OCR English Literature A-Level :
‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ - Medium Term Plan
Assessment objectives
Final assessment criteria
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AO1 Communicate clearly the knowledge, understanding and insight appropriate to literary study,
using appropriate terminology and accurate and coherent written expression
AO2ii respond with knowledge and understanding to literary texts of different types and periods,
exploring and commenting on relationships and comparisons between literary texts
AO3 Show detailed understanding of the ways in which the writers’ choices of form, structure and
language shape meanings
A04: articulate independent opinions and judgements, informed by different interpretations of
literary texts by other readers
A05ii: evaluate the significance of cultural, historical and other contextual influences on literary
texts and study
Seminar
1
2
Teaching objective
AO1, AO2:
Introduce students
to George Bernard
Shaw, brief
biography and
themes.
AO2i: Research the
origins of the play
(social and historical
factors), focusing
particularly on those
affecting Shaw
directly as he wrote.
H.C.Knight
Seminar
Watch video clip of about the life of George
Bernard Shaw. Students take notes.
 Make biography/timeline. Begin reading
research of his life and influences (library).
[Suggest the Cambridge companion to George
Bernard Shaw as a general reader about the life
and work of the writer.]
 Feedback on the reading research about George
Bernard Shaw (whole class discussion)- 15 mins
 Computer Room: Background research (for
PowerPoint projects) in groups of 3-4. Topics:
The role of women and marriage, Expectations of
19th C men, Capitalism and Socialism (inc. Marx),
Victorian London and the theatre, and texts
appearing during the similar period (Wilde).
 Must include references to the play and identify
key events/quotes.

 Unit 2710: Poetry and Drama (one pre-1770)
 15%
 2 hour written examination (closed text)
- Section A: Poetry
- Section B: Drama
 2 questions, 1 from each section above.
Learning outcome
Private study
Students will have
begun considering the
impact of the
playwright.
Conduct some initial
research about Shaw and
the time in which he wrote:
Read chapter entitled ‘The
Life’ in George Bernard
Shaw, by Arthur Ganz.
Students will have been
assigned roles within
the groups and have
begun research using
the internet.
Continue research on
designated topic. Prepare
PowerPoint presentation and
create a handout for the
rest of the class.
Presentations (with
handout) will be given in
following seminars.
Subject Assignment 3: Unit of work
Adjustments
1
3
4
5
6
AO2i: Research the
social and historical
features of the
period which may
give further insight
into the play.
 PowerPoint presentations – 5-10 minutes per
group plus an additional 10 minutes per group for
whole group discussion on each research topic.
Students will have a
comprehensive
introduction to the key
issues that affected
Shaw’s writing and the
characters in the play.
AO2i: Research the
social and historical
features of the
period which may
give further insight
into the play
 PowerPoint presentations – 5-10 minutes per
group plus an additional 10 minutes per group for
whole group discussion on each research topic.
Students will have a
comprehensive
introduction to the key
issues that affected
Shaw’s writing and the
characters in the play.
AO1, A02ii, AO3:
Examine the setting
in the play, with
close analysis of the
text.
ACT 1:
 Complete handout on the opening of the play,
noting the precise description, typical of
Victorian ‘box sets’: the bicycle, books, notes
etc in a typically English country setting.
Discuss what each object suggests (middle
rather than upper class, intellect, independence
etc.) and the presentation of characters.
 Use interactive whiteboard to follow link to:
http://www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/guided_tours/
drama_tour/19th_century/cup.php, which
explains sets of the time.
 Compare with Act 2 of The Importance of
Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.
ACT 1
 Read half the act- assign students roles.
 Discuss initial impression of characters.
Discuss how the audience benefit, in dramatic
terms, from Shaw’s use of novelistic technique
in describing the characters.
Students will have
completed a full
assessment of the
significance of setting
and have evaluated the
impact upon
characterisation.
AO1, AO3: Focusing
upon
characterisation.
H.C.Knight
Students will have
begun to think seriously
about the central issue
of class and gender
roles in the play.
Subject Assignment 3: Unit of work
Complete any activities
suggested by the group
handouts and copy up any
additional notes taken.
Extra reading:
Theatre in the Victorian
Age by Michael Booth.
Ongoing: Search current
newspapers, magazines, TV
and film and make notes of
current issues that could
relate to the play, and
provide interesting
parallels.
Read preface to the play
and make notes.
Character development begin completing logs for all
the principal characters
(especially Vivie).
2
7
8
9
10
A01, A03, A04:
Focusing on
characterization.
AO1, A02ii, AO3,
A04 A05ii: Focusing
upon the issue of
marriage and the
role of women
A01, A02ii, A03,
A05ii: Comparison
to other literary
texts of the time.
AO1, A02, AO3,
A04, A05: Focusing
upon the issue of
censorship.
H.C.Knight
ACT 1
 Starter: group debate quotation from a critic.
 Read 2nd half of the act- assign students roles
 How are tensions established and developed for
the audience and between characters?
 Make a flow diagram form showing past
connections between the characters.
 Discuss expectations of how the plot will
develop
ACT 2
 Feedback research on the New Woman, and
discuss critic’s quotation.
 Setting: why have we moved inside the cottage
– symbolic of increased intimacy of the
characters?
 Read the first third of the act
 Discuss relationship between Vivie and Frank,
and the theme of marriage- what do you think
was Shaw’s view of conventional marriage?
ACT 2
 Read the middle third of the act (role-play)
 Discusss stage directions, and the effect of
their detail. Groups stage the Act to show how
different characters are entrapped.
 Compare to Ibsen’s Doll’s House, and the
portrayal of the role of women. Discuss the
issue of control, and the idea of a male
playwright writing about female liberation.
ACT 2
 Read the final third of the act (role-play)
 Discuss how the relationship between Vivie and
her mother changes in this act.
 Discuss why this Act was the main reason for
the censorship of the play (and how the
poverty of women is portrayed). Plenary:
quotation from a critic.
Students will have a
diagram showing the
connections between
characters.
Students research the
“New Woman” (handout).
Students will have
focused on the theme of
marriage and gender.
Research the idea of the
‘well-made play’- where the
mechanism of the play
depends on a ‘time bomb’
from the past, leading to an
explosion, then some
reassemblance of the
accepted social order.
Students will have a set
of detailed notes on
Ibsen and his influence
on Shaw.
Complete timed essay (1
hour) Shaw stated in his
preface that “Mrs. Warren’s
Profession is a play for
women”. How far do you
agree with this statement?
Students will have
analysed why this Act
caused uproar in society
and was the main reason
for the play’s
censorship.
Write a page about the dual
meaning of ‘profession’ at
this point.
Subject Assignment 3: Unit of work
3
11
12
13
14
A01, A02ii, A03,
A04: Focusing on
the similarities and
differences
between twentyfirst century
perspectives and
those from the
Victorian era.
A01, A03, A04:
Focusing on the
character of Croft.
AO1, AO3, A04,
A05ii: Focusing upon
the issue of
capitalism and
socialism.
A01, A03, A02ii :
Focusing on the
character of Vivie
Warren.
H.C.Knight
ACT 3
 Setting: The scene moves to the Rectory
garden, the epitome of respectable middleclass Englishness . Class discuss why. Consider
this scene as a counterpoint to the first.
 Groups re-write this opening scene of Act 3 for
a modern audience (new setting etc.). Discuss:
What do Shaw’s scene and yours continue to
hold in common?
ACT 3
 Starter: debate prostitution reading done for
homework.
 Reading and role-play of middle third of this
Act. Discuss dramatic effects and use of
emotive language.
 Discuss proposal and marriage the time Shaw
was writing, and focus on the character of
Croft and the significance of secrets in the
play.
ACT 3
 Finish reading and annotating this Act.
 Discuss in groups what Shaw is saying in this
Act about the hypocrisy of capitalism and ‘good’
society.
 Discuss quotations about socialism and
complete reading activity on Fabian Society.
ACT 4
 Setting: The London Chambers of Miss Honoria
Fraser present a contrast to the other sets:
modern, functional, a break with the past,
business-like and clear- what is the effect?
 Role-play first third of the Act.
 Discuss the difference in Vivie, now in a
masculine setting. Document the changes in
her, reasons why they have happened, and what
effect they have.
Student will have rewritten the scene for a
modern audience and
discussed what
significant changes were
made to the issues
central to the scene,
Complete worksheet,
‘Perspectives on Prostitution
at the turn of the century’.
Students will have
focused on the
character of Croft and
made detailed notes.
Reading on political
movements of the time.
Students will need to read
about socialism, capitalism
and the Fabian Society:
essay “Bernard Shaw and
the London Heretics” by
Warren Sylvester.
Students will have a
good understanding of
Shaw’s beliefs about
socialism and capitalism.
Timed essay: ‘Mrs. Warren’s
Profession has survived
simply because it exposes
the hypocrisy at the heart
of capitalist society.’ How
far do you agree with this
judgment?
Research:
 Roman dramatists
such as Terence or
Plautus with tales of
separated siblings
 Shakespeare e.g.
‘The Comedy of
Errors’ which
features separated
siblings
Students will have
charted the changes in
Vivie so far in the play.
Subject Assignment 3: Unit of work
4
15
16
17
18
19
AO1, AO3, A04:
Focusing upon the
issue of nature vs.
nurture.
AO1, AO3: Focusing
upon the issue of
conflict and
resolution.
AO1: Revise all
central characters
in the play and the
relationships
between them.
A01, A03, A04:
Revise central
characters and
understand
hierarchy in the
play.
A01, A03, A05ii:
Research underlying
themes in the novel.
H.C.Knight
ACT 4
 Reading of middle third of this Act.
 Discuss the conflict of nature vs. nurture in
Vivie Warren. Is Vivie’s chosen profession
more moral than her mothers?
 Plenary: Debate quotation from a critic.
ACT 4
 Read final part of this Act and role-play
different ways of staging it.
 Discuss conflict and resolution in this final Act.
 Update character logs.
Students will have a
detailed set on notes on
the issue of nature
versus nurture.
REVISE CENTRAL CHARACTERS
Character carousel – large sheets of paper, each
with a different character name in the centre (6
central characters). Students move around
spending up to 5 minutes on each character, adding
as much detail as possible. Following discussion as
a whole group. Continue onto next lesson.
REVISE CENTRAL CHARACTERS
 Finish the discussion started in the last seminar –
how are the characters developed throughout
the play?
 Complete hierarchy pyramid for characters in
terms of power.
 Plenary: debate quotation from a critic.
REVISE THEMES
Class divided into groups. Each group takes a
different subject and collects quotations and
events within this theme that occur in the play.
Group prepare a handout to be photocopied for the
rest of the class.
Useful revision tool for
the students and works
to consolidate links
between the characters
and their position within
society.
Students will have
focused on the issue of
conflict and resolution.
Completing essential
preparation for the
timed exam practice
based upon the
development of the
central character.
Students will take
responsibility for the
seminars and produce
handouts on their
designated topic.
Subject Assignment 3: Unit of work
Timed essay: ‘Without the
final Act, Mrs. Warren’s
Profession would lack any
real moral message and
would leave the audience
cold.’ Show to what extent
you find this statement to
be true of the play.
Identify key quotes for all
characters analysed in
today’s lesson and evaluate
at least 3 situations in the
play, where each character
plays a specific role.
Revise existing character
notes. Timed exam practice
(Vivie’s development
throughout the play)
complete with self
assessment of success and
weaknesses.
Complete handout for other
class members.
5
REVISE THEMES
Group presentations:
 Morality
 The Roles of Men and Women
 Poverty and Wealth
 Oppression and Freedom
 Mother/Daughter relationship
EXAM PREPARATION
 Exam skills – how to unpick the important words
in a question?
 How to plan quickly, but effectively.
 Quiz on the play.
Revise any problem areas identified in the students
mock timed essays (e.g. embedding quotations).
Students will take
responsibility for the
seminars and produce
handouts on their
designated topic.
22
AO1, AO2i, AO3:
Practice exam
question.
EXAM PREPARATION
 Timed essay in class, using a quote as a base to
argue from, either.:
1. ‘The men are ineffectual or immoral
monsters – it is the women who carry the
play.’ How far in your view does this
comment offer a helpful insight into the
text?
2. ‘Vivie Warren wants to be seen as a “woman
of business” – the irony is this makes her
exactly like her mother.’ Consider Shaw’s
presentation of Vivie Warren in the light of
this comment.
Students will have
reinforced their
knowledge of how to
plan and produce a
quality essay under
pressure, and will have
practiced their exam
technique.
Complete any further
activities suggested by the
groups’ handout and revise
notes taken during the
presentations.
Compare to Plays Pleasant
(excerpts)
Prepare for the exam:
 Revise and annotate
notes
 Complete any additional
reading
Give yourself 5 minutes to
construct an essay plan on
any topic.
Prepare for the exam:
 Revise and annotate
notes
 Complete any additional
reading
Give yourself 5 minutes to
construct an essay plan on
any topic.
23
AO1, AO2i, AO3:
Revise key events of
the text.
EXAM PREPARATION
 Exam skills – how to locate key events quickly,
how to evaluate which key events/characters are
necessary.
 Time management
 Any final queries.
Students will have had
the opportunity to
discuss any final queries
about the play or exam
technique.
Prepare for the exam:
 Revise and annotate
notes
 Complete any additional
reading
20
21
A01, AO2ii:
Research underlying
themes in the novel
(group
presentations).
AO1, AO2i, AO3:
Revise how to tackle
an essay question
and prepare a plan
for that essay.
H.C.Knight
Students will have
reinforced their
knowledge of how to
plan and produce a
quality essay under
pressure.
Subject Assignment 3: Unit of work
6