Diagnostic Reading Interview – Year 1

Commissioned by The PiXL Club Ltd.Example 2017

© Copyright The PiXL Club Limited, 2017

This resource is strictly for the use of member schools for as long as they remain members of The PiXL Club. It may not be copied, sold nor transferred to a third party or used by the school after membership ceases. Until such time it may be freely used within the member school.All opinions and contributions are those of the authors. The contents of this resource are not connected with nor endorsed by any other company, organisation or institution.

Diagnostic Reading Interview - Year 1

Text used: Monsters Love Underpants by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort

Teacher guidance

Interviews with pupils can be conducted in a variety of ways and this document is designed to provide guidance and a recommended framework for teachers. It is not a script which should be followed regimentally from start to finish; interviews should adopt a more flexible format which allows the pupil’s responses to inform lines of questioning as and when appropriate. The aim is to spend 15-20 minutes on a structured conversation with the pupil which enables the interviewer to gather vital information about the pupil’s reading ability, including any significant gaps in skills or understanding. Whilst the questions below have been organised under the relevant content domains, they do not necessarily have to be done in order. When asking the questions, the teacher can direct the pupil to the relevant page in the book to support them.

Word Reading, decoding and understanding

The pupil reads many words quickly and accurately without overt sounding and blending. For unfamiliar words the pupil will apply phonic knowledge and skills as the route to decode them.

The pupil reads some words with 2 or more syllables accurately: e.g. monster, around, something, looking, howling, loudly, steamy, frozen, deepest, tetchy, underpants, password, wobbly, daylight, striped, beneath, snazzy, inside.

The pupil can read many common exception words: e.g. the, there, so, one, they, where, are, some, you, no, were.

The pupil recognises and reads a range of suffixes e.g. looking, deepest, chests, dotted.

What is the root word of howling? Could the underlined grapheme in howling make any other phoneme? Can you explain the meaning of tetchy? What clues does the picture give

you?

Comprehension (Retrieval)

What do all monsters love the most? What happens to the drool monsters’ pants? Where is Disco Night held? What is the password for the disco?

Comprehension (Sequencing)

Sort these sentences in order.Beware of strange scuffles under your bed.Monsters like twanging pants’ elastic.Monsters go to the disco.

Comprehension (Inference)

What is the weather like where the wild, woolly mountain monsters live? How are the monsters feeling when they run back home?

Comprehension (Prediction)

From the title of this book what do you think might happen in this story?

Suggested approach

Ask the pupil to read the title. Then ask question 1. Pupil reads the first 10 pages: ‘Monsters think it is monster fun … They’ve

pinched from treasure chest!’ Then ask questions 1 – 6. Then read the remainder of the book. The teacher may read some pages. If a pupil has had to pause in a sentence to decode words, ensure they re-

read that sentence to demonstrate improved fluency. Complete the remaining questions.

Teacher Answer Sheet

From the title of the book what do you think might happen in this story?

Any answers that make reference to monsters and underpants. For example, the monsters might try take the underpants. They go shopping for fancy underpants.

1e

What do all monsters love the most?

They all love underpants. 1b

What is the root word of howling?

howl

Could the underlined grapheme in howling make any other phoneme?

Yes, for example, the ow grapheme in snow and blow has a different phoneme to the same grapheme in clown and frown.

What happens to the drool monsters’ pants?

They slide down all the time. 1b

What is the weather like where the wild, woolly mountain monsters live?

It is cold or snowy. 1d

Can you explain the meaning of tetchy? What clues does the picture give you?

The pupil may say angry, uncomfortable, frustrated or any other emotion to indicate the monster is struggling to put on underpants that are too small.

1a

Where is Disco Night held? in a secret cave 1b

What is the password for the disco?

wobbly pants 1b

How are the monsters feeling when they run back home?

The pupil can say worried, concerned, scared or any emotion that indicates they do not want to get caught.

1d

Sort these sentences in order.Beware of strange scuffles under your bed.Monsters like twanging pants’ elastic.Monsters go to the disco.

1. Monsters like twanging pants’ elastic.2. Monsters go to the disco.3. Beware of strange scuffles under

your bed.

1c

Pupil Response Sheet (Teacher scribes)

Tick off the words as the child is reading if they read the words correctly and without overt blending.there, they, some, so, the, one, where, are, were, no, you

monster, around, something, howling, loudly, steamy, frozen, deepest, tetchy, underpants, password, wobbly, daylight, striped, beneath, snazzy, inside

looking, chests, deepest, dotted

From the title of the book what do you think might happen in this story?

What do all monsters love the most?

What is the root word of howling?

Could the underlined grapheme in howling make any other phoneme?What happens to the drool monsters’ pants?

What is the weather like where the wild, woolly mountain monsters live?Can you explain the meaning of tetchy? What clues does the picture give you?

Where is Disco Night held?

What is the password for the disco?How are the monsters feeling when they run back home?Sort these sentences in order.Beware of strange scuffles under your bed.Monsters like twanging pants’ elastic.Monsters go to the disco.