Bring the legend of King Arthur to life in your classroom with this fully resourced Year 3 reading comprehension unit, based on Arthur – The Rightful King of England. This is an original short story by acclaimed children’s author Ross Montgomery.
The engaging narrative and dramatic storyline offer rich opportunities to develop pupils’ reading skills and deepen their understanding of myths and legends.
Structured teaching sequence
You can use this unit as a standalone resource or as part of our Real Comprehension programme for Year 3. All units in the programme are built around high-quality texts and structured teaching sequences that explore a common theme – in this case, first impressions.
The resource includes illustrated and plain versions of the text for display, plus PowerPoint versions with and without highlighted vocabulary. The annotated version provides close reading notes and identifies key points for clarification, discussion, drama or visualisation.
You’ll find a complete three-part teaching sequence that uses layered reading approaches such as model, choral, paired and jump-in reading.
Each part includes a vocabulary focus PowerPoint exploring key words from the story. In Part 1, pupils investigate the word dashing, considering its old-fashioned use and whether it functions as a verb or adjective. In Part 2, the word fast is unpacked in its various meanings, helping children understand how context affects word interpretation.
Comprehension worksheets support a range of key reading skills, including retrieval, inference, sequencing and prediction. Pupils will complete character cards, timeline and story mapping tasks and use what they’ve read to write a newspaper report. Big Questions help them make personal and wider connections, and revisit tasks allow them to reflect on the whole story.
This Year 3 reading comprehension resource pack includes:
- Arthur – The Rightful King of England by Ross Montgomery – PDF (plain, illustrated, annotated) and PowerPoint (with/without highlights)
- Full three-part resourced teaching sequence with vocabulary focus
- Vocabulary Focus PowerPoints
- Big Questions PowerPoints
- Comprehension worksheets:
Full teaching notes and suggestions for layered reading - Opportunities for discussion, drama, visualisation and personal response