Year 6 SATs Parents briefing 6pm 7 th January 2016 :

Year 6 SATs are during the week of the 9th -13th May No Year 6 absence in the run up to and including this week please.

YEAR 6 SATS WEEK TIMETABLE 2016 Monday 9 th MayEnglish Reading Test Tuesday 10 th MayEnglish Paper 1: Grammar and Punctuation English Paper 2: Spelling Wednesday 11 th MayMaths Paper 1 Arithmetic Maths Paper 2 Reasoning Thursday 12 th MayMaths Paper 3 Reasoning There is not a writing composition exam. Writing is teacher assessed over the course of the year There will be some ‘Science Sampling’ tests for a small percentage of schools- I will not know if we are involved until the summer term.

 In the summer term of 2016, children in Year 2 and Year 6 will be the first to take the new SATs papers.SATs  These tests in English and maths will reflect the new national curriculum, and are intended to be more rigorous.  There will also be a completely new marking scheme to replace the existing national curriculum levels.

 The previous national curriculum levels (e.g.Level 3, 4, 5) have been scrapped, and instead children will be given ‘scaled scores’. national curriculum levels  You will be given your child’s raw score (the actual number of marks they get), alongside their scaled score.  This will make it very difficult to compare the assessment of a previous year with the current year.  A scaled score of 100 will be judged to have met the “National Standard”

The reading test will provisionally be a single paper with questions based on 3 texts: one 800-word text and two passages of 300 words. Your child will have one hour, including reading time, to complete the test. There will be a selection of question types, including: Ranking/ordering, e.g. ‘Number the events below to show the order in which they happen in the story’ Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title of the story’ Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that suggests what the weather is like in the story’ Short constructed response, e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’ Open-ended response, e.g. ‘Look at the sentence that begins Once upon a time. How does the writer increase the tension throughout this paragraph? Explain fully, referring to the text in your answer.’

2a2b2c2d Give/explain the meaning of words in context. Retrieve and record information / identify key details from fiction and non- fiction. Summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph. Make inferences from the text/ explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text. 2e2f2g2h Predict what may happen from details stated and implied. Identify/explain how information/ narrative content is related and contributes to meaning as a whole. Identify/explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases. Make comparisons within the text.

 The grammar, punctuation and spelling test will consist of two parts: 1) A grammar and punctuation paper requiring short answers, lasting 45 minutes (50 marks) 2) A spelling test of 20 words, lasting around 15 minutes. (20 marks)  The grammar and punctuation test will include two sub-types of questions:  Selected response, e.g. ‘Identify the adjectives in the sentence below’  Constructed response, e.g. ‘Correct/complete/rewrite the sentence below,’ or, ‘The sentence below has an apostrophe missing. Explain why it needs an apostrophe.’

DFES Glossary at the end of the National Curriculum Everyday Grammar guide CPG Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Book A Pearson Guide to terms I will give out copies of these useful guides:

 Develop skills needed to check answers  Encourage children to actually re-do the calculation  Give children examples where mistakes have been made. Let the children mark it. Can they spot and correct the mistakes?

 Missing out the correct unit of measurement in the answer  General presentation – final answer not being clear  Numbers not clearly formed e.g. ‘0’ looking like a ‘6’  Decimal points – missing them out or making them look like a comma  2 step problems – make sure children follow the whole question through  Recording the monetary values incorrectly e.g. must be £8.90 not £8.9

 Some children will have readers for the maths test or will be out with teaching assistants so they are able to concentrate.  We are allowed to read the questions in the maths test if the children ask.  Some children may be given extra time or rest breaks.

 To keep calm and not apply too much pressure on the children! Let me to the worrying  Lots of sleep  To get them here on time, fed, watered and well rested!  Revision guides: Rising stars, Collins, letts, CPG

ENGLISH Packed with activities and questions. Focus on reading and the Grammar and Spelling This site offers English tests for several different genre with reading comprehension questions This has reading comprehension tests as well us very useful grammar and spelling games and activities Spelling: This is a fantastic online look, cover, write check tool that lets you modify the lists and put in your own words. You can insert words and it customises tests for you This is an excellent Grammar and punctuation reference, it sets out all the rules MATHS This site maps out the full curriculum with practice problems. The reason this site is so good is that when you get an answer wrong, it shows you the answer with a detailed explanation junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.html mentalmachine2.html Although they don’t have a mental maths tests, these questions are all really useful and I would invite the children to try them with a pencil and paper to check answers.

Times tables tasks including listening to songs in the car (can now get rap and funky versions!) Reading comprehension questions verbal and written, especially using inference skills Timed maths activities: how many questions can you answer in 5 minutes? Correcting incorrect grammar and grammar tasks using correct vocabulary, inverted commas, subordinate clauses etc Keep an eye on handwriting during homework tasks Use websites purchased by school, maths frame, BBC bitesize also has great revision games and activities Play other online games that help revision as long as they are not americanised! Ask the teachers for help and support if you require further support with websites or understanding tasks

 If looking at other sources eg. Revision guides or websites:  Look for New National Curriculum or 2016 SATs.

Maths after school clubs will commence next week and will run throughout year 6 until SATs week. Reading interventions will start next week in the afternoons where children’s gaps in learning will be addressed.

Don’t worry your child can not fail the SATs test.  Helping your child with their homework, hear them read and learn their multiplication tables and spellings.  Showing interest. Please ask your child how the test was.  Encourage your child to do their best.  Ensure that your child has a good night sleep.

School support.  Teaching but The Year 6 children have had numerous practice assessment weeks.  Children will come out of afternoon lessons with TA support to focus on key skills.  Free breakfast for each child in Year 6 between 7:45am – 8:30am on the days of the tests  Each child will be encouraged by us to do their very best and not worry. The worry and stress is for the teacher to do, not them.

Parent Support- Reading The minimum expectation is that children read 3 times a week and have it recorded in their reading diary which is checked weekly. It would also be useful for you to question your child on what they have read to develop their understanding of the text, which is what the reading paper in May will focus on. You have been given support questions to help you with this. Children need to read a range of genres from science fiction to classical texts and also non-fiction such as persuasion, instructions etc.

Parent Support- Maths You have also been given a copy of the school calculation policy to help you when supporting your child at home. If your child does not know their times tables up to and including 12 x 12 they need to work on them at home. As there is a reasoning paper now we need to expose children to problem solving which can be done on an everyday basis at home, for example: baking, spending money, saving money, calculating area and perimeter etc.

Parent Support- Spelling Within the new NC there is a year 5 & 6 spelling list which the Government expect all upper KS2 children to be able to spell and apply by the time they leave primary school. You have been given a copy of these words for your information.

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