Learning objective



Learning objectives Possible teaching activities Learning outcomes Points to note/ Resources

Pupils should learn: Pupils

What makes a good story about life on the Western Front?

|To identify the attributes of |Lesson 1: What makes a good historical story? |Explain why they responded well|Private Peaceful extracts: |

|good historical fiction and |ISM: Read the opening lines of different novels and discuss which the pupils would want to continue reading and why. |to certain text extracts and |1: p93-98 – recruitment 2: |

|find examples of these within |Reveal where they are from and which we shall be reading. Why are we? Briefly explain the enquiry. |establish criteria for good |p112-115 – off to France |

|the text. |Factual Text: read a textbook extract on WWI recruitment and ask whether it too would inspire you to read more. No? Why |historical fiction | |

|Identify different literary |not? Use this and the pupil’s own knowledge of books they have enjoyed reading to establish a set of criteria for good |Discuss meanings of a ‘sense of| |

|techniques in text and begin to|fiction. Finally discuss what is meant by ‘sense of period’ and why it is important to a good historical story. How does|period’ |NB: Possible homework is to begin |

|analyse why these are used |it differ from other fiction? |Discuss, debate, and analyse |filling in the character profile |

|Explain why might be meant by a|Extract 1: briefly introduce the book, its characters and what happened before the war started to Tommo/Charlie/Big |Private Peaceful. |sheet in order to keep track of |

|‘sense of period’ with |Joe/Molly. Then read the extract (on Tommo and Charlie joining up) aloud with pupils. As they listen, encourage pupils |Identify and explain literary |who is who. |

|reference to Michael Morpurgo’s|to consider what makes this a good read and how it does it. Discuss: does it have the features we decided a good |techniques used to make this a | |

|‘Private Peaceful’. |historical story needed to have? |‘good read’ | |

| |Check the history: using film/sources/images, pupils analyse how far the book is historically authentic in this extract.| |PRIVATE PEACEFUL by Michael |

| |Does it have a ‘sense of period’? Examples? | |Morpurgo (Collins 2003) |

| |Conclusion: read extract 2 (off to France) and then use both pieces to play ‘historical fiction noughts and | | |

| |crosses/bingo’. Reinforce that these criteria will be used to judge each other’s stories at the end of the enquiry. | | |

|Identify the characteristic |Lesson 2: How does Michael Morpurgo “take us” to Ypres? |Make inferences about the |Private Peaceful extracts: |

|features of the setting (Ypres)|ISM: read the short extract on the PPT slide that mentions the setting of Ypres. Use this to draw students back into the|reaction of soldiers to Ypres |3: p124-127 – trench life |

|Analyse the techniques used in |story and discuss (briefly) the tension and drama in this extract. Discuss ‘Ypres/Wipers’ and use maps to explain the |using contemporary images |4: p 128-134– over the top1 |

|the novel to take the reader to|setting. |Identify, explain and begin to | |

|Ypres |Images: using pictures of the battlefield/trenches at Ypres, students consider what might be the feelings of Tommo and |evaluate the techniques used by|Homework: |

|Evaluate the importance of |Charlie as they arrive. Write down/discuss what the soldiers might say about the place in a letter home v. to each |Morpurgo |Read extract 4 |

|setting the scene to creating a|other. Consider how students have written about these and consider how it could be conveyed more powerfully. |Write a passage on Tommo using |OR students write an extract using|

|sense of period |Extract 3: Morpurgo obviously will do more than list these feelings, how does he “take us” to Ypres? Read extract (on |Morpurgo’s ‘style’ (i.e. some |techniques discussed in the lesson|

|Explain the importance of |Ypres) and briefly consider the historical details/characters’ feelings/literary techniques used to take us there. |of the techniques analysed) |(about conditions such as food?) |

|choices of individual |Language technique analysis: Use a ‘layers of inference’ or similar table to extract and annotate various techniques | | |

|words/language techniques to |that students have worked on in English: alliteration, onomatopoeia, metaphor, etc. What is the effect of these on | | |

|the scene being set. |creating the atmosphere and helping us to imagine the scene? How is an authentic setting conveyed without forgetting the| | |

| |needs of the reader in terms of plot, drama, character, etc? | | |

| |Conclusion: Role-play: consider Morpurgo’s careful choice of powerful verbs by focusing on use of “slither and slide”. | | |

| |Groups use alternative words for this phrase and act out the scene walking in the style the word suggests (e.g. stride, | | |

| |pace, stumble, etc.). Other pupils guess what word is being used. Discuss the effects on the atmosphere and setting of | | |

| |using these. Discuss Morpurgo’s choice. | | |

|Maintain historically plausible|Lesson 3: How do the characters in Private Peaceful help us to understand life on the Western Front? |Analyse what the novel suggests|Private Peaceful extracts: |

|relationship between characters|ISM: Discuss a section of extract 2 which introduces ‘Horrible Hanley’ and consider what it suggests about what an NCO’s|about the various |5: p138-142 - Over the |

|Use language and actions or |role is. Then read section of extract 4 focusing on how Charlie saved an officer’s life. What do the scenes suggest |roles/relationships |top2/Charlie wounded |

|events to express sense of |about roles & relationships between men and officers? How was the battlefield ‘organised’? Is this reality of the army |Evaluate how far this is | |

|period (in terms of |in 1916? |accurate by comparing it to |NB: Also need a copy of ‘Forgotten|

|relationships between men and |Men and officers: explain who the men were in WWI (privates, NCOs, officers). What roles do they have? Is this reflected|contemporary sources |Voices of WWI’ |

|officers and their |in these story extracts above? |Analyse and experiment with | |

|roles/status) |Extract 5: using extract 5 pupils analyse the text in terms of the different roles/status/relationships between the men.|Morpurgo’s use of the first | |

|Draw upon relevant period |What do the different characters do to support each other? What different roles do they have? What is their status? How |person in creating the drama of| |

|detail in order to do the above|do they interact? How are the men and officers portrayed? Take time to annotate, analyse and discuss the extract and |the Western Front | |

|Use the different purposes of |summarise the main conclusions about soldiers drawn from the text – these statements will be directly tested using the |Replicate Morpurgo’s style in | |

|portrayals of WWI to explain |following sources. |order to further explore and | |

|the way people speak or behave |‘Forgotten Voices’: compare the analysis of the roles, status and interactions between men in the story to information |explain the role, status and | |

| |in the extracts taken from ‘Forgotten Voices’. Model one example. In what way is the source confirming or contradicting |attitudes of the regular | |

| |what Morpurgo suggest about role/status/relationships? So, is the portrayal of privates, NCOs and officers historically |soldier but showing an | |

| |authentic? Use these questions to consider whether the portrayal of the characters is important to the sense of |alternative perspective to | |

| |period/historical authenticity. Is authenticity all that is important to a good story though? What is the purpose of |Tommo | |

| |this enquiry? (A good story..) | | |

| |Conclusion: analyse extract 5 further, this time to looking at how the use of first person changes from ‘I’ to ‘we’ and | | |

| |how this is used to tell different people’s experiences of the Western Front. So, if this is just about a historically | | |

| |authentic story of life on the Western Front, why use the first person? How does it help the drama, intrigue and | | |

| |suspense? How is it used to get us to care about the characters? How is it used to hook us? | | |

| |Homework/written: Pupils write about Charlie’s disappearance from Charlie’s own point-of-view mirroring the first-person| | |

| |style of Tommo’s account. Keep from students what happens next in order to keep them hooked. What’s he thinking? What | | |

| |might be happening to him? What might he be feeling / worrying about? Should someone be coming to look for him? What | | |

| |will he think about his responsibilities e.g. to Tommo and the other men and to the army / country? What might he be | | |

| |thinking about his role in the war and what’s happened to him compared to NCOs/officers? Include period language, | | |

| |authentic experiences and feelings, etc. Also make use of previous lesson’s work on powerful verbs. | | |

|Analyse and experiment with the|Lesson 4: How is language and dialogue used to create an authentic sense of period? |Analyse Blackadder and Private |Private Peaceful extracts: |

|use of period language/dialogue|ISM: Blackadder: watch section showing men and officers from the final episode. How does purpose of the video affect the|Peaceful in terms of the period|6: p142-147 - Charlie comes back |

|Evaluate period language as a |different way it portrays the characters and their status/relationships? Why is it different to the novel? Is it |language and dialogue used | |

|means of giving writing a |reliable? Then discuss the language in the scene. Is it modern or contemporary? Which aspects of language and dialogue |Identify examples of this | |

|‘sense of period’ |are authentic? Why use modern humour and sayings? Does this affect its authenticity? Is this appropriate for the book? |language and explain how and | |

| |How and why might Morpurgo do things differently? Explain that today’s lesson will focus on language and dialogue. |why it is used |*Themes for Tommo’s and Charlie’s |

| |Extract 6: students should be keen to know what happened to Charlie. Read this with the class and discuss earlier issues|Demonstrate use of new period |discussion: |

| |about plot, character, suspense, etc. Then focus on how the language used is similar and different to that used in the |language through role play | |

| |Blackadder scene. Students work in pairs and highlight any words or phrases used that help to create a sense of period |Extended knowledge of period |How do they feel about: |

| |(e.g. ‘Blighty’, ‘Pop’). Which words and expressions are from the time and are used by Morpurgo to remind us that the |language |Other soldiers (privates, NCOs or |

| |book is set in 1916? Is it just used to convey historical details (language in the text such as trench details) or is it| |officers) |

| |also used to make the characters seem authentic (through dialogue)? | |Tactics/progress |

| |WWI words and sayings: give out a list of WWI expressions. Pupils examine the list and tick any that they can remember | |Reasons for fighting (King & |

| |Morpurgo using so far in the novel or using extract 6. Feed back and discuss why he has used such a lot of these. (Has | |Country?) |

| |he? NB: this is from a website on WWI expressions and Morpurgo may have used it, hence his use of ‘pipsqueak’. | |Trench/daily life conditions |

| |Hypothesise this kind of research is certainly what he would have had to do in writing an authentic novel). | | |

| |Role-play dialogue: pupils work in pairs to create some conversation between Charlie and Tommo following on from where | | |

| |the story left off* (in hospital before he goes home to Blighty). Pupils must try and use some of the period language | | |

| |from the list where appropriate whilst keeping the conversation realistic and authentic. | | |

| |Conclusion: As pupils act this out the class can peer assess each other’s work: What words and expressions were used? | | |

| |How were they used? Were they used appropriately? Were they used sparingly? Too many? Would it help the sense of period | | |

| |or confuse the reader? | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| |Website of words, expressions and terms used during WWI: | | |

| | | | |

|Slow down and speed up the |Lesson 5: How does Morpurgo recreate the drama and tension of life on the Western Front? |Analyse, evaluate and explain |Private Peaceful extracts: |

|narrative in order to express |ISM: Examine an extract from the gas attack scene with references to gas removed so students can more easily see the |how sentence structure affects |7: p153-155 – gas attack |

|the terror of ‘going over the |metaphor being used. Discuss: what might be happening to Tommo? How is this ‘thing’ portrayed? How do we get this |the drama and tension |8: p163-165 – over the top 3 |

|top’ |impression? Then reveal the full extract and discuss Morpurgo’s use of language to describe and fully imagine the horror|Experiment with changing | |

|Use changes in sentence |of the approaching gas. In particular, consider how does sentence structure affect the way text reads/drama? |sentences to replicate |*For an example of this whole |

|structure to achieve the above |Short breathless sentences: students re-write a short paragraph of writing where the tension has been removed by poorly |Morpurgo’s style |class modelling and collaborative |

|How historical detail and |chosen sentence structure. Students rewrite it with ‘short, breathless sentences’ to improve the suspense and drama. |Write an extract bringing |work see Counsell’s work on the |

|literary techniques are |Discuss the impact this has and how sentence structure can be used. How is this appropriate in a historical novel? How |together different literary |Seeing Stone (chapter 3 of the |

|integrated to produce a good |might this help tell the story of trench life? |techniques to give an authentic|History and Literacy in Y7 book) |

|read with a sense of period |Extract 7: read the rest of the extract on gas attack and analyse where, when and why the sentence structure changes and|story about an attack | |

| |what affect it has (see above points). | | |

| |Whole class/individual writing: use whole-class modelling and development carefully guided by the teacher to replicate | | |

| |Morpurgo’s style of changing sentence structure*. Use different pupils’ ideas to write a class story describing a scene | | |

| |where soldiers are waiting to go over-the-top. Encourage peer and self assessment to draft and edit the scene so that | | |

| |the pace and drama shifts as the plot unfolds. Perhaps then allow students to continue the work individually and read | | |

| |aloud for review. Remember to encourage pupils to also employ earlier techniques (powerful verbs, metaphor, first | | |

| |person, plot, etc) so that they begin to ‘put it all together’. | | |

|Why soldiers during WWI were |Lesson 6: So, what does make a good story about life on the Western front? |Evaluate and explain the ending|Private Peaceful extracts: |

|executed |ISM: Take time to read the final part of the book with students, which has a very powerful ending in terms of delaying |of the book, particularly the |9: p168-185 – the finale |

|To bring together language |the final moment. Discuss this issue after the first section (p168): what is going on? How are we reminded that it is |execution in terms of | |

|techniques and knowledge of the|1916 in this extract? What makes it a page-turner? Then read the book to the end and give time for pupils to react. What|historical authenticity | |

|period in order to fully |do you think? Has it helped you SEE what the experience was like? Why was Charlie executed? Why use this particular |Review the key features of the | |

|express a sense of period and |ending do you think? |novel in terms of how it helps | |

|empathise with the range of |Army executions: use contemporary sources and factual detail to explain why soldiers were shot by their own side in WWI.|pupils historical understanding| |

|experiences and perspectives of|Discuss whether the ending is ‘authentic’ based on this. Also discuss the subtext: why has Morpurgo used this small part|and how this is achieved | |

|soldiers during WWI |of WWI? What is his possible ‘agenda’? (read out the Postscript in the book to help) |Replicate the style of Morpurgo| |

| |How has the book helped: students review the book overall in terms of plot, setting, characters, atmosphere, suspense, |whilst creating their own | |

| |language, etc to analyse how it has helped their understanding of life on the Western Front. Focus on this historical |chapter in the sory of Private | |

| |understanding and the sense of period before considering which techniques helped to better convey this than a textbook. |Tommo Peaceful | |

| |Story recipe: give out the story recipe which will provide students with a ‘creative constraint’ to write their | | |

| |continuation of the story, where Tommo goes to the Somme. They will tell the story of 30 June-1July 1916 at the Somme | | |

| |and will have to decide what happens to Tommo. Also, they must include real characters from the local war dead studied | | |

| |previously who died at the Somme on 1 July 1916. They will also need to research the battle of the Somme and other | | |

| |events of the era (women’s suffrage, welfare and poverty, etc) in order to keep the authenticity and extend the sense of| | |

| |period. Of course, they will need to plan carefully for the use of the language techniques learnt so far to communicate | | |

| |their story and ‘take the reader there’. | | |

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