This Year 5 reading comprehension unit centres on Peace, an original fiction story by children’s author Jo Franklin.
The text is set in ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War and follows Trygaeus, a mortal who takes on a mission to restore peace by freeing Irene, the goddess of peace. She has been imprisoned by Polemos, the god of war.
The story introduces themes of war and peace through vivid characterisation, dialogue and personification.
You can teach this unit as a standalone reading comprehension sequence or as part of our broader thematic programme covering fiction, poetry and non-fiction texts. The story also serves as a WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) text, ideal for modelling writing techniques to Year 5 pupils.
Multiple formats
To support your teaching, the pack includes multiple formats of the original story: illustrated and plain PDFs designed for easy sharing and printing, alongside PowerPoint versions with and without text highlights to aid focus during reading sessions.
An annotated teacher’s version highlights where to pause for drama, discussion or visualisation, and includes prompts to deepen pupils’ understanding during close reading.
The unit provides a rich teaching sequence designed to build key comprehension skills such as retrieval, sequencing, prediction and inference. Two vocabulary lessons focus explicitly on the terms ‘peace’ and ‘prop up,’ with PowerPoint slides and engaging activities that explore definitions, synonyms, antonyms and sentence usage.
Additional resources help pupils express opinions and make connections to themselves, other texts and the wider world. Drama, role-play and character analysis activities invite active engagement with the story’s themes. The pack also includes Big Questions PowerPoints and worksheets to stimulate classroom discussion and personal reflection.
Included in this Year 5 reading comprehension resource pack:
- Original text PDFs: plain (ink-saving), illustrated, annotated (with teacher notes)
- Original text PowerPoints: with highlights, without highlights
- Resourced teaching sequence with dedicated vocabulary PowerPoints
- Big Questions PowerPoints and accompanying worksheets
- Role on the Wall and character description worksheets
- Full teaching notes with suggested teaching sequences, reading strategies and activity guidance
- Visual aids to support prior knowledge and vocabulary teaching
This unit forms part of our Real Comprehension whole-school programme, which supports KS1 and KS2 teachers in delivering thematic fiction, poetry and non-fiction reading units that foster deep comprehension and critical thinking from Year 1 to Year 6.