Understanding ideas of community and resilience in Dharker's 'Living Space'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can understand how Dharker presents the community’s resilience in ‘Living Space’.
Key learning points
- The poem describes the unsafe living conditions of the slums in Mumbai.
- Dharker illustrates the adversity these slum communities face, but celebrates their resourcefulness and resilience.
- She illustrates how faith unites this community.
- Dharker celebrates human beings’ incredible capacity for innovation and invention in the face of adversity.
Keywords
Resilience - the ability to adapt well in the face of adversity
Resourcefulness - the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties
Social inequality - the unequal distribution of wealth and/or opportunities within society
Slum - an overcrowded street or district inhabited by people in poverty
Miraculous - extremely surprising or difficult to believe
Common misconception
Students think that Dharker is critical of the structures in the slums.
Though Dharker portrays how dangerous these buildings are, she also shows great admiration of the slum community's resourcefulness in building theses structures - she celebrates their fortitude and resilience in the face of adversity.
Teacher tip
There are some brilliant photographs of the structures that have been built in the slums, as well as the position of the slums in relation to the rest of Mumbai. You could use these images for a starter activity and ask students what they notice in the images before you give them the context.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of the Eduqas poetry anthology for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.If something is "crooked" it is ....
Q2.If something is miraculous it is...
Q3.The person whose perspective the poem is written from is called the ...
Q4.What is enjambment?
Q5.What is social inequality?
Q6.Match the terminology up to its definition.
the continuation of a sentence beyond the end of a line
comparing two things using the verb "to be"
the use of words or figurative language to create vivid pictures
a pause or a break in a line of verse, often marked by punctuation
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Who wrote the poem 'Living Space'?
Q2.Select the countries that Imtiaz Dharker has lived in.
Q3.'Living Space' is about the challenging living conditions of communities living in the in Mumbai, and their resourcefulness in the face of adversity.
Q4.Which word from the poem 'Living Space' shows Dharker's admiration for the communities living in the slums?
Q5.Which of the following statements about the slums in Mumbai are true?
Q6.Why might Dharker have written 'Living Space'?
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding ideas of community and resilience in Dharker's 'Living Space', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Understanding ideas of community and resilience in Dharker's 'Living Space', 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 Poetry anthology (Assessment until summer 2026) unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.