Knowledge Organisers
This academic year, all Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 pupils will be provided with a booklet of knowledge organisers to support us with our learning, and this is part of our daily school equipment. It is essential all pupils look after these and bring them in each day as part of the equipment checklist.
Why are we using knowledge organisers?
Regularly revisiting core knowledge means it will be easier for us to retrieve it in future! The more we revisit knowledge the more likely it is to ‘stick’ and stay in our long-term memories, but for it to ‘stick’ knowledge must be revisited often.
This is why our knowledge organisers are important; they help us to revisit and revise the essential information we are learning in lessons. Knowledge organisers can be used by pupils and by families at home. We should be regularly revising what we have learned previously as well as what we are currently studying. This is why we are providing packs for pupils to keep and use in lessons and to take home. We want pupils to feel as prepared as possible for assessments and exams.
Each Knowledge organiser includes the core knowledge and vocabulary for the units studied. Knowledge organisers have been created by subject teachers for students so they can be as successful as they can be in their learning. Copies can also be found on the website.
How can we use knowledge organisers at home?
Reading – read through the knowledge organiser and teach it to a family member or friend.
Glossaries- make a key words glossary and ask a family member or friend to test you on what the words mean and spell the words out.
Quizzing – ask a family member or friend to use the knowledge organiser to quiz you on what you are learning currently. If they don’t know the content it is fine, you’re going to explain it and check it!
Flashcards – making flashcards and asking someone else to test you on the knowledge is a really helpful way to find out what you do know, and you can go back over what you don’t know.
Revision
It is essential we revisit our knowledge organisers to support revision. Knowledge learned in Key Stage 3 lays the important foundations for building knowledge in Key Stages 4 and 5 and future success. Each knowledge organiser is designed with our ‘end point’ assessments in mind and therefore useful when revising for important tests and assessments. Our ‘end point’ assessments test pupils longer term memory and require pupils to revise previous knowledge as well as the current topic studied.
Should you misplace your booklets they can be reprinted and purchased from reprographics at a small charge. Pupils who are Pupil Premium can go to Achievement Hub to get a replacement.