Comprehension

EYFS

By the end of EYFS children will be able to:

• Show an interest in illustrations and print in books and print in the environment.
• Look at books independently.
• Handle books carefully.
• Hold books the right way up and turn pages.
• Ascribe meanings to marks that they see in different places.
• Read and understand simple sentences.
• Know that print carries meaning and, in English, is read from left to right and top to bottom.
• Understand humour e.g. nonsense rhymes, jokes.
• Listen to stories with increasing attention and recall.
• Be aware of the way stories are structured.
• Describe main story settings, events and principle characters.
• Follow a story without pictures or props.
• Enjoy an increasing range of books.
• Listen to stories, accurately anticipating key events and responding to what they hear with relevant comments, questions or actions.
• Demonstrate understanding when talking with other about what they have read.
• Use vocabulary and forms of speech that are increasingly influenced by their experiences of books.
• Suggest how a story might end.
• Begin to understand ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions.
• Answer ‘how and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.
• Listen and join in with stories and poems, both 1:1 and in small groups.
• Join in with repeated refrains in rhymes and stories.
• Use intonation, rhythm and phrasing to make the meaning clear to others.
• Develop preference for forms of expression.
• to act out a narrative.
• Know that information can be relayed in the form of print.
• Know that information can be retrieved from books and computers.

Year 1

By the end of Year 1 children will be able to:

• Show pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
  • Listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently.
  • Being encouraged to link what they read or hear read to their own experiences.
  • Becoming very familiar with key stories, fairy stories and traditional tales, retelling them and considering their particular characteristics.
  • Recognising and joining in with predictable phrases.
  • Learning to appreciate rhymes and poems, and to recite some by heart.
  • Discussing word meanings, linking new meanings to those already known.

• Understand both the books they can already read accurately and fluently and those they listen to by:

  • Drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary provided by the teacher.

  • Checking that the text makes sense to them as they read and correcting inaccurate reading.

  • Discussing the significance of the title and events.

  • Making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done.

  • Predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far.

• Participate in discussion about what is read to them, taking turns and listening to what others say.
• Explain clearly their understanding of what is read to them.

Year 2

By the end of Year 2 children will be able to:

• Show pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
  • Listening to and discussing a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently.
  • Discussing the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related.
  • Becoming increasingly familiar with and retelling a wider range of stories, fairy stories and traditional tales.
  • Being introduced to non-fiction books that are structured in different ways.
  • Recognising simple recurring literary language in stories and poetry.
  • Discussing and clarifying the meanings of words, linking new meanings to known vocabulary.
  • Discussing their favourite words and phrases.
  • Continuing to build up a repertoire of poems learnt by heart, appreciating these and reciting some, with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear.

• Understand both the books that they can already read accurately and fluently and those that they listen to by:
  • Drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary provided by the teacher.
  • Checking that the text makes sense as they read and correcting inaccurate reading.
  • Making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done.
  • Answering and asking questions.
  • Predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far.

• Participate in discussion about books, poems and other works that are read to them and those that they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say.
• Explain and discuss their understanding of books, poems and other material, both those that they listen to and those that they read for themselves.

Year 3

By the end of Year 3 children will be able to:

Skills in LKS2 will be introduced in Year 3 and revisited in Year 4 to provide children with the opportunity to master the skills taught before transitioning to UKS2.

• Demonstrate positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by:
  • Listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks.
  • Reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes.
  • Using dictionaries to check the meaning of words that they have read.
  • Increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories, myths and legends, and retelling some of these orally.
  • Identifying themes and conventions in a wide range of books.
  • Preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action.
  • Discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination.
  • Recognising some different forms of poetry e.g. free verse, narrative

• Understand what they read, in books that they read independently by:
  • Checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of words in context.
  • Asking questions to improve their understanding of a text.
  • Drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thought and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence.
  • Predicting what might happen from details stated and implied.
  • Identifying main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and summarising these.
  • Identifying how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning.

• Retrieve and record information from non-fiction.
• Participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say.

Year 4

By the end of Year 4 children will be able to:

In Year 4 children will revisit the skills introduced in Year 3 to build confidence, independence and mastery.

• Children should develop positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by:
  • Listening to and discussing a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks.
  • Reading books that are structured in different ways and reading for a range of purposes.
  • Using dictionaries to check the meaning of words that they have read.
  • Increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories, myths and legends, and retelling some of these orally.
  • Identifying themes and conventions in a wide range of books.
  • Preparing poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action.
  • Discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination.
  • Recognising some different forms of poetry e.g. free verse, narrative
• Understand what they read, in books that they read independently by:
  • Checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of words in context.
  • Asking questions to improve their understanding of a text.
  • Drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thought and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence.
  • Predicting what might happen from details stated and implied.
  • Identifying main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and summarising these.
  • Identifying how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning.
• Retrieve and record information from non-fiction.
• Participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say.

Year 5

By the end of Year 5 children will be able to:

Skills in UKS2 will be introduced in Year 5 and revisited in Year 6 to provide children with the opportunity to master the skills taught before transitioning to UKS2.

• Demonstrate positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they have read by:
  • Continuing to read and discuss an increasingly wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books/textbooks.
  • Reading books that are structures in different ways and reading for a range of purposes.
  • Increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and traditional stories, modern fiction, fiction from our literary heritage, and books from other cultures and traditions.
  • Recommending books that they have read to their peers, giving reasons for their choices.
  • Identifying and discussing themes and conventions in and across a wide range of writing.
  • Making comparisons within and across books.
  • Learning a wider range of poetry by heart.
  • Preparing poems and plays to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone and volume so that the meaning is clear to an audience.
• Understand what they read by:
  • Checking that the book makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and exploring the meaning of words in context.
  • Asking questions to improve their understanding.
  • Drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence.
  • Predicting what might happen from details stated and implied.
  • Summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas.
  • Identifying how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning.
• Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader.
• Distinguish between statements of fact and opinion.
• Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction.
• Participate in discussions about books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, building on their own and others’ ideas and challenging views courteously.
• Explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, including through formal presentations and debates, maintaining a focus on the topic and using notes where necessary.
• Provide reasoned justifications for their views.

Year 6

By the end of Year 6 children will be able to:

In Year 6 children will revisit the skills introduced in Year 5 to build confidence, independence and mastery to ensure they are fully prepared for transition to secondary school.

• Demonstrate positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they have read by:
  • Continuing to read and discuss an increasingly wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books/textbooks.
  • Reading books that are structures in different ways and reading for a range of purposes.
  • Increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends and traditional stories, modern fiction, fiction from our literary heritage, and books from other cultures and traditions.
  • Recommending books that they have read to their peers, giving reasons for their choices.
  • Identifying and discussing themes and conventions in and across a wide range of writing.
  • Making comparisons within and across books.
  • Learning a wider range of poetry by heart.
  • Preparing poems and plays to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone and volume so that the meaning is clear to an audience.
• Understand what they read by:
  • Checking that the book makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and exploring the meaning of words in context.
  • Asking questions to improve their understanding.
  • Drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence.
  • Predicting what might happen from details stated and implied.
  • Summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas.
  • Identifying how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning.
• Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader.
• Distinguish between statements of fact and opinion.
• Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction.
• Participate in discussions about books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, building on their own and others’ ideas and challenging views courteously.
• Explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, including through formal presentations and debates, maintaining a focus on the topic and using notes where necessary.
• Provide reasoned justifications for their views.