writing that is factual rather than made up; the opposite of fiction

the act of quickly reading over a text, gathering its keywords, tone and main ideas

carefully, thoughtfully and slowly examining a text and considering the choices the writer made

the main idea or essence of something, often brief and in a simplified form

a writer’s attitude or emotional stance; encompasses the mood, feeling and overall atmosphere

Skim reading and close reading: Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother

English

Understanding why people write about war

World War One: propaganda and trench warfare

Reading 'Propping Up the Line', a short story about World War One by Ian Beck

Analysing the presentation of the gas attack: Ian Beck's 'Propping Up the Line'

Ian Beck's ‘Propping Up The Line’: Alice’s experiences on the Home Front

The presentation of trauma in Ian Beck's short story, 'Propping Up the Line'

Symbolism and motif in Ian Beck's short story, ‘Propping Up The Line’

Vivid descriptive writing using Ian Beck's ‘Propping Up The Line’ as stimulus

Using sentence structure to create rhythm in writing about World War One

Reading Katherine Mansfield’s short story, ‘The Fly’ (1922)

Katherine Mansfield's 'The Fly' (1922): exploring character foils and symbolism

Exploring the presentation of the boss in 'The Fly' by Katherine Mansfield

Debating different interpretations of Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’

Creative writing in the third person inspired by Katherine Mansfield's 'The Fly'

Letter writing: planning, using Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter as stimulus

Writing a letter as a soldier in the trenches of World War One

Improving the style of a letter: sentence structure and rhythm

Skim reading and close reading: 'Testament of Youth' by Vera Brittain

Letter writing: planning, using Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’ as stimulus

Writing a letter from the British home front: tone, audience and purpose

Improving a letter: deliberate verbs and precise adjectives

Comparing texts about World War One using comparative topic sentences

Comparing texts about World War One in comparative analytical paragraphs

In 'A World at War: Short Stories', pupils explore the reasons for writing war literature and how it seeks to convey the suffering of soldiers and civilians, in times of conflict. In 'Power and Conflict Poetry', students explore the many types of conflict that arise through war, with themes including patriotism, propaganda, fear, guilt and duty.

In 'The Tempest', pupils are encouraged to write from the viewpoint of Caliban and Ariel, adopting character voices in creative writing. In 'A World at War', pupils emulate the writing styles of the authors that they encounter, to create an authentic voice in their writing. 

In this unit, pupils explore and compare texts written about the First World War. They first read Beck's 'Propping up the line', Mansfield's 'The Fly' and Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter home to his mum. They finally read Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', and then plan and write a comparative response.

Literary perspectives from the First World War

Depiction of war, threats of war, death or the aftermath of war.

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

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

Depiction or discussion of serious mental health issues including eating disorders, self-harm, suicide or attempted suicide, or the aftermath of such an event.

Depiction or discussion of mental health issues

writing that is factual rather than made up

the main idea or essence of something, often brief and simplified 

a writer’s attitude or emotional stance; encompasses the mood

Match the keywords on the right to their definitions on the left.

{{}} and scanning a text involves quickly reading something, and gathering its main ideas and overall tone.

{{}} involves carefully considering a writer’s methods and their effects.

Which reading approach best helps you understand the gist of a text?

Wilfred Owen wrote a letter to his mother in 1917 in which he described "Those fifty hours were the {{}} of my happy life".

that it was worth the sacrifice to fight for England 

that fighting in the war was violent and brutal

that lives lost fighting in the war were wasted

Through his war poetry, Wilfred Owen wanted to show what about fighting in the war to his readers?

How the author of a text feels about the subject matter is known as...

to give a definition of the meaning of it

Having or expressing devotion to and support for one's country is to be {{}}.

Many soldiers who fought in World War One experienced {{}}. In modern times we would refer to this condition as PTSD.

Starter Quiz

Who was Wilfred Owen?