This PPT gives information on Ballantyne’s novel ‘The Coral Island’ which ‘Lord of the Flies’ was based on. The PPT also uses information from Wikipedia on ‘social Darwinism’ to explore the historical context and influences of Darwin’s ideology and imperialism on both texts, and how both texts respond to these ideas, particularly in Golding’s context post WWII with Nazi eugenics.

This was written as a model essay for WJEC ‘Lord of the Flies’ paper, where context is heavily weighted as 67% Ao4. I wanted to show the pupils how to look at historical and social context but in a way that is specific and relevant to the question.

I used this with a MAT Year 7 group who had been looking at extracts from Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island throughout the term. As a group oracy task, they had to read the film pitches for both stories and then discuss which one to invest in, imagining they worked for a film production company. They really enjoyed the task and it allowed them to use a wide vocabulary when discussing the advantages of each story.

A handout with the story of Theseus and the minotaur, with some questions aimed at Year 7 students using P.E.E (point, evidence, explain), and a handout with an extract from ‘The Hunger Games’ called ‘The Reaping’ so that students can discuss how Suzanne Collins used Theseus and the minotaur to inspire her novel. You could then ask them to adapt other myths into a modern context as a creative writing task.

Using extracts from Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, students created these proof reading tasks which I've compiled into one booklet with an answer booklet as well. Each task includes a range of SPAG errors and could be used for Key Stage 3 or 4. You could use the tasks singly as starters, or set the booklet as a homework challenge, or complete in class with a competitive element.