Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s famous short story broke new ground in both topic and style and is a great vehicle to introduce senior students to more sophisticated ways of analysing and evaluating texts.
This 38-page resource comprises
A copy of the text, in numbered sections for easy reference
Questions for the story which follow Bloom’s Taxonomy of lower-to-higher order tasks
A handout on different schools of theory and how they have viewed Gilman’s story, with an accompanying reading and analysis task
A longer extract from the first academic article about ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, which gets students to read academic prose, and consider formation and challenges to argument
A discussion of related texts which also respond to similar ideas and themes, and a sample poem by William Carlos Williams which students can compare to Gilman’s story.
A 2-page bibliography of poems, short stories, and films from which students can select their own related text
A choice of six engaging creative tasks
Short stories are a vital part of English literature. These short story studies can be used to build a short story unit, to supplement other texts, or as a standby lesson.
[Use this with our FREE Introduction to Short Stories two-page handout.]https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12564488)
Each classic story is copyright free in Australia, the U.K. and U.S. Paragraphs are numbered for ease of reference.
Activities correspond to Bloom’s taxonomy of lower- to higher-order tasks.
A comprehension question checks knowledge and understanding
Application questions ask students to apply their knowledge of literary or rhetorical technique
Analytical questions interrogate the story’s effect, mood, and construction-strategies.
Creative writing tasks use an aspect of the story as a springboard to write creatively, discursively, or persuasively.
These three very short stories from classic texts have been tested with a Year 8 (age 13-14) mixed-ability group.
The poetry of W.B. Yeats is a great choice for higher interest/ability senior students. This worksheet will take 1-2 lessons to complete. It provides:
a copy of the poem
a comprehensive series of questions structured according to Bloom’s Taxonomy for easier differentiation
a creative writing task which students can complete as homework
The story of the Trojan War is foundational to European literature and thought. Rosemary Sutcliffe’s retelling makes the epic accessible to younger students. It rewards close study in junior high-school English because of Sutcliffe’s rich figurative language, vivid character portraits, and seamless blending of the many tales of Troy.
This 96-page unit comprises:
An introduction to Troy, Homer, the Iliad, and the story’s importance - with student research activities.
A 4-6 page worksheet for each chapter (19 chapters) with an explanation of the relevant concept to the story, questions for the chapter, and a visual learning exercise using a famous art-work which depicts the events.
Essay questions suitable for 11-13 year olds
A summative creative writing task
Questions require higher-order thinking skills and encourage writing at length and reading widely to support growing knowledge. Students’ knowledge of the canon of European literature and art should grow considerably over the term with this unit.
Huxley’s famous dystopian novel is a fantastic choice for senior fiction studies. This 75-page unit of work has been tested successfully with a mixed-ability Year 11 (age 16-17) class. It focuses oin textual analysis and engagement with questions of social and political philosophy. There is a comprehensive, illustrated introduction to issues of industrialisation, sexual freedom, and political authoritarianism which affected Huxley’s world and continue to affect us.
There are 80+ writing tasks of different lengths and types, which allow teachers to differentiate for a mixed-ability group.
Each 3-chapter section is accompanied by an extension reading which engages with the relevant philosophical topic. Readings range from Hobbes and Rousseau on human nature to Admiral Moreel on bread and circuses.
The unit can be printed for students who prefer hard copy, or presented digitally.
Ten essay questions suitable for senior high schoolers can be used as the basis of assessment.
This comprehensive set of study notes includes a solid, step-by-step commentary on the text, relevant contextual detail, and pull-boxes giving examples of criticism in ‘Essay Language’ (allowing teachers to show differentiation of tone, register and modality).
There’s also a sample essay to this question:** How do the texts you have studied depict the emotional and intellectual responses provoked by a discovery? In your response, refer to your prescribed text and ONE other related text. **
The sample essay uses Michael Gow’s Away and Robert Cormier’s short story ‘The Moustache’.
‘Circular Breathing’ by the Australian poet Jaya Savige, is a set text for HSC Standard English study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poem’s significance and poetic techniques. A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
‘Translucent Jade’, by the Malaysian-Australian poet Maureen Ten, is a set text for HSC Standard English study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poem’s significance and poetic techniques.
A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
Study guide with questions and activities for every scene in the play, with plenty of room for written responses.
The guide contains activities which can be differentiated for strong and weak students and allows teachers to make use of technology through video-diary activities which students can complete using an iPad or mobile phone (this can, of course, be changed to a handwritten diary task).
You can also purchase an images-only powerpoint on the representation of Jews in Medieval and Renaissance Europe which can be used to show how the issue of anti-Semitism began and continues today.
Suitable for a broad range of students from middle school.
This comprehensive set of study notes includes a solid, step-by-step commentary on the text, relevant contextual detail, and pull-boxes giving examples of criticism in ‘Essay Language’ (allowing teachers to show differentiation of tone, register and modality).
There’s also a sample essay to this question: Self-discovery often involves uncovering things hidden and reconsidering things known. How is this perspective explored in The Awakening and ONE other related text? The sample essay uses The Awakening and Jane Campion’s film The Piano.
Remember- if you’re going to print copies, please buy a licence for each copy. Items are priced to make this possible for all schools. Thanks for supporting our work.
'Mending Wall’, by the American poet Robert Frost, is a perennial favourite for senior study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poetic techniques, and related texts which complement the poem for students who must study it in concert with one other text. Important points are in red.
A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
'After Apple Picking’, by the American poet Robert Frost, is a perennial favourite for senior study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poetic techniques, and related texts which complement the poem for students who must study it in concert with one other text. Important points are in red.
A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
‘Fire and Ice’, by the American poet Robert Frost, has been a perennial favourite for senior study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poetic techniques, and related texts which complement the poem for students who must study it in concert with one other text. Important points are in red.
A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
‘Home Burial’, by the American poet Robert Frost, has been a perennial favourite for senior study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poetic techniques, and related texts which complement the poem for students who must study it in concert with one other text. Important points are in red.
A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
‘Tuft of Flowers’, by the American poet Robert Frost, is a perennial favourite for senior study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poetic techniques, and related texts which complement the poem for students who must study it in concert with one other text. Important points are in red.
A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
‘Stopping by Woods’, by the American poet Robert Frost, is a perennial favourite for senior study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the poetic techniques, and related texts which complement the poem for students who must study it in concert with one other text. Important points are in red.
A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
‘Painter of Antwerp’, by the Australian poet Rosemary Dobson, is a poem suitable for senior study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining the key themes, poetic techniques, and related texts which complement the poem for students who may study it in concert with one other text. Important points are in red.
A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
‘Diptych’, by the Australian poet Robert Gray, is a familiar poem for senior study. This set of notes gives a full analysis of the poem with a relevant image and a handy grab-box explaining poetic techniques, and related texts which complement the poem for students who must study it in concert with one other text. Important points are in red.
A simple, one-stop analysis of this complex poem which students can work through in class or take home for private study.
A thorough study of each chapter in Eliot’s short masterpiece Silas Marner. Each chapter is annotated with a short precis of the chapter’s events, so that students can quickly locate the right section, and a thematic table at the beginning lays out some of the complex philosophical and literary ideas which underpin Eliot’s morality tale. Language and narrative techniques are carefully explained, and each chapter is accompanied by a selection of quotations to strengthen students’ understanding of evidence-based arguments.