I teach English Lit and Lang at IGCSE and IB Level. Resources here are mainly for these courses but I often upload KS3 resources too. Currently I am working on the new Songs of Ourselves for 2026. Drop me a line on: underthevolcanoagain@gmail.com for one-to-one tuition.
I teach English Lit and Lang at IGCSE and IB Level. Resources here are mainly for these courses but I often upload KS3 resources too. Currently I am working on the new Songs of Ourselves for 2026. Drop me a line on: underthevolcanoagain@gmail.com for one-to-one tuition.
In this PowerPoint you will find: thematic discussion questions, a quiz about Percy Shelley, the ‘story’ of the poem explained, a mindmapping task on Ramesses II, the author’s message, line by line questions, a gap fill about extended metaphor, a brief overview of the framed narrative form, and an annotated model response with essay writing prompts and instructions. All in all, students should have a good grasp of the poem after studying this, and teachers will not have any planning apart from possibly printing any slides they might want students to stick into their books. Any feedback is always much appreciated.
A detailed PowerPoint that provides: prereading activities, about the author, annotations, comprehension questions, line by line technical/language analysis, and three essay questions to challenge students. I have also written an example essay, which is also included. Students like the fun activity which involves them comparing the poem to the opening scene of David Lynch’s movie, Blue Velvet. I hope you like it. Here is a link to my supplementary YouTube video too: https://youtu.be/vTm92Pokmc0
The PowerPoint includes: mindmapping the title, comprehension questions for every line, a variety of activities, line by line analysis, contextual information, rhyme scheme, essay questions, criteria, and an example colour-coded paragraph. Also, I have included a link to my YouTube analysis and a 1000 word essay. It is very thorough and detailed, easy to follow, and with logical animations. It will take between two and three hours to cover fully.
In this 20 slide PowerPoint presentation, you will find: a selection of artwork from Boticceli, Munch, and Monet with discussion questions around the theme of “melancholy”, further thematic discussion questions, a gap filling task on the potential meaning and purpose of the poem (with answers), a line by line interpretation/analysis, and then the lesson culminates with an extended plenary whereby students are provided with colour-coded annotations that they have to label on the poem - these are more technical features, such as imagery, tone, assonance, repetition, asyndeton, and contrast. There are also a few possible essay questions at the very end that could be useful if you think students are ready to tackle an essay, or paragraph. By completing these activities, students will have a good understanding of the poem; it could be shared with them when exams are nearing. Also included is an essay planning sheet and a model paragraph.
This detailed PowerPoint takes students through some of the big questions raised in the poem, having them discuss in groups and then feedback to the class. It picks out key vocabulary and and has students analyse language. There is a short close analysis of sound imagery and an essay question with “break down” questions. Also, there are a couple of model analytical paragraphs to help with essay writing.
A full and detailed lesson with plenty that will challenge students. PowerPoint presentation includes: vocabulary explained, questions about every line of the poem, line by line technical analysis, about the author, and a 1000 word example essay has also been added. I have made a supplementary YouTube video, that can also be found here, which should help students when at home or revising. I really hope it is useful. This poem is no longer in the iGCSE anthology.
In this PowerPoint you will find: three readings of the poem, the poem’s backstory, questions on form/technique/ambiguity, a technique/quote matching activity, a line by line commentary, a final fun task where students perform the poem dramatically in small groups as others rate them on a simple performance rubric. It is informative but also quite fun and you can skip activities as you wish. I hope it is useful and any feedback would be much appreciated.
In this simple 9 slide PowerPoint, you will find: thematic questions about heroes and feminist struggles, line by line questions, detailed summary of the poem with a gap-fill task, a drama activity where students act the event in the poem out, and a writing activity where students write a letter from the great-great-grandmother in the poem to the author. Finally, students peer assess their writing based on spelling, punctuation, grammar, paragraphing, and tone. It is a fairly easy-to-understand poem that students will benefit from exploring using these different pedagogical platforms.
In this 18-slide PowerPoint, you will find: starter and extension; vocabulary creative writing task; deep delve into the gods mentioned in the poem; classwork/homework PDF attached with 22 thought provoking questions (with answers); line by line analysis; summary of the poem; colour-coded example paragraphs; and finally, an essay question and essay plan. The PowerPoint works best downloaded and not converted to Google Slides (you will lose the animations I believe on Google Slides, but all the content will remain). I hope it is useful. Any doubts, let me know.
In this PowerPoint you will find a detailed summary of the poem, some pre-reading activities, a breakdown of structure, style and rhyme, teacher annotations, and a model analysis and interpretation, which I have colour-coded to highlight embedded quotes, techniques and personal interpretation. Overall, this poem resource is quite a teacher-led presentation as this is one of the trickier poems in the anthology to break down from first glance. By using this resource, the poet’s central message and some of his techniques should be understood by your students. I hope it is useful for your iGCSE class. I have also added a supplementary YouTube video to help with introducing the poem to students - it could be a homework task to watch the video before the lesson.
In this PowerPoint you will find a detailed breakdown of the poem’s central meaning, line by line questions, line by line summary, a true/false quiz, finish the sentences activity, a group work discussion task, and students end the analysis by creating their own YouTube video exploring the theme of ‘death’ in the poem. Prompts have been provided for the video’s content.
In this 20-slide PowerPoint presentation you will find: about the author, breaking down the title, a dramatic reading activity, 5 thought-provoking/annotation questions on each stanza, tasks on theme, tone, structure and the author’s message; and finally a short creative-writing activity. It will require at least one full hour of teaching but could easily be amended. If you take the writing activity further, it might be better spread over two lessons. Hopefully this PP will be of use in preparing your students for their iGCSE exams, or beneficial to anyone studying this poem. Any feedback is always appreciated.
In this PowerPoint presentation, you will find: line by line questions, analysis of rhyme scheme and tense shifts, a comparison task where students interpret the opening page of The Stranger by Albert Camus to discuss the poem’s theme of “the irrationality of grief”, and a media based activity where students have to create a YouTube video of the poem using still images. It should be quite an interesting and fun series of tasks for students to develop a good understanding of the poem.
This is a 20 slide PowerPoint including: about the author, context, line by line comprehension and thought-provoking questions, a quiz pairwork activity, an A grade analytical model paragraph, analysis activity, and a plenary.
This lesson features: general discussion questions, line by line questions to help students engage with the poem either before or during the lesson, and a detailed line by line analysis, highlighting some techniques and providing interpretation. Then we have an essay question, model introduction, and first analytical paragraph. The next paragraph has been started, and quotes provided - students should finish it off. I have also included a link to my supplementary YouTube video which acts as an introduction/revision tool for students. Students are making a Poetry Portfolio, where they stick in each poem, annotate, and analyse with the 4 big questions, which I have included at the end of the PP.
In this PowerPoint presentation you will find: 20 questions to help students annotate and understand the poem, pre-reading activities related to the theme of commodification, a brief introduction to Marxism, an example of how the brand Oreo used the Gay Pride flag to help sell its product and brand itself, about the author (very brief), and finally an example analytical paragraph used for modelling, answering the question: How does Peter Porter, in his poem A Consumer’s Report, convey his views on the commodification of life?
This PowerPoint can be bought individually or as part of a bundle at a discount.
Here you will find a detailed PowerPoint presentation for every single poem in the new iGCSE syllabus. In addition, there is a selection of 1000-word model essays responding to a variety of the poems to share with students. In other lessons, there are model paragraphs, colour-coded for clarity. Some of the poems have a supplementary YouTube video where I have broken down the poems for students to revise at home (more videos to come soon). The lessons have a very wide range of activities to engage students, and most poems have either line by line questions or line by line annotations (or both). This is all you need to be prepared to teach these 15 poems. I have also included a 16th poem (The Bay) that could be used as an “unseen” exam example. I have also made a full anthology for easy printing.
Poems covered here are:
The City Planners
The Planners
The Man With Night Sweats
Night Sweat
Rain
The Spirit Is Too Blunt An Instrument
From Long Distance
Funeral Blues
He Never Expected Much
The Telephone Call
A Consumer’s Report
Request To A Year
On Finding A Small Fly Crushed In A Book
Ozymandias
Away, Melancholy
Bonus Poem (The Bay)
Full Printable Anthology (email me for anthology: underthevolcanoagain@gmail.com)
In this 18-slide PowerPoint, you will find: short video task with a biography of Alexander Pope with comprehension questions, list of key themes, tricky vocabulary explained, interpretative questions, homework PDF, line-by-line questions, line-by-line analysis, linking structure to content ideas, essay question, and an essay plan. It should probably take 2 to 3 hours to complete, maybe longer if the discussion is rich. It works better as a PP.
In this 26-slide PowerPoint you will find a thought-provoking starter, matching poetry technique task, in-depth discussion task, creative writing exercise (using the key vocabulary from the poem), an artwork imagery task, homework questions, line by line questions, deep line by line annotations/analysis, essay question and plan, and a model paragraph (colour-coded). This could take anything between one and three hours of teaching, depending on the cohort.
