Poetry through the ages teaching pack

Last updated: 15/11/2023
Poetry through the ages
Main Subject
Key stage
Resource type
Teaching pack

Explore a selection of classic poetry by seminal poets.

This KS3 teaching pack includes practical, student-facing activities and poetry extracts. The pack is divided into: Early and Middle English poetry, The Elizabethans, The Metaphysical poets, The Romantic poets, 20th century poetry (including WW1 and Modernism) and contemporary poetry (with a focus on Duffy and Zephaniah).

Dip in and out or use as a six-week unit – whatever works for you!

What's included?

  • an assessment objective map
  • lesson plans and ideas along wih tailor-made resources
  • ​poetry extracts and examples for students to analyse.

What's inside?

Introduction (page 1)

Route through – week one: Early and Middle English poetry (pages 2-4)

  • Some introductory work on riddles
  • An introduction to Beowulf
  • An introduction to Chaucer

Route through – week two: 16th century: The Elizabethans (pages 5-6)

  • An introduction to Shakespeare’s sonnets
  • An introduction to Ben Jonson and Sir Walter Raleigh

Route through – week three: 17th and 18th centuries: The Metaphysical poets (pages 7-9)

  • An introduction to John Donne’s poems
  • An introduction to George Herbert’s ‘Easter Wings’
  • A lesson on Anne Bradstreet and the role of women in the 17th century

Route through – week four: 19th century – The Romantic poets (pages 10-12)

  • An introduction to William Blake
  • Comparing autumnal poems by John Keats and John Clare

Route through – week five: 20th century – WW1 poetry, Modernism (pages 13-15)

  • An introduction to WW1 poetry
  • An introduction to Modernism and T.S. Eliot

Route through – week six: Contemporary poetry (pages 16-18)

  • An introduction to Carol Ann Duffy
  • An introduction to Benjamin Zephaniah
  • An introduction to slam poetry

Resources

  • Can you solve the riddles?
  • Beowulf
  • Narrative arc
  • The Middle Ages – useful context
  • Chaucer – the wife of Bath translation activity
  • Chaucer: the opening
  • Two pen portraits – the Miller and the Prioress
  • Facebooking the Squire
  • Dating profile sheet
  • Elizabethan England – useful context
  • Shakespeare’s sonnet XVIII
  • Iambic pentameter? Easy!
  • Write your own sonnet
  • Sonnet 116 revision guide
  • Which poetic term am I?
  • ‘On My First Sonne’ PowerPoint presentation
  • SPLLATT! Attacking a poem
  • ‘The Passionate Man’s Pilgrimage’ by Sir Walter Raleigh

This sample shows a student activity from the Poetry through the ages pack:

SPLLATT!  Attacking a poem

Analyse is a word that strikes fear into the hearts of many a student … You may have analysed a project or person, but in English, what does it mean?  How do you analyse something made of words?  It means exactly the same thing.  You need to look at a text from lots of different angles.  One you’ve read the tips below, you will know what those angles are.

Step one: the reading bit

Do you understand what the poem is about?  If not, take it one line or even a couple of words at a time, and just translate tiny bits to see if it makes it any clearer.

Step two: the analysis bit

SPLLATT stands for: Statement, Purpose, Language, Layout, Audience, Tone and Technique.  If you use these as prompts, explaining how and why each of these things matters in the poem, you’re onto a winner.  Use the table below to organise some of your thoughts.

Poetry through the ages pack
£12.50
Free for Premium Subscribers.

All reviews

Have you used this resource?

5

27/07/2021

5

15/02/2021

5

27/05/2020

5

22/05/2020

5

27/07/2021

5

15/02/2021

5

27/05/2020

5

22/05/2020

5

26/03/2020

5

05/02/2019

I love this scheme! But I can\t find the link to the Beowulf translation exercise anymore......

Pamela Lichty

09/01/2019

5

18/09/2018

Great as a whole scheme or also for dipping in and out - I think the context links are useful, especially considering preparation for Eng Lit GCSE.

Julia Haynes

17/09/2017

Very useful resource.

Jane Wakeman

09/01/2017