forms to build a shared and social reading experience and community; tune chil- dren into written language of all kinds; demonstrate the ‘rules’ of reading; give challenging reading material as a gift (Pennac: 1994) and support comprehension through the listening ear, (Trelease: 2013). Crucially, when children hear stories read aloud they are not just imagining a character’s actions, thoughts and feeling, they are living them – they are actively being that character – and in doing so they are actively engaged in the act of reading. They are developing a theory of mind.
l Reader response that encourages and draws on personal, intertextual and world knowledge connection to produce layers of understanding, including ‘Response to illustration and book talk’ which is dialogic or conversational and values all responses.
l Revisiting and re-reading texts to explore deeper meanings and connect this to print.
l Shared reading in which the experienced reader models key reading knowledge, strategies and behaviours to the novice reader.
l Looking at language in action through visualisation, annotation and artwork through which the interconnection between talk, reading and writing is both explicit and implicit and children can explore authorial intent and devices.
l Drama, role play and re-enactment which builds an effective response by bringing moments alive and allowing children to make more concrete their understanding and empathy for character, plot dilemmas, etc. Enacting texts through forms of drama, performance and role play provides a strikingly immediate route into the fictional world.
l Performance reading; literally lifting language off the page and making meaning with it for an audience, building greater awareness of readership and the impact of different kinds of written language choices.
These approaches can be successfully adapted for children of all ages and at all
stages of experience and development. Children in the Early Years learn through play and sustained shared thinking with others. and their enjoyment of a book can be highly influenced by the adults and children they trust at home and at school. The foundations of reading should be steeped in feelings of security and wellbeing, in engaging interactions with adults and with texts and reading experiences that excite and enthuse. In an independent evaluation (IES Sutten Trust: 2023), reading, revisiting and responding to a high-quality text over a sustained period was shown to improve communication and language development and support authentic writing processes and opportunities. By unfolding and working with a high-quality book over a sustained period of time, teachers can increase reader engagement and deepen comprehension through rich discussion and a range of creative teaching approaches. (CLPE: 2023)
In our current EEF Randomised Control Trial, Year 5 teachers connected the approach of unfolding a high-quality, class text over a sustained period to the development of cognitive patience in their children, something of increasing importance in children who are living in a gamified, dopamine-driven digital world.
‘CLPE allows immersion and to enjoy reading. The children LOVE reading [their Power of Reading book]. It brings back the awe and wonder as well as deepening the children’s discussions.’
‘I think my approach to writing and following the scheme has in some ways allowed me to take my foot off the gas and allow the children time to explore, discuss and talk about text before getting them to write.’
By unfolding a book of literary merit over a sustained period, teachers can slow down the reading process and demonstrate how a skilled reader makes meaning over time. Expert readers choose what to closely read and revisit in more depth, unconsciously re-reading previous lines or illustrations to check meaning or deepen understanding. By pausing at pivotal moments in an engaging book, it not only creates a sense of shared anticipation and excitement, it provides space and time to stay in the narrative moment, closely read illustration or explore written language together.
Immersion in challenging contemporary children’s literature A fundamental aspect of supporting children to read deeply and build cognitive patience is immersion in high quality, challenging and representative children’s literature. Some books naturally lend themselves to in-depth
34 PEN&INC.
study and it is those we choose for the Power of Reading teaching sequences (
https://tinyurl.com/3uvjxvdy); books with strong human themes, rich models of written language and protagonists with whom today’s children can relate. The exposure to quality texts that reflect realities alongside the opportunity to exercise and develop their skills of reader response and critical reflection support children to become confident, well-read individuals with the capacity to engage with the texts they meet with a depth of criticality and sophistication.
Strong teacher knowledge of each child, their experiences and what motivates them is fundamental to supporting a deeper connection and encouraging sustained engagement. This involves making connections between their social practices (talk, home and community experiences, play and movement) and school literacy practices; between children’s social texts (websites, games, media, messages) and school literacy texts. Active, social and collaborative approaches to reading and reader response are highly motivating. Being given agency, responsibility choice and voice, such as in peer networking and collaboration, dialogue or negotiating a performance reading. Interestingly, the unfolding of a particularly engaging class text can make children feel as though it had been a personal choice. Through this deeper connection with texts, we shift children’s relationship with reading and how they identify as readers. It becomes something they are driven to do, something about which they are enthused, setting them on the path to becoming lifelong readers.
And if we can encourage children to read for pleasure, attentively, and at length, then surely we are safeguarding their future in an ever-changing world. If you are interested in finding out more you can read our Power of Reading Impact Report 2025 (
https://clpe.org.uk/research/power- reading-impact-report-2025). PEN&INC.
Spring-Summer 2026
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