A simple planning resource and essay question for The Handmaid's Tale

A full lesson guiding students through the poem ‘Hide and Seek’ by Vernon Scannell, which appears on the Edexcel IGCSE Literature specification. The resource contains: a simple starter activity; guided analysis, breaking down key lines with questions; a plenary activity asking students their thoughts on the moral of the poem. The lesson could be developed with an extended writing activity and additional questions for each section of the poem. These are not included and this resource is not as detailed as some other resources in my shop, hence the lower price point.

A fully-fleshed resource, which has activities designed for analysis of two extracts from The Woman in Black. There is an activity which looks at Ann Radcliffe’s definitions of horror and terror. Included is an extended writing question and writing frame. I have also added a creative writing task with a model response, plus a re-drafted model which could be used to illustrate the importance of making conscious choices as an author. I use the resource with very able year 8 classes, but it would be suitable for key stage 3 and 4 students alike. 15 slides in length and enough material for up to two lessons. Lesson has been updated with working links (September 2019).

The resource is aimed at AS / A level students just beginning the novel. The presentation unpacks the first page and half of Atwood's novel in a fair bit of detail. The epigraphs, satire, context, significance of names and mode of narration are all covered. More like this to come.

Separate PowerPoints for chapters 2 and 3 of The Handmaid's Tale. The chapter two presentation deals with the introduction of the Marthas, the shift in style from the first chapter and some of the key images from the second chapter. The chapter three presentation focuses on the character of Serena Joy. It includes context on the three women Serena Joy's character was based on. I have included some links to clips of the women, which stimulate debate as their views are fairly controversial. Then there is a simple outline for group work and an essay question.

A pair of lessons which focus on extract analysis of characters from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Frankenstein. The Frankenstein lesson contains printable resources for close language analysis in groups and the Jekyll and Hyde lesson contains an engaging activity where students can draw and label Mr Hyde. I would recommend the resource be used with low to middle ability KS3 students.

A bright and visual presentation with a mix of teacher led and student led activities, designed to promote engagement and independent thought. Structure, form, language and context are all covered. There is an annotation activity for students' anthologies (not just copying off the board). The resource would suit middle ability and more able students studying the Eduqas exam board for GCSE and provides work for at least 2 lessons.

A full lesson designed to guide students through the poem ‘Piano’ by D. H. Lawrence, which appears on the Edexcel IGCSE Literature specification. The resource includes: a starter activity; contextual information; detailed questions on language analysis to cover the whole short poem; information on the main features of form and structure.

A simple introduction to verb and adverb word classes including straightfoward definitions, colourful and animated examples, and a range of tasks designed to get students not only to recognise these word classes but to use them successfully in their own writing. The lesson would be suitable for students of late primary age (perhaps years 4, 5, 6) or early secondary (year 7), depending upon their needs and abilities.

A simple lesson focusing on the use of rhyme in Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. I would recommend it being taught to younger students getting to grips with how we annotate rhyme schemes and compose rhymed poems; I taught this lesson to a mixed ability year 7 class. The presentation includes a starter asking students to use metaphors. Then, there is a slide exemplifying the difference between true and near rhyme. I’ve included an embedded video of a good reading of the poem. Following this is an annotation exercise and, finally, students are asked to write their own rubai using the same rhyme scheme as Frost.

A simple lesson to help students get to grips with the meaning and effects of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116. First, a modern translation of the poem is provided so that students can access its meaning, along with definitions for key words. Then, there is an example of how one of the key lines in the poem could be ‘exploded’ , followed by a task instructing students to ‘explode’ a line from the poem themselves. Several exemplars with images are also provided to help students on their way. Finally, there is a PETAL writing frame to support students in responding to the question: How does Shakespeare present love in Sonnet 116?

A lesson which examines the imagery, form and context of Keats’s On sitting down to read King Lear once again. A group task is provided to facilitate study of the imagery of the poem quatrain by quatrain.

The presentation looks at Moira across the text. It begins with a quotation hunt , contains a task where students evaluate who would be the better protagonist (Moira or Offred) , considers the issue of race and provides a starting point for an essay question.

A lesson filled with contextual information on Keats’s On The Sea. Discussion points are also provided for Keats’s use of the sonnet form as well as his philosophy of negative capability and the role of the poet.

A lesson with group work tasks on Keats’s In drear nighted December. The tasks also provide links to Keats’s later poems including Ode on a Grecian Urn and To Autumn.

The lesson begins by building character profiles of Commander Fred Waterford and Fred Judd, and asks students to consider the significance of each character. Next is a close focus on the presentation of his character with discussion questions and, finally, a motion that forms the basis of a debate over his character.

A presentation which gets students to re-write classic fairy tales with a twist. Very visual and comes complete with planning grids. Suitable for KS2 and early KS3.

The lesson begins with some definitions of reliable and unreliable narrators, requiring students to justify which they feel Offred is. Next, students discuss the benefits of each type of narrator to an author before looking at some specific sections where Offred can be seen as unreliable. They must analyse the possible reasons and effects of this lack of reliability.

The presentation begins by focusing on the character of Nick as first presented in Chapter 4 of the novel. There is a group task with key quotations for this purpose. Next, to promote discussion, there is inter-textual information on Newspeak from Orwell's 1984, which has strong similarities with the language used in Chapter 4. Finally, there are some questions about the end of the chapter and sexual repression in Gilead, along with a link to an online article on the same topic; QR code provided for students with ipad or similar.

A step-by step look at John Keats’s ‘When I have fears that I may cease to be’. The lesson begins with a look at the context, the unusual form of the poem and then the language. It also asks students to begin to make comparisons to similar ideas in some of Keats’s other poems e.g. the ocean in On The Sea and the harvest in *To Autumn. *