- The seed swapUnderstanding stories & texts
- Greenhouse cluesUnderstanding stories & texts
- Bridge evidenceUnderstanding stories & texts
- Council evidenceUnderstanding stories & texts
- Compare the accountsUnderstanding stories & texts
- Story detectivesReading comprehension
For parents and teachers
These english games bring together related learning across Years 1 to 6. Start with a familiar skill, then try the next challenge when your child is ready. A school may teach these ideas in a different order; use the curriculum statements below to choose a suitable game.
The quoted headings and statements come from the National Curriculum in England. Every game links to learning guidance. Free printables are offered where available. Talk through a question together before playing independently, and use the printable to return to a tricky idea away from the screen.
More practice across the years
Year 2: The seed swap
This original short text practises retrieving information and explaining a simple reason. Encourage children to point to the sentence that supports a match. Rereading is helpful and does not reduce the score. After the game, discuss why labels matter and what might have happened if the envelopes had been left unlabelled.
Year 3: Greenhouse clues
Year 3 comprehension begins to connect a character’s actions and feelings with evidence. Greenhouse clues separates observations from accusations. The small footprint may support an idea about who was nearby, but it does not prove who tipped over the seedlings. Children retrieve details, connect clues and consider why Nina records the evidence before telling the teacher. Ask whether finding Mr Shah with a watering can proves he caused the spill. His dusty boots differ from the muddy footprints, and the story does not say he moved the tray. Explain the difference between a possibility and a conclusion that the available evidence can support. Afterwards, discuss what another useful question might be.
Year 4: Bridge evidence
Year 4 comprehension links a character’s motivation and decisions to evidence across a passage. Bridge evidence asks why Omar considers the short route and what changes his decision. The closed notice is important, but the shifting board supplies another concrete clue. Children retrieve information, explain a cause and connect details from different parts of an original short story. Ask whether Omar simply forgot his friends or chose a different priority after seeing the board move. Refer to the shorter bridge route, the repairer’s test and the map before explaining the conclusion. Then discuss how the account would change if the moving board were omitted: the notice would still matter, but the reader would lose one piece of evidence.
Year 5: Council evidence
Year 5 comprehension includes considering viewpoints, distinguishing what is reported from what is hoped for and checking the limits of evidence. Council evidence offers an original account of a fictional survey and two responses to it. The majority preference is a finding about the surveyed pupils, not proof that every pupil agrees or that the survey represents those who were absent. Ask whether Maya’s peaceful-garden prediction has already been demonstrated. The passage presents it as an expected benefit, while the council’s next step is a location trial. Compare that viewpoint with Dan’s concern about the path. A useful summary preserves both the preference for a garden and the unresolved practical question, without inventing a final decision.
Year 6: Compare the accounts
Year 6 comprehension compares accounts, distinguishes evidence from opinion and checks the limits of a claim. Compare the accounts uses two original fictional reports of a river clean-up. The shared quantity can be retrieved from both, while the volunteer’s claim about the best project ever is attributed as an opinion. A proposed follow-up must not be reported as something already observed. Ask whether thirty-five bags prove that this was the town’s best project. The quantity records one result, while the comparison with every earlier project is not supplied. Build a short summary that preserves the shared evidence and attributes the opinion to its speaker. Then explain what the proposed later check might establish and why it cannot already support a conclusion.
Year 1: Story detectives
Read clues and explore the park to find Mia’s missing hat.