How to help with....Year 6 SATs
KS2 SATs can be tough. In this instalment of Spark Island's 'How to...' guides, primary school teacher Sean Callery offers practical advice on priming your child for these testing times.
In a nutshell
- KS2 SATs take place in Year 6 during one week in May
- Children sit exams in the three core subjects: English, maths and science
- Levels are as follows:
- U: below level two
- Level 2: Well below the required standard
- Level 3: Below average
- Level 4: The expected level for most primary children
- Level 5: Very able
- Schools are under a lot of pressure to get the highest possible results, because these determine their place in the national league tables. This pressure may rub off on pupils.
Check out these tips on how you can help your child prepare
Practice papers
The biggest single influence on your child's SAT marks will be her reading ability. Good readers can read questions quickly, and understand what they need to do. Encourage your child to read every day, looking at both stories and non-fiction.
To help your child prepare for SATs there are revision guides and practice papers available from bookshops and websites. If your child has a practice test at school, ask if she can bring the completed paper home.
Handy hints:
- Look through a practice paper together and talk about how you'd answer the questions
- Agree on what the question is actually asking you to do
- The number of marks each question is worth is printed at the side:
- One mark answers can be brief - one word or number
- Two mark answers will require at least two bits of information, like two different phrases, or an answer complete with method
- Three mark answers need to be thorough. Encourage her to look for this information, and not to waste time agonising over the one-mark answers
- Some questions are multi-choice. If she doesn't know the answer, she can guess - she might still get a mark. Children aren't used to doing this!
- If she gets stuck on a question, tell her to move on rather than waste time on it
- Practise spending five minutes checking a paper to make sure all the questions are answered as fully as necessary
English
There are four tests for English - a reading and two writing tests as well as a spelling test.
Let's look first at the reading test, in which children answer questions about a set of short texts, fiction and non-fiction. She will have 15 minutes to read these texts, so practise concentrating on careful reading for that time - if she can read the test booklet twice, that would really help.
She is allowed to make notes on the reading booklet, which will not be marked. So, encourage her to underline:
- key events in the story
- words which tell her what a character is like
- key facts
- anything which suggests time of day (like 'low sun' would be morning or evening)
- phrases she likes - handy if there is a question asking for an opinion on the story
These could help her find her way around the text when answering questions. She must read each question twice. It doesn't take long, and will aid her in understanding what she needs to do each time. Questions in this part of the test often ask 'Which part of the story tells us that...' - so she will need to quote, or summarise that part of the story to answer properly. Remind her to try all questions, which do not necessarily get harder through the test.
From 2003 there is a change to the writing tests. Children will complete two tests: The Short Writing Test will last about 20 minutes and children will have to complete a piece of writing in that time. The Long Writing Test will last about 45 minutes. Children will need to write a longer piece including spending up to 15 minutes planning.
Handwriting is now going to be assessed in the Writing Tests so children will need to write 'in neat' all the time.
How to help your child do her best in the Writing tests:
Get her to practise reading her piece of writing, looking for:
- a mix of long and short sentences
- a brisk pace of story
- a clear beginning, middle and end
- use of interesting language (like 'muttered' instead of 'said')
- accurate punctuation
- all verbs agreeing
- making sure the piece matches the title
If she often writes stories with the same themes and events, that is fine in the test as long as it links in with the given title.
Maths
You can help your child with the maths paper by going through a practice paper and discussing the following:
- She will always need to show how she got her answer, even when she used a calculator (she might get a mark even for a wrong answer)
- The questions get harder, so double check the early ones before attempting the really tricky ones at the back
- Many questions are written as 'real' problems. Practice drawing the answer, especially with division sums (eg, sharing out can be done into the right number of circles)
- She should study the mental maths paper as soon as it is handed out. Look carefully at all diagrams and numbers - you can sometimes guess what the question will be and that gives you more thinking time
- Know all times tables and division facts
Children will also be expected to show an understanding of how to use and apply their mathematical knowledge in a variety of ways or 'to think like a mathematician'.
Science
When looking at the science papers your child will need to consider the following:
- She needs to be able to read graphs and charts accurately
- In questions asking for a general rule, use this sentence structure: 'The .... the... the... the ...,' eg.'The thicker the string the lower the pitch.' This is more likely to get two marks than a paragraph of waffle
- Practise reading the questions carefully
- The paper is a test of knowledge, so read those revision guides!
- In 2003 for the first time children will be assessed on how they manage and think about Scientific Enquiry. This will involve them thinking about an investigation or experiment and answering questions about the described activity.
How else you can help
SATs can be a worrying time for your child and she may get nervous as the tests loom ahead. Good coping strategies include:
- Reassuring her that she just has to try her best on the day
- Encouraging her to spend 10-20 minutes a day on revision or practice
- Reminding her that in most parts of the SAT papers, children do not have to write in sentences: often, phrases or even single words will be enough
- Teaching her how to relax by breathing deeply and closing her eyes to picture a calm scene like a green field by a river
- Allowing her to choose a favourite toy to take in as a lucky charm
- Making sure she has breakfast every day, especially during the week of the tests - children who miss breakfast perform worse in late morning
- Checking she can tell the time accurately, so she'll know how long there is to go in the test
Learning activities
Check out our Curriculum guide for Year 6 where you'll find tailored learning activities to develop your child's skills in English, maths and science.
Additional information for this article was providing by Rising Stars.
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