Comprehension is the ability to read a text, process it and understand it. Comprehension falls under 6 general categories:

• Vocabulary – we teach children to know what to do if they don’t know the meaning of a word
• Inference – we teach children to look for clues that may be hidden in the text
• Prediction – we teach children to use their previous experiences and reading to work out what might be happening, or what might happen next
• Explanation – we teach children to explain the reasons for events in the story, and find evidence in the text to support their answer
• Retrieval – we teach children to look out for explicit information that is shared in the text that helps to add meaning to the story / nonfiction
• Sequencing and summarising

We teach comprehension with a focus on these 6 categories, to ensure that children gain a well-rounded understanding of a text. To teach these different skills, we model to the children how to carry out these skills, we share with them the steps to take to be successful and we then practise these skills either through verbal discussions or through written questions.