English Department Planning
KS4
Unit of work: L-H Poetry- Owen
Text/s used: Bredon Hill (Houseman), Anthem for Doomed Youth, Exposure, Spring Offensive
(Owen)
Assessed for: En2
Assessment title: Compare the ways in which Owen portrays the extreme situations which the
soldiers experience in Exposure and Spring Offensive
Year: 10
Duration: 3-4 weeks + 3hrs
C/A
Learning Objectives:
Set: Middle
Assessment Objectives:
To learn to empathise with writers
To learn to express original and critical opinions using
PEE
To learn to analyse language and poetic devices
To learn to compare two texts
AO1: Respond to texts critically and
imaginatively; select and evaluate
relevant textual detail to illustrate and
support interpretations
AO3: Make comparisons and explain
links between texts, evaluating writers’
different ways of expressing meaning
and achieving effects
To learn to plan and structure an extended essay
independently
Key Concepts
Competence:
Students develop the skills needed to construct analytical writing. Similarly, students develop their
knowledge in recognising and analysing poetic devices.
Critical Understanding:
Students are encouraged towards independent and critical analysis of texts. Their critical vocabulary is
developed and, through empathetic build up work, they are able to better criticise Owen’s choices.
Creativity:
Students’ creativity is developed both in terms of their response to texts and also in reflective, creative
writing to develop empathy with those affected by the war.
Cultural Understanding:
Students gain a greater cultural understanding of both England in the early part of the twentieth century
and also of the causes of WWI and the manner in which is was fought. They are encouraged to
consider these contexts in their analytical writing.
Hold “control” and left click on the blue links to download the resources.
Weekly teaching sequence
Week one: Sequence of activities
To learn about the values of English society in the 1910s
To learn to empathise with the people of this society
 Follow A Sleepy Town.PP.
 Introduce controlled assessment (initially avoid mentioning that the unit is based on war poetry)
then select volunteers to click on the stars on the PP and explain what they tell them about life
in Ludlow in the Spring of 1914
 Recap ideas then distribute Census Form.doc. Students to create a male character aged
between 16 and 30 who lives in Ludlow in 1914
 Opportunity for drama work here if time permits
 Working with a partner/group, write a diary entry for a week in the life of your characters
 Set homework
 Draw a picture on whiteboards to show what life was like in Ludlow in 1814
To learn to use PEE
To learn to analyse what a poem tells us about the time and the place it was written
 Follow Bredon Hill.NB
 Define PEE then practise full sentence answers, ending in colons, using prompts on
presentation. Volunteers can construct answers from the words on the NB.
 For the last one with the verse from Bredon Hill, find evidence to prove the answer and
demonstrate quotation use
 In groups, read Bredon Hill.doc and come up with at least five things which we learn about life
in Ludlow from the poem and link each one to a quotation (no more than five minutes)
 Analyse Sample Answer Bredon Hill.doc and annotate where it meets each of the marking
criteria Sample Answer Bredon Higher.doc available in Additional Resource Folder for
higher ability classes
 Working in a group, preferably on a blog, write two PEE chains to answer the following
question: What do we learn about life in Ludlow from “Bredon Hill”? Try to meet all of the
marking criteria.
 Peer assess
To learn to empathise with young men who were torn away from their lives and sent to war
To learn what made World War I so horrific for the soldiers in the trenches
 Follow Your Country Needs You.PP NB this will likely require two lessons
 Hot-seat members of the class to remind them about their characters
 Using Areas for Research.doc, divide class and use IT to research life in the trenches. Each
group to create both a poster for display and post a comment on the relevant blog page with
information (see BMc if help needed here)
 There is an opportunity here for EN1 assessment and also to create chroma-key videos if
desired, depending on time available.
Homework:
o Complete diary entry from lesson1
Hold “control” and left click on the blue links to download the resources.
Week two: Sequence of activities
To learn to recognise poetic devices
To learn to compare the feelings and ideas in two poems
 Follow Comparing Two Poems.NB
 Distribute Anthem for Doomed Youth.pub. Highlight and label one example of each of the
poetic devices at the bottom of the sheet
 Introduce question on NB slide and examine the beginning of the answer. Discuss with class
which word would be best to analyse in more detail and then, when decision is made, issue
thesaurus and ask them to come up with as many words as they can to describe that word.
Feedback and complete sample answer on board using the words the class came up with.
 Assess to AOs from lesson 2 on whiteboard. If time (or if they need more practise on PEE),
students to write their own PEE chain in answer to the question
 Students copy grid from whiteboard and complete with quotations and ideas from both poems
 Feedback and, if time, write model comparative answer
To learn to write a paragraph which compares two poems and focuses on poetic devices
 Follow Writing Comparison.NB
 Smart Response Quiz on recognising poetic devices. Ensure extension questions are used in
feedback to discuss effect of different devices and emphasise that recognising devices on its
own is not enough
 Analyse Sample Comparison Bredon-Anthem.doc
 Feedback and write own comparison focusing on a different feature from last lesson’s grid
 Self assess and submit to teacher for target setting
NB: The following 4-5 lessons are intended to develop students’ independent understanding of the two
set poems, “Exposure” and “Spring Offensive”. If you feel that your class need more teacher direction
then please adapt as necessary. Paper copies of both poems are on file (Exposure.doc and Spring
Offensive.doc) and these are also available electronically for class annotation on Poem
Annotation.NB. There should however be no need to spend more than 4-5 lessons preparing students
on the content of the poems and the links between them
To learn how the setting can be used to represent the feelings in a poem
To learn to analyse the impact of the setting in two poems
 Follow Pathetic Fallacy.NB
 Cut up Setting Images.doc and sort that which represents the most positive emotions to that
which represents the most negative
 Stick images into books and write one word next to each which explains what emotion you
would attach to this setting- No word may be repeated
 Read Exposure and Spring Offensive in groups (can use their anthologies for this). Copy grid
from NB and complete with quotations describing the setting and the way soldiers react to it
 Label all poetic devices in both poems (to be completed for next week’s homework)
Homework:

Write a letter home, in role as your character, describing your life
in the trenches and using the information collated on the blog to
help you
Hold “control” and left click on the blue links to download the resources.
Week three: Sequence of activities:
To learn to compare the way the soldiers respond to their situations in “Exposure” and “Spring
Offensive”
 Follow Surroundings and Events.NB
 Each student to cut out Surroundings and Event Cards.doc and sort them from that
which represents the most positive emotions to that which represents the most
negative
 Stick cards down to Surroundings and Event Chart.doc (this works best photocopied
on A3) taking into account the different emotions felt by the speaker and what has
caused them to feel this way. Feedback on SMARTBoard if available.
 Re-read “Exposure” and “Spring Offensive” and add at least four quotations per poem
to the A3 chart (use a different colour for each poem). Label each quotation with a
different word to describe the poet’s feelings at this point in the poem.
 Copy grid from board and complete with quotations from Spring Offensive which can
be linked to those from Exposure (Printable copy of this is available if needs be:
Comparison Grid.doc)
To learn to develop an independent analysis of a poem
 Follow Independent Presentations.PP NB: This may require two lessons
 Students to work in groups on one or other of the set poems and create a PowerPoint
presentation explaining the following:
1) What is the story of the poem?
2) What extreme situations do the soldiers face?
3) How do the soldiers (and the poet) feel?
4) How does the poet’s language show these feelings?
 Present to class (opportunity for Chroma-keying and for EN1 assessment, time
permitting)
 Presentations can be added to blog for revision purposes (vie either youtube or
slideshare)
To learn to write high quality comparison of “Exposure” and “Spring Offensive”
 Follow Comparing Exposure and Spring Offensive.NB
 Students to annotate feelings from slide 2 onto the 2 poems wherever they occur.
Feedback on interactive whiteboard demonstrating links and contrasts between the two
 Distribute copies of Sample Comparison Exposure-Spring Offensive.doc and Mark
Scheme.doc and decide what mark each answer would get and how it could be
improved.
 Write own comparative paragraph in answer to the question How does Owen show the
feelings of the soldiers in “Exposure” and “Spring Offensive?”. This should be done
individually, in silence and in no more than half an hour
 Teacher to assess using stickers to set targets
Homework:
 Complete annotation of all poetic devices in poems
 Use VODCasts to revise and complete annotation of poems:
Spring Offensive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSVPSWukT74
Exposure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1XH6tn9WJo
Comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xlVN_VVMFU
NB: It will be easier for students to access these if you embed them in a
blog
Hold “control” and left click on the blue links to download the resources.
Week four: Sequence of activities:
To learn to choose a structure and evidence for your assessment
To learn to prepare notes to take into your assessment with you
 Follow Planning Your Assessment.NB
 Sort four marking criteria on slide 2 according to which grade you would achieve for
demonstrating each skill
A*
Choose a structure which allows you to argue your point in a creative and original way
A
Structure your essay precisely to allow for a range of ideas to be explored
B
Use the structure of your essay to enhance your argument
C
Structure your ideas in a clear and logical way




Sort the 8 quotations on the PP according which order you might choose to write about
these quotations in in your essay (students can just write numbers in their books).
Feedback demonstrating how the quotations can be ordered first of all according to
where they occur in the poem, secondly according to the feelings they represent
(e.g. positive to negative) and thirdly according to the Situations they describe. For all
of these they should be comparing Poem 1 directly to Poem 2 rather than writing all
they know about one poem, then all they know about the other.
Students should then choose their preferred structure from slide 4 and copy it into their
books.
Brainstorm ideas to include in the introduction of the essay
Students should then complete Planning Pro-Forma A3.doc according to the pointers
on slide 6. Students must work in silence! NB if more than one lesson is required to
ensure that this is done in sufficient detail then please provide time as necessary.
Complete controlled assessment:
Homework:

Prepare all requisite notes for C/A
Hold “control” and left click on the blue links to download the resources.