Genetics by Sinead Morrissey

A full teaching resource designed to support the analysis of Genetics by Sinead Morrissey, aligning with the Edexcel A Level English Literature specification (9ET0). This resource provides a detailed exploration of the poem’s themes, language, and structure, with engaging activities.

This is an updated and expanded version of this resource.

The lesson includes:

• Introduction to the Villanelle Form: An accessible breakdown of the villanelle structure and how it reinforces the poem’s themes of inheritance, love, and separation.
• A follow-up Villanelle activity where students select statements about why the poet has used the villanelle form and justify their choices.
• Poetry Carousel Activity – A dynamic and interactive approach where students rotate between stations focused on key themes, language devices, structure & form, and personal response.** Now updated with additional questions and prompts. You will need to paste the poem onto the worksheet due to copyright. **
• Topic Sentence Practice: A writing task to develop sophisticated, evaluative arguments in line with AO1.
• A comparison activity with the poem ‘Inheritance’ by Eavan Boland (not included for copyright reasons but easily sourced online). Students are given a pre-filled table that guides them to important comparisons and they select 3-4 rows to flesh out. A blank copy of the table is provided for their answers.
• Comparative Essay Writing: An essay question on the themes of family legacy and personal identity with prompts for comparing ‘Genetics’ with ‘Inheritance’ by Eavan Boland.

Additional or Alternative Tasks:

• Guided Annotation & Discussion – A more detailed analysis with structured prompts and questions to lead students through key sections of the poem.
• Comparative Essay Writing: An alternative essay question with prompts for comparing Genetics with My Father’s Hats by Mark Irwin (poem not included due to copyright reasons but easily sourced).