Year 2 English · Key Stage 1 · Reading – comprehension

Year 2 reading comprehension: inference and prediction

Understanding a book is a set of skills that Year 2 children are taught, not just something that happens when they can read the words. They learn to use what they already know, to check that what they read makes sense and to correct themselves when it doesn’t, to read between the lines to work out what a character feels or what is going on, to ask and answer questions, and to predict what will happen next.

Understanding what we read, explained

Understanding starts before the first page. Teachers give children background information and vocabulary so that a text makes sense: a few words about a lighthouse before a story set in one, or a picture of a market before reading about a market stall. A child who already knows what a lighthouse is can follow the story. At home, a quick chat about the topic before reading does the same job. The curriculum applies this both to books children can read accurately and fluently and to books they listen to.

Children are also taught to check as they read. Reading all the words accurately matters, because a small slip can change the meaning: reading “place” instead of “palace” makes a nonsense of a sentence about a king. Teachers model this with “thinking aloud”, saying things like “Hmm, that didn’t sound right, I’ll go back.” The habit to build is simple: if it doesn’t make sense, stop, reread, and have another go. Self-correcting is a sign of a thoughtful reader, not a weak one.

Inference means working out something that the writer hasn’t said directly, using what is said and done. If a character shivers and pulls up their hood, we infer that it is cold. Year 2 children draw inferences about how characters feel, why they act as they do and what the setting is like, and are taught to back them up with evidence from the words or pictures: “I think she was nervous because it says her hands were shaking.” An inference is not a wild guess, as it has to be supported by clues in the text.

Asking and answering questions is a third strand. Some questions have answers that can be found in the text (“What colour was the dragon?”), while others need thinking (“Why do you think the dragon was lonely?”). Children are encouraged to ask their own questions, such as “I wonder why…”, because questioning keeps the mind active while reading. Prediction is closely linked: children use the title, the cover, the pictures and what has happened so far to say what might come next, and then check whether they were right.

Teachers assess all this in everyday reading and discussion. Tests at the end of Key Stage 1 have been optional for schools since 2023/24, so whether your child sits one depends on the school. What matters more is the habit of thinking while reading, which you can build at home with a few simple questions.

Words your child will hear

Infer: Work out something the writer hasn’t said, using clues in the words and pictures.
Predict: Say what you think will happen next, based on what you have read so far.
Evidence: The words or pictures in the text that show why you think something.
Retrieve: Find a fact that is stated in the text.
Self-correct: Notice a mistake while reading and go back and fix it.
Clue: A word, phrase or picture that helps you work something out.
Think aloud: Say your thinking out loud as you read, as a teacher or parent does to show how a reader thinks.

What the National Curriculum says

In Year 2, pupils should be taught to:

Understand both the books that they can already read accurately and fluently and those that they listen to by drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary provided by the teacher
Understand books by checking that the text makes sense to them as they read, and correcting inaccurate reading
Understand books by making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done
Understand books by answering and asking questions
Understand books by predicting what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: reading between the lines

Read this: “Mia pulled on her wellies and grabbed her umbrella. She splashed across the garden and giggled at the big puddles.” What was the weather like, and how do you know?

Read the text and check it makes sense. If your child stumbles on a word, such as “umbrella”, let them reread the sentence and fix it before moving on.
Find the clues together. Underline the words that might tell us about the weather: wellies, umbrella, splashed, puddles.
```
wellies  umbrella
splashed  puddles
```
Link the clues to what we already know. People wear wellies and carry umbrellas when it rains, and puddles are left behind after rain.
Make the inference, and say the evidence: “It was raining, or had just rained, because Mia put on wellies, took an umbrella and there were puddles.” The text never says “rain”, so we worked it out.
Add a second inference and a prediction. “Giggled” suggests Mia was happy. What might she do next? She might jump in a puddle. Read on to see whether the prediction was right.

It was wet, probably raining, because of the wellies, umbrella and puddles. Mia was enjoying it, because she giggled.

Common mistakes and how to help

Answering from their own life rather than from the text

Children have lots of experience to draw on and an answer such as “because my dog does that” feels sensible to them.

What helps: Welcome the link, then ask “Can you show me where it says that?” Practise pointing to the words or picture that support the answer.

Thinking an inference is just a guess with no right answer

Because the writer doesn’t state it, children feel any idea is as good as another and don’t look for clues.

What helps: Explain that some ideas are better supported than others. Ask “What makes you think that?” and compare ideas using the evidence.

Carrying on reading when a sentence doesn’t make sense

Children often want to finish the page or keep up, and assume it is their fault if something is confusing.

What helps: Make stopping normal. Say “That didn’t sound right, let’s try again” out loud, and praise your child when they notice a slip and fix it.

Feeling that a wrong prediction means they failed

Children think predictions are either right or wrong, and worry about getting it wrong.

What helps: Explain that a prediction based on clues is a good one even if the story goes another way. Compare it with what happened and talk about why the author surprised us.

How to help at home

Think aloud as you read. When you read to your child, say what is going on in your head: “She looks upset, I wonder why.” They learn how readers think without being quizzed.
Pause and predict. Stop at an exciting point and ask “What do you think will happen next?” and “What makes you think that?” Then read on and see.
Look closely at pictures. Pictures are full of clues. Cover the words on a page, ask what the character might be feeling, and find the evidence in the face, the setting or the colours.
Ask “where does it say that?”. After an answer, ask your child to point to the part of the text that proves it. This builds the habit of finding evidence.
Let them ask the questions. Swap roles and invite your child to ask you a question about a story, starting with “I wonder…”. Then try to answer it using clues from the book.

Builds on

Year 1: Enjoying stories, rhymes and poems
Year 1: Understanding what we read and hear
Year 1: Talking about books together

Leads on to

Years 3 and 4: Reading widely, myths and legends
Years 3 and 4: Performing poems and plays
Years 3 and 4: Inference, questioning and prediction
Years 3 and 4: Main ideas and non-fiction