We've built this Year 6 reading comprehension unit around Metamorphosis, an original non-fiction text by children’s author Dan Smith.
Written in a clear, engaging style, the text introduces pupils to the life cycles of amphibians and insects. It explains how animals such as frogs and butterflies undergo dramatic changes during their development.
The text is ideal for use as a reading comprehension resource, but it also works well as a model (WAGOLL) for developing children’s writing in non-fiction genres.
The pack includes both plain and illustrated PDFs of the text, as well as PowerPoint versions (with and without highlighted features for modelling or display). An annotated version of the text supports teachers during close reading and identifies opportunities for clarification, discussion, drama and visualisation.
Two-part sequence
The teaching sequence is divided into two parts and follows a layered reading approach. Pupils build their understanding gradually, with supported re-reading, vocabulary exploration and collaborative talk.
They examine key vocabulary such as undergo, cylindrical and vessel using detailed PowerPoints and practical tasks. Big Questions and retrieval activities help develop inference and reasoning. Meanwhile tasks like note-taking, diagram sketching and reconstructing the text support both reading comprehension and recall.
The unit also includes opportunities for personal response and independent application, such as writing a glossary, visualising life cycles, creating riddles using new vocabulary, and performing a documentary-style voiceover. These activities help children make meaningful connections between the text, themselves and the world around them.
This unit can be taught on its own or as part of a themed reading sequence alongside fiction and poetry texts for Year 6. It is part of the Real Comprehension programme, which offers high-quality, thematic units to develop deeper understanding across KS1 and KS2.
This pack includes:
- Metamorphosis by Dan Smith – plain, illustrated and PowerPoint versions
- Annotated teacher text with notes for close reading and discussion
- Two-part teaching sequence with guided reading activities and prompts
- Three Vocabulary Focus PowerPoints: undergo, cylindrical, vessel
- Worksheets
- Big Questions PowerPoints and worksheets
- Examples of metamorphosis posters
- Full teaching notes with flexible pathways and suggestions for drama, discussion, and visualisation
This comprehensive, ready-to-teach unit supports key reading skills – retrieval, inference, sequencing, vocabulary and prediction – while encouraging curiosity and cross-curricular thinking.