How to give your child the edge in Key Stage 2 English tests.

 

Year 6 teachers in England face a predicament The emphasis is on ensuring that as many as possible achieve a Level 4.  Lower levels adversely affect the school’s league table status. Minimising the number of Level 3s is more important to the school than achieving Level 5s. As a consequence, effort goes into those pupils who may fail to reach the benchmark. Parents can help children to reach their potential.

 

Reading Comprehension.

 

A 15 minute reading booklet is presented in the test.

 

Do not skip the contents page. It answers many questions.

 

Read it all quickly, then re-focus on factual sections. Answers tend to be more transparent.

 

Never leave multiple choice answers blank. Guess. No selection = no mark.

 

Question order is mainly sequential. Do not peruse page 5 if the last answer was on page 7.

 

Little spaces want little answers. Don’t write a sentence.

 

Marks allocation is shown. Answer the ones that are value for time input first.

 

The final question is frequently worth three marks. If short of time, list three short phrases instead of covering only one aspect in a convoluted sentence.

 

Writing.

 

Around five options are presented. A good result invariably rests on making the right choice.

 

Persuasive answers are difficult. Year 6 pupils tend to say the same thing ten times or run out of ideas.

 

Discussion is not easy. Year 6 pupils tend to write unbalanced one-sided monologues.

 

Narrative answers need varied sentence structure and a wider vocabulary to avoid tedium.

 

The best options are giving instructions and leaflet writing.

 

Giving instructions may involve a map, or an  illustrated recipe /  model construction.

 

Tackle the picture sequence one at a time.  A short paragraph about each fulfils the requirements.  It does not have to be eloquent.

 

Leaflet writing often shows a tourist brochure requiring text.

 

It could be a zoo, a theme park, museum or whatever, but visitors invariably need the same information.

 

Where can we park?

When do you open? All year round? Not on Mondays? 10am to 8pm?

Entrance charges. Do these differ by the day or number of visitors in the party?

Do grannies and toddlers get preferential rates?

Is there wheelchair access?

What food outlets are available?

Is provision made for wet weather?

Can we hire equipment? Eg. Towels, binoculars, sunbeds.

Are activities available for all age groups?

Is there a souvenir shop?

 

The above ten questions can be applied to any location.

 

Handwriting

 

Anything legible gets 3 marks out of 5.  Do not waste time or effort perfecting copperplate.

 

Spelling

 

Spelling tips merit an independent How to!

This content was provided by one of our users, Vivian Bees