A helpful guide for KS2 pupils to help them tackle their SATs.
Reviewed by Kat Cauchi
SATs (Standardised Assessment Tests) can be incredibly daunting for pupils. Completing tests in examination conditions can be a lot of pressure and so one way to help combat this is to help pupils feel more prepared for SATs. If pupils have some understanding of what SATs are, how they might look, and what kind of questions and topics are covered, this can help ease some of the anxiety around the ‘unknown’. This is where SATs like a Ninja comes in – to provide key facts and revision tips to empower pupils on their SATs journey.
N.B. Although SATs take place in England at the end of Key Stage 1 (KS1) and the end of Key Stage 2 (KS2), this guidebook is specifically for the end of KS2 only.
How the book works
The book is split into five main sections (which are broken down further into sub-sections and chapters). These are:
- Introduction – what SATs are and the usual timeline of the tests.
- Grammar, punctuation and spelling – Key content and question examples for the GPS papers.
- Reading – Key content and question examples for the reading papers.
- Maths – Key content and question examples for the mathematics papers.
- Notes – Lined pages to make notes on topics/areas of difficulty while using the book.
For each of the paper sections, there are detailed images of example questions that pupils can respond to, strategies for how to approach these kinds of questions in an examination, and practice tasks to apply those suggested approaches.
This format gives a really clear picture of what pupils can expect and equips them with the know-how to give their best in different types of questions.
Book highlights
There are so many great things about this book but I wanted to highlight three that I really liked:
- Test details
- Ninja tips
- Key topic information
Test details
Each of the paper sections opens with a test details section, where it shares:
- Test day
- Time allowed
- Number of questions/marks
- Layout and appearance
- Example questions.
I thought this was a really helpful way to get pupils to visualise what the test looks like and really understand how it works. Knowing, for example, how long they will have to work through it can help them with planning their time. Seeing example questions helps them to understand different ways information might be presented and so on. I think elements such as the length of time or number of marks for a test are something we maybe don’t always talk to pupils about enough but could actually be quite helpful for them to know, so it is a positive this is included in the book.
Ninja tips
Throughout the text, there are ‘Ninja tips’ – little side notes presented in separate text boxes with a cute little Ninja graphic to grab your attention. I liked how these were used throughout the book to give the reader helpful advice on the topic at hand – and some might be helpful reminders that can be used for multiple papers. For example, on page 55, where Jennings talks about highlighting key information in the text, the Ninja tip is ‘Try to only highlight one or two words at a time.’ Although this tip is in the reading paper section, this advice is useful for any questions where you may need to highlight key information, such as word problems in the maths paper.
Key topic information
I like how this book does two jobs at once. Rather than just being focused on revision and practice, it also shares key topics/areas covered in the SATs papers. This key topic information is really handy for helping pupils to understand what areas to brush up on but also means any tips, hints and practice questions are more purposeful, as it all has this key context behind it. It will also enable pupils to identify if it’s the subject knowledge they need support with or understanding/responding to how that information might be presented. Knowing where they need support and what they need to work on most will be really helpful.
Summary
To sum up, I would definitely recommend teachers sharing this with Year 6 pupils – or even, as a parent of a Year 6 pupil, to share with your child. This book is a really great, child-friendly guide that can help pupils to understand SATs a little better, making them less scary. Plus, it’s packed with revision tips to help pupils get prepared more easily so they can give these tests their best shot or, as the book might say, ‘like a ninja’!
