Reading

Reception – Reading Comprehension Questions 

Retrieval  

• What is happening in the picture? 

• How is the character feeling? 

• Where does this story take place? 

• When did the story take place? 

• Describe the main character. (Young, old, friendly, miserable, lonely, popular…) 

• Where do they live? 

• Who are the characters in the book? 

Sequencing 

• What happened in the story? 

• How does the story make you feel? 

• What do you think about the ending of the story? 

Prediction 

• Does the character remind you of anyone? 

• Why do you think the character did that? 

• Why do you think the character did that? 

• What do you think will happen next? 

Year 1 Reading Comprehension Questions 

Retrieval  

• Can you describe what you have just read in your own words? 

• Who solved the problem in the story? What did they do? 

• What was the first thing that happened in the story? 

• Can you list 3 main events in the story? 

• Has this ever happened to you? 

• Do you know someone like this? 

• Could this happen here? 

Sequencing 

• Use three sentences to describe the beginning, middle and end of this text? 

• What happened at each part of the story? 

Inference 

• How can you tell whether the character is happy or sad? 

• Why do you think it is summer/winter? 

• Was the character good or bad? Explain your answer? 

• Why do you think the character did what they did? 

• Can you explain why? 

Prediction 

• From the title, what do you think might happen in this book? 

• From the title, what character might we find in this book/ 

• Look at the cover/title/first few lines. What do you think will happen next? How have they helped you come up with this idea? 

• What do you think will happen to the character? Why do you think this? 

• What do you think might happen next? Why do you think that? 

Year 2 – Reading Comprehension Questions 

Retrieval  

• Can you describe what you have just read in your own words? 

• Who solved the problem in the story? What did they do? 

• What was the first thing that happened in the story? 

• Can you list 3 main events in the story? 

• Where in the book would you find…? 

• What is the setting of the story? 

• Can you find X fact in the story? 

• Which specific word / phrase tells you that…? 

• Which words are the most important to read and understand in this sentence? 

• Which are the adjectives? Nouns? 

Sequencing 

• Use three sentences to describe the beginning, middle and end of this text? 

• Sort these sentences form the story in order. 

• What does character X do in the middle of the story? 

• What happened at the end / start of the story? 

Inference 

• Was the character good or bad? Explain your answer? 

• Why do you think the character did what they did? 

• What evidence do you have to justify your opinion? Can you show me where? 

• Can you explain why? 

• Explain the passage you have just read in your own words. What are the important points? Why are these the important points? 

• Why do you think the author choose those words/phrases? 

• Why do you think the author wrote this text? 

• What do you think the author intended when they wrote this? Why do you think this? 

Prediction 

• From the title, what do you think might happen in this book? 

• From the title, what character might we find in this book/ 

• Look at the cover/title/first few lines. What do you think will happen next? How have they helped you come up with this idea? 

• What do you think will happen to the character? Why do you think this? 

• What do you think might happen next? Why do you think that? 

Year 3 – Reading Comprehension Questions 

Retrieval  

• Can you summarise what you have just read? 

• What was the key event or point? 

• Where did this passage take place? 

• Can you find…? 

• Show me where… 

• Can you find me the names of the characters/setting? 

• What would you use a fiction / non-fiction text for? 

• What type of text is this? How do you know? 

• What purpose does x feature have in this text? 

Inference 

• What do you think might happened next? Why? 

• Why did this character behave in this way? 

• What are the key messages from this passage? 

• Why do you think they felt this way? 

• What atmosphere is the author trying to create? 

Language 

• Can you explain the meaning of … word? 

• Can you find the adjectives/similes/adverbs in the text? 

• What effect does this word have on the meaning of the text? 

• Why has the author chosen the words… to describe the character/setting? 

• Which words from this passage could you use in your own writing? 

• Why has the author used a short sentence in this paragraph? 

Responding to text 

• Why do you think the author wrote this text? 

• What message is the author trying to tell us? 

• What happened on this page? 

• How does the author want you to feel? 

• What do you think the author was thinking when they wrote this? 

• What was … thinking when he did that? 

Themes and conventions 

• How is this book similar to one you have read before? 

• Is this story set in this country? How do we know this? 

Year 4 – Reading Comprehension Questions 

Retrieval  

• Can you summarise the text in X sentences? 

• How do you know that these are the main points? 

• Find and tell me one word/group of words that tell you the character… 

• What would help you scan for a character’s name? 

• What are the main organisation features that have been used in this text? 

• How do bullet points help the reader understand the text? 

• How does the layout of the story help build suspense? 

Inference 

• What do you think might happened next? Why? 

• Were you expecting the character to act this way? Why? 

• How is the character acting? What evidence have we got that suggests they are going this? 

• Why do you think you think the character has acted like that? 

• Can you think of any reasons why this character has decided to behave like that? 

Language 

• Can you explain the meaning of … word? 

• Can you find examples of expanded noun phrases/adverbial phrase/ simile in the text? 

• What does … mean? 

• Why has the writer chosen to use this word? 

• Can you identify a range of sentence types that have been used in this text? 

• Which words do you think you could use in your own writing/spoken language? 

Responding to text 

• Why has this text been written? 

• How do you think the writer wants the reader to react to the text? 

• What do we mean by viewpoint, or point of view in a text? 

Themes and conventions 

• How is this book similar to one you have read before? 

• Is this story set in this country? How do we know this? 

Year 5 – Reading Comprehension Questions 

Retrieval  

• What do you think is the main event/point/message in this section of the text? 

• Find and tell me one word/group of words that tells you the character… 

• If I wanted to know about… which part of the text should I look at? 

• Can you quickly trace your eyes over the text to find the main characters? 

• What type of text could this be? 

• What type of characters does this author include in their stories? 

• When you look at this text, what is the first thing you notice? 

Inference 

• Ask children to predict at several points in the text, including at the end. What do you think is going to happen in the next few paragraphs? 

• Were you expecting…to happen at that point? Why? Why not? 

• What does the description of the setting/character tell us about the genre of this story? 

• Do you think this was the correct way to behave? Why? Why not? 

• Do you think the characters have reasons for behaving like that? 

Language 

• Why do you think the author chose this word instead of…? 

• What devices have been used in this text that help with the description? 

• Why would the author choose to use this word? 

• Which of these words would be good to use in your writing? 

• What do you notice about the sentence structure in this text? 

Responding to text 

• Why has the writer used diagrams in this text? 

• Can you find evidence from the beginning, middle and end to support your view of the character? 

• Are these characters similar or different? 

Themes and conventions 

• What would you say the theme of this text could be? What evidence is there to suggest that this could be the theme? 

• Can you work out / do you know the time in history which this text is set? 

Year 6 – Reading Comprehension Questions 

Retrieval  

• Who/What/Where/Why/How/When…? 

• What event made...want to/do…? 

• What conclusion does…draw from this…? 

• Using information from the text, is this true or false? 

• What do you think is the main event/point/message in this section of the text? 

• Find and tell me one word/group of words that tells you the character… 

• If I wanted to know about… which part of the text should I look at? 

• Can you quickly trace your eyes over the text to find the main characters? 

• What type of text could this be? 

• What type of characters does this author include in their stories? 

• When you look at this text, what is the first thing you notice? 

Inference 

• Ask children to predict at several points in the text, including at the end. What do you think is going to happen in the next few paragraphs? 

• Were you expecting…to happen at that point? Why? Why not? 

• What does the description of the setting/character tell us about the genre of this story? 

• Do you think this was the correct way to behave? Why? Why not? 

• Do you think the characters have reasons for behaving like that? 

• Why did … feel…? 

• What else in the text tells us that …? 

• Explain how…felt about it…? 

Language 

• Why do you think the author chose this word instead of…? 

• What devices have been used in this text that help with the description? 

• Why would the author choose to use this word? 

• Which of these words would be good to use in your writing? 

• What do you notice about the sentence structure in this text? 

• Explain why the word…has been used? 

• What do phrases like…tell us? 

• Why did the author use this simile? 

• Give one example of the use of (e.g. humour) in the text.  

Responding to text 

• Why has the writer used diagrams in this text? 

• Can you find evidence from the beginning, middle and end to support your view of the character? 

• Are these characters similar or different? 

Themes and conventions 

• What would you say the theme of this text could be? What evidence is there to suggest that this could be the theme? 

• Can you work out / do you know the time in history which this text is set? 

Reading-Progression