Storm on the Island

Storm on the Island - AQA GCSE Power and Conflict Poetry Anthology

This two-lesson mini-unit covers Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ in detail. Designed for GCSE pupils studying AQA Power and Conflict poetry, this resource explores the poem in depth and explains how to compare it to other poems from the anthology. The resource is made up of a 51-slide editable PowerPoint presentation and 5 accompanying worksheets.

The lessons contain the following:

Lesson One

Context – A brief outline of Seamus Heaney and the conflict in Northern Ireland

First Reading – A reading of ‘Storm on the Island’ with glossary and comprehension / consolidation questions with example answers included.

Language and imagery – Analysing ‘Storm on the Island’ in detail. Exploring language and answering questions that delve deeper. Model answers provided.

Essay Writing – An essay question to assess students’ initial understanding of the poem. An example response is included.

Lesson Two

Imagery - Analysing Heaney’s use of imagery and poetic techniques (sibilance, simile, metaphor).

Themes – Exploring the themes of ‘Storm on the Island’ – the power of nature, conflict and fear.

Structure and Form – How Heaney uses form, structure, rhythm and rhyme.

The GCSE exam – Comparing ‘Storm on the Island’ with ‘The Prelude: Stealing the Boat’ and explaining how to write a comparison essay in the exam.

This is a comprehensive resource containing a range of activities, however it can also be edited, personalised and differentiated to suit your teaching needs.

To preview a few slides from the ‘Storm on the Island’ PowerPoint presentation, please click on the images.