11+ number word codes
Getting your head around the 11+ word codes
11+ number-word sequences are something that many children struggle with, so I was asked if I could explain them in one of our newsletters. I thought I'd share it with you too, here as a blog.
They normally look something like this:
SLOW WEST SALE RENT
8214 1368 1932
You’ll then be asked what the code would be for another word. In this instance, the code we are looking for is the word last.
(I’ve borrowed this code, it’s not one I’ve created myself).
The first thing I would do is look to see what the words and the codes have in common.
So, for example there are 2 words that start with ‘S’ and 2 codes that start with a 1. In addition there is 1 word that has an ‘S’ as the second to last letter, and 1 code that has a 1 second from the end:
1 1 1
SLOW WEST SALE RENT
8214 1368 1932
At the moment we can presume that S= 1.
Looking through the words, we can see that 2 of the words have an ‘E’ in second place and 1 has an ‘E’ in last place. If we try to match the ‘E’ to a 2, this might work as we have ‘west’ with an E before ‘S’ and we also have ‘SALE’ with an ‘E’ at the end.
We’ll try it, we can always change it if needed:
1 21 1 2 2
SLOW WEST SALE RENT
8214 1368 1932
S= 1 E =2
If this is going to work, my next guess is that West = 8214
Because we have the es lining up in the word with the 21 in the code
1 8214 1 2 2
SLOW WEST SALE RENT
If that is right, we now know that
W = 8 and ‘T’ = 4
1 8 8214 1 2 2 4
SLOW WEST SALE RENT
8214 1368 1932
I now have SLOW that starts with 1 and an 8, and a code 1368, so I’m going to presume that these fit together:
1368 8214 1 2 2 4
SLOW WEST SALE RENT
8214 1368 1932
That would mean L =3 and O =6 I also have SALE which starts with a 1 and a 2, and the code 1932 which contains a 1 and a 2, so I’ll put those in to try:
1368 8214 1932 2 4
SLOW WEST SALE RENT
8214 1368 1932
We don’t have numbers to represent the letters ‘R’ or ‘N’ but that doesn’t matter as they’re not in the word we need to decode: LAST.
Looking back we can see ‘L’ lines up with 3
‘A’ lines up with 9
‘S’ lines up with 1
‘T’ lines up with 4
Therefore, the code for LAST is: 3914.
Solving these problems is a bit like a jigsaw, you have to see which parts fit together, then as 1-piece fits into place often another piece will reveal itself. I hope this has helped.
Are there more enjoyable ways to practice these?
Like I say getting your head around these is a bit like completing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. So, jigsaws would be a good place to start.
I might also be tempted to suggest games such as Rummikub the number sequencing game as this will help you looking for patterns, there's also a game called 'Sets' which is also an enjoyable game that you might find help.
Something I learned many years ago when I first started learning about different learning styles and techniques is that, if we are engaged in what we are doing we are more likely to learn. If we just keep repeating the same learning technique over and over we are just creating one memory so when we are sat in the exam and our brain is floundering and there's only one place we can go to where it will find that piece of information, we're unlikely to find it.
That's why by incorporating a variety of resources and making them fun and relevant, not only are our children want to put in the huge amounts of effort needed as a family to get a child through the 11+, put they are also more likely to be able to recall the information when they are sat in the exam.
If you're child is studying for the 11+ this year and you're wanting help, get in touch and we can have a chat.
