This comprehension pack includes three classic poems by Robert Louis Stevenson: From a Railway Carriage; My Shadow; and The Land of Story-Books.
Each poem is accompanied by a series of comprehension questions to develop skills of retrieval, vocabulary, inference and summarising, with sections that focus on each skill.
How could I use this resource?
The resource could be used in a number of ways:
- The poems could be read with pupils preparing performances of these KS2 poems.
- During whole class reading, the poems could be read and discussed using the comprehension questions, focusing on a particular skill.
- The poems could be used as part of focused guided reading, developing pupils’ understanding of poetry and developing comprehension skills.
- Pupils could read and complete the comprehension questions as part of independent practice.
- The classic poems could be used to inspire writing, exploring the authors use of imagery in poetry, with pupils creating their own poetry in a similar style.
National Curriculum English programme of study links
Year 3/4
Pupils should develop positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by
- preparing poems and play scripts to tread aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action
- recognising some different forms of poetry [ for example, free verse, narrative poetry]
Pupils should be taught to understand what they read, in books they can read independently by
- checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of words in context
- drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence
- identifying main ideas from more than one paragraph and summarising these
Pupils should be taught to participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those that they can read for themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say.
Year 5/6
Pupils should be taught to maintain positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by
- learning a wider range of poetry by heart
- preparing poems and plays to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone and volume so that the meaning is clear to the audience
Pupils should be taught to understand what they read by
- checking that the book makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and exploring the meaning of words in context
- drawing inferences such as inferring characters feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions and justifying inferences with evidence
- summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identofying key details that support the main ideas