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Literary perspectives from the First World War

Literary perspectives from the First World War

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Why this why now

This unit uses and builds on pupils' understanding of power and coflict from previous units, including 'Lord of the Flies'. In 'Lord of the Flies' pupils explored how Golding presented natural and animalistic power. In this unit, pupils see how various writers have responded to the horrors of war, and they start to compare how they present power and conflict.This deepens pupils' conceptual understanding of power and conflict, and prepares them for 'Comparing Poetry from the First World War' and Key Stage 4 poetry units, where they will see how poets respond to other conflicts.

Prior knowledge requirements

  • Pupils can decode an unseen text and make appropriate annotations
  • Pupils can understand that writers use a range of linguistic and structural techniques, to convey meaning
  • Pupils are able to make evaluative judgements and offer counter-arguments, with textual evidence
  • Pupils are able to select quotations in support of an argument
  • Pupils can identify and comment on the use of a symbol within a text
  • Pupils are able to offer a chronological narrative or a recount of events in writing
  • Pupils can select an appropriate tense for recount writing and maintain this
  • Pupils can identify the conventions of a letter

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Why this why now

This unit uses and builds on pupils' understanding of power and coflict from previous units, including 'Lord of the Flies'. In 'Lord of the Flies' pupils explored how Golding presented natural and animalistic power. In this unit, pupils see how various writers have responded to the horrors of war, and they start to compare how they present power and conflict.This deepens pupils' conceptual understanding of power and conflict, and prepares them for 'Comparing Poetry from the First World War' and Key Stage 4 poetry units, where they will see how poets respond to other conflicts.

Prior knowledge requirements

  • Pupils can decode an unseen text and make appropriate annotations
  • Pupils can understand that writers use a range of linguistic and structural techniques, to convey meaning
  • Pupils are able to make evaluative judgements and offer counter-arguments, with textual evidence
  • Pupils are able to select quotations in support of an argument
  • Pupils can identify and comment on the use of a symbol within a text
  • Pupils are able to offer a chronological narrative or a recount of events in writing
  • Pupils can select an appropriate tense for recount writing and maintain this
  • Pupils can identify the conventions of a letter

Literary perspectives from the First World War

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.

24 lessons in unit

  1. 1

    Understanding why people write about war

    I can explain why people might choose to write about war, exploring the viewpoints of different writers who have chosen to write about war themselves.
    Copyrighted
  2. 2

    World War One: propaganda and trench warfare

    I can explain why propaganda about World War One was so effective, and understand the differences between this wartime propaganda and the realities of trench warfare.
  3. 3

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

    I can explain what happens in ‘Propping Up The Line’, including commenting on some of the choices Beck made.
  4. 4

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

    I can explain how Ian Beck presents the gas attack in his short story, ‘Propping Up The Line’ in a well-planned analytical paragraph.
  5. 5

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

    I can rewrite a passage of Ian Beck's ‘Propping Up The Line’ from the perspective of the character of Alice.
  6. 6

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

    I can explore Ian Beck’s presentation of the character of Alfred’s trauma in 'Propping Up The Line'.
  7. 7

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

    I can explore Ian Beck’s use of symbolism and motif in his short story, 'Propping Up The Line'.
  8. 8

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

    I can write a vivid description inspired by Ian Beck's 'Propping Up The Line' which captures some of Alfred’s experiences and memories of the front line.
  9. 9

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

    I can explore how Ian Beck and Wilfred Owen use sentence structure to give their writing rhythm and, inspired by them, craft a creative paragraph with engaging rhythm.
  10. 10

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

    I can explain what happens in Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’ including exploring some of its major themes.
  11. 11

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

    I can explore Katherine Mansfield’s use of character foils and symbolism in her short story, 'The Fly'.
  12. 12

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

    I can explain how Katherine Mansfield presents the character of the boss in her short story, ‘The Fly’, in clear and well developed analytical paragraphs.
  13. 13

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

    I can present a convincing argument about how to interpret Katherine Mansfield’s short story, ‘The Fly’ (1922).
  14. 14

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

    I can rewrite two paragraphs of Katherine Mansfield's short story 'The Fly' (1922) shifting the focus from the boss to the character of Macey, the boss's employee.
  15. 15

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

    I can show a thorough understanding of a 1917 letter that Wilfred Owen sent to his mother from the trenches of World War One.
  16. 16

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

    I can plan an imaginative letter that recounts an experience in the trenches of World War One using Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother as stimulus.
  17. 17

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

    I can write a letter which recounts an imagined experience from the trenches of World War One, using Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother as stimulus.
  18. 18

    Improving the style of a letter: sentence structure and rhythm

    I can improve a letter which recounts an imagined experience in the trenches by using a range of sentence lengths and fronted adverbials.
  19. 19

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

    I can show a thorough understanding of an extract from Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’, a memoir which recounts experiences on the British Home Front during World War One .
  20. 20

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

    I can plan an imaginative letter which captures some common aspects of life on the home front of World War One.
  21. 21

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

    I can write a letter detailing an imagined experience of the British home front during World War One, showing a deep understanding of tone, audience and purpose.
  22. 22

    Improving a letter: deliberate verbs and precise adjectives

    I can improve a letter which recounts an imagined experience from the British home front during World War One by paying close attention to my choice of verbs and adjectives.
  23. 23

    Comparing texts about World War One using comparative topic sentences

    I can write comparative topic sentences about two texts which focus on the same event - World War One.
  24. 24

    Comparing texts about World War One in comparative analytical paragraphs

    I can write comparative analytical paragraphs exploring the presentation of World War One across two texts.

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