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This comprehensive two-lesson resource is designed for the Edexcel IGCSE English Literature course and focuses on U.A. Fanthorpe’s imaginative and emotive poem Half Past Two. Perfect for introducing or revising the text, this updated lesson sequence engages students with visual storytelling, rich language analysis, and a deep exploration of childhood perspective and the concept of time.

Lesson 1:

• Starter Discussion: Thought-provoking questions explore the nature of time, memory, and early childhood.
• Visual Reading of the Poem: Students experience a visually supported reading of Half Past Two, accompanied by warm, nostalgic images to enrich understanding and evoke the poem’s mood.
• Thematic Exploration: Learners reflect on the moral of the poem, the idea of time as a social construct, and their emotional responses to the boy and the teacher.
• Exploding quotations activity with an exemplar.

Lesson 2:

• Compound Word Starter: Students decode Fanthorpe’s invented compound nouns to understand childhood perspective and poetic voice.
• Form and Structure Focus: Analysis of tercets, free verse, parenthesis, and capitalisation builds understanding of how form reinforces theme.
• Guided Annotation or Carousel Activity: Students explore key stanzas through targeted questions that prompt analysis of imagery, tone, language choices, and figurative devices.
• Essay Practice: PETAL scaffold helps students write analytically on how Fanthorpe presents the boy, with a focus on sympathy, imagination, and emotional freedom.