-KS2 whole class reading comprehension lessons
-reading templates, assemblies and inspiration -
As Year 6 teachers, we found ourselves in need of comprehension resources that bring texts to life.
YES, we want our comprehension lessons to be rigorous in preparation for the SATs, BUT we also want them to be engaging and fun!
Our aim is to get children excited about comprehension lessons, eager to talk about books and confident in interrogating a text.
-KS2 whole class reading comprehension lessons
-reading templates, assemblies and inspiration -
As Year 6 teachers, we found ourselves in need of comprehension resources that bring texts to life.
YES, we want our comprehension lessons to be rigorous in preparation for the SATs, BUT we also want them to be engaging and fun!
Our aim is to get children excited about comprehension lessons, eager to talk about books and confident in interrogating a text.
A thorough bundle of reading comprehension resources for Varjak Paw by S F Said.
Ready to use
Answers included
PowerPoints and PDFs
Vocabulary
Comprehension Questions
hands-on activities
Subscribe at
myteachinghive
£35
Bright Bursts of Colour Reading Comprehension by Matt Goodfellow
50-page PowerPoint
26-page PDF activities
preteach vocabulary
mixed comprehension questions
skills-focused activities
Recommended for Year 5 and 6
Lesson 1 – poems about being different
‘Chameleon Kids’, page 16
‘Difficult’, page 57
Lesson 2 – poem about school
‘Missing Lessons’, page 11 and 12
Lesson 3 – poems about relationships
‘David’, page 32 and 33
‘Broken’, page 72 to 73
‘The Sky is the Colour of Grandma’s Hair’, pages 74 to 75
Lesson 4 – funny poems
‘A Special Badger’, page 21
‘Nuts’, page 71
Lesson 5 – review chosen poem
Reading comprehension resources based on Chapters 20-35 of Varjak Paw by SF Said.
More at MY TEACHING HIVE
82-page PowerPoint presentation
Vocabulary cards
Comprehension Questions in line with the KS2 National Curriculum
Reading skill focused activities
For each chapter
A flexible set of resources which could be used for whole class reading, guided reading, individual and group work as well as for home learning.
Text not included.
Suitable for age 7+
Reading comprehension resources based on Chapters 8-19 of Varjak Paw by SF Said.
More at MY TEACHING HIVE
93-page PowerPoint presentation
Vocabulary cards
Comprehension Questions in line with the KS2 National Curriculum
Reading skill focused activities
For each chapter
A flexible set of resources which could be used for whole class reading, guided reading, individual and group work as well as for home learning.
Text not included.
Suitable for age 7+
KS2 & KS3 - Book Review Proforma
What did you think of the ending and why?
What unanswered questions does the story leave you with?
What life lessons did this book teach you?
If you could change or improve one thing about the story what would it be?
What was the most exciting moment in the story?
More free resources when you sign up for free at myteachinghive.
KS2 Reading Comprehension Resources for Grimwood by Nadia Shireen
Resources for the whole book
16 chapters/16 lessons
113-page PowerPoint
57 PDF document including:
Vocabulary for each chapter
Mixed comprehension questions
Skill-focused activities
Recommended for age 7+
Extracts not included
A laugh-out-loud adventure featuring two loveable foxes.
Available for £5 on our website or as part of a £35 annual personal subscription at myteachinghive.
KS2 Reading Comprehension Resources for The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow
Resources for the whole book
7 lessons
63-page PowerPoint
28 PDF document including:
Vocabulary for each of the 7 parts of the story
Mixed comprehension questions
Skill-focused activities
Recommended for age 10+
Extracts not included
Available for £5 on our website or as part of a £35 annual personal subscription at myteachinghive.
A powerful and lyrical story about finding your place in the world and the people that matter within it.
Other resources based on Matt Goodfellow books:
Bright Bursts of Colour - poetry
Reading comprehension resources based on Chapters 1-7 of Varjak Paw by SF Said.
More at MY TEACHING HIVE
59-page PowerPoint presentation
Vocabulary cards
Comprehension Questions in line with the KS2 National Curriculum
Reading skill focused activities
For each chapter
A flexible set of resources which could be used for whole class reading, guided reading, individual and group work as well as for home learning.
Text not included.
Suitable for age 7+
4 whole class reading lessons for KS2 based on the poem Happiness from ‘Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers’, by Daniel Thompson.
A thought-provoking poem encouraging children to consider whether buying things can truly bring you happiness.
Whole class reading, paired reading, additional opportunity for children to write their own poem about plastic pollution, Q&A with the author
Reading Skills foci: summarising the main message of the poem, looking at the impact of rhythm, rhyme and word choices on delivering the message of the poem, word’splore (exploring word choices), performing the poem, imitating the poet’s style by recreating their own poem.
37-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 3 x printable PDFs, plus a PDF copy of the poem.
Poem included.
Recommended for age 8+
Lesson 1
Firstly, learn more about Daniel Thompson or skip to the Q and A’s at the end of the PowerPoint to learn more about what inspires him to write poetry. Then pre-teach some key vocabulary to increase pupil engagement with the text. Next, read the text together so children can discuss their responses to key questions and work together to summarise each verse.
Lesson 2
This lesson focuses on the poet’s style. Using practical challenges, children work together to discuss how to use words and phrases effectively to reinforce key ideas.
Lesson 3
As children have previously explored the poem on a deeper level, this lesson gives children the opportunity to perform the poem, focusing on intonation, tone, volume and actions.
Lesson 4
Finally, children can use a similar structure to create their own poem about plastic pollution.
For more poetry lessons explore our website, My Teaching Hive.
3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on the picture book ‘House Held Up By Trees’ by Ted Kooser
Whole class reading, discussion cards, exploring themes.
Reading Skills foci: predict, discuss, connect (exploring themes in the story
21-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 2 x PDF downloadable activities.
Picture book comprehension
Extract not included.
Recommended for age 7+
Lesson 1
Firstly pre-teach vocabulary. Children then participate in a discussion about the text considering key question cards. Finally, ask the children to reflect on what kind of story it is and what it makes them think about.
Lesson 2
Encourage the children to make wider connections with the the book, exploring the main ideas, topics and issues raised. Children then sort cards they think best represents the key themes in the book in order of importance. If they had to pick just one card, which would they choose?
Lesson 2
Children consider what inspired the author to write this story. Then children reflect on their own lives and places which are important to them. Finally, the children explore the work of the award-winning illustrator Jon Klassen as inspiration for their own artwork.
Reading journal activities worksheet
Repeat tasks or encourage children to colour in each task as it is completed. Stick in the front of a child’s reading journal exercise book.
Upper KS2
Example tasks:
Design and draw your own front cover for a book you are reading.
Write 5 interview questions for the author of your book or for a character in the story.
Make a list of words from a text that you would like to learn and/or use in your own writing.
Write a diary entry for one of the characters in the story.
Write a blurb for your story. Don’t give too many details away!
3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on Viking Voyagers by Jack Tite.
Vocabulary, whole class reading, paired reading
Reading Skills foci: retrieve, infer, summarise
24-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 3 x printable PDF activities
Extract not included.
Suitable for age 7+
Available for £3 on our website
3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on Aaron Becker, ‘A Stone for Sascha’ .
About the author, whole class reading, group discussion
Reading Skills foci: predict, infer, retrieve, question, group discussion, exploring themes
23-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 4 x printable PDF activities
Extract not included.
Suitable for age 9+
Available on our website for £3 or as part of our school subscription.
Years 4, 5 & 6
Book recommended age 7+
30-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint
3 lessons
4 x PDF activities
exploring the poet’s word choices, discussing understanding of a poem, exploring figurative language, prediction, sharing personal responses to a poem.
Extract included.
Available on our website for £3 or as part of our school subscription.
5 KS2 reading comprehension whole class lessons
Based on the prologue and chapter one of ‘The House with Chicken Legs’ by Sophie Anderson.
Vocabulary, whole class reading, paired reading, making connections
Reading Skills foci: clarify, infer and connect.
40-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 2 x printable PDFs
Extract included.
Suitable for ages 9+
Available on our website for £3 or as part of our school subscription.
FREE Get to know your pupils and find out about their reading habits. How many sustained the habit of reading regularly this summer? How often did they read? What different genres and authors are they reading? How do they feel about reading? Did they get the chance to visit a library or a bookshop? Where is their favourite place to read? Use our free ‘Summer Reading Habits’ worksheet to find out! SPace is also provided for children to design three front covers for their favourite recent reads to help you gain a picture as to what their reading preferences are. Why not blow it up to A3 and keep them in a class folder for sharing?
3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on Chapter 1 and the first letter in Chapter 2 of ‘Daddy Long-Legs’ by Jean Webster.
About the author and the book, vocabulary, whole class reading, paired reading
Reading Skills foci: imitating the writer’s style, summarise, retrieve, infer and clarify
42-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 1 x printable PDF activities.
Extract included.
Suitable for ages 10+
3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on page 5, and pages 18-19 ‘Exploring the Rio Negro’ and the ‘Collector’s Equipment’ of ‘Darwin’s Rival’ by Christiane Dorion.
Whole class reading, paired reading, memory game
Reading Skills foci: infer, retrieve and summarise
25-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 3 x printable PDF activities.
Extract not included separately from PowerPoint.
Suitable for ages 9+
Graphic Novel Reading Comprehension
3 whole class reading comprehension lessons based on Hilda and the Troll by Luke Pearson.
Suitable for age 7+
Download Contents:
22-page dyslexia-friendly PowerPoint, 4 x printable PDF activities
Text not included.
Lessons Overview:
Vocabulary, about the book, warm up game, whole class reading, paired reading
Reading Skills:
Lesson 1
Use clues in a text to predict what might happen next.
Make predictions based on the front cover and part way through the story.
Lesson 2
Infer a character’s feelings based on their speech, actions and facial expressions.
Infer character’s feelings based on the illustrations.
Lesson 3
Summarise the main events in a story.
Summarise the main details of the story, decide which are most important.
Available for £3 on our website