Eight tips for parents on how to offer maths help to their Year 8 maths student!
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
August 2024
Eight tips for parents on how to offer maths help to their Year 8 maths student!
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
August 2024
Eight tips for parents on how to offer maths help to their Year 8 maths student!
Author
Mhairi Sim
Published
August 2024
Key takeaways
Table of contents
When it comes to maths revision, Year 8 students can be notoriously difficult to motivate! There are no exams this year, so why bother with revising? The truth is, getting into good habits now makes things a whole lot easier when it does come to sitting their GCSEs in a few years.
Spending time on Year 8 maths revision regularly will help students become more confident in their maths skills. This goes a long way in making maths a little less scary, especially as things get tougher over the next few years!
Getting your Year 8 learner to revise doesn’t have to be an all-out battle! We’ve got a list of eight teacher-and-parent-approved ways to help learners get the most out of Year 8 maths, including helpful study ideas and some pointers for parents too.
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This one will always be at the top of my list when it comes to helping students with their learning! In my opinion, the most important thing in helping learners of any age, with any subject, is a positive mindset.
It’s tough for our kids when they’re learning a new concept and it isn’t clicking for them. This can quickly lead to them becoming frustrated, fed up, and disengaged. That’s when it’s key here for adults to model a positive mindset!
Showing our kids that it’s ok to make mistakes, and encouraging them to keep trying with their Year 8 maths revision is so important. This will help them to adopt a growth mindset, eventually seeing their mistakes as opportunities they can learn and develop from.
A big mistake I see as a teacher is when learners only focus on practising new concepts over and over. While this is important, it’s also helpful to go back and review previous learning!
Making sure your learner takes time to go over what they’ve covered in previous years can help them make connections to new learning. In turn, this helps them become more fluent in applying different concepts and skills.
DoodleMaths is an award-winning maths app that’s aligned to the Year 8 maths curriculum and proven to double a child’s rate of progression with just 10 minutes of use a day!
Filled with fun, interactive questions covering the whole curriculum, it creates each child a unique work programme tailored to their needs, boosting their confidence and skills in maths. Try it for free today!
Our DoodleLearning maths app is a great way to help with maths revision for Year 8, especially if your child loves getting the chance to play video games! The app has thousands of fun games and activities that are all linked to maths learning.
Your Year 8 students will get their very own personalised programme of activities that works to target the areas they need practice with. Just 10 minutes on the app per day*, could double your learner’s academic progress!
Set your Year 8 learners up for success by establishing a good study and revision routine right off the bat! I always find that the sooner learners get into these good habits the better and it’ll take the pressure off when it comes to exams in a few years!
Work with your learners to put together a study schedule that suits them – make sure you include some well-earned downtime too! I’d also highly recommend setting up a dedicated study space to help them avoid distractions and stay focused.
Some maths revision Year 8 students can get on board with is revision done with friends. Encourage your Year 8 learners to start up a study group with others so they can work together on homework and learn some of the more complicated skills.
They can bring snacks, hold competitions, and even create quizzes for each other. There are lots of ways to make studying fun while keeping the focus on their Year 8 maths revision!
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Ever heard of the protégé effect? The theory is that the best way to learn something is to teach it! Researchers found that students who tutored others or had the opportunity to ‘teach’, scored better on tests than those who just learned something just for themselves.
Put this into practice with your learners by asking them to help you learn some of the Year 8 maths they’ve been soaking up at school. Give them a chance to teach you something new and watch as their confidence booms!
As a teacher, I’m always more than happy to give my learners’ parents some tips and pointers for how they can best help their children. It can even make my job easier knowing that my learners’ parents and I are on the same page throughout the year!
Arrange a time to have a quick chat with your kid’s maths teacher and ask if there’s anything your learner needs to work on in particular that’ll help them this year. They might even be able to give you some resources or worksheets to get you started.
Finally, one of the simplest ways to help your learner with their maths revision for Year 8 is to know what lies ahead of them this year. Our complete guide to the Year 8 maths curriculum is a great place to start. Our guide covers each aspect of the maths curriculum that your Year 8 student is likely to come up against this year.
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Parents, sign up for a DoodleMaths subscription and see your child become a maths wizard!
Lesson credits
Mhairi Sim
Mhairi is an experienced teacher, freelance writer and parent. After completing her bachelor's degree in Psychology, she graduated as a teacher from the University of Strathclyde. She then built experience teaching across KS1 and KS2 throughout the UK. In addition to working in mainstream education, Mhairi specialised in the additional support needs sector, including social, emotional, and behavioural support.
Mhairi
Mhairi is an experienced teacher, freelance writer and parent. After completing her bachelor's degree in Psychology, she graduated as a teacher from the University of Strathclyde. She then built experience teaching across KS1 and KS2 throughout the UK. In addition to working in mainstream education, Mhairi specialised in the additional support needs sector, including social, emotional, and behavioural support.
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