A lesson inviting pupils to draw comparisons between Ozymandias and London from the AQA Power and Conflict cluster and write their own comparative responses, with worksheets provided.
Power and Conflict poetry can be difficult to teach when comparing poems in the collection. This lesson provides model comparisons and tonnes of notes, as well as engaging activities to help them make connections and links between the different poems in the anthology. A fully differentiated and resourced lesson that helps students to begin to make comparisons between different poems within the Power and Conflict collection for AQA English Literature Paper 2, but easily adaptable for other exam specifications and anthologies.
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AQA English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2 Knowledge Organisers
AQA English Language Paper 1 Section A package
AQA English Language Paper 1 Sections A and B package
AQA English Language Paper 1 package
AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5 package
AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 5 package
AQA English Language Paper 2 Section A package
AQA English Language and English Literature revision package
An Inspector Calls whole scheme package
An Inspector Calls revision package
Macbeth whole scheme package
Macbeth revision package
A Christmas Carol whole scheme package
A Christmas Carol revision package
Jekyll and Hyde whole scheme package
Jekyll and Hyde revision package
Romeo and Juliet whole scheme package
Power and Conflict poetry comparing poems package
Power and Conflict poetry whole scheme package
Love and Relationships poetry whole scheme package
Unseen Poetry whole scheme package
Or check out some Citizenship GCSE, RE, PSHE + RSE resources at EC Resources
Love and Relationships poetry can be difficult to teach when comparing poems in the collection. This lesson provides model comparisons and tonnes of notes, as well as engaging activities to help them make connections and links between the different poems in the anthology. A fully differentiated and resourced lesson that helps students to begin to make comparisons between different poems within the Love and Relationships collection for AQA English Literature Paper 2, but easily adaptable for other exam specifications and anthologies.
Check out our English Shop for loads more free and inexpensive KS3, KS4, KS5, Literacy and whole school resources.
AQA English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2 Knowledge Organisers
AQA English Language Paper 1 Section A package
AQA English Language Paper 1 Sections A and B package
AQA English Language Paper 1 package
AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5 package
AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 5 package
AQA English Language Paper 2 Section A package
AQA English Language and English Literature revision package
An Inspector Calls whole scheme package
An Inspector Calls revision package
Macbeth whole scheme package
Macbeth revision package
A Christmas Carol whole scheme package
A Christmas Carol revision package
Jekyll and Hyde whole scheme package
Jekyll and Hyde revision package
Romeo and Juliet whole scheme package
Power and Conflict poetry comparing poems package
Power and Conflict poetry whole scheme package
Love and Relationships poetry whole scheme package
Unseen Poetry whole scheme package
Or check out some Citizenship GCSE, RE, PSHE + RSE resources at EC Resources
Two lessons to guide students through comparing Ozymandias and My Last Duchess from the AQA Power and Conflict cluster. Worksheets and resources included.
A set of revision activities that aims to support with the planning process and prepare students for Section B, Paper 1 for the Edexcel IGCSE English Literature Poetry Anthology element of the course.
The slides include the following:
An explanation of AOs
A planning process with examples of how to move from reading an exam question, to organising ideas, to writing a response.
A planning grid to help structure essays.
Sample paragraphs and essays, approaches to writing, frames and practice exam questions
A self assessment checklist and exam process reminders
Knowledge organiser and revision clock templates (these are best printed).
Reflection activities to help students audit their prior knowledge.
Suitable for a year 10 or 11 group that has covered the poems already and can be used to support an existing scheme in the run up to mock exams or timed writing. These slides can also be used for independent revision.
A revision guide with questions for each anthology poem, authorial context and the writing process (please note that the essay samples included are the same as with the above slides) can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13170179
AQA Worlds and Lives comparing poems lesson that explores ways of making comparisons between two similar or two different poems from the anthology. Students analyse Homing by Liz Berry before making comparisons with another poem of their choice. Includes differentiated activities and is useful for students preparing for GCSE English Literature Paper 2 or for KS3 students developing their essay skills.
Please note that this lesson does not include annotated notes on Homing or a copy of the poem. We cover Homing in a previous lesson in the scheme of work.
Check out our English Shop for loads more free and inexpensive KS3, KS4, KS5, Literacy and whole school resources.
AQA English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2 Knowledge Organisers
AQA English Language Paper 1 Section A package
AQA English Language Paper 1 Sections A and B package
AQA English Language Paper 1 package
AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5 package
AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 5 package
AQA English Language Paper 2 Section A package
AQA English Language and English Literature revision package
An Inspector Calls whole scheme package
An Inspector Calls revision package
Macbeth whole scheme package
Macbeth revision package
A Christmas Carol whole scheme package
A Christmas Carol revision package
Jekyll and Hyde whole scheme package
Jekyll and Hyde revision package
Romeo and Juliet whole scheme package
Power and Conflict poetry comparing poems package
Power and Conflict poetry whole scheme package
Love and Relationships poetry whole scheme package
Unseen Poetry whole scheme package
A very detailed unseen poetry lesson that looks at two different Christmas poems on the theme of music creating joy during the festive season. The resource helps students to explore Ring Out, Wild Bells by Alfred Tennyson and ‘Music on Christmas Morning’ by Anne Bronte. The session is designed to help students answer AQA English Literature Paper 2 unseen poetry questions but is adaptable for KS3 students as well. Merry Christmas!
This lesson aims to improve students’ skills in comparing and contrasting poems. Students learn how to understand the different ways that poetry can be compared, plan a well-structured comparative essay, and complete a detailed, organised, and sustained comparison. This lesson is most suitable for children preparing to sit GCSEs/ A Levels. Please note, the lesson should be used subsequent to students being taught poems, as I have left the poems to be compared up to the teacher, as opposed to specifying particular poems.
The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through:
- Understanding what features of poems can be compared (a comprehensive list is provided and utilised in the lesson);
- Comprehending how to structure comparative essays as a whole (using a specific formula, which has always formed a successful model for my previous students);
- Reading and analysing a model example of a comparative paragraph, in order to understand the key features within each paragraph of a comparative essay;
- Writing their own poetry comparison, using planning and success criteria that are formed over the lesson;
- Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts.
Included is:
- Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and substantial;
- Worksheets and resources for all activities;
- A model example;
- Comprehensive lesson plan.
There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. This was originally taught to mixed-ability year 10 groups, but can be differentiated for groups of different ages and abilities.
All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.
A fabulous resource of 6 complete whole lessons, if not more, including UNSEEN POEMS designed to compare with :
'My 9 year old self '
‘Deliverer’
‘Effects’
‘Eat Me’
‘Giuseppe’
‘Material’
Includes prompt analysis questions and sample questions and examples of student work . Colourful and engaging .
Updated for 2023, 4 differentiated writing frames to 4 actual AQA power and conflict past exam questions. Each writing frame has 3 tiers of difficulty to allow for the fact different students in the class require different levels of support and guidance in the run up to the examinations.
Tier 1: Students add the analysis of the quotations. The topic sentences and recommended quotations are already filled in for them.
Tier 2: Students must pick their own 3 quotations from each poem and analyse the quotations.
Tier 3: Students must pick their own topic sentences, quotations and then analsyse the quotations.
The questions covered are as follows:
2021 question: Compare how poets present ideas about power and control in ‘London’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and conflict’. (30)
Nov 2020 question: Compare how poets present the ways people are affected by difficult experiences in ‘Remains’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and conflict’. (30)
May 2019 question: Compare how poets present the ways that people are affected by war in ‘War Photographer’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and conflict’. (30)
May 2018 question: Compare how poets present ideas about power in ‘Ozymandias’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and conflict’. (30)
Also includes more writing frames to help structure comparisons that I made a few years ago. The poems that feature in the writing frames include:
Storm on the Island and Exposure (conflict with nature)
Prelude and Ozymandias (power)
Tissue and Ozymandias (conflict)
Bayonet Charge and Charge of the light brigade (conflict)
Storm on the Island and The Prelude (conflict)
London and The Emigree (power of a place)
Remains and Poppies (conflict)
War Photographer and Remains (conflict)
My Last Duchess and Ozymandias (power of pride)
My Last Duchess and Checking out me History (frustration)
A useful lesson for teaching comparison skills between these three Romantic poems. Part of the GCSE Power and Conflict poetry unit. Also includes a study crib sheet that students can use as a revision tool.
For A Level Edexcel Literature (2015) specification.
A teacher-written full-marks essay comparing the anthology’s ‘Look We Have Coming to Dover’ with Helen Tookey’s ‘Map’.
The question is from the 2021 paper:
Read the poem Map by Helen Tookey on page 2 of the source booklet and reread the anthology poem Look We Have Coming to Dover! by Daljit Nagra (on page 3).
Compare the methods both poets use to explore the significance of journeys.
(Total for Question 1 = 30 marks)
This resource contains a 30 slide PPT on comparing power and conflict poetry for GCSE AQA English Literature. It contains tips, techniques, model answers and advice for comparing, with 3 focus questions covering different poems.
NB, this resource is not focused on teaching the poems but is designed to be used AFTER poems have been covered to refine comparison and exam skills.
PPT contains:
Intro to approaching poetry
Possible themes to compare
7 sample questions for discussion
A focus on a question and video link recap on ‘Remains’, presented in a Venn diagram for comparison
2 exemplar paragraphs comparing to ‘Prelude’
Discussion of a question focused on ‘My Last Duchess’
Recap of Last Duchess (video link)
Venn diagram comparing to Ozymandias
Mark scheme
Break down of how to construct a paragraph (PEEZL and alternative What-where-how-why)
A gap fill exercise that scaffolds PEEZL method for weaker pupils
A check list to write the comparative paragraph and some phrases to boost marks
Peer assessment opportunities
A focus question on Bayonet Charge (plus a video link recap)
3 example responses to the question of varied levels
Pupil exercise to craft their own response
Advice for not having a quote to use
A bonus unseen poem at the end (Alpine Letter) and question to work through, if required
Extra pointers on what might be said about the poem ‘Alpine Letter’ in a strong essay response (4 key ideas)
Checked and updated September 2025
Eduqas comparing poems lesson that explores ways of making comparisons between two similar or two different poems from the anthology. Students analyse Cozy Apologia by Rita Dove before making comparisons with another poem of their choice. Includes differentiated activities and is useful for students preparing for GCSE English Literature Paper 1/Component 1 or for KS3 students developing their essay skills.
Check out our English Shop for loads more free and inexpensive KS3, KS4, KS5, Literacy and whole school resources.
AQA English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2 Knowledge Organisers
AQA English Language Paper 1 Section A package
AQA English Language Paper 1 Sections A and B package
AQA English Language Paper 1 package
AQA English Language Paper 2 Question 5 package
AQA English Language Paper 1 Question 5 package
AQA English Language Paper 2 Section A package
AQA English Language and English Literature revision package
An Inspector Calls whole scheme package
An Inspector Calls revision package
Macbeth whole scheme package
Macbeth revision package
A Christmas Carol whole scheme package
A Christmas Carol revision package
Jekyll and Hyde whole scheme package
Jekyll and Hyde revision package
Romeo and Juliet whole scheme package
Power and Conflict poetry comparing poems package
Power and Conflict poetry whole scheme package
Love and Relationships poetry whole scheme package
Unseen Poetry whole scheme package
A lesson showing students how to compare two poems, The Clod and the Pebble by William Blake and Daffodils by William Wordsworth.
a video link to BBC GCSE demonstrating how comparison works. Mental contrasting and EBI work included in the form of self assessment.
A lesson comparing Imtiaz Dharker’s ‘Tissue’ and ‘The Emigree’ by Carol Rumens from the AQA Power and Conflict poetry cluster. The lesson guides students through making links between the poems and writing a comparative response with success criteria.