Myers PhD‘s English Literature Shop
English teacher for upper schools with a passion for literature. My resources eschew flashy, clip-art-infested layouts for clean, focused, and advanced worksheets and activities for students and teachers.
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English teacher for upper schools with a passion for literature. My resources eschew flashy, clip-art-infested layouts for clean, focused, and advanced worksheets and activities for students and teachers.
History
W. B. Yeats: "The Second Coming" & 'Things Fall Apart' (Achebe) + ANSWERS
This advanced activity is designed to help students understand W. B. Yeats’ iconic yet rather difficult poem “The Second Coming”, with a particular focus on how it is linked to Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. The activity includes:
1. Context of Composition: An introduction to the context shared by both Achebe’s novel and Yeats’ poem. This includes information about how Achebe was inspired by the poem in the choice of both the epigraph at the beginning of the novel and in his choice of title.
2. Annotated Poem text: (“The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats) with annotations for difficult concepts, vocabulary, and terminology required to understand the poem.
3. Yeats’ Vision: A diagram and labeled, explaining how “The Second Coming” envisions Yeats’s cyclical, dual gyres of history (as outlined in his book Vision).
4. Comprehension, Close Reading & Analysis Questions for the poem
5. Food for thought and essay questions for additional in-depth reflection and to ensure higher-order thinking and writing skills are also catered to.
6. Analyzing Okonkwo’s Character: The Tragic Hero: This PowerPoint presentation (included here as a PDF to ensure cross-platform compatibility) provides a no-prep guide through teaching Yeats’ poem, and connecting it to an analysis of Okonkwo’s character as a classical tragic hero. The PPT includes:
It introduces the poem “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats, Achebe’s source of inspiration for the title of the novel. The presentation includes a glossary of difficult terms for the poem and places it in the context of the novel, to facilitate a deeper understanding of the overall purpose of the novel as well as the wonderful poem by Yeats itself. Comprehension and close-reading questions accompany the poem.
Linked to “The Second Coming” and its central message, the presentation introduces the concept of the tragic hero in literature and enables a detailed analysis of how Okonkwo (the novel’s protagonist) is, ultimately, a tragic hero.
The PowerPoint includes a final form of assessment that you can optionally use to wrap up the unit about Okonkwo as a tragic hero.
NB: I’ve opted for a minimalistic, no-fuss design to allow you to focus on the content rather than the flashy (but ultimately pointless) functions of a PowerPoint. I hope this allows you to seamlessly include the lesson into your study of the novel.
7. Teacher’s Guide + Answer Key - this provides a detailed answer key with model answers for all the activities - designed for teachers who are new to the novel, or veterans who wish to gain fresh insights.
Perfect for independent study and distance learning.
IMPORTANT! Rate this product & get one product for free: If you provide a rating & feedback for this product, contact me by email to receive one product (except a bundle) sent to you free of charge! Feedback is always appreciated!
Enjoy, and please leave feedback!
Bundle
IGCSE Poetry 2026-2028: Vol. 1 - TEACH + EXAM PREP + ANSWERS ALL 15 POEMS Bundle
This comprehensive bundle includes ready-to-teach NO PREP worksheets, teaching activities, revision guides, and sample exam questions for all 15 poems that need to be taught and included in the preparation for the CIE IGCSE English Literature Exams in 2026-2028. Specifically:
From Songs of Ourselves Volume 1, the following 15 poems:
Aphra Behn, ‘Song: Love Armed’
Sujata Bhatt, ‘A Different History’
William Blake, ‘The Chimney-Sweeper’
Elizabeth Brewster, ‘Where I Come From’
Boey Kim Cheng, ‘Report to Wordsworth’
Gillian Clarke, ‘Lament’
Kevin Halligan, ‘The Cockroach’
Seamus Heaney, ‘Follower’
Liz Lochhead, ‘Storyteller’
Charles Mungoshi, ‘Before the Sun’
Katherine Philips, ‘A Married State’
Alexander Pope, From ‘An Essay on Man’
Carol Rumens, ‘Carpet-weavers, Morocco’
William Shakespeare, ‘Sonnet 18’
Judith Wright, ‘Hunting Snake’
Each unit includes the following:
1) Biography and introduction to the poet
2) Context of Composition, including contextual information, or explanation of additional, relevant terminology, literary concepts, movements, philosophies, etc., where necessary or appropriate.
3) Pre-Reading activity and After-Reading activities to introduce the poem and unit, and/or to review key poetic devices and figurative language relevant to the poem. There is a range of activities to choose from that you can mix and match based on your students’ needs or your planning.
4) The poem text with, line numbers and explanatory notes to facilitate a close-reading, and to explain unusual or difficult vocabulary and concepts. Illustrations and images further help clarify the use of terminology and phrases in the specific context of the poem.
***5) Close-Reading and Analysis Question***s that allow your students to analyse the poem more closely and dig deeper.
6) Additional essay questions (often from past IGCSE papers) and writing tasks to facilitate exam preparation. These questions can also be used for mock exams.
7) Teacher’s Guide and Answers for all activities.
8) Perfect for Distance Learning & Independent Study: As a stand-alone, comprehensive teaching unit with answers and a teaching guide, this is also perfect for distance learning, homeschool or independent study and revision!
BONUS! This bundle also includes the following materials designed to complement teaching and revising for the IGCSE English Literature Exams in 2026-2028:
*Roadmap and Scheme of Work for IGCSE Vol. 2, Part 3 Poetry for Exams in 2025-2027
Figurative Language Flashcards
Creative Writing Activity: Free Verse
Creative Writing Activity: Sonnet
Comparative Analysis Activity
Analysing Poetry - SIFT Method Activity
Shakespeare’s Language - An Extensive Introduction
Poetry Appreciation Week - A Selection of Favourites*
Happy teaching and revising! Please leave feedback!
IGCSE Poetry Vol 1: "Lament" (Gillian Clarke) TEACH & STUDY BUNDLE + ANSWERS
This no-prep unit of work is designed to enable an in-depth teaching and preparation of the poem “Lament” by Gillian Clarke. The poem is also on the IGCSE English Literature curriculum for exams in 2025-2027.
The unit includes:
1) Short biography and introduction to the poet
2) The poem text with line numbers to facilitate a close-reading, including historical context and explanatory notes where necessary.
3) Pre-Reading Activities to facilitate teaching the poem & exam prep in class. I’ve focused on the historical context (Persian Gulf War) as well as on the lament - poetic form and tradition.
4) Comprehension, Close-reading & Analysis questions, with a particular focus on poetic devices and the IGCSE English Literature exam criteria.
5) Essay questions to facilitate IGCSE exam practice, modeled after the IGCSE English Literature Assessment Criteria (AO1-AO4)
6) In-depth, detailed model answers for all activities, questions, as well as model answers for the practice exam questions, again based on IGCSE Exam Rubric (A01-AO4).
**Happy reading, teaching, studying, and revising!
Please leave feedback!**
Bundle
Things Fall Apart (Achebe) Complete Advanced Teaching BUNDLE + ANSWERS + GUIDE
One of my favorite novels to teach, I’ve revisited and revised my Things Fall Apart resources and included a comprehensive range of activities for the entire novel.
Each unit included in this comprehensive bundle focuses on different aspects of this African classic worth teaching (and standards-aligned)
Examples of the activities included in each unit are:
1. Comprehension & Close Reading Questions for each chapter of Things Fall Apart
2. Let’s Get Quizzical! - Quote Hunt Quiz for each chapter (a great way to quickly review comprehension and reading with students, these quote hunt quizzes can be used as a springboard for close reading and other activities.
3. The Novel In Context - These activities focus on various aspects of the novel’s context of composition and interpretation, including the history of Nigeria, colonization, the role of women, Igbo culture, traditions, etc.
4. Analyzing Characters / Themes / Setting / Figurative Devices / Symbols / Conflicts etc. - these are a range of guided close reading activities; each focuses on different literary aspects of the novel, selected as most appropriate for each chapter. A great way to facilitate a closer look at key aspects of this literary masterpiece and to practice key close reading and inference skills.
5. Creative Writing Tasks - a range of creative writing prompts and tasks for each chapter, allows your students to engage with the story, characters, main ideas, etc. of the story in a more personal, creative, and empathetic manner.
7. Making Connections - these activities introduce/focus on the various allusions/connections made to other literary works and texts in Things Fall Apart, including Greek tragedy, the concept of the tragic hero, and W. B. Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” (which inspired Achebe’s title of the novel - Things Fall Apart). These are crucial activities and materials to teach a more in’de
8. Teacher’s Guide (Model Answers + Commentary + Analysis) - Each unit of work (for each chapter) includes a comprehensive teacher’s guide, which itself includes model answers for all the activities as well as a detailed plot summary and analysis of the respective chapter, designed for teachers who are new to the novel, or veterans who wish to gain fresh insights, as well as for students working independently in a home-schooling setting or in a distance learning environment.
9. I’ve also included all my pre-reading and post-reading activities and assessments in this bundle!
Happy teaching! Feedback is always welcome!