Does your child REALLY understand?
04.08.24
If you are working with your child on 11+ preparation, you might encounter questions or areas of learning where your child seems to keep stumbling.
There are a few ways to check if a child really understands something—what they really know instead of what they can give the appearance of knowing (their real learning as opposed to their apparent learning).
You can support your child by using this list.
I feel I understand something if I can do some of the following:
1. State it in my own words.2. Give examples of it.3. Recognise it in various guises and circumstances.4. See connections between it and other facts or ideas.5. Make use of it in multiple ways.6. Foresee some of its consequences.7. State its opposite or converse.These steps can be used in math (e.g., 7 x 8 = 56), but I have outlined below how they can be used for parent questioning when discussing symbolism in 11+ creative writing or 11+ reading comprehension.
Here is an example of how to use these seven steps to discuss the symbolism of winter in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The White Witch brings an endless winter to the land, symbolising sadness and suffering. Nothing can flourish or grow until the witch is banished from the land.
1) State it in my own words.
Example: Can you explain why the author chose the winter season?2) Give examples of it.
Example: What is it about winter that could be sad?3) Recognise it in various guises and circumstances.
Example: Have you seen any films or read books featuring winter like this?4) See connections between it and other facts or ideas.
Example: How else could we show sadness or suffering in our writing?5) Make use of it in various ways.
Example: Could winter be used as a positive metaphor?6) Foresee some of its consequences.
Example: When the author chose the symbol of winter, was this a good technique or a bad one?7) State its opposite or converse.
Example: If the author wanted to show the end of suffering, renewal, or happiness, what season would be good? Why?Revising tricky areas of learning can be exhausting for parents and children, which is why mixing up the questioning can help keep things fresh and challenging and embed the learning far better.