Activities to Develop Kent Test Skills

 

When preparing for the Kent Test, working through tasks from published practice material is important, but there are lots of other ways to develop relevant skills too - many of which are far more enjoyable! Below you'll find a list of activities that will help to develop important Kent Test skills. 

 

                                                          To develop English & Verbal Reasoning skills:

 

                                                           Frequent reading. Include high-quality fiction, poetry, non-fiction books,                                                                   newspaper articles, and ‘real-life’ texts such as recipes,                                                                                                   road signs  and instruction manuals.

     

                                                           Play word games - Scrabble, Hangman, Bananagrams, Don't Say It and                                                                       Boggle are good examples.

     

                                                           Complete puzzles such as crosswords and word-searches.

 

 

 

To develop maths skills:

 

• Play online maths games. Visit these websites for access to a large range                                                            of online maths games

1. 1. https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/category/7/multiplication_and_division ,

2. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

3.  http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2numeracy.html

 

• Use maths in everyday situations: Shopping

         - For example,  “If I buy 3 cakes that cost 57p each, how much change

should I be given if I pay with a £5 note?”

 

• Use maths in everyday situations: Baking

         - Using grams, kilograms and millilitres when following recipes

will help with an understanding of metric units.

 

• Use maths in everyday situations: Time

Practise reading the time from digital (12 hour & 24 hour) and analogue clocks (including clocks marked with Roman numerals & without numbers).         

 

• Use time in everyday problems - e.g. working out what time to leave home to arrive at a destination at a particular time.

 

Interpret bus / train timetables.

 

• Practise times tables.

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• Play number games such as 

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To develop Non-Verbal Reasoning & Spatial Reasoning skills:

 

• Complete jigsaw puzzles. If you don’t have puzzles at home then try some online at https://www.jigsawplanet.com/.

 

 

• Explore & experiment with tangram puzzles.

 

• Build with lego.

 

• Play Minecraft.

 

• Play Tetris. There are various versions of this available as apps for your phone.

 

• Complete spot the difference puzzles.

 

• Spot Wally in “Where’s Wally?” books

 

• Complete Sudoku puzzles

 

 

To develop test-taking strategies

 

• Play games that require quick thinking. Try these -

 

• https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

• Boggle

• Think Words

• Dobble