Text 1 · Early Year 1
Gary the Hedgehog
Gary is a hedgehog. He has spines on his back. He has a soft tummy.
Gary sleeps in the day. He wakes up at night. He likes to run. He likes to eat bugs.
Gary is a good pet.
What a child will be able to do
Word reading
- Recognise and say the sounds for all the letters and common letter groups
- Blend sounds to read unfamiliar words
- Read common exception words on sight
- Read words with common endings — s, es, ing, ed, er, est
Comprehension
- Answer questions about what has been read
- Find information in a text
- Make simple predictions and inferences
- Talk about what they liked and why
Writing
- Form letters correctly
- Write simple sentences with a capital letter and full stop
- Spell common words correctly
- Join sentences using and, but, because
A note on pace
Some Year 1 children read fluently; some Year 2 children are still securing single sounds. Start where the child is, not where the year group says they should be.
Part 1 — Phonics
Phonics is how children learn that letters stand for sounds, and that sounds can be blended into words.
The order sounds are taught
| Phase | Sounds | Example words |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | s a t p i n | sat, pin, tap, nip |
| 2 | m d g o c k | mad, dog, sock, kit |
| 3 | ck e u r h b | back, red, run, hut |
| 4 | f l ff ll ss | fun, leg, off, hill, hiss |
| 5 | j v w x y z zz qu | jam, van, wet, box, yes, buzz |
| 6 | ch sh th ng | chip, ship, this, ring |
| 7 | ai ee igh oa oo | rain, feet, night, boat, moon |
| 8 | ar or ur ow oi | car, fork, turn, cow, coin |
| 9 | ear air ure er | hear, hair, sure, letter |
💡 Two words worth knowing
Phoneme — a sound. The word cat has three phonemes: c-a-t. Grapheme — the letter or letters that make a sound; in ship, the grapheme "sh" makes one phoneme. Children don't need the terms — adults teaching them do, because "how many sounds in night?" is three (n-igh-t), not five.
Blending — how reading actually works
Sound out each phoneme, then push them together. Start small:
c - a - t → cat p - i - g → pig f - r - o - g → frog sh - e - ll → shell
⚠️ The most common adult mistake
Saying "cuh - a - tuh" instead of "c - a - t." Adding "uh" to the end of consonants makes blending almost impossible — "cuh-a-tuh" doesn't sound like "cat." Say the sounds pure and short. A small change that makes an enormous difference.
Segmenting — how spelling works
Blending is for reading; segmenting is the reverse, for writing. The child wants to write fish: say the word slowly, count the sounds on fingers — f - i - sh, three sounds — and write a grapheme for each.
Tricky words — learned by sight
Year 1: the, a, do, to, today, of, said, says, are, were, was, is, his, has, I, you, your, they, be, he, me, she, we, no, go, so, by, my, here, there, where, love, come, some, one, once, ask, friend, school, put, push, pull, full, house, our
Year 2: door, floor, poor, because, find, kind, mind, behind, child, children, wild, climb, most, only, both, old, cold, gold, hold, told, every, everybody, even, great, break, steak, pretty, beautiful, after, fast, last, past, father, class, grass, pass, plant, path, bath, hour, move, prove, improve, sure, sugar, eye, could, should, would, who, whole, any, many, clothes, busy, people, water, again, half, money, Mr, Mrs, parents, Christmas
How to practise them
Not by writing them out ten times — that teaches copying, not reading. Better: put six on cards and play snap, hide them round the room, or make a silly sentence using three of them. A child who has laughed at a word remembers it.
Part 2 — Reading: the texts
Three texts, getting harder. Each has questions afterwards. The stories are original and free to read aloud, print and re-read.
Questions for Text 1
- What is Gary?
- Where are his spines?
- Is his tummy hard or soft?
- When does Gary sleep?
- What does Gary like to eat?
- Would you like a hedgehog? Say why.
Text 2 · Year 1 / early Year 2
Rosie's Big Day
Rosie is a parrot. She is pink and grey and very loud.
Every morning, Rosie shouts hello to everyone who walks past her cage. She has learned to say six words, and one of them is "biscuit."
One day, someone left Rosie's cage door open. Rosie stepped out. She looked around. Then she flew up to the top of the bookshelf and sat there, looking very pleased with herself.
"Rosie!" said Ciera. "Come down." Rosie did not come down.
Ciera got a chair. Rosie flew to the curtain rail. Ciera got a ladder. Rosie flew to the light.
At last, Ciera went and got a biscuit. She held it up and said nothing at all. Rosie flew straight down and landed on her arm.
"You," said Ciera, "are not as clever as you think." But Rosie had the biscuit, so perhaps she was.
Questions for Text 2
- What kind of animal is Rosie?
- What two colours is she?
- How many words has Rosie learned?
- Why do you think someone left the cage door open?
- Where did Rosie go first when she got out?
- Why did Rosie come down for the biscuit?
- What does the last sentence mean? Do you think Rosie was clever?
- How do you think Ciera felt when Rosie flew to the light? Choose a word and say why.
Text 3 · Year 2
The Tortoise Who Would Not Hurry
Marvin is a giant tortoise. He is very old and very heavy, and he does everything slowly.
He eats slowly. He walks slowly. When he decides to move from one end of the garden to the other, it can take him most of the morning.
Some visitors find this disappointing. They come to see a giant tortoise and they expect something exciting to happen. When Marvin simply sits in the sun, chewing a dandelion, they say, "Is that all he does?"
But the children who come back a second time notice something. If you sit down near Marvin and stay very still, he will slowly, slowly turn his head and look at you. He will take a long time about it. And then he will carry on eating, because he has decided you are not interesting enough to worry about.
That is the thing about Marvin. He is not slow because he is lazy. He is slow because nothing in the world has ever needed to hurry him. He has a shell, so nothing can eat him. He eats plants, so nothing runs away. He will live for a hundred years, so there is plenty of time.
Marvin knows something the visitors do not. There is no rush.
Questions for Text 3
- What kind of animal is Marvin?
- Name two things Marvin does slowly.
- Why are some visitors disappointed?
- What do the children who come back a second time notice?
- Find and copy a word that means the same as fat or not light.
- Why does Marvin not need to hurry? Give two reasons from the text.
- The text says Marvin "is not slow because he is lazy." What is the difference?
- What do you think the last line means?
Part 3 — Understanding what you read
Three kinds of question, getting harder.
1. Finding — the answer is in the words
What colour is Rosie? → Pink and grey. It says so. Point at it.
2. Thinking — the answer is not in the words
Why did Rosie come down for the biscuit? The text doesn't say — but we know she can say "biscuit," so we can work out that she likes biscuits.
💡 The question to ask a child
"How do you know?" Not to catch them out — to make them look back at the text. Children who get used to pointing at where they found it are doing exactly what a comprehension paper wants years later.
3. Opinion — no wrong answer, but you must say why
Would you like a hedgehog? "Yes, because they are cute" — half an answer. "No, because they wake up at night and I would be asleep" — a whole one. The word is because. A child who uses it is giving a reason, and that's the skill.
Part 4 — Writing
Letter formation
Every letter starts in the right place and moves the right way. A child who forms letters wrongly writes slowly for years afterwards.
| Group | Letters | Start |
|---|---|---|
| Curly caterpillars | c a d g o q e s f | Top, round anticlockwise |
| Long ladders | l i t u j y | Top, straight down |
| One-armed robots | r b n h m k p | Down, back up, over |
| Zigzag monsters | v w x z | Diagonal lines |
A sentence
A sentence needs a capital letter at the start, a full stop at the end, and it must make sense on its own.
| ✅ | The hedgehog is asleep. |
| ❌ | the hedgehog is asleep (no capital, no full stop) |
| ❌ | The hedgehog (doesn't make sense on its own) |
Making sentences longer
| Word | Use it to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| and | add | The rabbit is white and it has long ears. |
| but | show a difference | Rosie is loud but she is friendly. |
| because | give a reason | Marvin is slow because he does not need to hurry. |
The most useful word in KS1 — because
It turns a statement into a reason, and reasons are what every comprehension question, every science explanation and every piece of persuasive writing will ask for from here to GCSE. Ask "why?" constantly. Accept "because…" as the answer format.
Adjectives — describing words
| Plain | With an adjective |
|---|---|
| the hedgehog | the spiky hedgehog |
| the parrot | the noisy pink parrot |
| the tortoise | the enormous ancient tortoise |
Try to find a better word than nice, big or good. big → enormous, huge, giant, massive · nice → kind, gentle, friendly, lovely · small → tiny, little, minute.
Part 5 — Writing tasks
Task 1 — Sentences Year 1
Write four sentences about an animal you like. Remember: capital letter, full stop, and it must make sense. Try to use one adjective.
Task 2 — Because Year 1/2
Finish each sentence with because:
- I like animals because ________________
- Hedgehogs sleep in the day because ________________
- The tortoise did not hurry because ________________
- Rosie flew down because ________________
Task 3 — A description Year 2
Write a description of an animal. Include: what it looks like (use two adjectives); what it does; something it likes; one sentence with because. Write five or six sentences.
Task 4 — A short story Year 2
Write a story about an animal that gets out. Think about: where does it go? Who tries to catch it? How does it end? Beginning, middle, end — five or six sentences is plenty.
Answers
Text 1 — Gary
1. A hedgehog 2. On his back 3. Soft 4. In the day 5. Bugs 6. Any answer with a reason. "Yes because he is soft" — accept. "Yes" alone — ask why.
Text 2 — Rosie
1. A parrot 2. Pink and grey 3. Six 4. Thinking question. Accept: someone forgot / was in a hurry / didn't shut it properly. 5. The top of the bookshelf 6. Thinking question. She likes biscuits — we know because she has learned to say the word. 7. Opinion. Accept either, with a reason. A strong answer notices the joke: Ciera says Rosie isn't clever, but Rosie got what she wanted. 8. Opinion with a reason. Frustrated, annoyed, tired, amused — any word with a justification.
Text 3 — Marvin
1. A giant tortoise 2. Any two: eats, walks, moves across the garden, turns his head 3. They expect something exciting and he just sits in the sun 4. That if you sit still, he will slowly turn his head and look at you 5. heavy 6. Any two: he has a shell so nothing can eat him; he eats plants so nothing runs away; he will live a hundred years so there is time 7. Thinking question. Lazy means you could hurry but choose not to. Marvin is slow because he has never needed to be fast — it's how he is, not a choice to be idle. 8. Opinion. Accept anything reasoned: that we rush when we don't need to; that Marvin is happy taking his time; that being fast isn't always better.
For the adult
When a child gets stuck reading a word
- Wait. Count to five in your head. Many children get there.
- "Sound it out." Point under each grapheme.
- "What sound does this bit make?" Point at just the hard part.
- Tell them. After about ten seconds, just say it. A child stuck on one word for a minute has lost the sentence, the story and their confidence.
Do not say "you know this one." They don't, in that moment, and being told they should makes it worse.
Reading together
Little and often beats long and rare — ten minutes daily is worth more than an hour on Sunday. Let them re-read favourites — re-reading builds fluency and is not a waste of time. You read some too — taking turns keeps a struggling reader in a story that's too hard alone but not too hard to enjoy. Talk about it afterwards — two questions is plenty; "What was your favourite bit?" is a real question.
If reading is a battle
Some children — particularly autistic children, children with dyslexia, and children who have had a bad time at school — associate reading with failure, and pushing harder makes it worse. Things that help: read to them for a while with no expectation that they read back; let them choose the book, even if it seems too easy or too hard; non-fiction counts — football statistics count, a care guide for their own pet counts; take the pressure off the reading and keep the stories.
A child who loves stories and can't yet read is in a much better position than a child who can read and hates it. Protect the love of stories first.
Handwriting
Correct formation matters more than neatness at this age. Check the pencil grip early — it's much harder to change later. If writing is physically painful or exhausting, say so to whoever is teaching them; some children need a different grip, a slope board, or to type. That's not giving up — it's removing an obstacle.
Teaching notes
Pure sounds are the single most important technical point. "Cuh-a-tuh" cannot be blended into "cat." Many adults teaching phonics at home have never been told this, and fixing it transforms a child's progress in days.
"Because" is the highest-value word in KS1. Every subject from here on asks for reasons. A child who habitually explains why is being prepared for comprehension, science, history and every extended answer they will ever write.
Text 3 is deliberately harder than it looks. "He is not slow because he is lazy" requires holding two ideas at once, and the last line is genuinely open. Some Year 2 children will get there; others won't yet, and that's fine — it's there to stretch, not to sort.
The three animals recur across this scheme. Gary, Rosie and Marvin appear in the KS2 and KS3 material too. A child who meets them at five and again at eleven has a thread through their learning — and for children who have moved schools or had disrupted education, that continuity is worth something in itself.
Keep the animals real. The details in these texts — a parrot that says "biscuit," a tortoise that takes all morning to cross a garden — are true of actual animals. Children notice when writing is invented and when it isn't.