a person who travels to a place of religious significance for religious reasons

a brief description of a character which establishes important ideas about them

a brief insight into something or someone

a person who works in a corn mill where grain is ground into flour

Geoffrey Chaucer's ‘The Canterbury Tales’: compelling characterisation

English

Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus: how the myth inspired the painting

Exploring William Carlos Williams’s poem ‘Landscape with the fall of Icarus’

Exploring W.H. Auden's poem 'Musée des Beaux Arts'

Exploring William Carlos Williams's poem 'The Hunters in the Snow'

Exploring Walter de la Mare's poem 'Brueghel's Winter'

Comparing poems: 'Brueghel's Winter' and 'The Hunters in the Snow'

Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott': understanding the ballad

Symbolism in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's ‘The Lady of Shalott’

Exploring enjambment in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's ‘The Lady of Shalott’

Descriptive writing using Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' as stimulus

Effective sensory language using ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey’ as stimulus

Third person omniscient writing: ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey’ as stimulus

Writing a full descriptive piece: ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' as stimulus

Reviewing and refining descriptive writing: alliteration, plosives and sibilance

Natasha Bowen's ‘Skin of the Sea’: understanding the extract

Writing inspired by ‘Skin of the Sea’: varying sentence types to create rhythm

Use of flashback in Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea'

Creating convincing characters using ‘The Canterbury Tales’ as stimulus

Pat Barker's 'The Silence of the Girls': understanding the extract

Madeline Miller's 'The Song of Achilles': understanding the extract

Comparative paragraphs: 'The Silence of the Girls' and 'The Song of Achilles'

Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘The Fisherman and the Jinni’: understanding the story

Exploring the theme of power in Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘One Thousand and One Nights’

The five part narrative structure

Planning a narrative using the five part narrative structure

Writing a full narrative piece using the five part narrative structure

Improving and proofreading a piece of narrative writing

In 'Myths and Legends Re-Told', pupils explore how they can alter traditional stories to convey modern ideas and morals. In 'Animal Farm: the Pigs and Power', pupils learn about Orwell's allegory and understand how he uses an apparently simple fairy story to convey a political message. 

In 'Step Into the Unknown', pupils look at the ways in which famous children's writers create convincing settings, particularly through descriptions of windows and doors. In 'Myths and Legends Re-Told', pupils take inspiration from the ways in which writers and poets use powerful imagery and symbolism, to inspire their own writing. 

In this unit, pupils read and explore a range of text types in connection to classical myths and legends. They first look at poetry before doing some descriptive writing inspired by poetry and paintings. They then explore Chaucer and modern retellings of myths to inspire their narrative writing.

Myths, legends and stories that inspire

Immoral behaviour or minor criminal offences, e.g. shoplifting, graffiti.

Depiction or discussion of upsetting content

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Depiction or discussion of violence or fighting, including threats of violence or the aftermath of violence.

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Depiction or discussion of sex or sexual body parts, including sex education.

Depiction or discussion of sexual content

{{ }} wrote 'The Canterbury Tales' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').

Chaucer wrote 'The Canterbury Tales' in {{ }} English ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').

It was written before Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

Which of these statements about 'The Canterbury Tales' is correct? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire')

What do we learn about the character of the Cook when he is first introduced in 'The Canterbury Tales'? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire')

What do we learn about the character of the Miller when he is first introduced in 'The Canterbury Tales'? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire')

Which of these statements about Shakespeare and Chaucer are correct? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire')

In 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we use the terms narrator, author and character. Match each term to its definition.

a long description of a character which establishes everything about them

a description that focuses solely on what a character looks like

In 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we meet many different characters. One way writers develop their characters is to create character profiles. In English, what is a character profile?

She almost forgot the story wasn't real, so compelling was its plot.

She was late for her lesson because she was caught up in a compelling novel.

She found the play compelling and boring so left in the interval.

The evidence was very compelling and the jury found the defendant guilty. 

The speech wasn't compelled so everyone left.

The word compelling means 'convincing, persuasive; exciting and interesting'. Which of the following uses the word compelling (or a form of it) accurately? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire')

A large group pilgrimed their way to the holy place.

There were many pilgrims inside the religious temple.

The pilgrims walked slowly, telling stories along the way.

The site was visited pilgrimidely every year.

A pilgrim is a person who travels to a place of religious significance for religious reasons. Which of these sentences uses the word (or a form of it) correctly? 

This poem was written before all of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

This poem was written before most of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

This poem was written at the same time as Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

This poem was written after most of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

This poem was written after all of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets.

In 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire' we read a poem called 'The Canterbury Tales' which was written in the 14th century. Date this poem in relation to Shakespeare.

In 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire' we will read a poem called 'The Canterbury Tales' which was written between 1387 and 1400. Who was on the English throne during this time?

Geoffrey Chaucer's ‘The Canterbury Tales’: compelling characterisation

Lesson outcome

Content guidance