Letter writing: planning, using Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’ as stimulus
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can plan an imaginative letter which captures some common aspects of life on the home front of World War One.
Key learning points
- The home front refers to the idea that civilians in Britain felt the impact of World War One in their daily lives.
- It was common for those on the home front to feel fear and impotence whilst their loved ones were on the front line.
- Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’ captures and expresses feelings of fear, impotence and anger during the war years.
- Using contextual knowledge and inspiration from other texts can help create a convincing persona in your own writing.
Keywords
Memoir - a nonfiction account of something written from a person's memories
Impotent - powerless
Ignorance - a lack of knowledge of something
Methods - the tools a writer uses to create their work; structure and language choices are the most obvious examples
Persona - the character you adopt when writing a first person text
Common misconception
You can't use words, phrases or methods from other people's writing in your own writing.
Plagiarism is when you use someone's work or ideas without their consent. This is not allowed. However, you can use texts that inspire and excite you to inform your own writing. This might be a piece of powerful vocabulary or a powerful method.
Teacher tip
Consider if your pupils would benefit from one or both of the practice tasks being modelled before they move into work independently.
Equipment
You need access to an extract from Chapter 4 of Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth' which can be found in the additional materials.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Starting with the first, put these common features of letters in the order they would appear on a page.
Q2.Letters were an important method of communication during WW1. Most letters start with a greeting. Which greeting is accurately punctuated?
Q3.In 'Literary perspectives from the First World War', we look at an extract from Vera Brittain's memoir entitled ' of Youth', published in 1933.
Q4.Starting with the first, order these major events from Vera Brittain's life (a writer from the unit 'Literary perspectives from the First World War') chronologically.
Q5.Starting with the first, put these moments from an extract of Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth' in to chronological order.
Q6.In Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', the writer describes the " anxiety" she constantly felt when her fiancé was away fighting.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the sentence stems which present some of the experiences of those on the Home Front during WW1 to their endings .
they weren't sure if they would see their loved ones again.
they brought news of death or casualty from the front line.
the realities of trench warfare.
they were employed, completing work outside of the home.
Q2.In Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', she states "Every ring at the door suggested a , every telephone call a long-distance message giving bad news."
Q3.In Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', the writer describes her " tears" as she read her fiancé's letters from the front line.
Q4.Match each quotation from Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth' to its most powerful emotion.
I had little patience [...] for my mother's middle-aged acquaintances
I dare not think too vividly of him just now
blinding my eyes with sharp tears
I wandered with my basket of primroses up and down
Q5.In Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', the writer recalls feelings that time passed slowly on the home front: "Morning [...] on into afternoon."
Q6.In Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', the writer states that during the war "Ordinary household sounds became a ."
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: Letter writing: planning, using Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’ as stimulus, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: Letter writing: planning, using Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’ as stimulus, 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 Literary perspectives from the First World War unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.