Inspire your pupils with this Year 3 non-fiction reading comprehension unit, based on Stephen Hawking by award-winning children's author Ross Montgomery.
This powerful biography highlights the remarkable life and achievements of one of the world’s most famous scientists. It also offers opportunities to develop key reading skills through discussion, vocabulary study and close reading.
You can teach this unit on its own or use it as part of our Real Comprehension reading programme – a complete, thematic approach to teaching reading across Years 1 to 6.
Pupils will explore how Hawking overcame extraordinary personal challenges and contributed to science in a way that changed how we understand the universe.
You’ll find both illustrated and plain versions of the text, plus PowerPoint formats with and without highlighted vocabulary for flexible display. An annotated teacher version provides close reading notes and flags opportunities for clarification, drama, discussion or visualisation.
Teach the text over two parts using layered reading approaches – model, choral, paired, copy and close reading. Pupils will work on activities such as timeline creation, word webs, and root word grids. Each part of the sequence includes a Vocabulary Focus PowerPoint exploring a key word from the text: extraordinary (Part 1) and predicted (Part 2).
Big Questions encourage pupils to make personal and text-based connections, while revisiting tasks help consolidate learning through differentiated comprehension activities.
This Year 3 reading comprehension resource pack includes:
- Stephen Hawking by Ross Montgomery (PDF: plain, illustrated, annotated; PowerPoint with and without highlights)
- Full teaching sequence for Part 1 and Part 2
- Vocabulary Focus PowerPoints for extraordinary and predicted
- Worksheets
- Big Questions PowerPoints
- Complete teacher notes with reading approaches and close reading prompts