Five tried and tested revision techniques
鈥淭he first step is to talk to them about where they feel their strengths lie and where they might need to develop.鈥
Hello, I鈥檓 James Clements. For ten years, I worked as a teacher and deputy head at a successful primary school in West London. For seven of those years I taught Year 6. As well as making sure the children I taught achieved their very best, a big part of my job was working with parents so that they could help their children in the final year of primary school. I鈥檓 also the parent of two small children.
All children have areas of the curriculum that they find easier than others. As time is limited, it makes sense for children to focus their revision on the aspects of English and mathematics where they鈥檙e not feeling so confident. The first step is to talk to them about where they feel their strengths lie and where they might need to develop. If you haven鈥檛 already, you might also want to talk to their teacher about areas where they think your child could do with some extra work. It makes sense for the child, parent and school to be working together.
Areas of the curriculum
The key areas covered by the KS2 national tests are:
Mathematics
The national curriculum puts great emphasis on children being able to add, subtract, multiply and divide with confidence, so this is a good place to start revision. Even if children can do each of these things, the quicker and more efficient they are, the better. If there are lots of questions to answer in a timed test it can be easy to make mistakes because you鈥檙e working quickly.
Practising these four operations, both in their head and using a pencil and paper, is one of the most useful things Year 6 children can do in the run up to the tests. The curriculum expects children to use standard written methods for these (yes, that includes long division) so if you鈥檙e a bit rusty, you might want to refresh your knowledge of these by searching online and watching one of the many films that explain the different processes step-by-step.
Fluency in times tables (up to 12 x 12) and number bonds (knowing the numbers that add together to make 100, 1000 or 1 [such as 0.23 + 0.77]) is also likely to be really helpful.
Helping your child prepare for the KS2 SATs maths test
Reading
We want our children to be fluent readers and have strong comprehension skills so that they can understand and enjoy the books they read. The best way to improve as a reader is to read lots. As a teacher, I spent a lot of my time encouraging the children in my class to read as widely as possible. This means quantity (reading everyday), but also quality (books that are going to introduce them to new ideas and new language) and range (different types of books 鈥 fiction and non-fiction, including books they might not normally choose to read). Taking a reading test is slightly different as being a strong reader isn鈥檛 enough to do well; it鈥檚 also a test of writing. It can be really helpful for children to have some practice responding to questions about a text in writing.
Preparing for the KS2 SATs reading test
Grammar, punctuation and spelling
A lot of the content of this test is knowing the names for different parts of language and being able to identify them, rather than being able to use them in writing. As with some of the mathematics content, you might find yourself wanting to brush up on the subjunctive and fronted adverbials鈥
Preparing for the KS2 SATs grammar, punctuation, and spelling test
Writing
Not a test as such, but teachers will make a judgment about the quality of a child鈥檚 writing based on several recent pieces of work. The criteria used to judge Year 6 writing this year leans heavily towards accurate use of punctuation and grammar, with 鈥榤ost鈥 of the Year 5 & 6 word lists spelled correctly.
Models for revision
Different approaches work for different children, but here is some tried and tested advice that鈥檚 worked with classes in the past:
1. Don鈥檛 just read
The best revision doesn鈥檛 involve sitting and passively reading a revision guide. It involves writing or doing something. This might be making notes, answering questions or explaining an idea to someone else. For most children re-reading notes isn鈥檛 the best way of revising.
2. Concentrate on the tricky bits
When revising, it can be very tempting for children to spend time on the topics they enjoy and are already good at. Instead, we want them to spend time on the bits of the curriculum that don鈥檛 come so easily. Most children will benefit from some support with this.
3. Space out your revision
Try practising the same thing more than once, leaving increasingly long spaces in between revision. For example, a child might do ten division questions one evening. Then they could try and do five the next day. Then wait a couple of days and do another five. Then wait three days and do three more. Then鈥 well, you get the idea.
4. Mix up the revision
Little and often is a better model than a block of learning about something and then not thinking about it again for a week. Ten minutes of spelling practice every day will be more useful than an hour once per week. I used to tell my classes to practice a different multiplication table each night while they cleaned their teeth. Good for their maths fluency (and for making sure they brushed for long enough). However, I did used to get lots of complaints from parents about toothpaste all over the bathroom.
5. Sitting practice tests
Using these is fine: they can be good for helping children get used to working with a time limit and making sure children have covered all of the key knowledge they need. But on its own, a test doesn鈥檛 help you to learn anything new. The real value lies in what you do afterwards 鈥 children need to look at the questions they didn鈥檛 get right and then work out how to answer them correctly next time. That鈥檚 where the learning happens.
More from Oxford Owl
- Read our blog posts on聽KS2 SATs advice and help for parents聽for more tips on supporting your child
- 叠谤辞飞蝉别听Bond SATs Skills workbooks and flashcards