Understanding Berry's 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can understand how Berry presents ideas of migration, connection, difference, and journeys within ‘On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955’.
Key learning points
- The image of the train in the title could symbolise ideas of journeys, growth, and progress.
- The specific use of a Quaker to make an ignorant mistake could be Berry’s way of saying we all make mistakes.
- Potentially, the title could symbolise how we are all ultimately journeying around the same place: Earth.
- Berry’s work often explores the experiences of Caribbean migrants.
Keywords
Migrant - a person who moves from one place to another, predominantly to find work or better living conditions
Ignorance - lack of knowledge or information
Quaker - a member of the Religious Society of Friends and devoted to peaceful principles
Symbolism - the use of a symbol, which can be a word or an image, to communicate a distinct idea
Inference - a guess that you make or an opinion that you form based on the information that you have
Common misconception
That a journey is always a physical undertaking.
While many journeys are physical undertakings, you can also take a personal or spiritual journey towards improvement and growth.
Teacher tip
You might like to spend more time on concepts such as Windrush generation and migration if this is something unfamiliar to your students.
Equipment
You will need a copy of the AQA Worlds and Lives anthology for GCSE.
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.Which of the following is the definition of a metaphor?
Q2.Where is Jamaica?
Q3.A person who moves from one place to another, predominantly to find work or better living conditions is called a...
Q4.Showing ignorance means...
Q5.The use of a sign, word or an image, to communicate a distinct idea is called...
Q6.A guess that you make or an opinion that you form based on the information that you have is called an...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A train might symbolise which of the following things?
Q2.James Berry often wrote about...
Q3.A member of the Religious Society of Friends and devoted to peaceful principles is known as a...
Q4.How does the speaker of Berry's 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955' respond to the stranger's mistake?
Q5.Which quotation from 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955' suggests that people often misunderstand the reasons behind migration?
Q6.In Berry's 'On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria, 1955', "Purley" and "Victoria" are both in London which perhaps represents that...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding 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: Understanding 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.