A Portable Paradise

A Portable Paradise – GCSE Poetry Resource (AQA Worlds and Lives)

This GCSE English Literature resource is designed to support the teaching of A Portable Paradise by Roger Robinson for the AQA Worlds and Lives poetry anthology. The materials guide students through a clear progression from understanding the poem to developing confident analytical and comparative writing skills.

Students explore how Robinson presents key ideas such as heritage, cultural identity, memory, belonging, resilience and emotional strength. Carefully structured activities help learners build knowledge step by step, moving from initial reading and comprehension to detailed analysis of language, imagery, structure and writer’s methods before applying their learning to GCSE-style responses.

The lessons also provide essential contextual insight, including Robinson’s British-Trinidadian background and the poem’s connections to migration, family influence and cultural memory. Students consider how the concept of a personal “portable paradise” represents inner security, personal history and the power of memory to support wellbeing during challenging times.

What’s included:

• Two editable PowerPoint lessons

• Background on Roger Robinson and relevant contextual influences

• First reading tasks with guided comprehension questions

• Close analysis of language, imagery, themes and poetic techniques

• Exploration of form and structure, including free verse and shifts in voice and perspective

• Retrieval, recap and consolidation activities

• GCSE-style essay questions with planning support

• Model opening paragraph with evaluation task

• Preparation for poetry comparison within the Worlds and Lives anthology (including links to With Birds You’re Never Lonely)

• A structured framework to support effective comparative essay writing

As with all our resources, it’s fully editable and easy to adapt for different classes and abilities.