This Year 4 reading comprehension unit centres on Tanvi’s Garden, an original fiction text by acclaimed children’s author Dan Smith.
The story offers a rich narrative about friendship, community and renewal. This makes it an excellent choice not only for reading comprehension but also as a model text (WAGOLL) to support writing development in KS2.
You can use this unit independently or as part of our Real Comprehension programme. This is a whole-school, thematic sequence of reading units designed to build deep understanding across Year 1 to Year 6.
The programme covers fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and links texts by theme to enhance engagement and continuity.
Tailor to your class
This unit supports you with multiple versions of the story: illustrated and plain PDFs, plus PowerPoints with or without text highlights. This allows you to present the text in ways best suited to your class.
An annotated version provides close reading guidance, highlighting key moments to pause for drama, discussion or visualisation to deepen pupils’ understanding.
The teaching sequence breaks the story into three parts. Each is accompanied by a vocabulary focus on carefully chosen words: ornate, ruined and renew. For each, the pack offers PowerPoints and worksheets that explore definitions, synonyms and antonyms. You'll guide children to use the words confidently in their own sentences.
Beyond vocabulary, the unit strengthens comprehension through targeted activities that develop key skills such as retrieval, sequencing, prediction and inference. It encourages pupils to connect the story to their own experiences, other texts and wider themes, fostering personal response and critical thinking.
You will find fully resourced lessons for each section, including:
- Original story texts (plain, illustrated, and annotated PDFs)
- PowerPoint presentations of the text (with and without highlights)
- Three-part resourced teaching sequence with vocabulary PowerPoints
- ‘Big Questions’ PowerPoints and worksheets
- Character exploration activities like “Role on the Wall”
- Visualisation tasks
- Writing in role prompts to develop empathy and creative responses
- Revisit-the-text activities for retrieval and personal reflection
- Full teaching notes offering suggested reads, question prompts and differentiation ideas
- Supplementary materials such as an information sheet about the Hindu god Ganesh featured in the story
This comprehensive resource provides everything you need to engage Year 4 pupils in thoughtful reading, discussion and writing. It's aligned with curriculum expectations and designed to inspire a love of reading.