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PawSteps · Navigators

Reading & Writing Workbook

Comprehension that goes deeper, writing that gets stronger · Ages 7–14

✔ Fiction comprehension — with FIND, THINK and WHY questions clearly labelled
✔ Non-fiction comprehension — real animal facts
✔ Inference training: "the text doesn't SAY it — how do you know?"
✔ Paragraph burger builder · non-fiction report scaffold
✔ Editing checklist that makes self-checking automatic
✔ Answer key included · SEND-friendly layout, no clutter

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Navigators · Reading 1

Fiction: The Night the Fence Blew Down

Name:

Date:

The Night the Fence Blew Down

Marta heard it before she saw it — a crack like a branch snapping, then the long groan of old wood giving up. By morning, the storm had passed and the back fence lay flat across the frosty grass.

That was when the visitors started. First a fox, trotting through the gap like he owned the place. Then two fat pigeons, arguing over the bird table. By Thursday, a hedgehog had moved into the pile of broken fence panels, and Marta had started leaving out saucers of water.

"We need to fix that fence," said Dad, on Saturday.

Marta looked at the hedgehog's pile, at the muddy fox prints, at the garden that suddenly felt twice as alive. "Or," she said slowly, "we could fix it… with a hole in the bottom."

Answer the questions. The labels tell you what KIND of thinking each one needs.

FIND1. What did Marta hear first?

FIND2. Which THREE animals visited the garden?

THINK3. What season do you think it is? Find TWO clues in the text.

THINK4. Why does Marta suggest fixing the fence "with a hole in the bottom"?

WHY5. The author says the wood "gave up". Wood isn't alive — why is this a good way to describe it?

WHY6. How do Marta's feelings about the broken fence change through the story?

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Navigators · Reading 2

Non-Fiction: The Octopus — Ocean Genius

Name:

Date:

The Octopus — Ocean Genius

The octopus might be the strangest genius on Earth. It has three hearts, blue blood, and no bones at all — which means a full-grown octopus can squeeze through a gap the size of a coin.

Octopuses are famous escape artists. In aquariums, they have been known to lift the lids of their tanks, slide across the floor, and climb into other tanks to steal crabs. One octopus in New Zealand, nicknamed Inky, escaped through a drainpipe and made it all the way back to the sea.

Most surprisingly of all, each of an octopus's eight arms contains its own bundle of nerve cells — meaning each arm can taste, touch and "think" partly by itself. Scientists sometimes describe the octopus as nine brains wearing one body.

Answer the questions:

FIND1. How many hearts does an octopus have?

FIND2. What was the escaping octopus called, and where did it escape to?

THINK3. Why can an octopus fit through a coin-sized gap?

THINK4. Explain "nine brains wearing one body" in your own words.

WHY5. The author calls the octopus a "genius" and an "escape artist". Find one FACT from the text that supports each word.

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Navigators · Reading 3

Inference — Reading Between the Lines

Name:

Date:

Writers don't tell you everything — they leave clues. Inference = clue + what you already know. Detectives, assemble.

What can you work out? Write your inference AND the clue that proves it.

1. "Ben tiptoed past the kitchen, holding his muddy boots in one hand."

I can infer:

My clue:

2. "The dog sat by the front door for the third hour, ears up at every passing car."

I can infer:

My clue:

3. "Priya read the message, put her phone face-down, and stared out of the window for a long time."

I can infer:

My clue:

⭐ Reverse challenge: write TWO sentences that let the reader infer someone is nervous — without using the words nervous, scared or worried.

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Navigators · Writing 1

The Paragraph Burger

Name:

Date:

Every solid paragraph is a burger: top bun (main idea) → fillings (details and examples) → bottom bun (wrap-up). No fillings = sad empty bun. No buns = mess everywhere.

🍞 TOP BUN — my main idea sentence (pick a topic: best animal ever / why school should start later / greatest game of all time):

🥬 FILLING 1 — a reason or fact:

🍅 FILLING 2 — another reason, or an example:

🧀 FILLING 3 — your best evidence or detail:

🍞 BOTTOM BUN — wrap it up (link back to the main idea):

Now write it out as one flowing paragraph — join your sentences with connectives: because, also, for example, however, finally.

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Navigators · Writing 2

Non-Fiction Report Builder

Name:

Date:

Write a report about an animal you know well (or research one!). Reports use headings, facts and NO "I think" — just information, organised.

TITLE — the animal:

OPENING — one sentence saying what this report is about:

HEADING 1: Appearance — what does it look like? (size, colour, special features)

HEADING 2: Habitat — where does it live and why does that suit it?

HEADING 3: Diet & behaviour — what does it eat and do?

WOW FACT — end with the fact that makes people say "no way!":

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Navigators · Writing 3

Edit Like a Pro

Name:

Date:

First drafts are SUPPOSED to have mistakes — professionals write badly first and fix it after. Editing is the superpower.

Fix this disaster — it has 8 mistakes (capitals, full stops, spelling, a missing word). Rewrite it correctly:

last saturday me and my brother went to the beech we found a crab in a rock pool it pinched him on the fingar and he screemed so loud that a seagul stole are chips

My editing checklist — use it on EVERYTHING you write (tick as you check):

Capital letters — names + sentence starts

Full stops (read aloud — where you breathe, punctuation lives)

Does every sentence make sense read on its own?

One boring word upgraded (said → whispered? big → enormous?)

Spelling of tricky words checked

Read it aloud once — ears catch what eyes miss

⭐ Now edit YOUR paragraph or report from the previous pages with the checklist. One improvement you made:

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Navigators · Tutor Page

Answer Key

Fiction

1. a crack like a branch snapping · 2. fox, pigeons, hedgehog · 3. winter/autumn — "frosty grass", storm, hedgehog seeking shelter · 4. so animals can keep visiting · 5. personification — makes the fence feel old and tired, adds drama · 6. from surprise → interest → wanting to keep the wildlife

Non-fiction

1. three · 2. Inky; back to the sea · 3. no bones · 4. each arm has nerve cells that partly "think" for themselves · 5. genius: arms that think / escape artist: lifted lids, drainpipe escape

Inference (examples)

1. He's been somewhere muddy he shouldn't / hiding it — clue: tiptoeing, boots in hand · 2. Dog is waiting for its owner — clue: hours at the door, alert to cars · 3. The message upset/shocked her — clue: phone face-down, long stare

Editing — corrected version

"Last Saturday my brother and I went to the beach. We found a crab in a rock pool. It pinched him on the finger and he screamed so loud that a seagull stole our chips." (capitals ×2, full stops, beech→beach, fingar→finger, screemed→screamed, seagul→seagull, are→our, me and my brother→my brother and I)

Tutor note

The FIND/THINK/WHY labels teach children to recognise question TYPES — retrieval, inference, and author-technique. Naming the thinking is half the battle for SEND readers.