UK curricula and comprehension
The National Curriculum in England
The National Curriculum places great emphasis on children developing into strong readers by the end of Year 6:
'All pupils must be encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world in which they live, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum.'
The National Curriculum for English 'aims to ensure that all pupils:
- read easily, fluently and with good understanding
- develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
- acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
- appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage.'
Department for Education (2013) The National Curriculum in England: Framework document. September 2013
The reading element of the new curriculum is based on the Simple View of Reading, where reading is treated as two interlinked elements: word reading and comprehension. This name is not intended to imply that learning to read is simple; rather, this is the simplest model for understanding this complex process:
Simple view of reading diagram from D Shankweiler et al: ‘Comprehension and decoding: Patterns of association in children with reading difficulties, Scientific Studies of Reading 3:1 (1999). Copyright © Routledge 1999, used by permission of Taylor & Francis via Copyright Clearance Center.
Gough, P. and Tunmer, W. (1986) ‘Decoding, reading, and reading disability’, Remedial and Special Education, 7, pp. 6–10.
The National Curriculum first addresses the horizontal axis –
word recognition:
'Skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words. Underpinning both is the understanding that the letters on the page represent the sounds in spoken words. This is why phonics should be emphasised in the early teaching of reading to beginners (i.e. unskilled readers) when they start school.'
Second, it looks at the vertical axis – language comprehension:
'Good comprehension draws from linguistic knowledge (in particular of vocabulary and grammar) and on knowledge of the world. Comprehension skills develop through pupils’ experience of high-quality discussion with the teacher, as well as from reading and discussing a range of stories, poems and non-fiction. All pupils must be encouraged to read widely across both fiction and non-fiction to develop their knowledge of themselves and the world they live in, to establish an appreciation and love of reading, and to gain knowledge across the curriculum. Reading widely and often increases pupils’ vocabulary because they encounter words they would rarely hear or use in everyday speech. Reading also feeds pupils’ imagination and opens up a treasure house of wonder and joy for curious young minds.'
Department for Education (2013) The National Curriculum in England: Framework document. September 2013.
In the National Curriculum, it is suggested that progression in comprehension can be provided primarily through increasing the challenge of the texts children read.
The processes children need to understand written text are the same as those they need to understand what they hear. This is why the Simple View of Reading refers to ‘language comprehension’ and not ‘reading comprehension’. The main difference is simply that in reading comprehension, because the text is written down rather than spoken, children gain access to it through their eyes and not their ears – through the visual information of the print on the page. This is why it is vital that children’s word reading is as automatic and as fluent as it can possibly be. Generally, children’s comprehension improves whether they learn to read or not because they are taking in information from the world around them all the time. However, when they learn to read independently, they have a real chance to meet new vocabulary, including words that they might not come across in everyday life. This learning then feeds further into their comprehension. It is also available for them to draw on for writing. The longer and more challenging texts that children encounter as they become independent readers will make increasing demands on the text processing skills described above – inference and integration, comprehension monitoring, knowledge and use of text structure – which is why it is vital that the development of these skills is supported early to serve as a foundation for reading comprehension of extended text. Such support need not come from the child’s reading alone, but might include reading to children and discussing texts with them.
Curriculum for Excellence
Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence includes the following as part of the introductory statements for English and literacy:
- I engage with a wide range of texts and am developing an appreciation of the richness and breadth of Scotland’s literacy and linguistic heritage.
- I enjoy exploring and discussing word patterns and text structures.
The Curriculum for Excellence has no statutory requirements; it is intended to be a
responsive curriculum.
Experiences and Outcomes for reading are divided into several sections: enjoyment and choice; tools for reading (including vocabulary, punctuation and grammar); finding and using information; understanding, analysing and evaluating.
Statements in the section on understanding, analysing and evaluating include:
First level:
- To show my understanding across different areas of learning, I can identify and consider the purpose and main ideas of a text. (LIT 1–16a)
- To show my understanding, I can respond to different kinds of questions and other close reading tasks and I am learning to create some questions of my own. (ENG 1–17a)
- To help me develop an informed view, I can recognise the difference between fact and opinion. (LIT 1–18a)
Second level:
- To show my understanding across different areas of learning, I can identify and consider the purpose and main ideas of a text and use supporting detail. (LIT 2–16a)
- To show my understanding, I can respond to literal, inferential and evaluative questions and other close reading tasks and can create different kinds of questions of my own. (ENG 2–17a)
- To help me develop an informed view, I can identify and explain the difference between fact and opinion, recognise when I am being influenced, and have assessed how useful and believable my sources are. (LIT 2–18a)
The Experiences and Outcomes can be found here.
The professional development materials on reciprocal reading in the Teachers’ guide to reading comprehension strategies P5–S3 provide support for improving pupils’ reading comprehension. The guide can be found on the Education Scotland website:
The National Curriculum for Wales
The National Literacy and Numeracy Framework for Wales sets out detailed expectations for comprehension in the section covering Reading Across the Curriculum.
You can find out more and download the materials here:
http://learning.gov.wales/resources/browse-all/nlnf/?lang=en
The programmes of study for reading as part of Language, Literacy and Communication Skills in the Foundation Phase and English at key stage 2 are split into two elements:
- Locating, selecting and using information
- Responding to what has been read.
The latter section includes expectations for comprehension, which incorporate the requirements of the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework.
The programmes of study can be downloaded here:
https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales-2008/foundation-phase/revised-areas-of-learning-and-programmes-of-study-phase-1-literacy-and-numeracy/
In January 2020, the Welsh Government published its Curriculum for Wales guidance. This sets out what learners are expected to know at the different progression steps in reading, phrasing these as ‘child speak’. In setting out what schools should consider in designing their curricula, the guidance says:
‘Research recognises phonological and phonemic awareness as important cognitive skills in learning to read. Schools should put in place a clear procedure for, and place emphasis on, the systematic development of learners’ phonological and phonemic awareness. When appropriate for a learner, the teaching of phonics should be systematic and consistent, and take place with other language activities, which promote vocabulary-building and comprehension.
Being able to decode words alone is not enough; readers need to be able to make sense of what they read. Teaching should enable learners to gain a range of skills and to apply different strategies in order to become fluent readers. This should provide them with a secure basis for developing and extending their language and literacy skills.’
Welsh Government (2020), Curriculum for Wales guidance. © Crown Copyright 2020.
https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales
It is up to schools to design their own curricula for reading, so that learners meet the expectations set out in the Progression Steps (PS), at around the ages of five, eight and eleven, such as:
‘I am beginning to ask and answer questions to clarify my understanding.’ (PS1)
‘I can respond to what I hear, read, and view, asking questions and showing my understanding.’ (PS2)
‘I can consider the plot, character, theme and context of literature I experience supporting my ideas and opinions with evidence from the literature.’ (PS3)
The Northern Ireland Curriculum
Count, Read: Succeed – A Strategy to Improve Outcomes in Literacy and Numeracy Department of Education, Northern Ireland (2011)
https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/count-read-succeed-strategy-improve-outcomes-literacy-and-numeracy
The Northern Ireland Curriculum requirements for reading are not subdivided into sections for elements such as comprehension, but these skills are a central part of the statutory requirements for literacy.
In key stage 1, pupils should be 'given opportunities to develop their confidence and independence through enjoyable reading experiences that will help them develop individual tastes and preferences and make sense of what they read'.
In key stage 2, pupils will develop 'strategies for researching, understanding, managing and refining information from traditional and digital source'. As they make progress pupils should have 'opportunities to engage independently with more challenging and lengthy texts… whilst reflecting, analysing and discussing the meaning of the text'.
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (2007), Northern Ireland Curriculum Primary p50–1
http://ccea.org.uk/curriculum/