Year 6
At the very centre of inspiring reading for pleasure in Year 6 is the element of choice. Readers who are motivated to choose to read are often the ones who are best able to exercise agency over where, when, what and how, knowing that they can read at their own pace in their own way.
Key to this is providing a wide range of appealing and age-appropriate texts for readers to explore. Being exposed to different styles, formats and genres helps children to define themselves as readers, to have a range of alternatives to choose next if something they read is not for them and to make choices about the books that will give them the reading buzz. This process is crucial for children to develop the intrinsic motivation to read and to lay the foundations of a lifelong love of reading.
At the ages of 10 and 11, most children are able to read chapter books and think critically about what they read. They begin to enjoy multi-layered stories that present different characters’ viewpoints about key issues, and to think deeply about books that explore relevant social issues.
With this in mind, our team has carefully selected a balance of different types of books to engage Year 6 children in reading for pleasure - either for reading independently or together with an adult. They have a core set of Traditional Tales, Poems and literature which is classed as 'Literacy Heritage' alongside the Books for Topics 50 Recommended Reads. We at Compass Primary review this annually to ensure that children are familiar with new authors and texts. We also select the children's favourites from the year and send up to their next classroom, so they can continue to enjoy them again and again.
Books for Topics, 2023 - hhttps://www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/recommended-reads/year-6/
Traditional Tales:
Poetry:
Literacy Heritage:
50 Recommended Reads: