Comparing views in ‘The Soldier’, ‘In Flanders Fields’ and ‘The Gift of India’
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can make detailed comparisons between how Brooke, Naidu and McCrae present ideas around war and the experience of dying at war.
Key learning points
- Both Naidu and Brooke personify their respective countries but they have different effects on the reader.
- Both Naidu and McCrae utilise natural imagery, but they have different effects on the reader.
- Thinking about poets as being in conversation with one another is a useful way of thinking about a comparative essay.
Keywords
Attitude - The attitude of a poem is the way the writer thinks or feels about the subject they are writing about.
Mood - The mood of a poem is the emotional undertone.
Patriotic - Being patriotic means showing your love for your country.
Content - Being content means being pleased with your situation and not looking to improve it.
Duty - Duty is a moral or legal obligation or responsibility.
Common misconception
That comparative essays should only focus on the differences between poems.
The most successful comparative essays focus on both the similarities and the differences between the poems.
Teacher tip
You can get students to create single paragraph outlines after each comparative slide to make a detailed plan.
Equipment
You will need access to copies of Brooke's 'The Soldier', Naidu's 'The Gift of India', and McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields' for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the most valid interpretation of 'blood' in a war poem?
Q2.'Scattered like shells' is an example of .
Q3.Match the adjective with the most appropriate connotation.
Pain or injury
Something that doesn’t belong
Ripped or ruined
Q4.If something is 'fragile', then it is considered .
Q5.What might a rhyming couplet indicate?
Q6.If an object is 'strewn', what is that most likely to indicate?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The mood of a poem is .
Q2.'Being pleased with your situation and not looking to improve it' is the definition of .
Q3.The idyllic language of Brooke's 'The Soldier' creates mood.
Q4.A duty is .
Q5.Both Naidu in 'The Gift of India' and Brooke in 'The Soldier' personify their respective countries as a .
Q6.The euphonic sounds in McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields' create a tone.
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: Comparing views in ‘The Soldier’, ‘In Flanders Fields’ and ‘The Gift of India’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: Comparing views in ‘The Soldier’, ‘In Flanders Fields’ and ‘The Gift of India’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the Comparing poetry from the First World War unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.