Year 9 Comprehension - Frankenstein - teaching resource

Year 9 Comprehension – Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

This three-lesson mini-unit is designed to help Year 9 students strengthen their comprehension skills while preparing for GCSE English Language. Using an extract from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the resource provides structured guidance, exam-style practice, and model responses to build confidence in key reading skills.

The unit includes a 51-slide editable PowerPoint presentation, worksheets, and a full comprehension test with five assessment-style questions.

Lesson One:

• Introduction to Year 9 comprehension and progression towards GCSE

• Strategies for approaching comprehension tasks (dos and don’ts)

• Guided first and second readings of an extract

• Tackling unfamiliar vocabulary and consolidating narrative understanding

• Writing extended responses focused on language and the writer’s techniques

Lesson Two:

• Using quotations effectively in extended answers

• Writing analytically about structure and effect

• A timed 45-minute comprehension task

Lesson Three:

• Whole-class feedback and success criteria discussion

• Exploring all five comprehension questions with suggested answers

• Model responses to demonstrate best practice

This resource is ideal for bridging KS3 and GCSE, helping pupils refine their inference, deduction, language analysis, and structured writing skills through a classic literary text.

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