Comprehension with Gemma. Ages 9 to 11. 5 to 6 PM.

Love literature and I bring this enthusiasm to teaching comprehension. Whether it’s historical fiction or a factual article, every writer uses a toolkit to draw their reader in and it’s our job to spot their techniques. Once you learn to recognise them then you can tackle any text. I help the children search for the writer’s meaning by examining their language choices, and showing them how to read between the lines. For many children, understanding exactly what the question is asking of them is the biggest barrier to comprehension. I show the children that the 11+ follows a specific formula: retrieval, inference, explaining, and vocabulary questions, and then I teach them how to spot which is which. This way, they can unlock the jargon and exam-style questions are demystified.