Language Comprehension: Don’t Leave It Stranded

FREE GUIDE FOR SCHOOL AND TRUST LEADERS

Accurate decoding. But are pupils understanding what they read?

When pupils can read the words but struggle with meaning, leaders need to look beyond decoding. Vocabulary, sentence understanding and background knowledge all contribute to pupils’ ability to learn from text.

Download Language Comprehension: Don’t Leave It Stranded, by Dr Lynne Kulich, to explore how evidence-informed classroom practice can strengthen this essential part of your literacy strategy.

Inside, you’ll explore:

• Why decoding alone is not enough: What the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough’s Reading Rope mean for literacy provision.
• Why language development cannot wait: Supporting comprehension alongside phonics from the start.
• Three practical areas to strengthen: Reading aloud, structured classroom talk and explicit vocabulary teaching.
• What leaders can review: Teaching consistency, professional development and opportunities to build language and knowledge across the curriculum.

Use the guide to inform your next leadership discussion: does your literacy approach develop language comprehension as deliberately as decoding?

For headteachers, trust leaders, primary curriculum leaders and literacy leads.