What's included in the KS1 Winter Solstice Rise and Read resource and why is it useful?

KS1 Winter Solstice Rise and Read is a set of four short reading sessions about the shortest day and longest night of the year. Each session is displayed on your whiteboard, so children can read together, answer on mini whiteboards or simply talk about their ideas.

Session 1: an information text about the winter solstice, with retrieval and purpose questions

Session 2: a story about Musa's winter solstice, with vocabulary and inference questions

Session 3: a photograph of people around a fire in the snow, with prediction and inference questions

Session 4: a poem about the winter solstice, with a question about rhyming words

How do our KS1 Rise and Read resources work?

Rise and Read gives children a quick and purposeful way to settle, refocus and get ready to learn through reading. Use a session as morning work, after break or following lunch to give pupils an immediate focus as they come into the classroom.

Display each session on your whiteboard for whole-class reading practice, guided reading or small-group intervention. The questions give children regular opportunities to explain, justify and discuss their ideas.

Short texts and real-world images keep the reading load manageable for young readers, while children practise key skills such as retrieval, vocabulary, inference and prediction.

We have a full range of Rise and Read resources for KS1 and KS2, covering famous people, significant historical events, festivals and celebrations, sporting events and other topical occasions throughout the year.

This resource is ideal for marking the winter solstice in your classroom.