In Your Position: Character Thought-Bubble & Perspective Planning Lesson for An Inspector Calls

A teacher-created, classroom-ready PowerPoint resource supporting character viewpoint exploration and responsibility mapping for An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley.

This resource uses first-person perspective prompts and thought-bubble planning to help students step into a character’s mindset before the Inspector enters the room, analyse relationships, actions and emotional state, and track behavioral and tonal shifts when Inspector Goole arrives.

Perfect for developing inference, empathy, and viewpoint analysis, with clear transfer into GCSE analytical paragraphs and character-based extended writing.

Lesson Resource Focus:

Thought-bubble planning for 5 major characters:

Gerald Croft

Sheila Birling

Mrs Birling

Mr Birling

Eric Birling

Students consider for each character:

What they are thinking before the Inspector arrives

How they feel about key relationships (e.g. Gerald/Sheila, Birling family dynamics, generational tensions)

What they are doing physically in the moment

How their tone, behavior, and attitude change when Inspector Goole enters

Instructor slides model how to build evidence-between-the-lines thinking

Promotes discussion of:

class and social perception

family loyalty and self-protection

romantic ideals vs moral reckoning

generational conflict

responsibility deflection and acceptance

Designed for whole-class discussion, guided inference, or intervention literacy cycles

GCSE Skills Developed:

Narrative perspective inference

Character involvement and motivation analysis

Tracking structural or tonal shifts caused by Inspector Goole’s entrance

Viewpoint comparison and reader/audience effect evaluation (AO2 transferable)

Planning analytical paragraphs using TEE/PEEL/PEA writing structures

Selecting and explaining evidence to show changing attitudes

Empathetic reasoning about characters’ positions, decisions and panic/self-protection responses

Ideal For:

ks3/4 English lessons

GCSE English Literature extract or essay preparation

Literacy interventions focusing on inference and perspective

Homework or independent planning tasks

Teacher modelling of character cognition before writing

Curriculum planning for viewpoint, responsibility, and comparison writing

Format & Delivery: