Year 6
National Curriculum Expectations
By the beginning of Year 6, pupils should be able to accurately read aloud a wide range of poetry and books written at an age-appropriate interest level and read these at a reasonable speaking pace. They should be able to read most words effortlessly and work out the pronunciation of unfamiliar written words with increasing automaticity. If the pronunciation sounds unfamiliar, pupils in Year 6 should ask for help in determining both the meaning of the word and how to pronounce it correctly.
Year 6 pupils should be able to read texts aloud with appropriate intonation to show their understanding. They should be able to summarise and present a familiar story in their own words. They should be reading widely and frequently for pleasure and to retrieve information, outside of school as well as in school. They should be able to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words and then discuss what they have read.
During Year 6, pupils should continue to expand their vocabulary through exposure to stories, plays, poetry, non-fiction and textbooks, both read by them and to them by others. They should be given the opportunity to listen to books and other writing that they have not come across before - hearing and learning new vocabulary and grammatical structures and having a chance to talk about this. Their confidence, enjoyment and mastery of language should be extended through public speaking, performance and debate.
By the end of Year 6, your child's reading should be sufficiently fluent and effortless enough for them to manage the general demands of Year 7, across all subjects, in order to enable them to learn the necessary subject-specific vocabulary.
What this means for parents
- Give your child access to lots of books on many different topics and by a wide range of authors who write in different styles.
- Encourage discussion with your child when pronouncing new words if their reasonable attempt does not sound correct.
- Broaden the vocabularly you use when speaking to your child and be prepared to clarify the meaning of a wider range of words, modelling them within sentences.
- Encourage your child to read silently to themselves but check their understanding of what they have read after doing so.
- Read difficult texts to your child and allow them the chance to listen and ask questions.
- If you are unsure of age-appropriate or interesting books for your child, please speak to their teachers.
| Year 6 children are expected to: | To support this, you could say: |
|
Apply their knowledge of root words, prefixes and suffixes, both to read aloud and to understand the meaning of new words they meet. |
Can you find a word which begins with the prefix re-? What does the prefix auto-mean? What is the root word? So, what might this new word mean? |
|
Maintain positive attitudes to reading and an understanding of what they have read. |
What type of book do you enjoy reading? Can you name another book that is similar to this? Did you enjoy that book? Why? What kind of book would you like to read next? |
|
Continue to read and discuss a wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction, reference books and text books. |
Do you prefer reading fiction or non-fiction? Why? What did you think about? Shall we watch the film/theatre version?
|
|
Read books which are structured in different ways and written for a range of purposes. |
Can you see any subheadings in this text? Why are they used? What organisational feature is this? |
|
Increase their familarity with a wide range of books, including myths, legends, traditional stories, modern fiction, fiction from our literacy heritage and books from other cultures and traditions. |
When do you think this story was written? Why? What is the moral of this story? What is special about the characters in this story? What type of story is this? Have you ever read a...? Let's go to the library. What other cultures would you like to read about? |
|
Recommend books that they have read to their peers, giving reasons for their choices. |
Would you recommend it? Who do you think would like this book? What makes it so good? |
|
Identify and discuss themes (such as loss or heroism) and conventions (such as the use of first person in diary entries) in and across a wide range of writing. |
Can you see a theme running through this story? What is it? How often is it mentioned? Can you see how this book is similar or different to...? How does this text differ to a story? |
| Make comparisons within and across books. |
How is...similar to...? Do they differ? How? Why? |
| Learn a wider range of poetry by heart. |
Can you recite...? Let's learn this poem together. |
|
Prepare and perform poems and plays outloud, showing an understanding through intonation, tone and volume so that meaning is clear to the audience. |
Would you like to go to a drama group/class/club? Think about your use of voice when you read aloud. How might you say that? |
|
Check that the book makes sense to them; discussing their understanding and exploring the meaning of new words in context. |
Tell me about what you have just read. Were there any words you didn't quite understand? Can you tell me another sentence I could use that word in? The word...means...in a sentence it's... |
|
Ask questions to improve their understanding. |
Is there anything you don't understand that you would like to ask me about? |
|
Draw inferences, such as inferring character's feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions and justify inferences with evidence. |
How do you think...is feeling? What makes you think that? Show me in the text. Why do you think...acted in that way? How do you know? |
|
Predict what might happen from the details stated and implied. |
What might...? What makes you think that? Show me in the text. I think...will happen. Do you think I'm right? Why? |
|
Summarise the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support main ideas. |
What theme can we see across these paragraphs? Is there anything mentioned more than once? |
|
Identify how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning. |
Why is this text set out this way? How does that help you as a reader? |
|
Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language and consider the impact on the reader. |
Can you find an example of figurative language on this page? Why might the author write in this way? How does this impact the reader? |
|
Distinguish between statements of fact and opinion. |
Do you think...is a statement of fact or of opinion. How do you know? |
|
Retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction texts. |
Find the part of the text about...? What does...mean? When did...happen? |
|
Participate in discussions about books that are read to them and those they can read themselves building on their own and others' ideas and challenging views courteously. |
I think that...do you agree? Why do you agree? Why do you not agree? Tell me your opinion about... I don't agree. I think that... In my opinion... |
|
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 where necessary. |
Over the holidays, I would like you to plan a presentation for me on... Can you explain to me why...is the best snack? I think...is. Let's debate it. Can you think of three reasons why? |
|
Provide reasoned justification for their views. |
Why do you think that? What evidence supports that idea? |