THE LOVELY BONES - CHAPTER 8 & 9

The Lovely Bones: Chapters 8–9 (AQA KS5)

This KS5 lesson is designed for AQA A Level English Literature and Language and focuses on Chapters 8 and 9 of The Lovely Bones, with particular emphasis on Chapter 9 and the character of Grandma Lynn.

The lesson is student-led and analytical in focus. Students begin with brief recall of Chapters 8 and 9 to re-establish narrative context. The core of the lesson centres on a sustained question about how Sebold presents Grandma Lynn, which runs throughout the session and shapes discussion and annotation.

Students work independently to analyse Grandma Lynn linguistically and structurally, exploring voice, description, dialogue, and narrative positioning. They consider how she functions within the family dynamic and how her presence complicates representations of grief. Close textual work is prioritised, with students identifying and explaining patterns before any teacher input.

After independent exploration, the teacher provides selected examples to model how analysis can be sharpened and linked clearly to the Assessment Objectives. The lesson concludes with a mock exam-style question, which students plan or begin to answer using their annotations.

This resource is suitable for Year 12 or Year 13 and supports confident application of AO1 and AO2 through focused, extract-based analysis and structured exam preparation.