Free lessons for NSW Selective, OC and NAPLAN
Short concept pages with worked examples, written for primary school students in Australia preparing for the NSW Selective High School Placement Test, the Opportunity Class (OC) test, and NAPLAN in Years 3 and 5. Read one, then practise it.
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Years 3 to 6
Apostrophes that behave
Apostrophes do exactly two jobs: they show letters are missing, or they show something belongs to someone.
Years 4 to 6
Area and perimeter without mixing them up
Perimeter is the distance around the outside. Area is the space covered. The units tell you which one you are working with.
Years 4 to 6
Comparing fractions confidently
When denominators differ, rewrite the fractions so they share a denominator, or compare each one to a landmark such as one half.
Kindergarten to Year 2
Counting without losing your place
How to count a big group of things and get the same answer every time.
Years 4 to 6
Equivalent fractions
Different fractions can name exactly the same amount. Multiplying or dividing the top and bottom by the same number keeps the value unchanged.
Kindergarten to Year 2
Finding the answer in the words
Some answers are written down and some you work out from clues. Knowing which is which.
Years 5 to 6
Finding the conclusion in an argument
The conclusion is the point the speaker wants you to accept. Everything else in the passage exists to support it.
Years 3 to 6
Finding the main idea
The main idea is what the whole text is mostly about, not the most interesting detail in it.
Years 3 to 6
Making inferences from clues
An inference is a conclusion the writer implies but never states. Good inferences point at specific words in the text.
Kindergarten to Year 2
Making ten
Why ten is the number worth knowing by heart, and how it makes adding easier.
Kindergarten to Year 2
Naming shapes by counting sides
A shape’s name comes from how many straight sides it has, so counting is all you need.
Years 3 to 6
Place value to millions
Every digit has a value that depends on where it sits. Once you can name those places, big numbers stop feeling big.
Years 3 to 6
Planning a narrative in five minutes
A short plan protects you from running out of story halfway through. Decide the problem and the ending before you write a word.
Years 3 to 6
Reading column graphs carefully
Check the scale before you read any bar. Most mistakes in data questions come from assuming each gridline is worth one.
Years 4 to 6
Solving deduction puzzles with a grid
When clues describe who has what, a small grid turns a confusing paragraph into a handful of ticks and crosses.
Kindergarten to Year 2
Sounding out a word you have never seen
Break the word into sounds, say them in order, then push them together.
Years 3 to 10
Speed, distance and time
Speed is how much ground you cover in a chunk of time. Once you can see how the three fit together, you can always find the one you are missing.
Years 4 to 6
Two-step word problems
Write down what you know, decide what the question actually asks, then plan the two steps before calculating anything.
Kindergarten to Year 2
Words you cannot sound out
A short list of very common words that have to be learned by sight, and how to learn them.
Years 5 to 6
Year 5 cheat sheet: what to know by heart
One page of the facts, formulas and shortcuts a Year 5 student sitting a selective or scholarship paper should be able to recall without working them out.
Exam strategies
Managing the clock
A simple pacing plan so no question is left unread.
Eliminating options
Ruling answers out is often faster than working the answer forward.
Reading the question twice
Most careless marks are lost on the last line of the question.
Approaching Thinking Skills questions
A repeatable order of operations for logic questions.
Working through a Reading paper
Read the questions before the long text, not after.
Writing under time pressure
Split the time so planning and checking both actually happen.
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