Comprehension — Year 2 English

Year 2 reading comprehension: what pupils learn

Year 2 comprehension moves pupils from decoding words to understanding and discussing what they read, including stories, non-fiction and poetry.

Following the National Curriculum, Year 2 pupils learn to:

• listen to, discuss and express views about a wide range of texts, including fairy stories, myths and poems
• discuss the sequence of events in books, and how information in non-fiction is related
• become increasingly familiar with and retell a wider range of stories and traditional tales
• discuss and clarify the meanings of new words, linking them to words they already know
• check that a text makes sense as they read, and self-correct when it doesn’t
• make inferences based on what is said and done in a text
• predict what might happen next, based on what has been read so far
• answer and ask questions about a text, and take part in discussion

Key vocabulary

sequence, retell, infer, inference, predict, prediction, non-fiction, fiction, character, setting

How it builds

Year 2 builds on listening to and talking about stories in Year 1. In Year 3, pupils tackle longer texts independently, identify themes, and begin to justify their views about a book with evidence from the text.

Frequently asked questions

What does “making an inference” mean for a 6 or 7 year old?
Working out something the text doesn’t say directly. If a character “slammed the door and stomped upstairs”, a child can infer they are angry, even though the word “angry” never appears.

Why does predicting matter?
Guessing what happens next, and checking the guess against what actually happens, keeps a child actively thinking about the story rather than just reading the words.

How can I support reading comprehension at home?
Pause while reading together to ask “why do you think they did that?” or “what do you think will happen next?”, and talk about new words in the story.

Start with our free resources, or get every Year 2 English lesson with a membership.