Year Group

Content

EYFS

Early Learning Goal – Comprehension:

• Demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary.
• Anticipate (where appropriate) key events in stories.
• Use and understand recently introduced vocabulary during discussions about stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems and during role play.

Early Learning Goal – Word Reading:

• Say a sound for each letter in the alphabet and at least 10 digraphs.
• Read words consistent with their phonic knowledge by sound-blending.
• Read aloud simple sentences and books that are consistent with their phonic knowledge, including some common exception words

Year 1

Word Reading:

• apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode word
• respond speedily with the correct sound to graphemes (letters or groups of letters) for all 40+ phonemes, including, where applicable, alternative sounds for grapheme
• read accurately by blending sounds in unfamiliar words containing GPCs that have been taught
• read common exception words, noting unusual correspondences between spelling and sound and where these occur in the word
• read words containing taught GPCs and –s, –es, –ing, –ed, –er and –est endings
• read other words of more than one syllable that contain taught GPCs
• read words with contractions [for example, I’m, I’ll, we’ll], and understand that the apostrophe represents the omitted letter(s)
• read books aloud, accurately, that are consistent with their developing phonic knowledge and that do not require them to use other strategies to work out words
• reread these books to build up their fluency and confidence in word reading

Comprehension:

• develop 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 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

Word Reading:

• continue to apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words until automatic decoding has become embedded and reading is fluent
• read accurately by blending the sounds in words that contain the graphemes taught so far, especially recognising alternative sounds for graphemes
• read accurately words of two or more syllables that contain the same graphemes as above
• read words containing common suffixes
• read further common exception words, noting unusual correspondences between spelling and sound and where these occur in the word
• read most words quickly and accurately, without overt sounding and blending, when they have been frequently encountered
• read aloud books closely matched to their improving phonic knowledge, sounding out unfamiliar words accurately, automatically and without undue hesitation
• reread these books to build up their fluency and confidence in word reading

Comprehension:

• develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:

• listening to, discussing and expressing views about a wide range of contemporary and classic poetry, 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 to them 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

Year 4

Word Reading:

• apply their growing knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes (etymology and morphology) as listed in - see English appendix 1 of the National Curriculum , both to read aloud and to understand the meaning of new words they meet
• read further exception words, noting the unusual correspondences between spelling and sound, and where these occur in the word

Comprehension:

• develop positive attitudes to reading, and an 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 [for example, free verse, narrative poetry]

• understand what they read, in books they can 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, thoughts 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 1 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

Year 6

Word Reading:

• apply their growing knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes (morphology and etymology), as listed in English appendix 1 of the National Curriculum, both to read aloud and to understand the meaning of new words that they meet

Comprehension:

• maintain positive attitudes to reading and an understanding of what they read by:

• continuing to read and discuss an increasingly 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
• 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 1 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