SATs Revision Games
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Table of Contents
Introduction
SATs revision is necessary, but some children can find it boring and soon become distracted or demotivated. That’s where revision games come in! When used as one of a number of learning techniques, games can make SATs revision in Year 6 more fun. In this article, we’ve collated some of the best SATs revision games.
Book Character Roleplay
This is a fantastic game for children who love to perform and be active. Get your child to pick a character from a book to ‘play’ during a fun session of learning. Parents can choose to play another character from the same book, or opt to be a stranger that meets the child’s character for the first time. Ask them questions about themselves, prompting children to remember key facts about the character.
This role-playing game can be a lot of fun and can help your child to improve their English comprehension ahead of the Year 6 SATs. Teacher role-playing – in which the child takes on the role of teacher – is also a good revision game for primary school children.
Mental Maths Card Games
A simple pack of playing cards can provide one of the most versatile SATs revision games for children in Year 6, especially for helping to improve their mental maths. They are fun, informal and are great mental arithmetic practice for SATs. For example, try these revision games using a deck of cards:
For addition
Players turn up two/three/four cards in each round. The highest sum wins.
For multiplication
Turn up two cards and multiply. Make this more difficult by turning three or four cards over and multiplying.
Similar games can also be created to include division and subtraction. As children will be tested on these basic operations in their SATs, it’s important that they feel confident with them heading into the exam.
Revision Quizzes
Quizzes make excellent revision games for SATs, as they don’t feel like typical revision and can be a lot of fun for both parents and children. To add an element of competition (which many Year 6 children will enjoy), write a selection of questions that relate to the topic your child is currently revising. Write the answers on the back of the same pieces of paper.
Mix up the question difficulty and include a few easier questions that will boost your child’s confidence and give them the motivation to try and answer the more difficult questions.
Record Key Facts
If your child is primarily an auditory learner, making a selection of voice recordings can help them to recall information for their SATs. Children can record their revision notes on anything from a dictaphone to a smartphone – essentially, any recording device they can regularly access.
Voice recordings are best used when your child finds it difficult to get motivated. Get them to listen to their recordings as a way of kickstarting their revision session. While we wouldn’t recommend this type of passive learning for all SATs revision, it will teach children to retain and recall information on exam day.
Flashcard Spelling Game
For Year 6 SATs, your child will have to demonstrate a solid grasp of English vocabulary and spelling, making this flashcard game a must when revising for the SATs.
The game is best used for words your child consistently struggles with. Create flashcards with all the words on their ‘must practice’ list. Once they’ve created all the flashcards, test them on their spelling by having them write the word down or speaking it aloud.
Revise Against the Clock
If your child is struggling to concentrate during their SATs revision sessions, the Egg Timer Game (also known as the Pomodoro Technique) offers your child an incentive at the end of a dedicated, previously-agreed, revision period.
Set some goals with your child and assign a specific reward for when each period is complete. This reward needn’t be anything big, or expensive – for example, for every 20 minutes of uninterrupted revision, your child gets 10 minutes to play in the garden or chat to their friends online.
Although this is a good game for Year 6 SATs revision, children must understand that its aim is to improve their knowledge and learning ahead of the SATs – not simply an opportunity to receive treats.
When used as part of a wider revision programme, SATs revision games for Year 6 are a useful development tool, so if your child responds well to them, make time to include them in their revision sessions.
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