Cracking ICSE Maths Exam

As a student studying ICSE Maths, if you often get worked up at the thought of attempting an ICSE Maths paper, this article could be of use to you!  It is not uncommon for students studying ICSE Maths to feel stressed out due to the vastness of the ICSE curriculum. Owing to the expansive nature of the syllabus, the number of questions and the time available for completing the ICSE Maths exam, it usually gets difficult for students to manage their time.

Students who are preparing for ICSE Maths examinations or for that matter any other exam can follow these quick tips to prepare well and excel.

• Practice! The more you practice your maths problems, the better are your chances of scoring well in your exams. There is no shortcut to excelling in the ICSE Maths exam other than regular and consistent practice. So what are you waiting for, pick up a pen and paper and start working away at your Maths problem.
• Mental Math can be handy! To speed up your Maths skills, try using Mental Maths. All you need is basic knowledge about fundamental mathematical skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Start first with practicing simple one-step problems without pen and paper, and then gradually move on to complex multi-stage problems. Compare your results thus obtained with at each step with the results in the solution table. Mental Maths helps students arrive at solutions faster by increasing their concentration levels and allowing them with practice to speed up the processing time required for most simple calculations.  Don’t get hassled if you fail the first time you try mental Maths; it can take you some time to be 100% accurate in your results.
• Read carefully! While in the examination hall, first read the instructions printed on top of the ICSE Maths exam paper well and then go on to read the entire paper. Mark the questions that you find difficult and do start with the easier ones. Allocate time per question based on the marks allotted and make sure that you are able to stick to this limit.
• Mark out the rough space! To make your paper look neat, tidy and well organized clearly demarcate space for calculations on the right hand side of the answer sheet . This will make the calculations less messy and the answer sheet more ‘reader friendly’.
• Steps do fetch you marks! While attempting the problem, write down all the necessary steps in the answer. Many students who attempt their ICSE Maths paper miss out on writing these steps and in the process may lose marks even if the answer is correct.  
• Keep an eye on your watch! Constantly keep a check on the time left and accordingly approach the other questions. Once you come across the difficult questions, don’t panic but simply try sticking to the time allotted.

So keep these tips in mind this time as you prepare and attempt your ICSE Maths exam and I am  positive that you will score better than your previous exams.

How to make quality notes from ICSE books

Preparing the right kind of personalized study notes from ICSE books is an important step towards obtaining a great score in the final ICSE exams. Quality notes from ICSE books not only promote effective understanding of all concepts but often re-kindle students’ interest in subjects they usually consider difficult. Therefore, while preparing notes from the ICSE books it is important for students to keep a few essential points in mind that will help make these notes effective and relevant for the final ICSE examinations.

To help all students studying under ICSE board prepare quality notes, here are a few important pointers on how to go about preparing such notes.

• Before starting to prepare notes from ICSE books, it is important for students to first go through the chapter and highlight all the important concepts, assess their understanding for all the highlighted concepts and then identify the learning gaps. Customizing study notes as per the current level of understanding will help students emphasize on areas/topics that require more attention. Such an exercise will eventually result in a thorough understanding of all concepts.
• While preparing study notes, students should make sure that it is not a word-to-word replication of what is actually given in the ICSE book. Students should try to prepare notes that are crisp and in their own language. This will facilitate a quick understanding and easy recall of all the concepts during the revision sessions. Such an exercise will also help students to optimize benefits from such an extensive note-making exercise.
• Student should also ensure that their ICSE book notes are complete. Students should practice caution that they do not miss out on any important concept/topic in the chapter while preparing such notes. Such comprehensive notes can aid as a ready-to-use booklet for anytime reference.
• While preparing notes from ICSE book, students should structure the notes as per their unique learning styles. For example, if a student is a visual learner and understands concepts faster through visual learning aids, he/she should try to include as many diagrams, illustrations, mind maps etc in his/her notes. He/she can also use colour highlighters to stress on important points in the notes. Notes that are customized as per the preferred learning styles helps students with an accelerated pace of learning.
• If students are not interested in performing such an elaborate activity to prepare notes and want some readymade curriculum-aligned study material/notes, they can seek help from websites that provide such online learning resources. ICSE study material for Maths & Science available at such websites are prepared by a team of highly qualified educationists. These notes are in easy-to-understand language supported with high quality, value adding graphics for a quick understanding. Along with the study material, students can also try their hands at curriculum-aligned interactive puzzles, tests, revision notes etc. to solidify their understanding in weak areas. 2D/ 3D/ real-life videos help students understand concepts much faster and ensure that their learning is permament.

If all you students out there preparing for ICSE exams keep all these essential points in your minds, the notes made from ICSE books will not only make learning fun and effortless but will also make scoring good marks easy.

Learning through Biology Animations

Biology Animations are certainly a boon for all biology lovers. Understanding the complex biological processes that take place inside and around the flora and fauna of a region and inside human beings becomes comparatively easy to understand. Now, you no longer need to make all those mental maps and strain your brain by trying to visualize how various biological processes such as photosynthesis work. You have Biology animations that you can turn to. 2D and 3D Biology animations make these processes come alive for you. Welcome to the world of animations!

Biology animations make it possible for all to view the dynamic processes through naked eyes. How the brain processes information, the working of different kinds of muscles in the human body, the process of metamorphosis of a butterfly, you name it and biology animations can bring to life any complicated and intriguing process through the use of graphics and animations. Thus, through Biology animations you can fast forward the growth process, rewind the development of plants, zoom-in to the deepest pores on animal skin and witness in-motion, a depiction of all that you have always read in those biology text books. 

Biology animations have been successful in re-infusing the element of practicality to the subject that was earlier missing sometimes due to infrastructural inadequacies and mostly due to the growing protests of animal lovers against the use of animals for research and scientific experiments. Now, you biology lovers need not hunt for  a microscope each time you want to study how tissues look , or have to go through those ‘not-too-pleasant’ dissection lab practices! Just play on the Biology Animations and you can view the entire process in detail.

The online medium is an interactive medium unlike the traditional print medium. Online biology animations thus make the whole process of studying Biology far more interactive. A mere click of a mouse can take you deeper into an image; animations rendered in 3-D also allow the user to view the same structure from different angles. Learning thus becomes more exploratory and therefore highly effective.

Biology as a subject requires a student to remember a multitude of names and a host of unique nomenclatures.  Students are also expected to remember concepts and processes over a period of time as most concepts taught in the higher classes are based on previously learnt concepts. Biology animations, through graphical representations, supporting audio and value-adding titles help simplify difficult concepts. Students are thus able to retain a particular biology concept for a longer period of time. 

So the next time you need to understand a complex process in biology, don’t worry! Just log on to the internet and browse through the whole new world of Biology animations. Happy Browsing!

How to prepare for ICSE Board Papers

ICSE Board papers are considered to be difficult papers in comparison to the papers set by the other board papers across India. The ICSE Board offers students an extensive variety of subjects to choose from. More emphasis is on literature than any other aspect of learning in ICSE Board curriculum. The ICSE Board is also the generally preferred board by students who wish to pursue their undergrad studies from foreign countries. One of the major reasons for the same is that the curriculum for ICSE Board Papers is more compatible with the syllabus of other Common Wealth countries.

If you are a student of ICSE Board and you are nervous about your Board Papers after reading the above mentioned facts, you don’t need to worry! Here are some snap tips on how to manage your time and excel in your ICSE Board Papers.

• The first and most important step for any student of class X intending to appear for ICSE Board Papers is to choose their elective subjects wisely. The subjects chosen by the student should be aligned with the individual career choice and as per the individual caliber. Students should not choose subjects under peer, school or parental pressure. Once subjects are chosen, try sticking to it.
• The next important step is to prepare a customized time schedule. The schedule should be such that it clearly lists down all the activities you perform in a day against the time available. Try to include some variety, as it will help keep away monotony. It is important to clearly demarcate your personal study hours in a day from the time allocated for completing your homework.
• Build in flexibility into your time schedule. Try to adjust your missed study hours during the weekend as a fresh mind allows learning to be fast and effective. 
• Prepare a fresh time schedule for exam time. Schedule the difficult subjects first and the easy ones for a later. Schedule your time in such a manner that you complete the syllabus before the exam commences and are able to judiciously use the time available in between the exams for revision.
• While revising, try your hand at ICSE Sample Papers. It provides students appearing for ICSE Board Papers with an idea of the question pattern, instructions, marking scheme etc. In the process these ICSE sample papers equip students with the confidence that is required to perform well in these exams.

In addition to your external assessment exams take your internal assessment seriously, as it carries a twenty percent weightage. A good performance in the internal exams is the key to a good overall score.