This book has been recommended by my son’s year 6 teacher and we bought the English and the Maths
ones. I must say, I was truly impressed by them.
Each day’s work summarised on 2 pages
The lesson for each day consists of a quick description of key features followed on the next page by exercises related to the lesson. What is the most encouraging for children is the fact that the work of each day is covered on only 2 pages which can be quickly done by a child who doesn’t want to feel that they are doing a lot.
A whole year covered in 8 weeks
My son Mike has also had a very positive experience using the Revise and Shine English book. It boosted his confidence in doing his English work as he didn’t like to tackle the writing tasks. He has enjoyed working from it because the different activities are organised into small chunks for a revision period of 8 weeks.
Lessons “mentally easier”
Mike told me that the lessons were “mentally easier”. He liked the fact that the book includes a lesson at the beginning of each topic. He said that this has helped him to understand the topics and then tackle the exercises. He did not think that he was making a lot of effort but felt a real satisfaction when the work was marked. He was pleased with his grades.
Answers provided for assessement
Mike has been using Revise and Shine English book for his SATs’ preparation and has been very thrilled to be able to mark his work in class using the answers that are provided at the back of the book. I guess this gave him more ownership for his own learning. He could clearly see and understand where he had made a mistake and what he should have done to be given a better grade.
Topics are in line with the National Curriculum
This book includes practices on the different ks2 topics that year 6 children are tested in for the English SATs paper including spelling, short writing, long writing and Reading comprehension. It is perfectly in line with the National curriculum taught in year 6 classes.
Description of Level achieved
The Revise and Shine English book also provides at the back a description on how to work out the level that the child has achieved based on the total of their marks. This feature allows parents to know exactly their child’s level, to assess their strengths and weaknesses and to devise more practice in areas that need to be improved.
Nice layout with soft colours highlighting interesting points
I particularly liked the book’s layout with nice pictures which encouraged learning especially when it is about a subject you don’t really want to put much effort into. The book is rather colourful without being too bright and is very appropriate to children. It is a children’s book which isn’t too vivid so that it doesn’t distract learning. The book has instead slightly faint colours used mainly to highlight particularly interesting points.
“Quick tips” and “Remember” sections provided
As I said earlier Mike did not like the long writing tasks because he always thought that he did not have any ideas to write about. The problem was for him to organise his thoughts in an orderly manner. Since using this book, he does not complain any more about lack of ideas. I guess the book has played the tricks with the “quick tips” and “remember” sections provided.
To sum up…
I highly recommend the Revise and Shine English book which is for me the best English book to use either as a revision guide in year 6 or just at the end of year 5 ahead of the year class. Some parents have even used it for their children in year 4 as a teaching tool rather than a revision guide. So it really depends on what you intend to do and your child’s level.
How other parents have reviewed the Revise and Shine- English book?
These are reviews left by parents on Amazon
:
“I bought this for my son to help him improve and boost his English work. It has all the tests that are like the one’s in their SAT’s papers, like spellings, writing a short story, long story and reading test. It also has a copy of the spelling test for parents so that they can read it to their child and the child fills in the missing word. What’s good about this book is that at the back it shows you what level your child has achieved by doing these tests.”
“I used this as a textbook for my son in year 4. He was not good at English, and I did not know how to teach English, but I was able to help him with his English with the aid of this book. The book is supposed to take 8 weeks or less. If you follow a daily routine of doing one topic a day (excluding the weekend) it will take 8 weeks. Each day’s work should take from 30 minutes to an hour.”
“The material for one day usually takes up two pages and consists of a page to read, followed by a page of questions or an exercise. The book includes basic spelling and grammar. Later on in the book you learn about different types of writing, and there are several sections that test comprehension. Unless you are an English teacher, these skills are almost impossible for a parent to teach their children. With the book however, it is much easier for the parent to help their child.”
“Got these for my daughter as she leaves every thing till the last minute even if you nag her constantly to do her homework. What a surprise she sits down most evenings with all books (English, Maths and science) and completes the section for that day. Each day has a section to read through as basic revision it is clear and concise, turn the page over and there is a small ‘test’ to complete with a marking score next to each question. The answers are at the back of the books for parents to mark. Also at the end of each book is a past paper to work through once all the revision has been completed. Out of all the revision books I have purchased over the years this one suits my daughter and her leave it till the last moment personality!! She has actually given it the 4 out of 5 for ease and enjoyment.”
“This is a really useful book for English SATs revision. Each of the genres has a quick resume of key features, and then there is a bit of comprehension and finally some written work. The texts are all included in the middle of the book and the answers are at the back.”
“This is an excellent resource for learning SATs at a slow speed without overwhelming your child. Bitesize learning. Would highly recommend.”
Source of parents’ reviews: Amazon.co.uk
This book is available in most bookstores or online stores.
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Parents often look for the best ways of preparing their children for the KS2 SATs and curriculum. Many turn to KS2 SATs revision books to help their children succeed while other parents have their own personal ways. But what are the best ways of preparing kids for the KS2 tests and program? can KS2 SATs revision books really help your child progress? By the end of this article you will have looked at different benefits that many parents have found when using KS2 SATs revision books.
It is very important that your child gets familiar with the language of the Maths test paper before the real test. So feel free to use these Mathematics past Sats’ papers which are provided free of charge for your children’s educational needs.
