Former educator for 10 years and current reading development consultant Lewis Crane shares his tested strategies for enhancing pupils’ vocabulary, fluency and comprehension…
Our Expert
Lewis Crane
Reading development consultant
- Area of expertise: Reading development and pedagogy
- Best part of my job: Seeing children’s confidence in reading flourish
How can teachers best prepare pupils for the reading comprehension aspect of SATs?
A balanced approach is key to preparing pupils for SATs reading comprehension. Teachers should focus on daily reading to build both vocabulary development and comprehension skills.
Exposing pupils to a wide range of texts (fiction, non-fiction and poetry) that mirror SATs content is essential. Scaffolded questioning, moving from retrieval to higher-order skills such as inference, is also crucial.
What is the most common challenge pupils face in Key Stage 2 SATs, and how can teachers address it?
Pupils often struggle with comprehending multiple texts under timed conditions, and a lack of cultural capital can make it harder to relate to the content.
To address this, teachers should develop deep reading habits early by encouraging pupils to break down complex passages. Building silent reading fluency and exploring a wide range of texts with ‘mirrors and windows’ content can also help improve comprehension and relatability.
What roles do vocabulary and language structure play in SATs success?
Without a broad vocabulary and a solid grasp of language structure, pupils often struggle to interpret texts accurately, impacting their SATs success.
Teachers should incorporate vocabulary lessons into daily activities, focusing on tiered words (basic, high-frequency, and advanced) in varied contexts. This approach helps pupils recognise word meanings in different situations.
What strategies can educators use to ensure effective interventions?
Effective reading interventions require robust summative assessments to identify specific needs, such as comprehension, fluency or vocabulary gaps. Tailored small-group or one-to-one sessions can address these challenges.
Teachers should engage struggling pupils with high-interest texts at their reading level to maintain motivation. Progress should be reassessed regularly through formative assessments to ensure interventions are working and adjustments are made when necessary.
“Teachers should develop deep reading habits early, encouraging pupils to break down complex passages.”
How can DreamBox Reading Plus support SATs preparations?
Reading Plus is an online reading development programme that enhances reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension – essential skills for SATs. Teachers receive comprehensive summative and formative data to track student progress and identify where they stand relative to age expectations.
The programme is adaptive to meet individual students’ bespoke needs, providing scaffolded support and age-appropriate texts. After each text, students answer 10 comprehension questions focusing on skills in the KS2 Reading Content Domains, ensuring they are prepared for SATs.
To find out more, call 0191 389 6078, email info@readingsolutionsuk.com or visit readingsolutionsuk.co.uk
- Content library – how our selection of 1,300+ ‘mirror and window’ texts appropriately challenges each student and increases cultural capital.
- Implementation – how our customer support team provides free training throughout your licence.
- Proven results – how in a Y6 efficacy study, disadvantaged pupils made 97% more progress with Reading Plus than non-users.
