The Early Years projects contain story packs rather than a book and novel study. Guidance for these can be found within the projects on Maestro.

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Why should I use a novel study?

The studies’ comprehension questions cover all the national curriculum reading domains in most cases. For an immersive learning experience, the novel studies link to the driver projects, enhancing the children’s understanding by providing a historical, cultural or geographical backdrop. Specially selected novel studies support the historical concepts of perspective and empathy, or valuable PSHE themes such as relationships, equality, respect, rules and resilience.

How are the texts selected?

The texts are carefully selected to enrich the project and provide an appropriate level of challenge for the age group. Over half of the books chosen have won awards or are accepted as classic literature. Awards achieved include the Smarties Award, Children’s Book Award, Hans Christian Anderson Award, Carnegie Medal nominations and the Hay Festival Favourite Puffin Title of All Time.

All the books are written by award-winning authors, nominated authors or authors of the classics. Awards achieved include the Carnegie Medal, Whitbread Award, National Book Award, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, Guardian Children’s Fiction Award and the Blue Peter Award. Other distinctions gained include an author with an MBE for services to children’s literature and an author with a Knighthood for services to literature, who also served as a Children’s Laureate.

The authors also include those with differing heritages, such as American, Chinese or Jamaican-Welsh.

Which text types are covered in the novel studies?

Most of the novel studies are fictional texts. This is because fictional texts are more conducive to certain reading domains, such as inference, prediction, explaining how language choices enhance the meaning and making comparisons within a text. The genres selected include historical fiction, myth, saga, fantasy, pastoral literature, modern fairy tale and magical realism.

Which linguistic or literary features are explored in the novel studies?

The following list shows the linguistic and literary features explored in the novel studies. The novel organiser exemplifies these features to support the children as they encounter them in the text.

What resources are included in a novel study?

Each novel study includes a novel organiser, a question sheet and a mark scheme.

1. Novel organiser:
   

The novel organisers in Key Stage One include a synopsis, glossary and sections on vocabulary, characters and the setting. In Key Stage Two, they include additional sections on the author, genre, language, structure, themes and historical or cultural context. They also include a story timeline, which includes discussion points for key chapters.

1. Question sheet:
   

Key Stage One

The question sheet is divided into three sections: retrieval and inference, vocabulary, and sequencing and predicting. The questions are chronological, so the children can answer them as they progress through the book. The final section often contains a question that refers to the whole book to accommodate the skill of sequencing.

Key Stage Two

The question sheet is divided into four sections: retrieval and prediction, language, inference, and summary and comparison. Each section’s questions refer to one or two chapters in the novel to make them more accessible to the children. The sections are chronological, so the children can answer them as they progress through the novel. The final section often refers to the whole text to accommodate the skills of summary and comparison.

1. Mark scheme:
   

Key Stage One

Key Stage Two 

What types of questions are included in a novel study?

Although a novel study is not an assessment tool, its questions are based on the national curriculum English test reading frameworks. This ensures that the children practise the question and response types that will appear at the end of key stage assessments.

What is the best way to use a novel study?

The novel studies have been designed to take the children on a guided journey through an extended text. They are not intended to be used as assessment materials; termly reading assessments can be found in the Maestro Library under ‘Tests’. What follows is the suggested way of using a novel study in guided reading groups or whole class sessions.

Key Stage One

Session 1

1. Share sections of the book organiser with the children. Discuss the synopsis and information about the characters and settings. The questions and comparisons help children to know what to expect from the book. Sample discussion questions are included below.
   

 Session 2

1. Share the glossary and vocabulary sections from the book organiser so the children will understand the text.
   
2. Give out the group or class set of books and read the whole book. Remind the children of the vocabulary on the book organiser as it appears.
   

Session 3

1. Look at the first section of the question sheet. Read the first question together and ask the children to highlight the key words. Demonstrate this under a visualiser. Read the book pages indicated and ask the children to find the answer. You might wish to place acetate over the book pages so the children can highlight the relevant parts of the text.
   
2. Decide if the class will mark the question together or if you will mark it afterwards.
   
3. Share the best example of the answer by using a child’s work or an example from the mark scheme. Repeat this for the other questions in the section.
   

Further sessions

1. Answer the questions for the second and third sections in the same way. You might consider rereading the book each session.

Key Stage Two

1. Share sections of the novel organiser with the children. Do not share the story timeline. Discuss the synopsis, characters, settings, author, genre, themes and historical or cultural context. The questions and comparisons help children know what to expect from the novel. Sample discussion questions are included below.
   

Session 2

1. Discuss the novel organiser sections about language, literary terms and structure, so the children know what to look out for as they read. Sample discussion questions are included below.
   

1. Give out the group or class set of novels. Read up to the end of the first section outlined on the novel organiser story timeline, then read the discussion point.
   
2. When reading together, take the opportunity to discuss examples of the language, structure or genre features as they appear, adding them to a class display if you wish. Ask what the features add to our understanding, enjoyment or experience of the novel. Conclude each session with a prediction question. Questions referring to the novel organiser will help to cover the reading domains for language and prediction, but also include questions for the other domains for a balanced coverage.
   
3. If the children are reading independently, in class or at home, make sure they know where to read up to and ask them to note any examples of the language, structure or genre features in a jotter to share back in the classroom. They could also write a prediction.
   
4. Continue reading the novel until you come to the next discussion point on the story timeline or the first section of the question sheet. Alternatively, give the children a synopsis of what happens in the interim chapters, then read the chapter connected to the discussion point or question sheet. Ask the children to read and write answers on the question sheet. They can do this individually or in pairs, stopping after each question or the whole section.
   
5. Decide if the class will mark the question together or if you will mark it afterwards. Place a question sheet under a visualiser and ask a child to highlight the key words in the question. Then place the text under a visualiser and ask the child to highlight the relevant parts, sharing their thinking out loud. Confirm their answer with the mark scheme and discuss any incorrect answers, teaching skills such as skimming and scanning where appropriate.
   

Further sessions

1. Repeat this for each question. When marking open-ended questions with a group or class, ask the children to read out their answers because they will vary. Check each one against the mark scheme and give them a score. Share the best example of the answer by using a child’s work or an example from the mark scheme.
   
2. Continue reading until you reach the next discussion question on the story timeline or the next section of the question sheet. The final section on the question sheet can only be answered when the novel is finished.
   

Where can I find the novel studies?

How can I plan a novel study into my timetable?