An average of 18.6 per cent of 15-year olds in the UK fail to read at the level at which they can “understand, use and reflect on written texts”, according to the last Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) tests.
The recent Eurydice report (which analyses education systems and policies across 33 European countries) suggests that the best way to improve present reading standards is for primary literacy lessons to have a greater emphasis in reading comprehension.
In terms of comprehension, take this classic short poem:
“Algy met a bear,
A bear met Algy,
The bear was bulgy,
The bulge was Algy.
Most people who read this will understand Algy’s grisly fate, but there is nothing in the text that says Algy has been eaten. It is inferred – and that ability to infer has to be learned.
Comprehension is crucial to get pupils to the next step: reading for fun. When children enjoy reading, read diverse material and adopt reading comprehension strategies, they can attain a higher level of performance in reading.
Similarly, disadvantaged students who read a diverse range of texts and employ effective reading strategies tend to perform well in reading.
This is why we have developed ‘Comprehension in Themes’ for Year 3 to Year 6. Each photocopiable book contains a diverse collection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts grouped in themes suitable for the age groups covered.
The exercises can be used to prepare children for SAT style tests and can be matched to themes the class may be studying at the time or used on a weekly basis.
The question pages are split into three sections. Section A gives an overview of the text with missing words or phrases to find. Section B contains open-ended questions requiring inference and deduction. Section C is a relevant written challenge for more able pupils or those who work quickly.
Paper and electronic versions of the books are available.
If you’d like to see exactly how we have tackled this issue there are free sample pages available from our website. Click here for Year 3, here for Year 4, here for year 5 and here for year 6.
If you would like to know more please call 01772 863158
Or email enquiries@topical-resources.co.uk
You can order in any of these ways:
Online at the above web links
By phone on: 01772 863158
By fax: 01772 866153
By email: Sales@topical-resources.co.uk
By post: Topical Resources, P.O. Box329, Broughton, Preston, Lancashire PR3 5LT
