Y4 The Secret Diary of a Tudor Spy – Chapter 1 Fluency (Pause and Pace) Dyslexia-Friendly Pack

Summary
A complete, dyslexia-friendly fluency lesson pack for Year 4, based on The Secret Diary of Thomas Snoop – Chapter 1.
Pupils develop reading fluency through pause, pace and expression, learning to use punctuation and tone to bring Tudor language to life.
Every resource and slide follows British Dyslexia Association (BDA) style guidance, featuring Century Gothic font, cream backgrounds, and dual-coding cues to support confident, expressive reading for all learners.

What’s Included

Full lesson plan (Learning COGS format) with objectives, success criteria and scaffolded teaching sequence
Whole-class PowerPoint slideshow modelling expression, punctuation and fluency using Tudor diary extracts
Differentiated resource pack containing:
“Fluency Decoder” sheet with spy-style performance tasks
Annotation symbols for pauses, tone and power
Self-assessment checklist and peer-feedback prompts
Extracts for I Do / We Do / You Do performance reading

Learning Aims

Read aloud with control, pace and natural rhythm
Use punctuation to guide pauses and intonation
Adjust voice and tone to match character or mood
Reflect on fluency using the 6 Ps (Pace, Pitch, Pause, Power, Personality, Punctuation)

Dyslexia-Friendly Design

All materials follow BDA style guide principles to ensure accessibility and comfort for dyslexic readers:
Century Gothic font for clear, rounded letters
Cream or pastel backgrounds and dark grey text to reduce glare
1.5–2.0 line spacing and wide margins for easy tracking
Left-aligned text (no justification) for consistent spacing
Bold key words rather than italics or underlining
Dual-coding visuals and clear layout cues for meaning support
Predictable slide layouts to lower cognitive load
These adaptations make the pack ideal for pupils with dyslexia, visual stress or working-memory difficulties, while improving fluency for all readers.

Curriculum Links

Reading: fluency, prosody, vocabulary, inference
Speaking & Listening: performance reading and tone control
Writing: understanding punctuation and sentence rhythm
History: Tudor context, language and humour

Perfect For
Whole-class reading, guided group sessions or SEND fluency interventions.
Combines humour, Tudor intrigue and accessible design to build confident, expressive readers in every classroom.