Year 5 Rationale

Whole class reading is placed very highly as part of the reading curriculum at St Michael with St John as it is where the explicit teaching of reading takes place. Whole class reading across school takes place at 1.00pm to 1.25pm in all classes and is led by the class teacher. Each year group has an overview mapping out carefully selected texts for the year. There is one text type allocated per week, which follows a cycle of fiction – nonfiction – poetry.

Each day has a focus on a different reading domain and the teaching sequence is as follows:

Monday- Vocabulary and Prediction

Tuesday- Sequencing (KS1) Summarising (KS2)

Wednesday- Retrieval

Thursday- Inference

Friday- Explanation

Autumn 1

Alongside our whole class reading sessions we also teach reading through our English units. During the first half of the Autumn term the children practise their reading skills through two genres

• Legends
• Persuasion

During the first unit in Year Five, children listen to and discuss a range of fiction which they might not choose to read themselves. They explore meaning of words in context, check that the text makes sense to them and demonstrate understanding through discussion. Through close reading of the text, children re-read and ­read ahead to locate clues to support understanding, they predict what might happen from information stated and implied and justify opinions and elaborate by referring to the text. The skill of using the PE prompt to justify answers is extended in Year Five, where the children are taught to use the PEE prompt- Point-Evidence-Explanation. The skill of inference is also built upon where the children are taught to infer characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions. Again these inferences are justified with evidence from the text. During discussions, children explore themes within and across texts and build on their own and others ideas, challenging views courteously.

During the persuasion unit, children begin to distinguish between statements of fact and opinion within a text, they scan for key words and text mark to locate key information. They are taught to summarise main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and identify key details which support this. When analysing a text, children look closely at the conventions of different types of writing and identify how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning. They also begin to explain the effect on the reader of the authors’ choice of language. By the end of the unit, children prepare a formal presentation individually or in groups, use notes to support presentation of information and respond to questions generated by a presentation.

Autumn 2

During the second half of the Autumn term the children practise their reading skills through three genres

• Stories with historical settings
• Film and play scripts
• Classic narrative poetry

During the stories with historical settings unit, children listen to and discuss a range of fiction which they might not choose to read themselves. They check that the text they are reading makes sense to them and demonstrate an understanding of what they have read through discussion. To further demonstrate understanding, children are taught to summarise main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identify key details and to justify opinions and elaborate by referring to the text using the PEE prompt. During discussions children participate by building on their own and others ideas, challenging views courteously. They also begin to recommend books to their peers with reasons for their choices.

During the film and play scripts unit, children use punctuation and prepare play scripts to read aloud and perform to show an understanding of intonation, tone, volume and action so the meaning is clear to a range of audiences. They infer characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions and justify inferences and opinions by elaborating and referring to the text using the PEE prompt. They also demonstrate active reading strategies e.g. generating questions to refine thinking.

During the poetry unit, children prepare poems to read aloud and perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action so the meaning is clear to an audience. They are taught to explore, recognise and use the terms metaphor, simile and imagery and to explain the effect on the reader of the authors’ choice of language. By the end of the unit, children will have learnt a wider range of poetry by heart.

Spring 1

During the first half of the Spring term the children practise their reading skills through three genres:

• Science fiction stories
• Information booklets
• Poems with a structure

During the first unit of the Spring term, children read books and texts that are structured in different ways for a range of purposes. They are able to explain the meaning of words within the context of the text, use prefixes to understand meaning and check that the text makes sense to them through discussion. Through close reading of the text, children re-read and read ahead to locate clues to support understanding. They summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph and identify key details which support this. When providing answers in response to a text, children are taught to justify opinions and elaborate through the PEE prompt and to explain the effect on the reader of the authors’ choice of language.

During the non-fiction unit, children read books and texts that are structured in different ways for a range of purposes. Whilst reading, children are encouraged to check that the book makes sense to them and to demonstrate understanding through discussion. Active reading strategies hold a strong weighting within the Year Five reading curriculum where children are taught to scan for key words, text mark to locate key information and to summarise main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph. New learning is introduced at this stage where the children are taught to analyse the conventions of different types of writing and how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning.

During the poetry unit, children listen to and discuss a range of poetry which they might not choose to read themselves. They are taught to analyse the conventions of different types of writing and read texts that are structured in different ways for a range of purposes. At the end of the unit, children prepare poems to read aloud and perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action so the meaning is clear to an audience.

Spring 2

During the second half of the Spring term the children practise their reading skills through two genres

• Stories based on a novel
• Magazines: information text hybrid

During the first unit, children read books and texts that are structured in different ways for a range of purposes. They are able to explain the meaning of words within the context of the text, use prefixes to understand meaning and check that the text makes sense to them through discussion. Through close reading of the text, children re-read and read ahead to locate clues to support understanding. They summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph and identify key details which support this. When providing answers in response to a text, children are taught to justify opinions and elaborate through the PEE prompt and to explain the effect on the reader of the authors’ choice of language.

During the non-fiction unit, children read books and texts that are structured in different ways for a range of purposes. They learn to explore meanings of words in context, to scan for key words and to text mark to locate key information. To help children to explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, children are taught to identify how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning. They also explore the effect on the reader of the authors’ choice of language and use notes to support presentation of information.

Summer 1

During the first half of the Summer term the children practise their reading skills through two genres:

• Stories from other cultures
• Debates

During the fiction unit, children are taught to express preference about a wider range of books including modern fiction and traditional stories. They explore themes within and across texts and continue to identify how language, structure and presentation can contribute to meaning. The authors’ use of language is focused on heavily throughout this unit where children are encouraged to explore meanings of words in context, to use suffixes to understand meanings and to explain the effect on the reader. New learning is introduced at this stage where the children are taught to make comparisons within a text e.g. characters’ viewpoints of the same events.

During the non-fiction unit, children 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. They explore the use of suffixes to understand meanings and justify opinions by referring to the text using the PEE prompt. By the end of the unit, children will participate in debates on an issue relating to reading, create a formal presentation individually or in groups and respond to questions generated by a presentation, providing reasoned justifications for their views.

Summer 2

During the second half of the Summer term the children practise their reading skills through three genres:

• Myths
• Reports
• Poems with figurative language

During the first unit, children listen to and discuss a range of fiction, poetry and non-fiction which they might not choose to read themselves. They are taught to participate in discussions about texts that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, building on their own and others’ ideas and can express preferences about a wider range of books including modern fiction, traditional stories, myths and legends. Through close reading of the text, children re-read and read ahead to locate clues to support understanding, they use punctuation to determine intonation and expression when reading aloud to a range of audiences and begin to make comparisons within a text e.g. characters’ viewpoints of same events.

When demonstrating their knowledge of active reading strategies, children are able to scan for key words and text mark to locate key information, summarise main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and can explore themes within and across texts e.g. loss, heroism, friendship.

During the non-fiction unit, children listen to and discuss a range of fiction, poetry and non-fiction which they might not choose to read themselves and read books and texts that are structured in different ways for a range of purposes. They are taught to use punctuation to determine intonation and expression when reading aloud to a range of audiences and can check that the text they are reading makes sense to them, demonstrating understanding through discussion. When demonstrating their knowledge of active reading strategies, children are able to scan for key words and text mark to locate key information, summarise main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and can distinguish between statements of fact or opinion within a text.

During the poetry unit, children prepare poems to read aloud and perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action so the meaning is clear to an audience. They are taught to explore, recognise and use the terms metaphor, simile and imagery and to explain the effect on the reader of the authors’ choice of language. By the end of the unit, children will have learnt a wider range of poetry by heart.