Raising Reading Skills

Recent research shows that one in seven children will begin secondary school as a struggling reader (Martell, 2018). This downloadable teaching pack aims to support upper KS2 children to practise and consolidate their reading skills in preparation for SATs and the transition to KS3.

Based on practical, evidence-based reading comprehension strategies, Raising reading skills will develop children’s reading fluency, building their confidence in - and enjoyment of - reading.

The Raising reading skills teacher handbook - for experienced teachers, non-subject specialists and TAs - will take you through the 12-week programme step-by-step, with detailed lesson plans and practical CPD guidance on how and why these reading comprehension strategies work.

The Raising reading skills workbook provides children with everything they need, including a range of engaging texts, classroom activities and worksheets. Lessons are devised for 1:1, small group and whole group booster sessions or as a complementary resource for English lessons.

(Please note that Raising reading skills is based upon the KS3 English intervention pack, Fix it reading, and contains some of the same content.)

What’s included?
The teacher’s handbook includes 12 detailed lesson plans, starter and plenary ideas, homework tasks and evidence-based teaching notes and CPD guidance.
The accompanying workbook includes carefully selected texts to engage developing readers, as well as worksheets and activities.
Includes fiction and non-fiction texts on a range of engaging themes, with extracts from accessible young adult novels like Home Ground and I, Coriander as well as graphic novels, news articles, websites, and fact sheets.

What’s inside?
Teacher’s Handbook
An introduction to Raising reading skill (page 3)
About the author and how to use the teacher handbook (page 4)
Understanding a child’s reading level (page 5)
What difficulties do struggling readers face at secondary school? (page 6)
The learning experience for developing readers: advice for teachers (page 6)
What does a confident reader look like? (page 7)
Selecting appropriate texts to read (pages 7-8)
Section 1: Practical reading comprehension strategies (pages 9-41)
Section 2: Group reading strategies (pages 42-52)
Teacher observations: Reading confidence and progress (page 53)
Parental tips for supporting reading (page 55)

Student Handbook
Introduction (page 3)
Reading survey (pages 3-5)
Reading strategies (page 6)
Skimming and scanning (pages 7-11)
Predictions and questions (pages 12-16)
Questions and signposts (pages 17-24)
Inference (pages 25-29)
Inference (pages 30-33)
Summarising and note-taking (pages 34-38)
Summarising and note-taking (pages 39-43)
Word detectives (part 1) (pages 44-48)
Word detectives (part 2) (Pages 49-53)
Reciprocal reading (part 1) (pages 54-57)
Reciprocal reading (part 2) (pages 58-63)
Reciprocal reading (part 3) (pages 64-66)