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Science Fiction
infoWhy this? This unit uses high-interest science fiction texts to support a positive attitude to reading for pleasure. Science fiction is ideal for developing core reading skills such as inference, prediction, analysis of setting and atmosphere, and close language analysis, all of which underpin later KS3 and GCSE work. The genre also builds rich vocabulary and understanding of narrative conventions, which pupils then apply in their own narrative and analytical writing, as well as in structured discussion. Science fiction encourages pupils to explore big ideas about society, technology, identity and the future, while the imaginative but accessible nature of the genre supports engagement across a mixed-ability cohort. Activities built around speculation, interpretation and evaluation also promote critical thinking, use of evidence, and reflection on values such as responsibility, equality and human impact.
scheduleWhy now? This science fiction reading unit is taught early in Year 7 to support a smooth transition into secondary English, establish positive reading habits, and secure core reading skills such as inference, prediction and language analysis that will be developed across KS3. The genre’s imaginative themes also encourage curiosity and discussion at the start of secondary school, helping pupils build confidence in expressing ideas and engaging with more challenging concepts.
neurologyYou need to know
- An accomplishment is something achieved successfully, often through effort or skill, and endeavoured means tried hard to achieve something.
- Infuse means to fill something with a quality or introduce something into it, and endued is a formal or archaic word meaning provided with a quality or ability.
- A catastrophe is a disastrous event causing great damage or suffering, a predicament is a difficult situation, and a snag is an unexpected obstacle or difficulty.
- Delineate means to describe or outline something precisely, while recognition means identifying something familiar or acknowledging its existence or value.
- Ardour means intense enthusiasm or passion, while agitation means a state of nervousness, anxiety or unrest.
- Lassitude means a lack of physical or mental energy, while languor means a state of tiredness or relaxed inactivity.
- A palpitation is a noticeable heartbeat that may feel unusually fast, strong or irregular, and nausea is the feeling that you might vomit.
- Considered can mean thought about carefully, vaguely means without clarity or precision, and groggily means in a dazed, weak or unsteady manner.
- Mourning is the expression or experience of grief, especially after someone has died.
- Sustained can mean maintained over time or suffered an injury or loss, abated means became less intense, and abort means to stop something before it is completed.
- A torrent is a strong, fast-moving flow of water or an overwhelming outpouring, breakers are waves that collapse into foam, and a swell is a series of rolling waves.
- A brink is the edge of a steep place or the point just before an important event, while scuttling means moving quickly with short steps.
- Suffocate means to be unable to breathe or obtain enough oxygen, while immune means protected against a particular disease or unaffected by a particular influence.
- Infrared describes invisible electromagnetic radiation beyond the red end of the visible spectrum, and the torso is the trunk of the body, excluding the head, neck and limbs.
- A fronted adverbial is a word, phrase or clause placed before the main clause to give information such as when, where or how something happens, and it is usually followed by a comma.
- A semi-colon can join closely related independent clauses, while a colon can introduce a list, explanation or elaboration after a complete clause.
- A comparative adjective or adverb expresses a greater or lesser degree when comparing two things, while a superlative expresses the greatest or least degree within a group.
- Comparatives and superlatives commonly use the endings -er and -est or the words more, most, less and least, but some forms are irregular, such as good, better and best.
- Commas separate items in a list, with and or or usually introducing the final item.
- Verbs express actions, events or states, and direct questions normally end with a question mark and often place an auxiliary or modal verb before the subject.
rocket_launchYou must be able to
- Select the correct meaning of a target vocabulary word in a sentence, using surrounding words and events as evidence.
- Use the target vocabulary in original sentences that demonstrate its meaning and fit its grammatical role.
- Place an adverbial before a main clause to specify time, place or manner, adding a comma where appropriate.
- Join two closely related independent clauses with a semi-colon, checking that each clause could stand as a complete sentence.
- Use a colon after a complete clause to introduce a relevant list, explanation or elaboration.
- Form and use comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs, choosing appropriate endings or modifying words and avoiding forms such as more better.
- Punctuate a list with commas between items and an appropriate conjunction before the final item.
- Identify verbs and verb phrases in sentences, distinguishing actions, events and states.
- Construct direct questions using appropriate verb–subject order or a question word, and finish them with a question mark.