KS3 & KS4 English curriculum

This unit uses and builds on pupils' understanding of First World War writing from the companion unit, 'Literary perspectives from the First World War'. Having looked at prose responses to the First World War, they now look at poetry responses. They also start to be more detailed and precise in their comparitve writing, which prepares them for their GCSE comparative poetry writing. In particular, this unit prepares pupils for the AQA Power and Conflict and Edexcel Conflict poetry anthologies, where pupils will critically analyse and compare poetic responses to a range of conflicts.

1. Considering the relationship between the poetry of WW1 and the context
2. Understanding patriotism in Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’
3. Analysing the presentation of patriotism in Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’
4. Writing about patriotism in Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’
5. Understanding the concept of remembrance in John McCrae’s ‘In Flanders Fields’
6. Analysing John McCrae’s call to arms in ‘In Flanders Fields’
7. Writing about John McCrae’s ‘In Flanders Fields’ as a call to arms
8. Understanding ideas of Empire and colonialism in Naidu’s ‘The Gift of India’
9. Analysing the humanity and fragility of soldiers in Naidu’s ‘The Gift of India’
10. Comparing views in ‘The Soldier’, ‘In Flanders Fields’ and ‘The Gift of India’
11. Writing a comparative response on perspectives of war and sacrifice in WW1 poems