What's included in the KS2 Christmas Rise and Read resource and why is it useful?

KS2 Christmas Rise and Read is a set of five short reading sessions about the traditions and true meaning of Christmas. Each session explores a different part of Christmas, so children build their knowledge of the celebration while practising key reading skills.

Session 1: a story about two children on Christmas Eve, with retrieval and purpose questions

Session 2: an information text about how Christmas is celebrated, with vocabulary and inference questions

Session 3: a photograph of a cat in a Christmas tree, with prediction and inference questions

Session 4: a quotation from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with inference and purpose questions

Session 5: a Christmas poem, with a drawing activity

How do our KS2 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.

Across the five sessions, children meet a variety of text types and images while practising skills such as retrieval, vocabulary, inference and prediction. Assessment-style questions sit alongside less formal activities, giving regular practice without needing a full comprehension test.

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 a great way to mark Christmas.