KS1 SATs-Style Reading Paper 2
KS1 Reading Paper 2 mirrors the real second Key Stage 1 reading booklet: a separate booklet with longer or slightly harder passages than the combined text-and-questions paper, still asking a child to find information, work out what a word means, and explain what a passage implies. The first KS1 reading practice paper works from two short fiction extracts; this second paper draws on a non-fiction information passage as well as a fiction extract, since the real papers mix genres across the two booklets a child sits. The habit that earns the most marks stays the same: go back to the actual words on the page for every answer, rather than answering from memory.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Look at the title and any picture before reading, since a non-fiction passage often tells you its topic straight away.
- Read the whole passage once at a steady pace before looking at the questions, so you know roughly where each piece of information is.
- Go back to the exact sentence a question is about rather than answering from memory, and put your finger on the words before you write.
- For a find and copy question, copy the exact words from the passage, spelled exactly as they appear, and no more words than the question asks for.
- For a word meaning question, read the whole sentence the word sits in, and choose the meaning that fits that sentence rather than the meaning you already know best.
- For a why or how question, look for the clue in the text and use it: say what you think, then say which words in the passage show it.
Worked example
Read this passage: 'Hedgehogs are small animals covered in sharp spines. They sleep during the day and come out at night to look for food such as slugs, worms and beetles. In autumn, a hedgehog eats as much as it can so that it has enough fat to survive the winter. When the weather turns cold, it curls into a tight ball and sleeps in a pile of leaves or under a shed. This long winter sleep is called hibernation. A hedgehog will not wake up properly again until the weather warms up in spring.' Question: Why does a hedgehog eat as much as it can in autumn? (1 mark)
- Find the word autumn in the passage, since that is what the question is about.
- Read the whole sentence it appears in, not just the word on its own: 'In autumn, a hedgehog eats as much as it can so that it has enough fat to survive the winter.'
- The words so that signal that a reason is coming next, so the answer is the part of the sentence after them.
- The reason given is to have enough fat to survive the winter.
- Write the answer using the passage's own reason rather than a guess: so that it has enough fat to survive the winter.
- Check it answers the question word for word: the question asks why, and the answer gives a reason, not just another fact about hedgehogs.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1In the passage above, what does a hedgehog eat?Show answer
Answer: Slugs, worms and beetles.
Q2In the passage above, find and copy the one word that means a hedgehog's long winter sleep.Show answer
Answer: Hibernation.
Q3In the passage above, what season is mentioned as the time a hedgehog eats extra food?Show answer
Answer: Autumn.
Q4In the passage above, which two words tell you when a hedgehog comes out to look for food?Show answer
Answer: At night.
Q5The passage says a hedgehog needs 'enough fat to survive the winter'. What does survive mean here?Show answer
Answer: To stay alive, so the sentence means the hedgehog needs enough fat stored to stay alive through the winter.
Q6Is the passage above a story or a non-fiction text? Give one clue from the passage that tells you.Show answer
Answer: It is a non-fiction text. One clue is that it gives true facts about a real animal, hedgehogs, rather than telling a story with characters and events.
Q7A question asks: 'Why does a hedgehog curl into a ball? Give two reasons.' How many separate reasons must your answer include, and where do you find them?Show answer
Answer: Two separate reasons, found by reading the sentences around the phrase curls into a tight ball in the passage above, since the answer must come from what the text says, not from a guess.
Q8Why is it a good idea to look at any picture or heading next to a non-fiction passage before you start reading?Show answer
Answer: Because a picture or heading often gives a quick clue about the topic, which makes the passage easier to understand as you read it.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a KS1 and KS2 SATs exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Read this passage: 'Priya stood at the edge of the diving board, her toes curled over the rough edge. The water below looked a very long way down, and every other sound in the pool seemed to disappear. She thought about climbing back down the ladder, the way she almost had done twice already. Then she remembered her dad waving from the side, grinning and giving her a thumbs up. Priya took a breath, held her nose, and jumped. The water rushed up around her, cold and loud, and when she surfaced she was laughing so hard she could barely swim to the side.' (a) Find and copy one phrase that shows Priya was scared. (1 mark) (b) How do you know Priya enjoyed the jump once she had done it? Use evidence from the text. (2 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
Using the same passage about Priya, why do you think the writer included the detail about Priya's dad waving and giving a thumbs up? (2 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 2 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the ks1 sats-style reading paper 2 worksheet pack - 6 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
Next topics
Not quite what you needed?
Tell us what is missing on ks1 sats-style reading paper 2, or which topic to write up next. Every request is read, and we reply to every one.
Build a full practice pack.
This topic is one of hundreds in the library - pick the ones a student needs and generate a printable PDF in minutes.