Reading Skills Summary

The Reading Skills Summary for Years 5 and 6 outlines a comprehensive set of objectives that are part of the National Curriculum, designed to enhance the reading abilities of students. Reading Skill 1 focuses on the ability to identify and discuss themes and conventions within texts. This involves recognising the underlying messages and commonalities that appear across different pieces of literature. Reading Skill 2 encourages students to engage with the text by discussing words and phrases that particularly capture their interest and imagination, enhancing their connection with the material.

Reading Skill 3 is about ensuring comprehension, prompting students to check that they understand the text and to explore the meanings of words within their specific context. Reading Skill 4 delves deeper into comprehension by teaching students to infer characters' feelings, thoughts, and motives from their actions, and to support these inferences with evidence from the text. Reading Skill 5 involves prediction, where students use both explicit details and implied information to anticipate future events in the narrative. Reading Skill 6 requires students to identify and summarise the main ideas from multiple paragraphs, distilling the essence of the text. Reading Skill 7 looks at the way language, structure, and presentation all contribute to the overall meaning of a text.

Reading Skill 8 is a practical skill, teaching students to retrieve and record information from non-fiction sources. Reading Skill 9, which is specific to Years 5 and 6, encourages students to make comparisons within and across books, enhancing their analytical skills. Reading Skill 10, another advanced skill for these year groups, involves discussing and evaluating the use of language by authors, including figurative language, and considering its impact on the reader. Finally, Reading Skill 11 teaches students to distinguish between statements of fact and opinion, an important skill for critical reading and information literacy.