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Cosmos Primary

Curriculum area · Impact Team

📖 English.

Literacy, comprehension and communication at Cosmos Primary. The English Impact Team owns R.E.A.D., S.P.E.A.K., and Write Right — a structured pathway from Nursery into Key Stage 2 grounded in Twinkl Phonics and Cambridge Primary English.

Vocabulary & reading spine

Words we teach, books we read

Vocabulary at Cosmos is deliberate. Tier 2 words are the academic glue across subjects; Tier 3 words are the specialist language of reading and writing. Books are chosen because they earn the time we spend on them.

GradeTier 2 vocabularyTier 3 vocabularySuggested reading
Nurserybig · small · happy · sadrhyme · sound · word
  • Each Peach Pear Plum — Janet & Allan AhlbergRepetition, rhyme, look-and-find.
  • Dear Zoo — Rod CampbellLift-the-flap predictability builds talk.
  • We’re Going on a Bear Hunt — Michael RosenOnomatopoeia and joining-in.
LKGcompare · describe · before · afterphoneme · grapheme · blend · segment
  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar — Eric CarleSequence, days of the week, growth.
  • Where the Wild Things Are — Maurice SendakEmotion vocabulary and inner world.
  • Owl Babies — Martin WaddellFamily, worry, return — secure attachment.
UKGretell · order · character · settingdigraph · tricky word · fluency
  • The Gruffalo — Julia DonaldsonRhyme, wit, narrative structure.
  • Handa’s Surprise — Eileen BrownePredictive structure, cultural breadth.
  • Stick Man — Julia DonaldsonAdventure, repetition, satisfying ending.
Grade 1predict · recall · opinion · becausenoun · verb · sentence · capital letter
  • The Tiger Who Came to Tea — Judith KerrAbsurd premise, vivid imagery.
  • Meerkat Mail — Emily GravettForm (postcards), travel, longing for home.
  • Stories from India (Twinkl spine)Rooting in our own context.
Grade 2compare · contrast · evidence · althoughadjective · adverb · paragraph · punctuation
  • Charlotte’s Web — E. B. WhiteFriendship, mortality, classic prose.
  • Fantastic Mr Fox — Roald DahlPlot, voice, vocabulary range.
  • The Boy Who Grew Dragons — Andy ShepherdSeries momentum for fluency.
Grade 3summarise · analyse · however · thereforeprefix · suffix · root · clause
  • The Iron Man — Ted HughesMythic register, imagery.
  • Varjak Paw — S. F. SaidAdventure, perseverance, philosophy.
  • The Boy at the Back of the Class — Onjali Q. RaüfEmpathy, refugee experience.
Grade 4justify · infer · consequently · moreoversimile · metaphor · cohesion · point of view
  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — C. S. LewisAllegory, world-building.
  • Wonder — R. J. PalacioPerspective-shift, kindness.
  • The Explorer — Katherine RundellSetting, survival, lyrical prose.
Grade 5evaluate · critique · nevertheless · consequentlytheme · motif · register · authorial intent
  • Northern Lights — Philip PullmanAmbition, philosophy, voice.
  • When the Mountains Roared — Jess ButterworthIndia-set ecology and family.
  • Holes — Louis SacharPlot architecture, layered narrative.