Year 2 Reading Expectations

Reading - comprehension

Pupils should be taught to:

• develop pleasure in reading, motivation to read, vocabulary and understanding by:
  • listening to, discussing and expressing views about a wide range of contemporary and classic poetry, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently
  • discussing the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related
  • becoming increasingly familiar with and retelling a wider range of stories, fairy stories and traditional tales
  • being introduced to non-fiction books that are structured in different ways
  • recognising simple recurring literary language in stories and poetry
  • discussing and clarifying the meanings of words, linking new meanings to known vocabulary
  • discussing their favourite words and phrases
  • continuing to build up a repertoire of poems learnt by heart, appreciating these and reciting some, with appropriate intonation to make the meaning clear
• understand both the books that they can already read accurately and fluently and those that they listen to by:
  • drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary provided by the teacher
  • checking that the text makes sense to them as they read, and correcting inaccurate reading
  • making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
  • answering and asking questions
  • predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far
• participate in discussion about books, poems and other works that are read to them and those that they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say
• explain and discuss their understanding of books, poems and other material, both those that they listen to and those that they read for themselves

Reading - word reading

Pupils should be taught to:

• continue to apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode words until automatic decoding has become embedded and reading is fluent
• read accurately by blending the sounds in words that contain the graphemes taught so far, especially recognising alternative sounds for graphemes
• read accurately words of two or more syllables that contain the same graphemes as above
• read words containing common suffixes (-ing, -ed, -ly)
• read further common exception words, noting unusual correspondences between spelling and sound and where these occur in the word
• read most words quickly and accurately, without overt sounding and blending, when they have been frequently encountered
• read aloud books closely matched to their improving phonic knowledge, sounding out unfamiliar words accurately, automatically and without undue hesitation
• reread these books to build up their fluency and confidence in word reading

Year 2 - 'Must Reads!'

This website contains a list of the books that are recommended for children in Year 2. There are lots of fantastic texts to explore, many of which can be find in the local library or our school library. Happy reading!

Year 2, Recommended Reads

Reading at home

It is really important for children to be reading at home at least 3 times a week. This will help them to improve their fluency and confidence when reading. The book your child is reading should be a little challenging to encourage them to put their skills to use; if it is too easy then opt for a different book. During and after you have read with your child it is important to discuss the text. This will build their comprehension skills and develop their understanding of what they have read.

Here are some ideas for questions you could ask. 

Vocabulary Questions:

• What did the author use the word ____ to describe?
• Can you find the adjectives that the author used to describe ____?
• How does it make you feel when the author used the word ____? why? 
• Can you think of another word or way of saying ___?

Retrieval Questions:

• What happened when ____?
• How does the story end?
• Was there a dilemma in the story? How was it solved?
• Who is/are the main character/s in the story?

Sequencing Questions:

• Who did you meet first in the story?
• Can you retell the story?
• What happened first/next/after/last in the story?
• What would happen if I didn't read this book in order?

Inference Questions:

• Why do you think ___?
• Can you explain why ___?
• What do you think the character is feeling/saying/thinking at this point?
• What effect did the author want to create by ____?

Prediction Questions:

• What do you think the book is going to be about?
• What do you think is going to happen next?
• What features do you expect to see in this text?
• How do you think this will end?

Practise makes progress!