Reading

Here at Normandy Village School we are committed to promoting reading for pleasure. Studies have shown that children who choose to read, enjoy reading and read regularly reap the benefits:

socially (gaining an understanding of people, the world, life experiences and ability to empathise and interpret situations)
academically (through language acquisition, reading proficiency, improved comprehension, greater cognitive development and ability to absorb and understand information in all subjects)
areas of health (developing self-confidence, self-esteem and emotional vocabulary)

KS1 Key Reading Skills

Vocabulary

Draw upon knowledge of vocabulary in order to understand the text.

What does the word ………. mean in this sentence?
Find and copy a word which means ……….
What does this word or phrase tell you about ………?
Which word in this section do you think is the most important? Why?
Which of the words best describes the character/setting/mood etc?
Can you think of any other words the author could have used to describe this?
Why do you think ………. is repeated in this section?

Infer:

Make inferences from the text.

Why was……. feeling ……..?
Why did ………… happen?
Why did ………. say ……….?
Can you explain why……….?
What do you think the author intended when they said……….?
How does ………. make you feel?

Explain:

Explain your preferences, thoughts and opinions about the text.

Who is your favourite character? Why?
Why do you think all the main characters are …….. in this book?
Would you like to live in this setting? Why/why not?
Is there anything you would change about this story?
Do you like this text? What do you like about it?

Predict:

Predict what you think will happen based on the information given.

Look at the book cover/blurb – what do you think this book will be about?
What do you think will happen next? What makes you think this?
How does the choice of character or setting affect what will happen next?
What is happening? What do you think happened before? What do you think will happen after?
What do you think the last paragraph suggests will happen next?

Retrieve:

Identify and explain the key features of fiction and nonfiction texts such as: characters, events, titles and information.

What kind of text is this?
Who did…..?
Where did…..?
When did…..?
What happened when…..?
Why did …….. happen?
How did …….?
How many…..?
What happened to……?

Sequence:

Sequence the key events in the story.

Can you number these events 1-5 in the order that they happened?
What happened after …….?
What was the first thing that happened in the story?
Can you summarise in a sentence the opening/middle/end of the story?
In what order do these chapter headings come in the story?

KS2 Key Reading Skills

Whilst reading, see if you can use these skills to analyse the text.

Use prior knowledge- what does this make us think of… what would I do if … we’ve seen this before …. Was it like that when you ….
Predict- what might happen.., what if.. .,find evidence…’cloze’ procedure where children suggest hidden word/phrase etc.. stop at a problem: consider alternatives, consequences
Preview vocabulary- prior to reading investigate new/less familiar words
Magpie – steal good words, ideas, phrases, sentences- Make own Dictionary, Glossary, Thesaurus but use words again, apply to own pieces of work
Construct an image – visualise, draw, freeze frame, turn into a cartoon strip
Question- use generic question starters ( see attached), children generate own, hot seat, talk to the author (role play) TV interview, tell us more about…. Why did you think that… how do you know…
Quote- dig deeper, use as discussion starter, point of view, fact or opinion
Sequence- pictures, verses, paragraphs
Summarise- find the main idea, skim then summarise in few sentences, highlight the key words/phrases, write a blurb
Investigate characters- feelings, thought bubbles, over time, relationships, emotions at different times, rank the characters to a given criteria , villains and heroes,
Genre Swap- change, alter, transpose into different text type.
Skim and Scan- fastest finger first,
Compare and contrast- versions of the same story, poems on a theme, authors works
Express Opinion- be able to explain why, justify, use text to back up/support – the best part, the scariest, recommend or not? Response journals,
Speculate- Alternative viewpoints- characters, and authors intent, perhaps that information was included because… I wonder whether she did that because… I don’t agree because…

Comprehension Question Starters

Understand, describe, select or retrieve information, events or ideas from texts and use quotation and reference to text

What was…
Where did…
Why did… (the answer must be within the text)
When…
Which…
Who …
What does the word ………… mean
How does ………… feel ( answer must be in the text)
What 3 things will you find out…
Write down 2 things …..
Choose the best word/ group of words…
Put a ring round…
Match these statements/ words/phrases…
Multiple choice questions
Put the following on order…
Tick one phrase …………… (from a selection shown)
(statement from text) Select 2 pieces of information to show…
How does ….
True/ False Statements
Find and copy a word/phrase/sentence which shows………
Where does the story take place?
Who was the character that…
Show me in the text where you found…
What is happening in this part of the play?
Where can you find an important piece of information about…?
What does this part of the text tell us about?

Deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts

Why …. (Where the answer is not able to be lifted directly from the text)
Why do you think….
How can you tell… Explain fully using the text to help you…
(quote text) Give 2 reasons why ….
(quote text) Explain what this tells us…
Why are the ………… described as ………….
Having read ……………. Why do you think that …………
If you were ……………… what would you do …………….
For what reason might ……………………..
Why do you think …. (quote from text)
Do you think that ……………. Yes/No. Explain….
How do we know that ……
Where does the table show…………..
Why was …. Important in this story/play?
Did any characters help each other in this text?
Tell me about what sort of character…. Was from the things they did/said.
What do you think …… thoughts were at this point in the story/play/poem?
If you were going to interview one of the characters, which questions would you ask and why?
Which is the most interesting/funniest/scariest part of the ….
How did one of the characters change their ideas/attitude during the text
What do you think would have happened if…
Tell me about one important event that happened that could not be left out. Say/write why it was important.
Do you agree with the author’s opinion? Explain your own opinion using the texts to help you.
What do you think are the important points the author is trying to get over to you as the reader?
Which do you think are the most important issues and why?
Can you tell me what word the poet might have used here? Why?
How did you think this story/poem/play should have ended?
If…. Had not done…., how might this have changed other events in the story/play?

Identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts, including grammatical and presentational features at text level

Why has the timeline/map/heading etc been included…..
Why do you think the author connected these paragraphs…
What is the glossary/index etc.. for
What is the purpose of …
What type of text is this….
What genre is …
On page ….. there is a …….. why has this been included
How does the author organise the writing?
Why does the author begin a new paragraph here?
How does the layout of this playscript help actors to read and perform the play?
Why are brackets used in this playscript?
How does the punctuation help you as the reader of this poem/play?
What is/are the main event(s) that happen(s) in this/each paragraph?
Can you find any repeated patterns in this poem?
What are particular words/sections within a text in bold /italics/ larger print?
Why have bullet points/numbers been used in this text?
How does this text layout help the reader?
Why has this text been highlighted?
How does ( a diagram/picture/ caption) help you to understand the information on these pages?
What is the purpose of the list/diagram/caption/sun-heading in this text?
Why has some of the information been presented in a table?
What is the main idea of this/each section paragraph?
What would be a good heading for this section? Why ?

Explain and comment on writers’ use of language, including grammatical and literary features at word and sentence level

Why does the author use these words…
Why has the title …….. been chosen
Why does the author choose to use the word/phrase…
In the ………… sentence, which 2 words mean/ show ……..
The author used the word/phrase/sentence (Quote)……………….. What do you think this means
Look at page …………. Which sentence tells you …
How has the author used words/phrases to make this character funny/ sad/ adventurous/ clever/ frightening/excited/ disappointed etc…?
What do/does this/these words tell you about ( a character)
Which part of the story best describes the setting/characters / action? Which words and /or phrases do this?
Find and copy some words or phrases that show us that this character is special/helpful/adventurous/unsure/ worried etc..?
Why is ….. a good title for this story/book/chapter/ play?
Do you notice anything special or unusual about the words the poet has used here?
What do these words tell you about…
Which word(s)/phrases/types of sentences are used well in this text…
Is this writer an expert on…..? How do you know?
Why do you think the writer chose to use the word(s)/phrase(s)… to describe..
Why do you think the author chose… as the title/headline/heading
Find something that is not a fact but the author’s opinion.

Identify and comment on writers’ purposes and viewpoints, and the overall effect of the text on the reader

What is the purpose of this ….
Why do you think …………………..is included at the end/beginning
What reason do you think this title/heading etc.. was chosen
Why do you think this ……………….. contains …………..
(Quote ) what is the effect of using this
Did you enjoy reading the story/poem/play or not? Explain your answer by referring to the characters, events and how it made you feel.
How did the story make you feel? Why did it make you feel like this?
Why do you think the author chose this particular setting for this poem/play/story?
How has the author started this in an interesting way? How does this make the reader want to read on?
How do you feel when you read this poem? Which parts make you feel like this?
What does the writer think about/is .. what is the writers opinion on…. What is the writers viewpoint…. In this part of the text?
Why do you think the writer produced this article/leaflet/flyer/brochure etc..
How does the writer try to persuade you to …
Which information/facts does the writer include to make you believe that..
Which words/points do you think are the strongest/most powerful in persuading the reader to …
Why do you think the writer included details about….
Which advert/text would most persuade you to buy/take part in… Why?
If… was alive today he/she would be arguing for …..
The writer says …. Do you agree or disagree.. Why?

Relate texts to their social, cultural and historical traditions

(quote ) What is meant by ….. (reference to history, culture etc..)
Explain why ………….. is a suitable title
Do you think nowadays …………………….. Explain your opinion.
Read these 2 poems. What do they have in common? How are they different?
When do you think this story/poem was written/ How do you know?
In which country do you think this story takes place? Why?
Does the setting remind you of a setting you know from another story/poem?
Do you know any more stories/poems like this? Tell me why they are alike.
Do you now another story with similar characters in? Tell me how they are similar.
Many traditional tales have messages. What do you think this story is trying to tell us?
What kind of a text is this? How do you know?
When you have read these 2 texts, what can you find that is the same about them and what is different?
Do you know of any other texts with similar issues or themes?