Supporting Your
Child With Reading
In Preparation For
SATs
What are SATS?
• National Tests taken by all year 6
children
• They are taken during the week
beginning 12th May 2014 from
Monday to Thursday
Monday 12th
Tuesday 13th
Wednesday 14th
Thursday 15th
SPAG
Mental Maths
Maths Paper 2
Break
Break
Break
Maths Paper 1
Level 6 Maths 1
8.50
10.00
10.15
Break
10.30
11.30
Reading
Comprehension
Level 6 SPAG
Level 6 Maths 2
12.15
Lunch
1.15
Level 6 Reading
Comprehension
2.15
3.15
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Arrangements for the week
• We run a free breakfast club
Monday-Thursday
• We give children support in different
ways, depending on their needs
• We cope with unforeseen
circumstances!
Assessment focuses
• There are seven assessment focuses used to assess
children’s reading levels. (There is some overlap
between them.)
• Each different assessment focus has a different
weighting in a SATs paper ; for example, there are more
AF2 and AF3 questions than AF7 as they involve more
important reading skills.
• Children in Year 6 should be familiar with the
assessment focuses. We use a “child-friendly” version
of them in lessons, beginning with “I can…”
• See extract from The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman.
AF1 – I can read words using
different strategies
• This means children can actually work out what
the words in the text say (decoding). This is an
early reading skill.
• The majority of children in Year 6 are secure with
this. They no longer need to read out loud in
order to show they can decode.
• This skill is not tested in a SATs test.
• For some children with specific difficulties with
reading, they may still need to work. Please check
with your child’s class teacher if unsure.
AF2 – I can find information in
the text to answer questions
• This is one of the most important assessment
focuses.
• This means that children have a general and
literal understanding of a text. They can
identify the key points and find evidence in
the text to support answers:
AF2 questions
• Where is the characters’ final destination?
Find the evidence in the text.
• Which character is finding the journey the
most difficult? How do you know?
• Explain in your own words what is
happening.
AF3 – I can use clues in the text
to “read between the lines” and
find out even more information
• Again this is a very important assessment
focus and usually the one which the children
find the most difficult. It is the current Year 6
reading target.
• As adults, we can easily identify “hidden
meanings” within the text. Children need to
be taught to do this.
• Children are reading detectives - “looking for
clues” in the text to explain what is
happening.
• To do this, children will need to find evidence
in the text to answer the question. They may
also use their own experiences to help i.e.
using empathy skills.
AF3 questions
• How do you think Becky is feeling at this
point? Find evidence in the text to explain
how you know.
• Why do you think Becky is helping Adelaide?
Explain how you know using evidence from
the text.
• What do you think will happen next? Find
evidence in the text to explain your answer.
AF4 – I can explain how the text
been organised
• This AF has less weighting.
• For fiction texts, this usually relates to
paragraphing, chronological order and how
the organisation affects the reader.
• For non-fiction texts, it may refer to use of
text boxes, tables, captions, glossary,
contents and index etc.
AF4 questions
• Why has the author started a new paragraph
for “Come on…” ?
• Why has the author used a one sentence
paragraph?
• Is the story in chronological order? Explain
how you know using evidence from the text.
AF5 – I can explain how the
writer has used language to
affect the reader in different ways
• This is important because it has a direct link to
children’s choice of vocabulary in their own
writing. When children can identify good
language and how it affects them as a reader,
they can then use it in their own work when
they are the writer.
AF5 questions
• What is the effect of using the word
“soothingly”?
• Why does the author use … after “a shadow
fell across them” ?
• Find a really effective sentence and explain its
effect on the reader.
AF6 – I can explain the writer’s
viewpoint and how the whole
text makes the reader feel
• This AF focus has less weighting.
• This involves looking at the text as a whole.
• Again, the children will need to find evidence
from the text to support their answers.
AF6 questions
• How do you think the author would like you to
feel about Adelaide? Find evidence in the text
to support your answer.
• What does this text make you feel about the
shadow? Find evidence in the text to show
how the author makes you feel this.
• Give three words to sum up the mood of the
text.
AF7 – I can compare and
contrast stories set in
different cultures, places and times.
• This has the least weighting of all the AFs.
AF7 question
• Find a word or phrase that makes you think
this is not set in 2013.
Children should explain their
answers clearly and give evidence
from the text where possible.
“How do you know?”
Opportunity to look at our most recent SATs
reading paper, including the assessment focuses
of each question.
The children are given fifteen minutes reading
time, then forty five minutes to answer the
question, referring back to the text.
Practical ideas – how adults
at home can help prepare
children for their reading SATS.
• Most children in Year 6 do not need to read
out loud at home. A better model to use is a
“book club”. The child and adult can read an
agreed amount of text independently “in their
heads” (eg a chapter, two pages) and then
discuss, with the adult asking questions
relating to the different assessment focuses.
• See AF question prompts on handout.
• It should be possible to adapt these to suit
most texts your child will be reading.
Children should explain their answers clearly
and give evidence from the text where possible.
“How do you know?”
• Adult comments in the reading records can
then reflect this.
Any questions?