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Tangled Up In Poetry

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I teach English Lit and Lang at IGCSE and IB Level. Resources here are mainly for these courses but I often upload KS3 resources too. Currently I am working on War of the Worlds and the new Songs of Ourselves for 2026. Drop me a line on: underthevolcanoagain@gmail.com for one-to-one tuition.

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I teach English Lit and Lang at IGCSE and IB Level. Resources here are mainly for these courses but I often upload KS3 resources too. Currently I am working on War of the Worlds and the new Songs of Ourselves for 2026. Drop me a line on: underthevolcanoagain@gmail.com for one-to-one tuition.
03 War of the Worlds - HG Wells - Chapters 1 and 2 - IGCSE First Exams 2024
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03 War of the Worlds - HG Wells - Chapters 1 and 2 - IGCSE First Exams 2024

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In this 10-slide PowerPoint, you will find a summary of chapters 1 and 2, a matching task related to the themes of Science, Political Change, Industrial Revolution, and Imperialism. Included next are 10 questions about an extract from Chapter 1, focused on vocabulary. There is also a ‘descriptive writing checklist’ and 2 descriptive writing activities. Finally, there are another 10 questions about an extract from Chapter 2, encouraging students to comment on language. This PowerPoint can be used generically, or for the IGCSE course, first exams in 2024.
02 War of the Worlds - Radio Broadcast - Fake News - Entertainment - IGCSE First Exams 2024
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02 War of the Worlds - Radio Broadcast - Fake News - Entertainment - IGCSE First Exams 2024

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In this PowerPoint presentation you will find an overview of the radio broadcast that was presented by Orson Welles in 1938, with a range of activities included about fake news and entertainment. This is the second introductory lesson to the SoW for the IGCSE first exams 2024, but can be used for other curricula too. It could also be used as a standalone lesson on fake news to help students navigate the web more safely. The starter is an inference task based on the headlines that shocked the US after the first airing of War of the Worlds. The next task is a listening activity where students listen to a 10-minute extract of the radio broadcast (script handout and link included), highlighting lines/features that make it so believable. This is followed by a true or false quiz about fake news in today’s era. The main task is a creative one. Students, in groups/pairs have to create their own piece of “fake news” and then swap it with another group/pair. Finally, using the provided guide to spotting fake news, students have to break down one another’s piece of “fake news”. It should be a fun and informative lesson that is simple to teach and easy to follow for the students. Please check out the full SoW and my other resources. All feedback is enormously appreciated.
01 War of the Worlds - Introduction Lesson - H G Wells - Context - IGCSE First Exams 2024
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01 War of the Worlds - Introduction Lesson - H G Wells - Context - IGCSE First Exams 2024

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UPDATED VERSION - PLEASE REDOWNLOAD Jeff Wayne intro! In this 15 slide PowerPoint, you will find a fun starter with images connected to the novel, a gap-fill about the life of HG Wells (with answers), a matching activity about Victorian England, Industrial Revolution, Imperialism, Science, and Political Change (also with answers), and some documentary viewing questions that could either be done during class or for homework (answers also provided). This is all you need to help your students get started with the background to the novel; it works well as a set of pre-reading activities. The full SoW can be bought as part of a bundle. I have made the SoW with the IGCSE first exams 2024 in mind, but it can be used generically too. I hope it is useful for your students. Please check out my other resources!
IB LAL English A: Body of Work - Army Recruitment Posters - IA - Individual Oral Practice Task
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IB LAL English A: Body of Work - Army Recruitment Posters - IA - Individual Oral Practice Task

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This resource has students at IB level for the English A: Lang and Lit course, analyse a series of print adverts and film. The campaign is a recent British Army Recruitment campaign. The main task students should complete after analysing the sources is to create a 5 minute spoken presentation about the purpose, audience and techniques used. There is a glossary of vocabulary which should come in useful. It is not meant as a mock for the IO, but a similar task that will let students have a go at preparing a short 5 minute speech , analysing the campaign. It should last about 2 weeks.
Songs of Ourselves - Volume 1 Part 4 - CIE 2023-25 - All Poems Analysed
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Songs of Ourselves - Volume 1 Part 4 - CIE 2023-25 - All Poems Analysed

17 Resources
Here you will find a detailed PowerPoint presentation for every single poem in the new iGCSE syllabus. In addition, there is a selection of 1000-word model essays responding to a variety of the poems to share with students. In other lessons, there are model paragraphs, colour-coded for clarity. Some of the poems have a supplementary YouTube video where I have broken down the poems for students to revise at home (more videos to come soon). The lessons have a very wide range of activities to engage students, and most poems have either line by line questions or line by line annotations (or both). This is all you need to be prepared to teach these 15 poems. I have also included a 16th poem (The Bay) that could be used as an “unseen” exam example. I have also made a full anthology for easy printing. Poems covered here are: The City Planners The Planners The Man With Night Sweats Night Sweat Rain The Spirit Is Too Blunt An Instrument From Long Distance Funeral Blues He Never Expected Much The Telephone Call A Consumer’s Report Request To A Year On Finding A Small Fly Crushed In A Book Ozymandias Away, Melancholy Bonus Poem (The Bay) Full Printable Anthology (PDF)
From Long Distance by Tony Harrison - Lesson Activities - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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From Long Distance by Tony Harrison - Lesson Activities - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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In this PowerPoint presentation, you will find: line by line questions, analysis of rhyme scheme and tense shifts, a comparison task where students interpret the opening page of The Stranger by Albert Camus to discuss the poem’s theme of “the irrationality of grief”, and a media based activity where students have to create a YouTube video of the poem using still images. It should be quite an interesting and fun series of tasks for students to develop a good understanding of the poem.
Request To A Year by Judith Wright - Full Lesson Activities - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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Request To A Year by Judith Wright - Full Lesson Activities - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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In this simple 9 slide PowerPoint, you will find: thematic questions about heroes and feminist struggles, line by line questions, detailed summary of the poem with a gap-fill task, a drama activity where students act the event in the poem out, and a writing activity where students write a letter from the great-great-grandmother in the poem to the author. Finally, students peer assess their writing based on spelling, punctuation, grammar, paragraphing, and tone. It is a fairly easy-to-understand poem that students will benefit from exploring using these different pedagogical platforms.
Away Melancholy by Stevie Smith - Full Lesson of Activities - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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Away Melancholy by Stevie Smith - Full Lesson of Activities - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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In this 20 slide PowerPoint presentation, you will find: a selection of artwork from Boticceli, Munch, and Monet with discussion questions around the theme of “melancholy”, further thematic discussion questions, a gap filling task on the potential meaning and purpose of the poem (with answers), a line by line interpretation/analysis, and then the lesson culminates with an extended plenary whereby students are provided with colour-coded annotations that they have to label on the poem - these are more technical features, such as imagery, tone, assonance, repetition, asyndeton, and contrast. There are also a few possible essay questions at the very end that could be useful if you think students are ready to tackle an essay, or paragraph. By completing these activities, students will have a good understanding of the poem; it could be shared with them when exams are nearing. Also included is an essay planning sheet and a model paragraph.
Ozymandias - Lesson Activities, Quizzes, Model Analysis - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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Ozymandias - Lesson Activities, Quizzes, Model Analysis - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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In this PowerPoint you will find: thematic discussion questions, a quiz about Percy Shelley, the ‘story’ of the poem explained, a mindmapping task on Ramesses II, the author’s message, line by line questions, a gap fill about extended metaphor, a brief overview of the framed narrative form, and an annotated model response with essay writing prompts and instructions. All in all, students should have a good grasp of the poem after studying this, and teachers will not have any planning apart from possibly printing any slides they might want students to stick into their books. Any feedback is always much appreciated.
On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book - Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book - Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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In this PowerPoint you will find a detailed breakdown of the poem’s central meaning, line by line questions, line by line summary, a true/false quiz, finish the sentences activity, a group work discussion task, and students end the analysis by creating their own YouTube video exploring the theme of ‘death’ in the poem. Prompts have been provided for the video’s content.
A Consumer's Report by Peter Porter - Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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A Consumer's Report by Peter Porter - Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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In this PowerPoint presentation you will find: 20 questions to help students annotate and understand the poem, pre-reading activities related to the theme of commodification, a brief introduction to Marxism, an example of how the brand Oreo used the Gay Pride flag to help sell its product and brand itself, about the author (very brief), and finally an example analytical paragraph used for modelling, answering the question: How does Peter Porter, in his poem A Consumer’s Report, convey his views on the commodification of life? This PowerPoint can be bought individually or as part of a bundle at a discount.
The Telephone Call by Fleur Adcock - Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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The Telephone Call by Fleur Adcock - Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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In this 20-slide PowerPoint presentation you will find: about the author, breaking down the title, a dramatic reading activity, 5 thought-provoking/annotation questions on each stanza, tasks on theme, tone, structure and the author’s message; and finally a short creative-writing activity. It will require at least one full hour of teaching but could easily be amended. If you take the writing activity further, it might be better spread over two lessons. Hopefully this PP will be of use in preparing your students for their iGCSE exams, or beneficial to anyone studying this poem. Any feedback is always appreciated.
He Never Expected Much by Thomas Hardy- Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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He Never Expected Much by Thomas Hardy- Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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In this PowerPoint you will find a detailed summary of the poem, some pre-reading activities, a breakdown of structure, style and rhyme, teacher annotations, and a model analysis and interpretation, which I have colour-coded to highlight embedded quotes, techniques and personal interpretation. Overall, this poem resource is quite a teacher-led presentation as this is one of the trickier poems in the anthology to break down from first glance. By using this resource, the poet’s central message and some of his techniques should be understood by your students. I hope it is useful for your iGCSE class. I have also added a supplementary YouTube video to help with introducing the poem to students - it could be a homework task to watch the video before the lesson.
Funeral Blues by WH Auden - Full Lesson - Variety of Activities - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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Funeral Blues by WH Auden - Full Lesson - Variety of Activities - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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In this PowerPoint you will find: three readings of the poem, the poem’s backstory, questions on form/technique/ambiguity, a technique/quote matching activity, a line by line commentary, a final fun task where students perform the poem dramatically in small groups as others rate them on a simple performance rubric. It is informative but also quite fun and you can skip activities as you wish. I hope it is useful and any feedback would be much appreciated.
The Spirit Is Too Blunt An Instrument by Anne Stevenson  - Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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The Spirit Is Too Blunt An Instrument by Anne Stevenson - Full Lesson - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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This detailed PowerPoint takes students through some of the big questions raised in the poem, having them discuss in groups and then feedback to the class. It picks out key vocabulary and and has students analyse language. There is a short close analysis of sound imagery and an essay question with “break down” questions. Also, there are a couple of model analytical paragraphs to help with essay writing.
IB - Paper 1 - Mock Exam with Model Response for Level 7 - Language and Literature
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IB - Paper 1 - Mock Exam with Model Response for Level 7 - Language and Literature

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This is an exam I made based on an analysis of a website promoting a VR headset made by Facebook in February 2021. I have included an example intro, thesis and opening analytical paragraph to show students how to use clusters of quotes and connect style, language and meaning. I am sure it will be useful for the upcoming exam as many students find it difficult to construct in depth paragraphs.
The Planners by Boey Kim Cheng - Lesson and Model Paragraph - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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The Planners by Boey Kim Cheng - Lesson and Model Paragraph - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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This lesson features: general discussion questions, line by line questions to help students engage with the poem either before or during the lesson, and a detailed line by line analysis, highlighting some techniques and providing interpretation. Then we have an essay question, model introduction, and first analytical paragraph. The next paragraph has been started, and quotes provided - students should finish it off. I have also included a link to my supplementary YouTube video which acts as an introduction/revision tool for students. Students are making a Poetry Portfolio, where they stick in each poem, annotate, and analyse with the 4 big questions, which I have included at the end of the PP.
The Man with Night Sweats by Thom Gunn - Lesson and 1000 Word Model Essay - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25
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The Man with Night Sweats by Thom Gunn - Lesson and 1000 Word Model Essay - CIE Poetry iGCSE 2023-25

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The PowerPoint includes: mindmapping the title, comprehension questions for every line, a variety of activities, line by line analysis, contextual information, rhyme scheme, essay questions, criteria, and an example colour-coded paragraph. Also, I have included a link to my YouTube analysis and a 1000 word essay. It is very thorough and detailed, easy to follow, and with logical animations. It will take between two and three hours to cover fully.