Skylarking by Paul Mason is a historical fiction text that blends courtroom drama with imaginative reconstruction to explore the true story of Robert Wallath, a teenage highwayman in 1890s Taranaki. Through shifting perspectives between the courtroom and the romanticised world of the “gentleman of the road,” Mason examines how popular adventure stories shaped Robert’s sense of identity and blurred the line between fantasy and reality. The narrative contrasts Robert’s idealised self-image with the consequences of his actions, revealing how youthful imagination, media influence, and poor judgement lead to real harm and lasting regret. Tense, atmospheric, and thought-provoking, the text supports students to understand history through narrative voice and character perspective.

The text is ideal for integrated learning across literacy and social sciences, supporting inquiry into crime and punishment, the influence of popular culture, and moral decision-making in historical Aotearoa New Zealand.

This pack contains wide range of response activities including:

• A guided reading plan exploring key literacy elements including inference and deduction, language use, making connection and text organisation, along with key questioning to promote emotional intelligence, metacognition and compassionate inquiry. 
• An independent learning contract complete with explainer videos for activity clarity
  
• A wide range of response activities to support developing and embedding key literacy skills including sentence and word work, spelling, and cloze activities. 

Curriculum Phase: Phase 3
Year Level: Year 8

English (NZC Levels 4–5): reading for meaning and critical thinking, analysing narrative perspective and voice, understanding historical fiction, synthesising information from multiple viewpoints, exploring theme and symbolism, identifying author’s purpose

Social Sciences – Aotearoa New Zealand Histories: crime and justice in colonial New Zealand, continuity and change, identity and reputation, media influence, historical context, community response

Text type: Historical fiction, narrative recount, biographical narrative

Key words include: Aotearoa New Zealand histories, crime, highwaymen, history, robberies, Robin Hood, shilling shockers, skylarking, popular culture, identity, justice, consequences, fantasy versus reality, moral choice, Taranaki