Skim reading and close reading: Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can show a thorough understanding of a 1917 letter that Wilfred Owen sent to his mother from the trenches of World War One.
Key learning points
- Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) was a British poet and soldier.
- Owen is best known for his stark, unflinching and graphic poems about World War One.
- Making predictions about what a text might be about is a helpful preparatory step before reading something.
- Skimming and scanning a text involves quickly reading something, and gathering its main ideas and overall tone.
- Close reading involves carefully considering a writer’s methods and their effects.
Keywords
Nonfiction - writing that is factual rather than made up; the opposite of fiction
Skimming and scanning - the act of quickly reading over a text, gathering its keywords, tone and main ideas
Close reading - carefully, thoughtfully and slowly examining a text and considering the choices the writer made
Gist - the main idea or essence of something, often brief and in a simplified form
Tone - a writer’s attitude or emotional stance; encompasses the mood, feeling and overall atmosphere
Common misconception
Skimming and scanning means you just aren't reading a text properly.
Reading is a skill and, often it is good not to dive into its most difficult skill - analysis - immediately. Instead, giving yourself some time with the text, its title and overall ideas can allow for a deeper understanding in the long run.
Teacher tip
Consider your own understanding and annotation of Owen's letter and how this will support your pupils. This could include glossing any words, or preparing some additional questions.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter to his mother. There is a copy available on the worksheet for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Who was Wilfred Owen?
Q2.Through his war poetry, Wilfred Owen wanted to show what about fighting in the war to his readers?
Q3.How the author of a text feels about the subject matter is known as...
Q4.To analyse something is to...
Q5.Having or expressing devotion to and support for one's country is to be .
Q6.Many soldiers who fought in World War One experienced . In modern times we would refer to this condition as PTSD.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords on the right to their definitions on the left.
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
Q2. and scanning a text involves quickly reading something, and gathering its main ideas and overall tone.
Q3. involves carefully considering a writer’s methods and their effects.
Q4.The aims of close reading include:
Q5.Which reading approach best helps you understand the gist of a text?
Q6.Wilfred Owen wrote a letter to his mother in 1917 in which he described "Those fifty hours were the of my happy life".
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: Skim reading and close reading: Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 English lesson on: Skim reading and close reading: Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother, 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.