While you are waiting please take a
moment to look at the example test
questions on the tables
Parent Workshop
(Year 5/6)
11th March 2015
• Outline our approach to the teaching
of writing at Brookburn.
• Outline what the SPAG test is.
• Highlight some key areas of
knowledge with strategies for
helping your child.
• Share useful websites and materials
 Maths
test
 Reading test
 SPAG test
 Writing – teacher assessment










Exciting context
Cross curricular
Units of work 1-3 weeks
Have a go – Ph1/2/3 – Show me what you know
Working Wall
Talk for writing
Sentence types
Clear success criteria
Developmental marking/peer + self assessment
SPAG starters daily
In July 2012, in response to Lord Bew’s independent
review of Key Stage 2 assessment, the Government
announced a new statutory English grammar,
punctuation and spelling test for all children in Year
Six. This would be introduced during the 2012-13
academic year and was only signed off on the 20th
December 2012.
The test includes:
• sentence grammar (identification & grammatical
accuracy);
• punctuation (identification & grammatical accuracy);
• vocabulary (grammatical accuracy) and spelling.
The test puts an additional focus on
essential English. Children should have
mastered these skills by the time they
leave primary school, so that they can
enter secondary school with the basic
skills in place.
Test Format…
The test will be administered on paper with the
spelling component administered orally by a
test administrator. The total testing time will
be approximately1 hour.

Component
Description of
component
Timing
Component 1
Grammar,
Punctuation and
Vocabulary
45 mins
Component 2
Spelling
Around 15 mins
(not strictly
timed)
2015 SPaG tests will be marked as
before - given a Level 3, 4, or 5. Some
children will be put in for level 6
 2016 (Current Y5 children) no levels.
Score related to end of year
expectations.

Content: Spelling
This component consists of 20 target words,
presented to children aurally by a test administrator
within 20 distinct, contextualised sentences:
to sound out phonemes
to analyse words into syllables and other known
words
to apply knowledge of spelling conventions
to use knowledge of common letter strings, visual
patterns and analogies
to check their spelling
to revise and build on their knowledge of words
and spelling patterns.
Focus on punctuation
How would you punctuate this
sentence?
a woman without her man is nothing
Focus on punctuation
Two possible ways to punctuate the
sentence giving two different meanings:
A woman, without her man, is
nothing.
A woman: without her, man is
nothing.
Shared and guided writing
 Specific punctuation activities
 Success criteria for writing tasks
 School marking policy

HOME
Re-read any writing. High
expectations.
“Grammar to a writer is to a
mountaineer a good pair of
hiking boots or, more
precisely, to a deep-sea diver
an oxygen tank.”
Content: English Language.
word classes and the grammatical functions
of words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives,
adverbs, pronouns, prepositions,
conjunctions, articles
• the features of different types of sentence,
including statements, questions and
commands, and how to use them for
example, imperatives in commands.
• the grammar of complex sentences,
including clauses, phrases and connectives
•






Daily SPAG starters in literacy lessons
Within shared and guided writing, using
correct terminology
Specific SPAG exercises
Morning Work
Marking Policy – CL/P/G/Sp
Year 6 – Practice tests
Content: Vocabulary/language
strategies
• to broaden their vocabulary and
use it in inventive ways
• to proofread – check the draft for
spelling and punctuation errors,
omissions and repetitions.
 Discussion
and Feedback

•
•
•
•

•
•
SCHOOL
High quality literacy teaching
Test techniques
Practice tests
L6 group
HOME
Any writing done at home - ensure children complete to
a high standard. Make sure children proofread their
writing.
Games and activities (find on useful websites page).






www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy2.htm
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/spelling
_grammar/
www.topmarks.co.uk
http://www.compare4kids.co.uk/literacy.php
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2literacy.html
http://www.iboard.co.uk/iwb/Punctuate-MeSuper-Heroes-Complex-Speech-2485


http://www.satspapers.org.uk/
http://www.satstestsonline.co.uk/sto_past_p
apers.aspx

Evaluation Sheets