Use a variety of verse to keep KS3 students keen as they learn key poetry analysis skills.
The aim of this lesson is to introduce students to the basic techniques for analysing poetry and hopefully, get them interested in studying it.
Students will learn key skills such as the ability to embed quotations and identify layers of meaning within a text. They should also be able to identify the viewpoint of the writer and apply criticism.
The poetry of Maya Angelou, Wilfred Owen and Carol Ann Duffy gives students a variety of poetic styles and allows them to develop their preferences and opinions.
Why teach this poetry analysis lesson?
Students will need to analyse language at GCSE. This lesson, using a variety of interesting and different poetry, is a great introduction to this vital skill.
Key curriculum links
- Select evidence from a poem
- Explore poetic devices and their effect
- Structure an answer using PEE
Claire Elliott is an English teacher at Colchester Academy, a Bright Tribe Trust school in Essex. She has 17 years of experience teaching KS3 and 4 students.
Similar resources
- KS3 reading comprehension – Alternative facts worksheet
- Ambitious vocabulary – Intervention session for secondary English
- Macbeth essay – Free two-lesson resource pack for GCSE
- Poetry KS3 – Inspiring writing through spoken-word poems
- AQA English Literature Paper 1 – Macbeth/Christmas Carol walkthrough
