Y4 The Secret Diary of a Tudor Spy – Chapter 1 Retrieval (Skim and Scan) Dyslexia-Friendly Pack

Summary
A fully resourced, dyslexia-friendly comprehension lesson pack for Year 4, based on The Secret Diary of Thomas Snoop – Chapter 1.
Pupils practise retrieving evidence from historical fiction using skim-and-scan techniques, supporting both fluency and understanding of Tudor vocabulary.
Every worksheet and slideshow follows British Dyslexia Association (BDA) design principles, using Century Gothic font, cream backgrounds, and clear visual scaffolds to support confident, independent reading.

What’s Included

Full lesson plan (Learning COGS format) with objectives, success criteria and 5-step retrieval process
Whole-class PowerPoint slideshow introducing Skim – Scan – Evidence – Answer – Check sequence with Tudor extracts
Two differentiated comprehension packs (ARE + LA) featuring:
Adapted extracts from The Goldenhilt Mission
Ten retrieval questions with visual evidence grids
Sentence-stem scaffolds and multiple-choice items
“Spy Race Word Hunt” starter and secret-code challenge
Assessment checklist for evidence of scanning and highlighting

Learning Aims

Identify and retrieve key information using keywords and clues
Use evidence from the text to support each answer
Explain reasoning using sentence stems (“The text says… so I know that…”)
Develop fluency and comprehension in historical fiction

Dyslexia-Friendly Design

All materials follow BDA style-guide standards for accessibility:
Century Gothic typeface for clear, rounded letters
Cream or pastel backgrounds with dark grey text to reduce glare
1.5–2 line spacing and wide margins to support eye-tracking
Left-aligned paragraphs (no justification) for even word spacing
Bold keywords instead of italics or underlining
Dual-coding visuals and icons to link text with meaning
Predictable layouts and simple tables to lower cognitive load
These adaptations ensure accessibility for pupils with dyslexia, visual-processing or working-memory needs, while benefiting all learners.

Curriculum Links

Reading: retrieval, inference and evidence from fiction
Writing: composing complete sentences with textual proof
Speaking & Listening: explaining how answers were found
History: understanding Tudor life, language and settings

Perfect For
Whole-class reading, guided comprehension or SEND interventions.
Engaging Tudor humour, secret-spy themes and dyslexia-friendly formatting combine to build confident, evidence-based readers across the class.