Reflective Reading

Reflective Reading at Alford Primary

At Alford Primary, we use Anne Glennie’s Reflective Reading approach to help our pupils become confident, thoughtful, and independent readers. Reflective Reading focuses not just on reading words, but on thinking deeply about what is read and responding with understanding.

The approach encourages children to see reading as a thinking process rather than a mechanical skill. Pupils are guided to actively reflect on texts, asking questions, exploring ideas, and discussing their thoughts with others.

Key Features of Reflective Reading

Reading as Thinking: Pupils engage critically with texts, noticing patterns, meaning, and language choices.

Reflective Responses: Children respond thoughtfully, sharing opinions, making predictions, and evaluating ideas.

Discussion and Collaboration: Group or paired discussions help pupils develop ideas through listening and debating with others.

Building Independence: Pupils gradually apply reflective thinking to all types of reading — from stories and poetry to non-fiction and media texts.

Types of Questions in Reflective Reading

Reflective Reading uses a set of structured question types to guide pupils in thinking more deeply about what they read:

Explore Some More: Focuses on language, punctuation, and grammar, helping pupils notice how the text is written and how language choices create meaning.

Connect 4: Encourages pupils to make connections between the text, their own experiences, other texts, and the wider world.

Reflect and Respond: Prompts children to consider their opinions and feelings about the text and justify their ideas.

Create Something Great: Inspires pupils to use what they have read to imagine, innovate, or produce their own creative work.

Read and Understand: Focuses on comprehension, ensuring children grasp the literal meaning of the text.

Infer What’s Not There: Encourages pupils to read “between the lines,” making inferences about characters, events, or messages that are implied but not directly stated.

By practising these question types, pupils become confident, independent readers who think critically, respond thoughtfully, and engage deeply with all kinds of texts.

Why Reflective Reading Works

Helps children understand texts more deeply and enjoy reading for meaning.

Develops critical thinking skills, not just word recognition.

Supports pupils in expressing ideas clearly and listening to others.

Encourages a lifelong love of reading by making it engaging, thoughtful, and interactive.

At Alford, Reflective Reading is more than a reading programme — it’s a way of helping children become curious, reflective, and confident readers who can enjoy, question, and respond to all kinds of texts.