Key Details

Course length: 5 days.

Single workshop length: 1.5 hours (including a 5-minute break).

Total course length: 7.5 hours.

Start date: Saturday 14th December 2024.

Time: 11:00am-12:30pm.

Exam style: suitable for all 11+ exam styles that use multiple choice questions (GL Assessment, CEM, ISEB Common Pre-Test, Kent Test, Sutton SET, Tiffin Stage 1 and Future Stories).

Spaces: 12.

Appropriate for: year 5 and 6 students.

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Course Dates

Workshop 1 — Saturday 14th December 2024, 11:00am-12:30pm.

Workshop 2 — Sunday 15th December 2024, 11:00am-12:30pm.

Workshop 3 — Saturday 21st December 2024, 11:00am-12:30pm.

Workshop 4 — Sunday 22nd December 2024, 11:00am-12:30pm.

Workshop 5 — Saturday 28th December 2024, 11:00am-12:30pm.

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Course Outline

If your child is preparing for 11+ grammar or independent school entrance, there will always be a comprehension section as part of the English exam. During a comprehension exercise, students are required to read through a passage of text (fiction, poetry or non-fiction) and answer different types of questions about the text. These questions test a student's understanding of the text, as well as the role of specific phrases and words within it. Questions cover skills such as:

1. Recall

2. Inference and deduction

3. Understanding meaning

4. Language techniques and imagery

5. Types of words or phrases

In this course, we will teach students the comprehension exam techniques and thought processes our students have used successfully in the past. Students will then practise these skills on exam paper texts (including fiction, non-fiction and poetry). By the end of the course, students will be completing comprehension exams faster than before, with more confidence and accuracy.

A 25-minute comprehension task will be set as homework after each of the five sessions. This will be marked by our tutors and then returned, with personalised verbal feedback on each assignment, focusing on specific corrections and general areas for improvement. Importantly, the tutor will not just say what the correct answer is, but they will explain to the student how they could have found the answer. The verbal feedback is usually up to 5 minutes long per submission and is delivered as an audio file that can be played on a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Along with brief written corrections, the consumable audio recording ensures students are absorbing as much of the feedback given about their work as possible.

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Tutor

This course will be delivered by The Exam Coach’s team of tutors. All of our tutors have:

1. Passed competitive exams such as the 11 Plus.

2. Attended a Russell Group University within the last 5-10 years.

3. Received two weeks of training to deliver expertly within our online workshop format.

4. Taught our 11 Plus exam preparation curriculum on a regular basis within the last two years.

In every session, two members of staff will always be on hand: the tutor and a technical support assistant. This means sessions always start smoothly and on time with a seamless teaching experience throughout.

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Key Comprehension Skills Covered

1) Fast and accurate reading. Students will learn how to read through a large, unseen text extract quickly and accurately. We will teach them speed-reading and note-taking techniques to save them time and improve their accuracy when answering questions.

2) Minimising mistakes. Students will be taught how to read questions carefully and spot what examiners might do to trip them up! We will also show students how to be methodical by using a process of elimination to arrive at the correct answer every time. This will be done mainly with multiple choice questions, before moving onto some trickier written answer questions. Written answer format helps students practise their technique with greater attention to detail. The aim is to be able to find the answer without needing a prompt from the multiple choice options. Therefore, on exam day, they should feel comfortable and assured.

3) Vocabulary expansion. As part of this course, we will focus on expanding your child’s vocabulary. We will work through some complex synonyms and antonyms for high level vocabulary words within each exam text we study. This will help students answer vocabulary-related questions as well as their overall understanding.

4) Inference. Inference is the skill of knowing or working out what an author means, even if it is not directly said in the text. We will teach students to become detectives, searching their comprehension texts for answers that make sense based on the given information.

5) Writer’s tools and literary devices. Students will be walked through all the key literary devices (or writer’s tools) they might find in their comprehension exam. They will be taught how to identify devices such as metaphors, similes and personification, as well as their different uses within in a text. Students will also be provided with easy ways to remember these techniques for their exam.

6) Application of skills to real 11 Plus exam questions. Students will be tested on multiple types of comprehension texts (fiction, non-fiction and poetry) and questions (mostly multiple choice and some written answer). We will show them the important exam techniques we recommend — for example, in what order and how to complete the paper most efficiently.

7) Technique and practice. At the end of the course, your child will have established their own technique for completing comprehension exams to a high standard. They will have been able to pick and choose from the suggestions and demonstrations made by the tutor. Furthermore, they will have practised these techniques in class and in homework on a variety of different texts.

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Course Resources

Worksheets, comprehension extracts, homework and class notes are sent out before the start of the course. These can either be printed or viewed digitally. For all workshops, your child will receive:

1. A worksheet to complete in the workshop.

2. One or two new comprehension extracts per workshop.

3. Class notes to help consolidate learning and give students an opportunity to recap some of what was covered in the workshop.

4. A homework task.

Each workshop’s homework should be submitted before the start of the next where possible. Though, it will still be marked if handed in slightly later.

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Homework and Marking

A 25-minute comprehension task is set for all students after each workshop. They can complete this task after the workshop has finished and it should then be sent to us via email (teamkeen@theexamcoach.tv). Each piece of homework will then be individually marked and reviewed by the tutor (usually within 2 working days). For each submission, you will receive:

1. An annotated copy of the homework marking correct and incorrect answers.

2. A 5-minute-long voice note from the tutor to your child, celebrating good answers, correcting any mistakes and highlighting areas for improvement. Importantly, our tutors will show your child the process required to arrive at correct answers, as opposed to simply telling them what the correct answer is.

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How To Join

After purchase, you will receive a confirmation email. You will receive the course invitation and all resources during the week before the course starts. These will be sent to the email address entered at checkout.

If you have any questions, please contact us via WhatsApp on +44 7547 645100, you can also send a message here.