51ºÚÁÏ

This 30-slide lesson explores Maria in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. With academic scrutiny, the lesson analyses one of Shakespeare’s key characters, beginning with an overview of her key lines, attributes, and role in the plot. This then leads to interesting contextual points which might illuminate Maria’s character, and some structural analysis of her role in the play. Maria’s key lines and moments are explored, including her relationships with Olivia, Sir Toby and Malvolio. Interesting viewpoints from a range of critics, directors, and actors are discussed, and we look at how Maria has been presented in a range of theatrical productions. Crucially, we also explore how Maria’s character relates to the key themes of the play and is central to the comedy of ‘Twelfth Night’. The Carnivalesque atmosphere of the play is analysed in light of Maria’s character, with close focus on themes including social mobility, revelry and marriage. Questions, discussion points, and essay questions are featured throughout. Students are encouraged to consider Maria’s character at a high level, so this lesson would be ideal for students aged 16+. PowerPoint saved as both an editable PowerPoint and PDF (to retain aesthetic choices).

This 24-slide lesson explores Ian Duhig’s poem ‘The Lammas Hireling’. After learning about the pagan and folkloric context and the poet’s life and work, students are encouraged to explore the poem’s language and imagery alongside its form, structure and rhyme. The poem is deconstructed at a high level, with focus on important elements including its confessional tone, homoerotic subtext, and literary influences. Key vocabulary is provided to help facilitate precise and sophisticated analysis. At the end of the lesson, there are comprehension questions and ideas are given for poems which might make for fruitful comparisons. This resource includes an editable PowerPoint and a PDF version of the PowerPoint (to retain aesthetic choices).

This 20-slide lesson explores Benjamin Zephaniah’s poem, ‘The British’. We begin by asking questions about national identity and cultural stereotypes, before learning about Zephaniah’s life and work. We then read the poem together, paying attention to its imagery and aural qualities. The poem’s central conceit (as a recipe poem) is then analysed in detail. Pupils pick apart Zephaniah’s metaphor of a national ‘melting pot’, learning about British colonial history along the way. Students are encouraged to analyse the poem’s language, form, structure, rhythm and rhyme. Key vocabulary is given to aid precise analysis, and questions are asked throughout. An essay-style question is asked towards the end, with an example paragraph given to model high-level analysis. At the end of the lesson, a fun creative task is set for students, based on Zephaniah’s poem. The resource is included as an editable PowerPoint and a PDF file (to retain aesthetic choices).

This 18-slide lesson explores Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’. The poem introduces students to ideas about patriotism and propaganda at the outbreak of the First World War, before exploring Brooke’s life and work. After reading the poem together, students are encouraged to think critically about its language, imagery, form, structure and rhyme. Discussion prompts and targeted questions guide students through the poem. There is also a ‘game’ for students to identify linguistic techniques in the poem. Annotations of the poem are modelled for students before thinking about the poem’s message and its status as a problematic poem from our 21st century perspective. The lesson ends with an essay-style question for students, with an exemplar paragraph provided to demonstrate effective analysis. The resources includes both an editable PowerPoint and a PDF to retain the aesthetic design.

This 25-slide lesson explores Thom Gunn’s 'The Man with Night Sweats’. After some key starter questions and discussion points about the AIDS epidemic, students learn about the poet’s life and context before reading the poem. A summary of the poem is included to support students’ understanding. Questions are asked about the poem’s language and imagery, focusing crucially on the speaker’s relationship with their body. Ideas about tone, contrasts, and symbolism are explored. A detailed overview of form, structure and rhyme is also provided. The lesson also explores the poem’s key themes, and a list of sophisticated vocabulary is given to facilitate precise analysis. At the end of the lesson, comprehension questions and an essay-style question are included. The lesson is saved as both an editable PowerPoint and PDF to retain aesthetic features.

This 33-slide lesson explores Orsino in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. With academic scrutiny, the lesson analyses one of Shakespeare’s key characters, beginning with an overview of his key lines, attributes, and role in the plot. This then leads to interesting contextual points which might illuminate Orsino’s character, and some structural analysis of his role in the play. Orsino’s key lines and moments are explored, including his notable allusion to the myth of Diana and Actaeon. Close analysis of language is included to aid students’ annotations. Interesting viewpoints from a range of critics, directors, and actors are discussed, and we look at how Orsino has been presented in a range of theatrical productions. Crucially, we also explore how Orsino’s character relates to the key themes of the play and is central to the comedy of ‘Twelfth Night’. The Carnivalesque atmosphere of the play is analysed in light of Orsino’s character, with close focus on themes including narcissism, masculinity, and desire. Questions, discussion points, and essay questions are featured throughout. Students are encouraged to consider Orsino’s character at a high level, so this lesson would be ideal for students aged 16+. PowerPoint saved as both an editable PowerPoint and PDF (to retain aesthetic choices).