Identifying and emulating Baum's use of pathetic fallacy in 'The Wizard of Oz'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can confidently understand and use pathetic fallacy.
Key learning points
- Pathetic fallacy is a literary technique in which emotions are ascribed to non-human objects and things.
- Pathetic fallacy helps to show the mood of a piece of writing.
- Pathetic fallacy helps the reader visualise the scene and reflects the character’s emotion.
Keywords
Mood - the emotional response the story creates within the reader
Represent - to serve as a sign or symbol of something
Literary device - a tool used by writers to hint at larger themes, ideas, and meaning in a story or piece of writing
Descriptive - describing something in an interesting and detailed way
Common misconception
That pathetic fallacy can only be used to give emotion to the weather.
Pathetic fallacy is where human emotions are given to any non-human object or thing.
Teacher tip
You could give a specific mood to students for Task C and then they can see how their examples of pathetic fallacy vary to express different moods.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The mood of a text is .
Q2.Which two of the following are definitions of gloomy?
Q3.Match the description with the emotion.
sadness
fear
happiness
Q4.Descriptive writing means writing that is .
Q5.Dreary can mean which two of the following things?
Q6.If a text opens with a wild and chaotic scene of storms and wind, we expect that .
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Giving human emotions to non-human things or objects is .
Q2.To serve as a sign or symbol of something means to .
Q3.Starting with the first, put the steps to creating pathetic fallacy in chronological order.
Q4.The image of the wind 'howling' suggests .
Q5.The word pathetic comes from 'pathos' which means .
Q6.Which of the following is an example of pathetic fallacy?
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Identifying and emulating Baum's use of pathetic fallacy in 'The Wizard of Oz', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Identifying and emulating Baum's use of pathetic fallacy in 'The Wizard of Oz', 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 Step into the unknown: fiction reading and creative writing unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.