National Curriculum Expectations
By Year 3, pupils should be able to read books written at an age-appropriate interest level. They should be able to read them accurately and at a speed that allows them to focus on understanding what they have read, rather than on the decoding of individual words. They should be able to decode most new words outside of their spoken vocabulary, making a good attempt at the word's pronunciation. As their decoding skills become more secure, efforts should be made to introduce children to new words which will increase their vocabulary. This can be done through discussion and by introducing children to a wide range of texts, including stories, poems, plays and non-fiction pieces on a wide range of subjects. They should be able to read these texts independently, fluently and enthusiastically, and should be learning to read silently to themselves.
What this means for parents
1. Allow your child to experience lots of books on many different topics. This goes beyond their school reading book.
2. Encourage your child to attempt to pronounce new words they see on signs or within their environment and model reading these in the correct way.
3. Broaden the vocabulary you use when speaking to your child and be prepared to clarify the meaning of a wider range of words.
4. Ask your child's classteacher if you are unsure of age-appropriate or interesting books for your child.
| Year 3 children are expected to: | To support this, you could say: |
Apply their growing knowledge of root words,prefixes and suffixes, both to read aloud and to understand the meaning of new words they meet. | What is the root word? If we split up the word, are there any parts you recognise? Can we work out the word's meaning from the root word? |
Develop positive attitudes to reading and an understanding of what they have read. | What happened in your story? What genre would you like to read next? What did you love about this text? |
Listen to and discuss a wide range of fiction,poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books. | What did you think about...? Shall we watch the film/theatre version? What are you learning about at school at the moment? Shall we do some research? |
Use dictionaries to check the meaning of words they have read. | Let's use a dictionary to find the meaning of this word? Can you tell me how we use a dictionary? |
Increase their familarity with a wide range of books, including fairy stories, myths and legends, and retell some of these orally. | Do you know the story of...? Shall we learn this story together to tell your younger brother/sister? |
| Identify themes and conventions within texts. | What message do you think this story is trying to tell us? How is this story similar to others you have read? |
Prepare poems and play scripts to read aloud and to perform, showing understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action. | Would you like to read a poem to me after dinner? What voice expression might you use to read this part of the poem? |
Discuss words and phrases that capture the reader's interest and imagination. | Why do you think the author chose this word? What words do you like? Why? Can you use it in a sentence of your own? |
Recognise some forms of poetry (free verse, narrative poetry). | Do you know what type of poem this is? |
| Check that the text makes sense to them. | What does this sentence mean? Did you understand that part of the story? Did the punctuation help you to understand? |
| Discuss their understanding of the text. | Let's summarise this paragraph. Can you remember what happened? |
| Explain the meaning of new words in context. | Have you ever heard of this word? What does it mean? If you're not sure, let's read 'around' the word to help us. Can you use this word in your own sentence? |
Ask questions to improve their understanding of the text. | Is there anything you want to ask that you're unsure about? |
Draw inferences about character's feelings, thoughts and motives. | How do you think...is feeling? What makes you think that? Why did the character make that choice? |
Predict what might happen from the details stated and implied. | What do you think might happen next? Why do you think that? |
Identify the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and summarise. | What has this part of the story been about? Have you spotted a theme in the story? |
Identify how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning? | Why do you think the author has used... in the text? |
Retrieve and record information from non-fiction texts. | What did you learn about? Tell me about... Which part tells you about...? |
Participate in discussion about both books that are read to them and those they can read themselves, taking turns and listening to what others say. | Shall I read this page? What do you think of...? I thought that...Do you think...would like this book? What makes you think that? |