KS2 SATs Punctuation: Using Hyphens to Avoid Ambiguity
A hyphen joins words that work together as one idea, and can completely change a sentence’s meaning: a man-eating shark is not a man eating shark. Learn hyphenated compound adjectives (a well-known author), hyphens with prefixes (re-cover vs recover), the difference between a hyphen and a dash, then insert a hyphen in a SATs-style question.
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2:22KS2 SATs Punctuation: Colons, Bullet Points and Ellipsis
A colon introduces a list after a complete main clause: "You will need three things: a torch, a map and a compass." Bullet points should be punctuated consistently. An ellipsis (…) shows a pause, suspense or missing words. Learn the trap of a colon after "You will need", then choose the correct ellipsis in a SATs-style question.
1:42Reading Comprehension: Finding the Answer (Retrieval)
Professor Hoot the owl reads a short story about Pip the panda and shows how to find answers in the text: read the question, pick a key word, scan for it, and answer in a full sentence. Then find where Pip walked to.
1:48Reading Comprehension: Inference (Reading Between the Lines)
Rosie the rabbit’s ears droop and she pushes her carrot away. How does she feel? Learn to infer: clues in the text plus what you already know. Then work out how Leo the lion feels, and always back up your answer with evidence.