easter eggs

11+ exam revision: 4 ideas for using Bond Online this Easter holiday 

For many parents, the Easter holidays are often when 11+ exam revision really steps up a gear as the realisation dawns that it’s only 6 months to go until the September 11+ exams.

On the one hand, the holidays do usually offer you a bit more spare time to do some practice or go over how to answer particular question types. On the other, you’re probably also keen that your child has a bit of a break and that you both get a chance to recover after the long spring term, school closures and months of homeschooling.

To help you achieve a balance between stepping up your revision and having a break this Easter, we’ve put together our top tips for using Bond Online this holiday:

 

1) Set up a reading challenge

The comprehension tests in Bond Online use extracts from a range of different novels to test your child’s reading comprehension skills. But this Easter, why not challenge your child to read one of the books from start to finish? Not only will this help build their vocabulary skills, they can also enjoy reading a really great book over the holidays. Here are our picks:

  • The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aitken – “Long ago, at a time in history that never happened, England was overrun with wolves. But as Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia discover, real danger often lies closer to home.” - Amazon. Described by Philip Pullman as a ‘marvel’, Joan Aitken imagines an alternative 19th-century England overrun with wolves, providing the perfect setting for a witty, dramatic story.
  • The Silver Sword by Ian Serrailler – “The night the Nazis come to take their mother away, three children escape in a terrifying scramble across the rooftops. Alone in the chaos of Warsaw, they have to learn to survive on their own. Then they meet Jan, a ragged boy with a paperknife - the silver sword - that they recognize as belonging to their long-lost father. The sword becomes their symbol of hope as, with Jan, they begin the hazardous journey across war-torn Europe to find their parents.” – Amazon. A moving and emotional story, based on true accounts of life during and after the Second World War.
  • Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne – perhaps a more challenging read due to the 19th century language, this is still a classic of adventure story writing. Once your child has finished the novel, perhaps you could watch the film version and see how it compares?

Looking for additional support with reading comprehension skills? Read our 'How to help improve reading comprehension' blog

 

2) Your starter for ten

Why not swap roles and let your child test you on your 11+ exam knowledge? Using the questions in Bond Online as a starting point, ask your child to write you an 11+ exam pop quiz. Not only can your child enjoy watching you grapple with grammar, arithmetic and code breaking, but if they then explain to you why you got a question wrong and how to work it out, they’ll be reinforcing their own understanding of 11+ exam topics.

 

3) Target revision

The Easter holidays are an ideal time to check in and see how your child’s subject knowledge has developed. Download the Bond Placement Test (login/free registration required) and use it to see where your child’s strengths and weaknesses now lie.

Using that information you can then use Bond Online to target the topics they need more help with. Over the holidays, why not challenge them to do 30 minutes of practice on Bond Online each day, with the promise of an egg hunt or other treat as a reward.

 

4) Go on an Easter hunt

Working with your child, use questions from Bond Online to make your own Easter hunt:

  • Decide where you’re going to hide your Easter eggs or Easter-themed cut out cards on your trail.
  • Write down a list of 11+ questions, then, next to each question, write a clue that will guide people to where each Easter treat is hidden.
  • Set up the Easter hunt trail.
  • Start the hunt, people can only get a clue if they answer the 11+ question right. If they don’t get it right, the organisers (that’s you and your child!) get the Easter treats for that clue.

 

Happy Easter! 

The Bond Team

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