Smash Those SATS with Mr. Jeffrey
HINTS ON how TO DO
YOUR absolute BEST
and show off your talents
TIP 1
Pictures help your thinking
click to find out more
WHY ARE PICTURES AND DIAGRAMS USEFUL?
Remember that maths is a very abstract subject. This simply means that many of the ideas you meet are hard to visualize, so a diagram such as a part-whole diagram or bar model can really help you find out what to do.
Useful ExamplesTIP 2
SHOW YOUR WORKING!
WHY WRITE DOWN YOUR METHOD?
You've probably heard your teacher say it a thousand times - "show your working!"
The most obvious reason: for questions worth more than 1 mark, even a wrong answer can get a mark as long as you used a valid method.
But it can also help you spot a mistake when you check back through your answers.
TIP 3
ALWAYS ASK IF YOU DON't UNDERSTAND
(In lessons, not in exams obviously!)
Smart people are the people who understand that it's ok NOT TO understand.
This means you must ALWAYS ask your teacher if you have questions. We would always rather you asked than kept quiet.
The truth is, other people probably want to know too, but are not brave enough to say so.
Nobody wants to admit that they don't get it, but it's the smart move, trust me!
Nobody wants to admit that they don't get it, but it's the smart move, trust me!
TIP 4
KEEP MOVING
DON'T SPEND TOO LONG ON TRICKY QUESTIONS
Most questions are only worth 1 or 2 marks - a very small number may be worth 3 marks.
So it's not worth spending too much time on any one question - if it's proving tricky move on and come back to it once. you've tried all the other questions. This way, you give yourself the best chance of getting the most questions correct.
TIP 5
LEARN YOUR TABLES INSIDE OUT
Have all your times tables at your fingertips
I can't stress enough how much time this will save you and what a confidence boost it will give you.
Also remind yourself that every table actually tells you six things!
For example, if 3 x 8 = 24, then we also know that 8 x 3 = 24, 24 ÷ 3 = 8, 24 ÷ 8 = 3, 1/3 of 24 = 8 and 1/8 of 24 = 3.
TIP 6
DON'T PANIC!
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ONE!
Hey, you've worked hard for years, so just see this as a chance to show off what you've learnt. Whatever score you get it won't affect which school you go to, who your friends are, or what you look like.
If you do feel yourself panicking, stop and take a couple of slow deep breaths in and out. This really works!
TIP 7
you CAN HAVE ANY QUESTION READ TO YOU IF YOU WANT!
It is 100% permissible to ask an adult to read out any words on a Maths SAT paper.
You CAN and SHOULD put up your hand in a maths SAT test if you want a teacher to read a word or sentence to you.
Obviously, they can't tell you what it means, or how to solve the question, but sometimes hearing a word read out loud can jog something in your brain and help you.
TIP 8
TRY SMALLER NUMBERS
Sometimes imagining a question that looks the same but with easy numbers can really help.
Suppose you are not sure what calculation to do here:"36 widgets cost £280; what does one widget cost?"
Try imagining the question with smaller numbers. For example, try thinking about it as '2 widgets cost £10; what does one widget cost?'
Now we can see that we should do £10÷2 (money ÷ number of widgets) so for the real question; we need to do £280÷36.
Hey!
I'm MR. JEFFREY.
With 30 years of teaching, inspecting, and marking SATS papers, I like nothing more than seeing young people like you succeed.
This website is to help you and your teachers show the world just how much maths you have learnt over the years – not just in year 6 but ever since you started school.
So try the papers, watch the solution videos, and smash those SATS!