The Woman in Black: Hill's Description of the Woman!

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make precise and sustained interpretations regarding Susan Hill’s portrayal of the title character in The Woman in Black. In particular, they consider how the language techniques used (e.g. similes, adverbs and alliteration) are used to introduce and develop the mysterious woman each time that she appears.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through:
- Defining the key conventions of ghostly characters;
- Understanding and exemplifying key descriptive devices;
- Reading extracts introducing and developing the woman, comprehending key meanings;
- Analysing how the features of Hill’s language help to create a chilling portrayal of the woman;
- Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts.

Included is:
- Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;
- Extracts from ‘The Woman in Black’ in which the woman appears;
- ‘Hill’s Language’ worksheet (and answer sheet for teachers);
- Cards for descriptive devices sorting activity
- Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses;
- Comprehensive lesson plan.

There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. This was originally taught to mixed ability year 10 groups, but can easily be differentiated for groups of different ages and abilities.

All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.