Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott': understanding the ballad
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can show understanding of 'The Lady of Shalott' through comprehension and annotation.
Key learning points
- The Lady of Shalott is a cursed woman who is confined to a tower on an island just outside Camelot.
- The Lady of Shalott isn't allowed to look out of the tower's window, but sees the outside through a mirror's reflection.
- The Lady of Shalott must weave these reflections into a cloth; if she stops weaving, something terrible will happen.
- One day she looks out of the window in order to see Sir Lancelot.
- The curse comes upon her and she dies, found in a boat drifting toward Camelot.
Keywords
Isle - a small island
Curse - a spell put on someone meaning something bad will happen to them
Weave - to form fabric by interlacing different threads together
Web - a network of threads e.g. a spider's web
Camelot - a legendary place (that is, not real) where King Arthur (a legendary King) was said to hold court.
Common misconception
The Lady of Shalott chooses to take her own life on the way to Camelot.
The Lady of Shalott realises that, because she got up from her loom, she is now cursed. Knowing she will die from this curse, she gets into the boat to sail to Camelot. She realises she will not make it there alive.
Teacher tip
Consider how you would like to read the ballad with your pupils. Consider who will read, how and when. Consider if you will need to define any additional words, and what questions you might ask to check for understanding along the way.
Equipment
Pupils will need a copy of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' which can be found on the worksheet or additional materials.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of sexual content
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we read poems. Sometimes we annotate these poems. What does it mean to annotate?
Q2.Match these words, all important to 'The Lady of Shallot' ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’), to their meaning.
small island
a spell put on someone meaning something bad will happen to them
to form fabric by interlacing different threads together
a network of threads
a legendary place (that is, not real)
Q3.In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we come across different types of poems. Indeed, there are so many different forms of poetry. Match just a few examples to their definitions.
a poem that is inspired by a piece of art and describes it
a poem that tells a story
a 14 line poem, often about love
a 3 line poem, its origins are Japanese
Q4.In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we come across different types of poems. Match each poetic term to its definition.
a group of lines forming a verse of a poem
when two or more words have the same sound as each other
when a word or phrase is used more than once
when there is no punctuation at the end of a line of poetry
Q5.In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we will read a poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson who was born in 1809 and died in 1892. Who was the British monarch for most of Tennyson's adult life?
Q6.In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we will read a poem written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson who was an important poet in the Victorian era. When was the Victorian era?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In 'Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’, we read a poem called ‘The Lady of Shalott’. Who wrote ‘The Lady of Shalott’?
Q2.Starting with the first, put these plot points narrating the story of ‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’) in chronological order.
Q3.In ‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’), who does the Lady of Shalott get up to see out of the tower window?
Q4.In ‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’), what is true of the curse?
Q5.‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’) is a which means it is a poem that tells a story.
Q6.In stanza eight of ‘The Lady of Shalott’ ('Myths, Legends and stories that inspire’), we hear the first piece of dialogue from the Lady of Shalott herself. She says, “I am half sick of ...”.
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott': understanding the ballad, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott': understanding the ballad, 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 Myths, legends and stories that inspire unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.