mistakes you often make and need to stay away from, and important questions to remember or answering strategies to follow are some inclusions that can serve as important.

4. Gear up for snap revisions.

Last-leg revision planning should be geared toward snap revisions. It’s important to use your time and energy wisely. The aim ‌should be to revise concepts and procedures. So, when going through question papers, don’t solve them right through - identify concepts and formulae or procedures you must follow to reach the answer.

The Parents’ Role in Last-leg PSLE Revisions

Parents and children who have successfully reached this stage of PSLE revisions deserve appreciation - hats off to you! In this last leg of the revisions, parents can support the kids and help them manage stress levels and anxiety by supporting their scheduling and revision preps. Here are a few things parents can do to cheer the kids on until the end:

1. Lean into your child’s learning style.

In this last leg of revisions, it’s important to work out revision schedules that work with the child’s learning styles. Emphasize these in their rehashed revision schedule and ensure that planning will consider the time of day they work most effectively, the number of breaks they need, and whether they learn better visually, auditorily, or kinesthetically. Use these considerations for their least loved subjects and help them develop a way to develop a working relationship with the concepts they cannot relate to in this manner.

2. Take note of and support them through emotional development.

Physical and emotional developments are important at this time. PSLEs can be very stressful for children, and the physical and hormonal changes compound this stress as they reach the age of twelve and attain puberty. Mood swings could be a common occurrence at this time. So while you encourage them to keep working hard, it is important to give them breaks and not stress them even more. It is crucial to keep stress at bay.

3. Help them navigate through their strengths and weaknesses.

As you work with your child for last-minute preps, try to get them to work through areas of weaknesses and strengths. Use targeted practice strategies instead of repeated assessments in concepts or question types that give them trouble. This will help them look at the topic or question differently and understand how to tackle it correctly.

4. Get the StudySmart framing revision resource.

StudySmart’s revision strategy helps your child focus on specific areas of difficulty and helps them devise a strategy to tackle them successfully. This means they can confidently face the exams with less cause for stress. Quality of work should take precedence over quantity for the most effective outcome.

5. Work with them to make goals realistic and targets achievable.

Help your child devise a schedule that breaks their syllabus topics and concepts into small, achievable targets. This way, they will be motivated to achieve them. Have them excited to tick them off and move forward.

Also Read : PSLE Revision & Preparation: Ways to Foster Self-Motivation

6. Make enough provision for breaks.

Self-care and rest are two important things you need to teach your children about at this time. Knowing the importance of periods of rest and rejuvenation in between sessions of hard work will keep them fresh and alert for further studies. It is also a great life lesson for them to take into the future. Help them figure out ways to break the monotony and take time to rest, exercise, take walks in nature, or engage in other activities that will rejuvenate them mentally and physically.

7. Shower them with encouragement and appreciation when due.

Parents’ words can greatly impact their children’s mindsets, especially in high-stress situations. Give your children enough encouragement and appreciation to remain motivated and confident. Take every measure to keep your anxieties and fears at bay so that they don’t get the better of you and make you say something negative to them.

8. Be a source of calmness and peace for them.

Make it a point to have children calm down and stop any new learning the day before the exam. In their moments of stress, you can have a great calming effect on them. Help them get through their snap-revision notes and just go through a few question papers to help them recall concepts and fundamentals. A good night’s rest is the final step to completing your child’s PSLE revisions.

Concluding Thoughts on Last-minute PSLE Preps

For the last leg of PSLE revisions, the tips given above will give you the best results while keeping your child calm and confident. Remember that parents have a very important part to play in keeping children calm and putting the PSLE in proper perspective as just one part of their long academic journey. Instil a growth mindset that they can take with them for the rest of their lives.

Get the best last-leg revision resources from StudySmart Singapore to ensure your child’s PSLE success.