Read through ‘The Lost World’. Which
vocabulary or sentence structures might your
child need help to understand?
Which favourite ‘classic texts’ could you share
with your child?
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To review the key similarities and
differences between the old and
new reading SATs
To explore what parents can do to
help their children prepare for the
new tests
To recommend useful resources
Old:
New:
 Two complete texts
 3 texts, may not all be
complete.
 One fiction, one nonfiction.
 Classic fiction
excerpts using more
 Usually linked by a
formal or old
common theme.
fashioned
language/structures
 Not necessarily of
similar theme.
How will Key Stage 2 SATs be marked?
The previous national curriculum levels have
been scrapped, and instead children will be given
scaled scores. You will be given your child’s raw
score (the actual number of marks they get),
alongside their scaled score and whether they
have reached the national average. The score
needed to reach the national average has yet to be
announced.
2016 reading sample test materials
Key Stage 2 Reading
The reading test will include questions based on three texts.
Your child will have one hour to complete the test. There
will be a selection of question types:
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, e.g. ‘Look at the sentence that begins Once
upon a time. How does the writer increase the tension
throughout this paragraph? Explain, referring to the text.
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Finding information on the page.
Being able to find information that is not on the
page. Looking for clues
Thinking about situations and predicting what
might happen.
Putting yourself in a character’s shoes and
understanding what is going on from their
viewpoint.
Make inferences from the text / explain and
justify inferences with evidence from the text.
Award 1 mark for reference to either
acceptable point:
it is referred to as ‘the unknown’
they entered cautiously.
Do not accept reference to it being
overgrown.
Make inferences from the text / explain and
justify inferences with evidence from the text.
Award 1 mark for reference to providing a
comparison to something the reader will
recognise, e.g.
• because we know how big
elephants are
• we know what lizard’s skin is like
• it compares them to animals we
know.
Make inferences from the text / explain and
justify inferences with evidence from the text.
Award 3 marks for one acceptable point for inoffensive and one for
brutes, both with evidence, e.g.
3. being together as a
family / looking after
1. acted like children /
their young
playful
• little ones played round • little ones played round
their parents
their parents
• followed by its mate and
• unwieldy gambols
its three enormous infants
• bounding into the air
4. the men don’t find
them frightening /
2. they are herbivores /
they don’t harm
vegetarians
the men
• reaching a bunch of
• I do not know how long
foliage
we stayed gazing
• this marvellous spectacle
5. slow movement •
slowly lurched
inoffensive
Brutes
• put his forelegs round
the trunk of the tree
• their heads high above
6. strength • tore it down
the brushwood
as if it had been a sapling
• tore it down as if it
• the strength of the
had been a sapling
parents seemed to be
• lurched
limitless
8. the way they move
• unwieldy gambols
7. huge size • dull thuds
• dull thuds
• its three enormous
• lurched off
infants
Some 3 mark answers:
• It explains that the iguanodons were harmless because it says
they eat foliage which means they are vegetarians. It also says
‘I do not know how long we have stared at this spectacle’
which means they hadn’t tried to hurt them or kill them when
most dinosaurs would have tried to kill them for food. They
were like brutes because they were so strong and pulled out
trees without any effort.
• They were not offensive as they let the men stare at them for
ages and they didn’t attack them. But they were also like brutes
as they were strong and pulled trees up really easily.
• You could tell that they were inoffensive because they were
playing. One of the parents was followed by its mate so they
were friendly. It says they lurched which makes them sound
big and heavy.
Make inferences from the text / explain and
justify inferences with evidence from the text.
Award 2 marks for four correct
words and 1 mark for two or three
correct words from the list below:
• gloom
• menace
• terrors
• pounce
• lair
• crept.
Take care to source your evidence for the answer from
the paragraph mentioned in the question
Do not accept
• general answers not relating to specific events
or actions, e.g. It’s going to be dangerous They
carry on exploring.
• textual evidence that is not taken from the last
paragraph, e.g. They will find more footprints and
follow them.
• predictions not supported by the last
paragraph, e.g. They catch some dinosaurs and
take them back to England.
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Encourage your child to read a range of
texts. This will allow them to develop their
inference and deduction skills in both fiction
and non-fiction.
You could link non-fiction reading to your
child’s topics at school e.g. the Environment
or Living Things.
You could also read extracts from a
children’s newspaper such as First News or
the Newsround website
What words give you that impression? Why?
How do you feel about………? Why?
Can you explain why………….?
At the end of the story the main character is
feeling ……. Does this surprise you?
• What does this tell you about what ……….was
thinking?
• Do you think this is true/untrue? Why do you
think this?
• What do you think the ………. is thinking? If it
were you what would you do?
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TheSchoolRun has commissioned five complete
KS2 SATs practice papers for maths and five
for English. Available exclusively to
subscribers, they are written in the style of the
2016 papers and feature similar question types.
http://www.theschoolrun.com/key-stage-2SATs-2016
Some ‘classic texts’ are available free on kindle
or in other ebook formats online.
YEAR 5
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Water Wings Morris Gleitzman
Blabbermouth Morris Gleitzman
Belly Flop Morris Gleitzman
The Diddakoi Rumer Godden
Stormbreaker Anthony Horowitz
Walter and Me Michael Morpurgo
Friend or Foe Michael Morpurgo
Mister Monday Garth Nix
Aquila Andrew Norris
Harry and the Wrinklies Alan Temperley
The Story of Tracy Beaker Jacqueline Wilson
Double Act Jacqueline Wilson
Northern Lights Philip Pullman
A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens
Dragon Rider Cornelia Funke
Journey To Jo’burg Beverly Naidoo
Journey to the River Sea Eva Ibbotson
The Owl Service Alan Garner
Pig Heart Boy Malorie Blackman
Tom’s Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce
Watership Down Richard Adams
The Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K Le Guin
Wolves of Willoughby Chase Joan Aiken
Where the Red Fern Grows Wilson Rawls
Little Women Louisa May Alcott
The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson-Burnett
Artemis Fowl Eoin Colfer
The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
Anne of Green Gables L M Montgomery
Black Beauty Anna Sewell
Holes Louis Sachar
There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom Louis Sachar
Vicky Angel Jacqueline Wilson
The Other Side of Truth Beverley Naidoo
Harry Potter series J K Rowling
YEAR 6
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Carrie’s War Nina Bawden
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Judith Kerr
Forgotten Voices of the Second World War Max Arthur
The Diamond of Drury Lane Julia Golding
Framed Frank Cottrell Boyce
Homecoming Cynthia Voigt
Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman
Knife Edge Malorie Blackman
Private Peaceful Michael Morpurgo
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ Sue Townsend
Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson
Mortal Engines Philip Reeve
Clockwork Philip Pullman
Dragon Keeper Carole Wilkinson
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon
Peter Pan J M Barrie
Wizard of Oz F Baum
Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe
Oliver Twist Charles Dickens
Jungle Book Rudyard Kipling
The Railway Children E Nesbit
The Borrowers M Norton
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain
Alex Rider series Anthony Horowitz
My Story series Various authors
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Ed. Otto H Frank
Boy Overboard Morris Gleitzman
Sabriel Garth Nix
YEAR 3
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Cool Michael Morpurgo
The Butterfly Lion Michael Morpurgo
Kensuke’s Kingdom Michael Morpurgo
Billy the Kid Michael Morpurgo
The Twits Roald Dahl
Charlie and Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl
Matilda Roald Dahl
Danny The Champion of the World Roald Dahl
James and the Giant Peach Roald Dahl
Fantastic Mr Fox Roald Dahl
The BFG Roald Dahl
The Sheep Pig Dick King-Smith
Bill’s New Frock Anne Fine
The Hundred Mile an Hour Dog Jeremy Strong
Return of the Hundred Mile an Hour Dog Jeremy Strong
The Naughtiest Girl in the School Enid Blyton
Secret Seven series Enid Blyton
Famous Five series Enid Blyton
Animal Ark series Lucy Daniels
Horrid Henry series Francesca Henry’s
Charlotte’s Web E B White
Flat Stanley Jeff Brown
Fungus the Bogeyman Raymond Briggs
Mystery Winklesea Helen Cresswell
The Indian in the Cupboard Lynne Reid Banks
Mr Majeika Humphrey Carpenter
Please Mrs Butler Allan Ahlberg
The Sam Pig Story Book Alison Uttley
Railway Cat Phyllis Arkle
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone J K Rowling
YEAR 4
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A Caribbean Dozen John Agard & Grace Nicholls
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters John Steptoe
Beowolf Kevin Crossley-Holland
The Firework-Maker's Daughter Philip Pullman
The Dragon's Child Jenny Nimmo
The Ghost Blades Anthony Masters
Sara, Plain and Tall Patricia MacLachlan
Smart Girls Robert Leeson
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky Susan Jeffers & Chief Seattle
Robi Dobi Madhur Jaffrey
The Reluctant Dragon Kenneth Grahame
Flow Pippa Goodhart
Dragon Poems John Foster & Korky Paul
The Crazy Shoe Shuffle Gillian Cross
The Sea Piper Helen Cresswell
The Chocolate Touch Patrick Skene Catling
Spacebaby Henrietta Branford
Gregory Cool Caroline Binch
A Pot of Gold Jill Bennett
Fog Hounds Wind Cat Sea Mice Joan Aiken
The Clothes Horse Allan Ahlberg
It Was A Dark and Stormy Night Allan Ahlberg
The Dancing Bear Michael Morpurgo
The Demon Headmaster Gillian Cross
Dog So Small Phillipa Pearce
Emil and the Detectives Erich Kastner
The Iron Man Ted Hughes
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe C S Lewis
Little House on the Prairie Laura Ingalls Wilder
Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh Robert C O’Brien
Stig of the Dump Clive King
Swallows and Amazons Arthur Ransome
A Child's Garden of Verse Robert Louis Stevenson
Greek Myths for Young Children Marcia Williams
The Orchard Book of Creation Stories Margaret Mayo & Louise Brierley
YEAR 1
YEAR 2
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The Cat in the Hat Dr Seuss
The Tiger Who Came to Tea Judith Kerr
Hairy Maclary Lynley Dodd
The Large Family Collection Jill Murphy
Charlie and Lola Lauren Child
The Smartest Giant in Town Julia Donaldson
The Gruffalo’s Child Julia Donaldson
The Gigantic Turnip Aleksei Tolstoy
The Whisperer Nick Butterworth
Mrs Armitage on Wheels Quentin Blake
The Trouble with Jack Shirley Hughes
My Friend Bear Jez Alborough
Avocado Baby John Burningham
A Bear Called Paddington Michael Bond
Funnybones Allan Ahlberg
The Hodgeheg Dick King-Smith
The Jolly Postman Allan Ahlberg
Mister Magnolia Quentin Blake
Katie Morag Series Mairi Hedderwick
Frog and Toad are Friends Arnold Lobel
The Princess and the Pea Minnie Grey
Amazing Grace Mary Hoffman
Don’t Forget the Bacon Pat Hutchins
Emperor of Absurdia Chris Riddell
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs Jon Scieszka
Collins Primary Dictionary
Children’s First Encyclopaedia
Children’s Atlas
Topic Books, eg Old Toys, Homes in the Past
Traditional Nursery Rhymes
Traditional Fairy Stories
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The Cat Who Lost His Purr Michelle Coxon
Frightened Fred Peta Coplans
Friends Kim Lewis
Mog Stories Judith Kerr
Mr Wolf’s Pancakes Jan Fearnley
Frog is Frog Max Velthuijis
Cat and Mouse Story Michael Rosen
The Snow Lady Shirley Hughes
Grace and Family Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch
The Adventures of Captain Underpants Dav Pilkey
The Diary of a Killer Cat Anne Fine
Little Wolf’s Book of Badness Ian Whybrow
The Magic Finger Roald Dahl
Mrs Wobble the Waitress Allan Alhberg
Pirate School: Just a Bit of Wind Jeremy Strong
George’s Marvellous Medicine Roald Dahl
The Giraffe, Pelly and Me Roald Dahl
The Guard Dog Dick King-Smith
Emily’s Legs Dick King-Smith
Children’s Illustrated Dictionary
Usborne Books:
The First Encyclopaedia of Science
The First Encyclopaedia of the Human Body
The First Encyclopaedia of Animals
The First Encyclopaedia of Seas and Oceans
The Children’s World Atlas (internet linked)
Pocket Science Books
Watt’s Great Events Books:
The Great Fire of London
Gun Powder Plot
Battle of Hastings
Coronation of Elizabeth II
Watt’s Famous People Series:
Florence Nightingale
Louis Braille
George Stephenson
Thomas Edison
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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Bill Martin Jnr
Where’s Spot? Eric Hill
Guess How Much I Love You Sam
McBratney and Garth Williams
The Little Red Hen Byron Barton
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle
Clifford the Big Red Dog Norman Bridwell
Owl Babies Martin Waddell and Patrick
Benson
Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak
Winnie the Pooh A A Milne
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Beatrix Potter
Stone Soup Marcia Brown
Not Now Bernard David McKee
There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly
Pam Adams
The Tiger Who Came to Tea Jill Tomlinson
The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson & Axel
Scheffler
Winnie the Witch Valerie Thomas & Korky
Paul
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The Elephant and the Bad Baby Elfrida
Vipont & Raymond Briggs
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Helen Oxenbury
Handa’s Surprise Eileen Browne
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark
Jill Tomlinson
I Will Never Eat a Tomato Lauren Child
Rosie’s Walk Pat and Laurence Hutchins
One Snowy Night Nick Butterworth
Dear Zoo Rod Campbell
The Rainbow Fish Marcus Pfister
Dogger Shirley Hughes
Farmer Duck Martin Waddell
Once Their Were Giants Martin Waddell and
Penny Dale
Traditional Rhymes
Alphabet Books
Counting Books