Reading Comprehension

[Judy]

Please can anyone tell me anything about the format for 'Reading Comprehension' in the KS2 SATS or maybe direct me to a webpage which will have the information I need?

Many thanks

[jenny]

As far as I know no-one has put on line copies of past SATs reading comprehension papers (unlike maths).
Your best bet is probably to ask someone who works in year 6 for copies- there are usually plenty of spares around.

[Judy]

Thank you for your suggestion, Jenny.

Just one problem - I don't know any Y6 teachers!

Maybe, if all else fails, there's a book I can get. :(

[CuriousMum]

Have you looked in W H Smith? I think I have seen practice papers for KS1 and KS2 SATS in there - English, Maths and Science. I've never looked inside them, but they might have reading comprehension examples. I think they're published by either W H Smith or Letts.

[Susan Godsland]

You can buy past papers:

http://www.sats-past-papers.co.uk/

[jenny]

Don't buy Maths papers anyone -they are available free on a website which I will find and post on this message board!
Please be aware Judy that almost all schools will use past papers for revision and preparation. If you are using them as a tutor you may well be going over old ground. You really need the marks guide too as this shows the responses the markers are looking for: NOT always obvious from the questions. Look on the DfES website for Y6 sats preparation or booster groups for examples of tasks but again be aware that these will be being used in schools.
'Jenny'

[Judy]

Thank you, Susan and Jenny, for your suggestions and tips.

I was hoping not to have to buy anything as I wouldn't be using past papers - the girl in question isn't ready for that yet.

But I wanted to prepare her for the kind of format she will face when she gets to SATS because anything unfamiliar would be likely to 'throw' her! I just wondered whether anyone could tell me whether, for instance, whole sentence answers are required or whether there are boxes to tick etc. I was surprised that I couldn't find anything relevant on the standards website but maybe I can discover what she's doing at school when she comes back from her holidays, though that will not leave me much time to prepare anything. :(

[jenny]

Answers are in a variety of forms including circling a choice from 3. Full sentences are NOT required which is a particular bug bear of mine as I otherwise ask for full sentence answers!
Children who have struggled with literacy do find these tests particularly overwhelming- the sheer quantity of text to be read is daunting and they are instructed to read all of this text in the first 15 minutes.
There is an indication of how much is expected of them as possible marks are given. A lot of the questions relate to 'authorial intent' and almost require a kind of literary criticism which really throws some pupils.(Why has the writer used ...). I find that for pupils who have (had) difficulties the most important aspect is to teach them to read and understand the requirements of questions- many do badly because they have not answered the question that was asked.

[Judy]

Thank you so much, Jenny!

many do badly because they have not answered the question that was asked.

This is what I shall have to work on first I think - though I think the amount to be read will be a huge problem as well! This is a girl with a RA at least a year behind her chronological age - though much improved! - and she is a slow reader at the best of times and can't cope with a lot on each page, whether it is for reading or maths!

Something I've noticed with my 'dyslexic' pupils, which I wonder if anyone else has noticed, is that they never seem to look first at the top of the page if it is anything other than a page of straightforward text. I suppose this is something they can be trained to do in the same way as tracking from left to right. Obviously a lot of work needed!

I recently gave all my pupils (of varying ages) a worksheet on which they had to cross out the wrong answer from a choice of two possibilities. Only one could get the hang of it at all and he was the youngest and least 'muddled'. For the others I had to change horses and ask them to circle the right answer instead and they were fine with that.

[Scott]

I’ve been reading E.D. Hirsch’s The Knowledge Deficit. It’s a good book. Unfortunately, he’s of the opinion that we’re now doing a great job teaching kids to decode. It got me thinking about some kids I’ve worked with. I’ve taught them to decode well and they read fluently. (If you heard them reading aloud, you’d think they were in good shape) I’ve taught them the NRP type comprehension strategies, but they still don’t understand what they’re reading. Both have lower than average IQ’s and have diagnoses of language disorders. In light of the Rose Report’s comments on decoding and language comprehension (Gough and Tunmer) what could I be doing to help improve their language/reading comprehension?

Is anyone familiar with the following programs? Is there something better?

Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking

Read America’s Language Wise

I’ve also started reading Diane McGuinness’s Growing A Reader From Birth: Your Child’s Path From Language to Literacy

[palisadesk]

Both have lower than average IQ’s and have diagnoses of language disorders. In light of the Rose Report’s comments on decoding and language comprehension (Gough and Tunmer) what could I be doing to help improve their language/reading comprehension?

With students like the ones you describe (you don't say what age -- elementary age I presume?) I have had most success with Language for Learning and Language for Thinking, both published by SRA. These address basic language comprehension and reasoning -- classification, who/what/where/why, implied versus explicit meanings, all kinds of things, in an interactive and very thorough and comprehensive. I have seen kids' language skills jump substantially as a result of this program.

I use some of the McGuinnis' work to supplement it, but on its own it is not sufficient to address fairly severe language and comprehension delays. I am familiar with Visualizing and Verbalizing, but my observation is that it starts at a higher level of language comprehension than most of these students have to start with. I would consider following up on Language for Thinking with V/V if the opportunity ever presents itself. Alas, instructional time is always so limited there is never enough to do what needs doing especially for the children with many areas of need.

Susan S.
Ontario, Canada

[JIM CURRAN]

Good comprehenders need good word Knowledge ( vocabulary ) and good world knowledge ( general knowledge ) of course they also need to be automatic decoders. Dyslexic children are usually poor decoders but have good oral comprehension while some slow learners may have good decoding skills but poor oral comprehension. Not everyone who posts on this message board believes that general comprehension strategies can be taught but that you might simply have to approach each piece of comprehension separately. The late Professor Michael Pressley believed that comprehension strategies could be taught to all children . Chapter Seven of “ Reading Instruction That Works” is titled “ The Need For Increased Comprehension Instruction”.