Comparing 'Poppies' and Duffy's 'War Photographer'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can successfully compare ‘Poppies’ and Duffy's ‘War Photographer’.
Key learning points
- For your ‘Power and Conflict’ essay, you will be given one poem and you have to choose one to compare it with.
- ‘Poppies’ could compare well with ‘Remains’, ‘Kamikaze’ or Duffy's ‘War Photographer’.
- ‘Poppies’ and ‘Kamikaze’ explore less-recognised perspectives of war and show that these are nonetheless painful.
- Duffy's ‘War Photographer’ and ‘Poppies’ explore powerful memories that are connected to their difficult experiences.
- ‘Poppies’ ends with a sombre but peaceful tone, Duffy's ‘War Photographer’ ends with a caustic and restless tone.
Keywords
Caustic - sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way
Asyndetic - a list separated by commas not conjunctions
Complementary - combining to emphasise the qualities of one another
Common misconception
The title of the poem 'Poppies' may cause the students to immediately link 'Poppies' with another WW1 poem e.g. 'Exposure'.
It is better to look at comparing poems on the basis of themes and big ideas rather than the time periods in which they were based. 'Poppies' is not a WW1 poem but instead uses the symbol of a poppy in the title to explore grief and loss.
Teacher tip
When looking at the section of a comparative paragraph in learning cycle 2, you might want to conduct live annotations to show where the paragraph meets the success criteria.
Equipment
You will need a copy of the AQA Power and Conflict poetry anthology for GCSE.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The poem 'Poppies' is written from the perspective of...
Q2.The poem 'War Photographer' is about...
Q3.Which poems from the 'Power and Conflict' anthology explore 'difficult experiences'?
Q4.When comparing poems you're looking for similarities and...
Q5.What can we use to make comparisons clear in our writing?
Q6.A sentence at the start of each paragraph which outlines the main idea in that paragraph is a...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.How many poems will you be expected to compare in total in a 'Power and Conflict' essay?
Q2.Match the keywords with their definitions.
sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way
a list separated by commas not conjunctions
combining to emphasise the qualities of one another
Q3.What is this an example of? 'By choosing a perspective that allows us insight into the difficult daily workings of the photographer’s life, Duffy is able to get the reader to...'
Q4.When writing comparative paragraphs you should start with a comparative...
Q5.Which big ideas link 'Poppies' with 'War Photographer'?
Q6.‘Poppies’ ends with a sombre but peaceful tone, ‘War Photographer’ ends with a and restless tone.
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Comparing 'Poppies' and Duffy's 'War Photographer', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Comparing 'Poppies' and Duffy's 'War Photographer', 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 4 English lessons from the 'Power and Conflict' unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.