sats | Maths Blog

Resource of the week: KS2 SAT style questions

It’s never too early to get to grips with some SAT style questions in Year 6 and we have an increasing number of these. There are two similar maths worksheets here which demonstrate a number of techniques that can be used to answer SAT questions.

The first question asks for two numbers which add up to 140 from the selection given. The easiest approach to this is firstly to look at the units and find two which add up to 10, such as 28 and 32. Then to look to see if the tens digits are suitable; in this case they are not.

Try again 99 and 91 – this time too big.

Try 74 and 66.

6 and 4 make 10. 70 and 60 make 130. Add 10 to 130 makes 140 – there is your answer!

For question 3 the order is important. Start with an edge of the triangle which already has two numbers in.

Booster maths worksheet 13

Booster maths worksheet 14

2010 Maths SAT paper A: question 4

Question 4 on the Maths 2010 Paper A introduces the important notion that you don’t necessarily have to get a question correct to gain marks. Part 4b points out that showing the working out could gain a mark and it is very important that children realise this. Many children are very reluctant to show their working out, preferring to just jot down and answer.

Both parts of question 4 require two separate operations to reach the answer.
Part (a) can be done in several ways. The most obvious is to identify the cost of the tuna salad (£1.60) and the apple pie (50p) and add them together. £1.60 + 50p = £2.10. This is quite tricky as it involves adding pounds and pence. Then subtract £2.10 from £2.50, leaving £0.40 or 40p.
Another way of doing part (a) is to do two separate subtractions. Take 50p from £2.50 leaves £2.00. Take £1.60 away from £2.00 leaves £0.40 or 40p. I think this is probably an easier method for many children.
The most appropriate method for part (b) is to add the cost of the cheese salad (£1.20) to the yogurt (35p) which makes £1.55. Then subtract 90p from £1.55 leaving £0.65 or 65p.
Some children may well subtract 90p from £1.20, making £0.30 and then adding the cost of the yogurt (£0.35), making £0.65 in total.
Both questions involve money written in a mixture of pounds and pence which makes this harder than it might first appear.

Question 4 from Maths SATs Paper 2010

Paper A Question 4 answers and suggested method

KS2 SAT revision: Shape (3)

Another in our set of KS2 SAT revision worksheets on shape. This page looks at the understanding of co-ordinates and shape. The first question is straightforward and has three points on the grid to write the co-ordinates for. Now many children come across an easy question like this and instantly forget which number should come first. They need a simple memory nudge to remind them such as, ‘along the corridor and up the stairs’, although there are many others as well. In this case the brackets and comma are provided, but this might not always be the case and children are expected to use these correctly.

The second question is testing whether children understand what an isosceles triangle is. The grid is provided, but this can sometimes cause confusion. Once again, go for the most obvious way of doing this.

Whilst these questions will not teach the concepts they do act as a quick test as to whether or not more time needs to be spent on shape.

This, an other similar pages can be found in our Key Stage 2 Maths SAT Questions category.

KS 2 Maths SAT questions_Shape (3)

KS2 SATs revision: Shape (2)

With KS2 SATs coming up soon it is about time I added a few more worksheets to help. This one shows a typical couple of questions on shape. They are fairly straightforward and would be an easy way to collect marks towards Level 4.

The first question is really testing whether the terms regular hexagon and equilateral triangle are understood. Each of these will have sides of equal length.

The second question covers several concepts, including measuring area, lines of symmetry and the terms hexagon and vertices.

From these questions it is easy to see why there are sometimes discrepancies in marking. There are many answers to drawing a shape with the same area as X. Markers of the test papers would have to spend time counting the triangles to make sure, something many would be reluctant to do as it takes time and they will want to get them marked as quickly as possible, so a complex shape may be dismissed. So, keep the answers simple and obvious.

KS 2 Maths SAT questions_Shape (2)

Year 6 SATs questions

January is usually the time when schools start looking seriously at the Key Stage 2 tests and what needs doing to get the best possible scores. Our Year 6 ‘Booster’ pages can help a great deal with this. Part of this resource looks in particular at time, with lots of questions matching those found in the tests. We have four pages of questions involving finding how long it is from one time to another, the 24 hour clock, calendars and interprteting charts.

Try the year 6 SATs questions.

Resource of the Week: Year 6 maths booster pages.

Resource of the Week: Year 6 booster pages.

It’s the start of a new term for most children, and in year 6 many will already be practising various SAT test papers. We have a good range of pages to help with this.

An old favourite with the SATs question writers is reflective symmetry. During the test children are given tracing paper or a small mirror. If using the mirror they need to line it up along the dotted line and draw the reflection. If the shape is drawn on squared paper it can be easier to draw it by hand taking each square in turn.

Being able to read information from a calendar may seem pretty straightforward to us, but many children do not come across these in their everyday life and hence have problems working out how to extract the information.

The questions here are aimed at boosting a level 3 towards a level 4. For those children aiming at a Level 5 care must be taken to read the tables and charts accurately as they are a good way to pick up easy marks.

Why not take a look at our booster pages now?