What's included in the Adaptive Reading Practice A Roman Messenger pack and why is it useful?

Year 4 Adaptive Reading Practice A Roman Messenger (Working Towards Pack 3) pack is designed to help you deliver a full sequence of reading sessions built around a single short text, in small steps before pupils move on to independent comprehension work. The pack helps you cover pre-teaching, fluency, sequencing and comprehension in one place, prompting moments to assess understanding, address misconceptions and move children onto independent tasks.

Each pack has been carefully designed, along with core materials and supporting materials, to help you guide children on their own journey and ensure progress for every child, not just the average child. A different year group specific theme is used as a setting, and these can be found in our adaptive reading resources here.

An on-screen PowerPoint version of the pack is also available as part of the download. This can be used alongside the worksheets for in-class group, whole-class discussion or to reduce printing.

A Roman Messenger links to the theme of the Romans. Marcus, a Roman messenger, is sent through a forest at dusk with orders not to stop until he reaches the camp. The usual sounds of birds and animals are missing, and the silence unsettles him. He finds a campfire with ashes that are still warm and a set of fresh tracks leading off the path, and realises someone else is nearby. Gripping the sword he has barely used, he hurries on. Then he hears footsteps behind him, and before he can turn, a hand closes around his shoulder.

Each pack follows this structure:

Core Materials

• The Text - A Roman Messenger, used with the dictogloss and as a reference point throughout the pack. Includes key Year 3 and Year 4 words (caught, difficult, heart, recent, through) and spelling rules (y → i before adding -ed and doubling the final consonant before -ed) for further GPS opportunities. The text is linked to the history topic of the Romans.

• Image - Children discuss a scene from the text and answer two questions to encourage retrieval and inference.

• Dictogloss - The teacher models reading the text (or a section) two or three times before children first read it themselves, reducing cognitive load. Children make notes, then work together to reconstruct the text.

• Fluency Booster - A copy of the text alongside four activities: Beat Your Time, Skim and Scan, Vocab Checker and Partner Read, which can be repeated as needed.

• Comprehension - Retrieval, inference, vocabulary, prediction, effect of language and summary questions, with scaffolds included in the PowerPoint to support adaptive teaching.

Supporting Materials (used adaptively, individually or as a whole class)

• Vocab Pre-teach - Key vocabulary with images to encourage children to ask questions and make predictions about the story, using six words: messenger, centurion, camp, campfire, tracks and cloak.

• Sequencing - A set of three activities (a story mountain, ordering the text and creating the order) for children who require more sequencing practice.

• Task Boards - Tasks based on recall, explaining and justifying. Use as an assessment tool. Tasks are repeated across the sheets for printing purposes. Cut 1 task out per child. Children are not expected to (but can) complete all three questions.

• Extended Thinking - A challenge to develop evaluation skills, asking children to decide whether Marcus made the right choice to keep walking towards the Roman camp instead of turning back when the forest fell silent.

How do our Adaptive Reading Practice resources work?

Our Adaptive Reading Practice resources provide targeted, responsive support so that every child can access the same reading material at the right level of challenge. They work best used together across a number of sessions throughout the week, rather than in a single lesson.

• Start with discussing the image then complete the dictogloss activity using the teacher model read of the text.

• If required, introduce key vocabulary using the pre-teach before the children encounter the text.

• Use the fluency booster and if adaptive teaching is needed, provide the sequencing / task boards to provide extra support before moving on.

• Children will then move on to the comprehension activity to access the retrieval, inference, vocabulary, prediction, effect of language and summary questions.

• Challenge children using the Extended Thinking task to provide further stretch and depth.

Packs provide as many reading opportunities as possible, and teachers should use discretion over which resources are necessary for their class before printing.

The stories use topics that are common across schools as a setting or story element. This keeps reading skills as the main focus while helping children make links to previous or current learning.

Each year will have 5x Working Towards, 10x Expected and 3x Greater Depth packs, progressing across the year alongside vocabulary, statutory spellings and spelling rules. Start with the five Working Towards texts in autumn – pack 1, pack 2 etc. – and then move to expected when your class is ready.

Adaptive Reading Practice resources are not a separate lower-attainment route. They provide temporary and responsive support to help pupils access the same intended learning.