Click to enlargeComprehension 1
Retrieval and basic skills on fiction, poetry and non-fiction passages.
- 20 passages in the book
- Original and classic passages, written or adapted for the book
- Full answer key, independently re-checked question by question
Want the whole series? The full English series is £497, under £19 a book.
How this book is used in our course
English books are worked in short daily sessions rather than one long sitting. For vocabulary, the child covers the meaning, says it aloud, then checks; words that are missed go on a card for the week. For comprehension and cloze, the child attempts the passage under a loose time, then marks against the key and rewrites any answer that lost marks.
Where it sits in the series
- Previous book in the series: Book 6, Shuffled Sentences 1
- Next book in the series: Book 8, Vocabulary 2
What's inside English Mastery 7
Four real pages from the book, so you can see exactly what your child will work from. All 8 sample pages are in the viewer.
Twenty passages in ten levels: original stories, classic fiction, poetry and non-fiction, with answers that quote the evidence.
The Kite on Kestrel Hill and Soup in the Rain are written for the series. The Eel, Windy Nights and From a Railway Carriage are classic poems. A Christmas Carol and Kidnapped are the real thing, cut to length. The Secret Dance of the Honeybee, Life in a Rock Pool and The Journey of a River are non-fiction. This is the mix a grammar school paper draws from, and the levels climb towards it.
Be a reading detective: find the evidence first, then choose the answer the evidence proves.
Six steps. Read the passage twice. Underline the key words in the question, especially the small ones: not, first, most. Find the line, and never answer from memory. Check every option and cross out the ones the passage disproves. Beware the "not mentioned" trap: an option that sounds sensible but is never said. Then simple inference, backed by clues, not guesses. A table at the foot sorts every question into retrieval, vocabulary in context, inference or language, with how to answer each.
Numbered paragraphs, a complete story, and fifteen questions that send the child back to the text.
The Kite on Kestrel Hill: Priya and Arun’s orange fish kite, three weekends in Grandpa’s garage, the wind changing direction, the crash into the beech tree, Mrs Okafor with her hooked pole, and a silver cup for the team that did not give up. Every paragraph is numbered so a child can find the line and a parent can check it. The passage is two pages; the questions follow; the answers at the back cite the paragraph.
Every answer gives the letter, the answer, and the paragraph and words that prove it.
"6. B Changed direction suddenly – Para 8: The kite swerved. Arun pulled hard on the line, but it was too late." "15. B He has grown to like the way the mended kite looks – Para 20–21: I think it looks even better now." A child who got it wrong is shown exactly where the evidence was, which teaches the method as well as the answer. A parent never has to argue about an answer again.
All 20 passages in the book follow the pattern shown here.
Other Year 4 & 5 books in English Mastery
English Rules 1 Testbook
Quizzes, tests and scorecards for every rule in English Rules 1.
Cloze Sentences 1
Fill-the-gap sentences that teach a child to read for sense, not just for words.
Shuffled Sentences 1
Rebuild scrambled sentences and spot the word that does not belong.
English Rules 2 Testbook
Quizzes, tests and scorecards for every rule in English Rules 2.