The City of Ember Novel Study Unit | Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary, Writing & Character Activities
Save planning time with this complete The City of Ember novel study unit, designed for Years 4–8. This printable PDF resource supports students as they read Jeanne DuPrau’s dystopian novel and explore key ideas about society, responsibility, problem-solving, leadership, courage, and hope.
The unit is organised into 10 reading sets, making it easy to guide students through the novel in manageable sections. Each reading set includes a focused activity, with comprehension and vocabulary tasks carefully structured to support understanding, discussion, and written responses.
Students will answer reading comprehension questions, explore important vocabulary, analyse characters, respond to key themes, and complete creative and reflective writing tasks connected to the world of Ember.
What’s Included
- Before Reading activity
- 10 reading sets
- Reading comprehension questions
- Vocabulary activities
- Word Map Vocabulary
- 4-Square Vocabulary
- Sentence Sketch
- Word Detective
- Vocabulary Crossword
- Character activities
- Writing activities
- Teacher-led discussion questions
- Final reflection activity
- Answer key
- Printable PDF format
Skills Covered
- Reading comprehension
- Retrieval
- Inference
- Vocabulary development
- Context clues
- Character analysis
- Theme analysis
- Text evidence
- Written responses
- Creative thinking
- Dystopian fiction understanding
- Discussion skills
Perfect For
- Whole-class novel study
- Guided reading
- Literature circles
- Independent reading work
- Upper primary and lower secondary English
Why Teachers Will Love It
This print-and-go The City of Ember novel study gives teachers a structured unit without hours of extra planning. The reading sets help students work through the novel in clear sections, while the mix of comprehension, vocabulary, writing, discussion, and reflection keeps lessons varied and purposeful.
The resource is ideal for exploring dystopian fiction, character choices, problem-solving, social systems, rules, responsibility, and hope. It can be used across a full novel study unit, small group reading, or as part of a wider English programme.
