Understanding a text requires more than answering questions after reading. Pupils need to identify what matters, connect each new section with what came before and notice when their understanding has broken down.

Start with close support over short sections. As the pupil becomes more secure, reduce this to one or two planned pauses and ask for concise summaries in their own words.

Establish the reading purpose

Before reading, tell the pupil what they are trying to understand. Keep the purpose specific enough to guide attention.

For example:

• “Find out why the river flooded.”

• “Notice how the character’s opinion changes.”

• “Work out what the plant needs to grow.”

Avoid revealing the answer. The purpose should help the pupil recognise important information while still learning from the text.

Read in meaningful sections

Choose a natural stopping point after one idea, event or stage. A section may be one paragraph, but it does not have to be. Stop before the pupil has lost track of too much information.

After each section, ask:

• “What was mainly happening here?”

• “What is the most important thing we learnt?”

• “How does that connect with the last part?”

If the pupil lists small details, model how to combine them into one useful statement.

Model paraphrasing

When a pupil repeats the sentence without understanding it, show how to put the idea into everyday language.

Suppose a science text says:

Water vapour cools and condenses into tiny droplets.

A teacher might say: “This means the invisible water in the air cools and turns into small drops.” Then ask the pupil to explain it again in their own words.

Return to the original sentence so the pupil connects the explanation with the text rather than treating it as separate information.

Use prediction carefully

Prediction is useful when it is based on the text and helps the pupil connect ideas. Use the title, illustration or opening lines and ask what the evidence suggests.

A sensible prompt is: “The character has hidden the map and locked the door. What might happen next, and which detail makes you think that?”

Avoid encouraging guesses based only on personal preference. Return to the prediction after reading and check it against what the text said.

Work through a Primary example

Imagine a short history text explaining why a settlement developed beside a river.

1. Set the purpose: “Find the advantages of living beside the river.”

2. Read the first short section.

3. Ask the pupil to summarise it in one sentence.

4. Read the next section and ask what new advantage has been added.

5. If the connection is missed, return to the sentence about transport and model how it adds to the earlier point about water.

6. Finish with a short overview bringing the reasons together.

The pupil should leave with a connected explanation, not three disconnected notes.

Reduce prompts

Move from:

• stopping after every short section;

• modelling and summarising together;

• asking for a summary at two planned points;

• asking the pupil to choose when to pause;

• independent reading followed by an overview.

Do not continue constant questioning once the pupil is reading with understanding. Too many interruptions can make comprehension harder.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Asking several questions after every paragraph.

• Accepting copied sentences as a summary.

• Treating prediction as unsupported guessing.

• Focusing on minor details rather than the text’s main ideas.

• Simplifying the text so much that important content is lost.

• Continuing prompts after the pupil can monitor meaning independently.

• Assuming weak understanding is always a strategy problem rather than checking decoding, vocabulary and background knowledge.

Evidence and further reading

The Education Endowment Foundation’s Key Stage 2 comprehension guidance explains the interacting components involved in understanding text. Its Reading Comprehension Strategies summary discusses explicit strategy teaching and guided practice.