Can preparing for Key Stage 2 SATs really be engaging and unintimidating? The simple answer is yes, of course it can and why shouldn’t it be? Preparing for KS2 SATs often looks like completing lots of past papers and whilst some of this is important, it’s also important for your preparation to be engaging and effective.
Each year in May, all eligible Year 6 pupils are assessed using Key Stage 2 SATs. The KS2 GPS assessment consists of two papers. GPS Paper 1 is a 45-minute, 50-mark test which focuses on grammar and punctuation questions. GPS Paper 2 is a spelling test consisting of 20 words and 20 marks.
What is Grammar Arcade?
Grammar Arcade is the game-changing solution designed to improve and target specific grammar skills, which makes it perfect for SATs preparation. It provides full National Curriculum coverage for grammar and punctuation and is included in Spelling Shed’s free trial and subscription.
With content written by teachers, Grammar Arcade is full of fun and engaging games, so pupils can battle invading Punctuation Pirate Ships, dodge ghosts in Mouse Mansion, reel in a big catch in Fish Fast or feed perfect pups, all while learning and consolidating key skills.
Target Specific Grammar and Punctuation Skills and Objectives
Educators can easily target specific skills and objectives by assigning them to pupils. For example, if a pupil needs to consolidate their learning about fronted adverbials, you could assign them the Stage 4 objectives ‘S2.2-2.3 Identify adverbial phrases and select the most appropriate one’ or ‘S2.4 – 2.5 Rearrange sentences so the adverbial is at the front and punctuate correctly’. When the pupil logins, they will see the objective and be directed to the relevant game. In this example, for the objective ‘S2.2-2.3 Identify adverbial phrases and select the most appropriate one’, they would play Mouse Mansion or Perfect Pups. For the objective ‘S2.4 – 2.5 Rearrange sentences so the adverbial is at the front and punctuate correctly’, they would play Fish Fast, Punctuation Pirates or Sweet Dream Sentences.
All the data from Grammar Arcade games feeds directly into a handy data report so you can easily track gameplay and pupil progress.
Pupils can also select the Stage and skill they need to work on and choose the game that Grammar Arcade suggests for them. Alternatively, pupils can play their own way by going on Grammar Arcade and selecting the game they want to play.
Which Grammar and Punctuation Skills and Objectives Should You Prioritise in the Lead up to SATs?
The table below shows that the pass mark (expected standard) for the GPS papers in previous years has been approximately 50%. The GPS papers combined are out of a total of 70 marks.
The table below shows the content domain coverage of each paper, including the number of marks and percentage.
Punctuation consistently emerges as the most frequently tested content domain, closely followed by grammatical terms and word classes. In fact, if pupils answered all of the questions correctly in both of those content domains, they would meet the expected standard.
Although it is worth focusing on areas like functions of sentences and standard English and formality to help with writing and spoken English, the data does show that focusing on punctuation and grammatical terms and word classes should offer the greatest benefit in delivering SATs success for your pupils.
How Can You Use Grammar Arcade to Target Key Grammar and Punctuation Skills and Objectives?
Grammar Arcade is split into Stages which relate to each year group, e.g., Stage 6 is Year 6. Each year group is broken down into the key areas of the grammar, punctuation and spelling curriculum: Word, Text, Sentence and Punctuation. Each key area is further broken down into objectives, which all have at least one Grammar Arcade game for children to practise on.
Educators can assign the specific objective to the pupil. For example, if children are struggling with brackets, dashes or commas to indicate parenthesis, you could assign the following Stage 5 objectives:
P1.1 Brackets to indicate parenthesis
P1.2 Dashes to indicate parenthesis
P1.3 Commas to indicate parenthesis
P1.4 Brackets, dashes and commas to indicate parenthesis
Alternatively, educators could direct pupils to play on Stage 5 Bracket Bridge.
Example Questions
The question below is taken from the 2022 Key Stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling assessment:
Here is just one example of a similar question from Grammar Arcade Stage 5, P1.3 Commas to indicate parenthesis:
The question below is taken from the 2024 Key Stage 2 English grammar, punctuation and spelling assessment and focuses on possessive pronouns and relative pronouns.
If children need consolidation in these areas, you could assign them the Stage 5 objectives:
S1.1 Revise the terms personal and possessive pronoun
S1.2 Introduce relative pronouns
Games for these objectives include Honey Hippo, Pairs to the Pond and Perfect Pups.
Remember that it is an end of Key Stage assessment; therefore, practice will include consolidation of objectives from previous year groups.
What Do Year 6 Pupils Say About Grammar Arcade?
We asked the Year 6 pupils at Spelling Shed’s Showcase School, Rochford Primary School, what they thought of Grammar Arcade.
“The new characters are great!”
“It is awesome.”
“You can have fun while learning.”
More GPS SATs Resources
Spelling Shed’s subscription includes a full grammar and punctuation curriculum that provides full National Curriculum Coverage for English grammar expectations. This includes a folder full of GPS SATs practice resources. They are all based on past SATs papers and can be assigned to pupils to complete digitally, printed as papers and personalised to make handy revision packs.
Ready to improve spelling, grammar and punctuation in your classroom? Sign up for a 30-day free trial.
Using Grammar Arcade to Boost Your SPaG Learning
Watch this free webinar recording for a tour of Grammar Arcade and find out more ways to use it to boost your SPaG learning.