1. Reading in Phase 2 & 3 Mrs Rees – Phase 2 Lead.

2. Reading is taught in the following ways:
Analysis sessions to build wider reasoning and thinking skills
Comprehension sessions to utilise that knowledge within a skills-based setting
This is all new to the children this year, as they progress through the school, it will become second nature!

3. Analysis – the main elements:
3 Key areas of focus:
1. During the writing sequence:
Analysing and deconstructing a text to find specific features of the text – e.g. what specifically makes that text a particular genre/text type and how writers engage their readers(e.g. deconstructing diaries before writing diaries to understand how they work)

4. 2. During stand-alone reading sessions between writing units:
Exploring very open text and images, that are able to be interpreted in different ways, to enhance inference skills
Exploring texts & poetry in depth to form a deeper understanding of how language, structure, punctuation and imagery aid meaning and engage the reader.

5. 3. Progression....We progressively build children’s understanding of analysing a text by moving through the following areas
Identify.....Asking the children to identify how a writer has achieved something (tension/ pace). This can be simply picking out a use of a writer’s stylistic feature, or even identifying the chosen ‘mood’ of a piece of writing
Explain.....Asking the children to explain why they think something – through the use of textual evidence to back up their theories
Explore......Asking the children to consider alternative ideas to their theories, or find a deeper meaning that is hidden within a text

6. Comprehension sessions
....a chance to use that ability to reason about a text within a focused skills- based session
Short text introduced/ read/ discussed
The session’s questions focus areas introduced & discussed
A shared & modelled approach to a couple of questions as a group, with teacher demoing & addressing issues
Opportunity for children to put this into practice by working in pairs, then independently on a few questions

7. Keywords for reading Inference – Reading between the lines
Skimming– To get a general idea of what the text is about.
Scanning – To find a specific piece of information
Retrieval – Pick out information from the text to answer the question
Prediction – Looking for clues within the text.

8. Inference
What did Maisie see outside her bedroom window?
Why was she going to have porridge for breakfast?
How did Maisie feel about there being no school today?
When Maisie drew her curtains that morning, she smiled and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. There would be no school today, that’s for sure as she jumped around her bedroom. She would get wrapped up and dig her sledge out of the garage. Then she would spend the rest of the day wrapped in a blanket. “Porridge for breakfast, I think!” she said.

9. Inference
How to start question: What is definitely going on in the image? How do you know this?
WHO?
WHAT?
WHERE?
WHY?
WHEN?
BECAUSE!!!
(EVIDENCE/
BACKING UP)

10. Ways to help at home
Encourage the children to read a wide variety of book types (to encounter lots of different language). Age appropriate magazines and newspapers work too.
Ask your child about their reading, or even about a film or TV show that you have watched together: what did they think? Why? (always getting them to use evidence to back up their ideas)
Be a good role model, get caught reading!