English

Y8 English

Key Stage 3

Year 8

Revolutionary and Protest poetry: ‘America’ Claude McKay, ‘Rosa’ Rita Dove, ‘Torture’/ ‘We alone can devalue gold’ Alice Walker, ‘Good Bones (2016)’ Maggie Smith, 'To the Indifferent Women' Charlotte Perkins Gilman, ‘Caged Bird’ Maya Angelou

Romantic poetry and paired texts

THEME

Nature poetry: 'Sycamore Gap' Zoe Mitchell, 'A Sunset' Ari Banias, 'California Dreaming' Lachlan Mackinnon, 'Causeway' Matthew Hollis.

Introduction to the Romantics

Romanticism and Nature

Romanticism and Revolution

UNIT

In this lesson, you will be introduced to the poet Claude McKay. You will look at both his use of the sonnet form and juxtaposition to explore his conflicting feelings towards 'America'.

Reading and Exploring 'America' by Claude Mckay

In this lesson, you will explore The Civil Rights Movement before considering Rita Dove's presentation of Rosa Parks in her poem 'Rosa'.

Reading and Exploring 'Rosa' by Rita Dove

In this lesson, we will explore two poems by Alice Walker: 'Torture' and 'We Alone Can Devalue Gold'. We will consider the role of both resilience and materialism in our society.

Reading and Exploring 'Torture' and 'We Alone Can Devalue Gold' by Alice Walker

In this lesson, you will explore the power of poetry in the 21st century, before reading Smith's poem 'Good Bones' and analysing her use of sentence types. By the end of the lesson, I hope you will be inspired to write your own poem for change.

Reading and Exploring 'Good Bones' by Maggie Smith

In this lesson, you will be introduced to the poet Charlotte Perkins Gilman and her role in the women's suffrage movement, before exploring her poem 'To The Indifferent Women'.

Reading and Exploring 'To The Indifferent Women' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

In this lesson, you will explore Angelou's use of symbolism and free verse in her poem 'Caged Bird'.

Key Stage 3, English
Revolutionary and Protest poetry: ‘America’ Claude McKay, ‘Rosa’ Rita Dove, ‘Torture’/ ‘We alone can devalue gold’ Alice Walker, ‘Good Bones (2016)’ Maggie Smith, 'To the Indifferent Women' Charlotte Perkins Gilman, ‘Caged Bird’ Maya Angelou

Lessons in this unit

Reading and Exploring 'America' by Claude Mckay

Reading and Exploring 'Rosa' by Rita Dove

Reading and Exploring 'Torture' and 'We Alone Can Devalue Gold' by Alice Walker

Reading and Exploring 'Good Bones' by Maggie Smith

Reading and Exploring 'To The Indifferent Women' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Reading and Exploring 'Caged Bird' by Maya Angelou

Key Stage 3, English Revolutionary and Protest poetry: ‘America’ Claude McKay, ‘Rosa’ Rita Dove, ‘Torture’/ ‘We alone can devalue gold’ Alice Walker, ‘Good Bones (2016)’ Maggie Smith, 'To the Indifferent Women' Charlotte Perkins Gilman, ‘Caged Bird’ Maya Angelou

Lessons in this unit

Reading and Exploring 'America' by Claude Mckay

Reading and Exploring 'Rosa' by Rita Dove

Reading and Exploring 'Torture' and 'We Alone Can Devalue Gold' by Alice Walker

Reading and Exploring 'Good Bones' by Maggie Smith

Reading and Exploring 'To The Indifferent Women' by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Reading and Exploring 'Caged Bird' by Maya Angelou

Key Stage 3, English
Revolutionary and Protest poetry: ‘America’ Claude McKay, ‘Rosa’ Rita Dove, ‘Torture’/ ‘We alone can devalue gold’ Alice Walker, ‘Good Bones (2016)’ Maggie Smith, 'To the Indifferent Women' Charlotte Perkins Gilman, ‘Caged Bird’ Maya Angelou