Year 5 NAPLAN: How to Prepare for NAPLAN

How to prepare for Year 5 NAPLAN

To prepare for NAPLAN, your child should focus on building strong literacy and numeracy skills over time. Here are expert tips on how you can help your child feel ready and calm on test day.

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1. Literacy preparation

Reading, writing, and vocabulary are key areas assessed in NAPLAN. To prepare for NAPLAN, focus on strengthening these skills: understanding texts, expressing ideas clearly, and applying correct spelling and grammar. Here’s how to build your child’s literacy skills.

Build daily reading habits

• Encourage at least 20 minutes of reading each day—this can be books, newspapers, or online articles.
• Discuss what they’ve read by asking questions like:
  • What was the main idea of the story?
  • What do you think will happen next?
  • How did the character feel in that situation?
• Expose them to different types of texts, such as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and information texts, since these all appear in the NAPLAN Reading test.

Boost their vocabulary

• Introduce a ‘word of the day’ challenge and encourage your child to use new words in sentences.
• Play word games like Scrabble, Boggle, or crossword puzzles to make learning fun.
• Use flashcards to review tricky words and their meanings.

Writing practice (Structured and creative)

• Persuasive writing practice: Give your child topics like “Should homework be banned?” and ask them to argue for or against the idea.
• Narrative writing practice: Encourage them to write short stories with a clear structure—beginning, middle, and end.
• Sentence building: Practise improving sentences by adding adjectives, adverbs, and varied sentence structures.

2. Numeracy preparation

NAPLAN assesses a mix of basic maths skills, problem-solving, and reasoning. Focusing on practical applications of maths will help your child feel more confident.

Review key Year 5 Maths concepts

• Number and Algebra: Ensure they’re confident with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
• Fractions and Decimals: Practise converting between fractions, decimals, and percentages.
• Measurement and Geometry: Go over units of measurement, area, perimeter, and angles.
• Statistics and Probability: Teach them to read graphs, interpret data, and understand chance.

Practise word problems

Worded maths problems are common in NAPLAN and require both reading and maths skills.

Have your child practise reading a question carefully, underlining important information, and deciding on the best approach.

• Example: “Samantha has $50. She buys a book for $18.75 and a toy for $12.50. How much change does she get?”

Timed quizzes and problem-solving strategies

• Set a timer for short, 5-minute maths quizzes to help them get used to working under time pressure.
• Encourage mental maths techniques like rounding numbers and estimating answers before solving problems.
• Use NAPLAN past papers to get them familiar with question styles.

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3. Test-taking skills

Even if your child is confident in their literacy and numeracy skills, knowing how to approach different question types and manage their time effectively can make a big difference.

Time management techniques

Help them practise working within time limits so they can complete all questions.

• Teach them to:
  • Answer easier questions first, then return to harder ones later.
  • Keep an eye on the clock to pace themselves.
  • Avoid spending too long on one question—if unsure, move on and return later.

Understanding different question types

NAPLAN includes:

• • Multiple-choice questions
  • Short-answer questions
  • Extended responses (writing tasks)
  • Interactive questions (for online tests)

Have your child practise all these formats so they know what to expect.

Multiple-choice strategies

• Read all the options carefully before selecting an answer.
• Use elimination—cross out obviously wrong answers to narrow choices.
• If unsure, make an educated guess rather than leaving it blank.

What to do on test day

A smooth test day starts with good preparation, a healthy routine, and a positive mindset.

Sleep, nutrition, and morning routine

• Make sure your child gets at least 9–10 hours of sleep the night before.
• Give them a healthy breakfast—foods rich in protein and whole grains (like eggs, yoghurt, or oats) provide sustained energy.
• Avoid high-sugar foods that can cause energy crashes.
• Arrive at school early to avoid stress and ensure they feel relaxed.

Staying calm and focused

• Remind your child that NAPLAN is just one test and won’t affect their school grades.
• Encourage them to take deep breaths if they feel nervous.
• If they get stuck, move on and come back to tricky questions later.
• Most importantly, remind them to do their best and be proud of their effort!