KS3 Whole-Class Reading (Years 7–8)
Genre Focus: Fiction (Fantasy / Mystery)
Core Text: Skulduggery Pleasant – Derek Landy
This resource provides the Lesson 6 and Lesson 7 description for the Autumn 2 whole-class reading unit for KS3 (Years 7–8), continuing the study of contemporary fantasy fiction through Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant. These lessons further support pupils’ reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary development while introducing them to the author, the world of the novel and key thematic elements.
Lessons 6 and 7 place a strong emphasis on vocabulary building, helping pupils extend their understanding of new words by linking them explicitly to known vocabulary. Pupils explore ambitious tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary drawn from the text, developing clarity and precision in their understanding. Alongside this, pupils engage in structured oracy tasks, enabling them to discuss ideas, explore character motivations, and articulate interpretations confidently.
The lessons also focus on core comprehension domains such as retrieval, inference and reasoning, encouraging students to infer meaning that is implied rather than directly stated and to evaluate the author’s use of figurative language and descriptive techniques. Students are guided to consider how Landy’s narrative style, humour and worldbuilding shape meaning and engage the reader.
A key outcome of these lessons is the development of pupils’ summarising skills, with opportunities for both collaborative and independent summarisation of the extract. Pupils practise selecting the most important details, condensing ideas succinctly and presenting their summaries clearly within group discussion and written responses.
These lessons align with the KS3 National Curriculum Reading aims, supporting pupils to:
- Extend their vocabulary knowledge and make explicit links between new and familiar words.
- Understand how language choices—including figurative language—shape meaning.
- Develop contextual knowledge of Derek Landy and the background of Skulduggery Pleasant.
- Use inference to interpret information that is not directly stated in the text.
- Discuss and evaluate the extract through clear, confident and thoughtful spoken communication.
- Summarise the text concisely and accurately both collaboratively and independently.
Across these lessons, pupils continue to deepen their engagement with fiction through whole-class reading, enhancing comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, oracy and critical thinking as they explore the vivid, fast-paced world of Skulduggery Pleasant.
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