Analysing Berry's 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Berry uses contrast and structural progression to express ideas of connection and humanity in 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955'.
Key learning points
- Berry may have utilised contrasting pairs to show the inherent differences between people
- The existence of these contrasting pairs within the framework of the poem could represent people coexisting in society.
- The structural progression of the poem shows the subjects forming a connection.
- Berry may have done this to show how open communication can lead to connections
Keywords
Humanity - the quality or state of being human
Contrast - the state of being strikingly different from something else in juxtaposition or close association
Conceptually - in a way that relates to ideas or principles
Inclusion - the act of including someone or something as part of a group
Common misconception
That the use of contrast in a poem is always intended to show friction and tension.
While the use of contrast shows difference, it doesn't necessarily have to show friction; instead, it might represent how we can coexist even though we are different.
Teacher tip
You could ask the students to rewrite their paragraph using the ideas in the model as inspiration for homework.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of the AQA World and Lives anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.To open a dialogue with someone you generally say...
Q2.Contrast means...
Q3.Match the contrasting pairs of words.
"loudly"
"darkness"
"snow"
Q4.Which pronoun shows a group of people?
Q5.Inclusion means...
Q6.The opening sentence of a paragraph that explains the main focus or argument is the sentence.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Berry's decision to start 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955' with "hello" suggests a...
Q2.Berry's decision to end 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955' with "us" suggests...
Q3.Berry's use of contrasting pairs in the poem may show...
Q4.The purpose of a concluding sentence of a single paragraph outline is to...
Q5.To talk about something in a way that relates to ideas or principles is called talking about it...
Q6.The quality or state of being human is...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Analysing Berry's 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Analysing Berry's 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955', 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 'World and Lives' unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.