KS3 English - Reading Comprehension SOW

KS3 Read & Respond: A 10 lesson, fully planned SOW centered on reading comprehension.

In the bundle are 10 carefully planned lessons that aim to push KS3 students’ reading, comprehension and essay/creative writing skills.

For 10 more fantastic comprehension lessons, be sure to check out the 2023 reciprocal reading bundle.

Each lesson focuses on a unique short story (all selected from the BBC 500 word contest) and includes a host of activities to guide learning, bolstering reading, comprehension and critical thinking/metacognitive skills.

Each lesson follows four steps:

Starter - Pre-contextualise the material with a fun warmup activity
Read - Read through the material as a group with the help of bold images and vocabulary prompts
Understand - Summarise the material and reflect upon its impact on the reader
Respond - Produce either an essay, creative writing piece or other planned response to the short story.

This SOW includes a detailed lesson plan for each of the 10 lessons, PPT’s full of images, worksheets, questions and examplars, as well as a printable version of each short story to read with the class.

This SOW bakes crucial GCSE skills into the plan, preparing students to meet AO objectives whilst teaching them to consider the use of quotations to back responses.