Year 9 - English
Letter writing: planning, using Vera Brittain's 'Testament of Youth' as stimulus
Literary perspectives from the First World War
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils explore and compare texts written about the First World War. They first read Beck's 'Propping up the line', Mansfield's 'The Fly' and Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter home to his mum. They finally read Brittain's 'Testament of Youth', and then plan and write a comparative response.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to plan an imaginative letter which captures some common aspects of life on the home front of World War One.
Key Notes
- The home front refers to the idea that civilians in Britain felt the impact of World War One in their daily lives.
- It was common for those on the home front to feel fear and impotence whilst their loved ones were on the front line.
- Brittain's 'Testament of Youth' captures and expresses feelings of fear, impotence and anger during the war years.
- Using contextual knowledge and inspiration from other texts can help create a convincing persona in your own writing.
Vocabulary To Learn
- memoir: a nonfiction account of something written from a person's memories
- impotent: powerless
- ignorance: a lack of knowledge of something
- methods: the tools a writer uses to create their work; structure and language choices are the most obvious examples
- persona: the character you adopt when writing a first person text
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- You can't use words, phrases or methods from other people's writing in your own writing.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
The home front refers to the idea that civilians in Britain felt the impact of World War One in their daily lives. It was common for those on the home front to feel fear and impotence whilst their loved ones were on the front line.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'memoir'
a nonfiction account of something written from a person's memories.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: You can't use words, phrases or methods from other people's writing in your own writing. Correction: Plagiarism is when you use someone's work or ideas without their consent. This is not allowed. However, you can use texts that inspire and excite you to inform your own writing. This might be a piece of powerful vocabulary or a powerful method.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Analysing the presentation of the gas attack: Ian Beck's 'Propping Up the Line' Study Guide
- Comparing texts about World War One in comparative analytical paragraphs Study Guide
- Comparing texts about World War One using comparative topic sentences Study Guide
- Creative writing in the third person inspired by Katherine Mansfield's 'The Fly' Study Guide
- Debating different interpretations of Katherine Mansfield's 'The Fly' Study Guide
- Exploring the presentation of the boss in 'The Fly' by Katherine Mansfield Study Guide
- Ian Beck's 'Propping Up The Line': Alice's experiences on the Home Front Study Guide
- Improving a letter: deliberate verbs and precise adjectives Study Guide
- Improving the style of a letter: sentence structure and rhythm Study Guide
- Katherine Mansfield's 'The Fly' (1922): exploring character foils and symbolism Study Guide
- Letter writing: planning, using Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter as stimulus Study Guide
- Reading 'Propping Up the Line', a short story about World War One by Ian Beck Study Guide
- Reading Katherine Mansfield's short story, 'The Fly' (1922) Study Guide
- Skim reading and close reading: 'Testament of Youth' by Vera Brittain Study Guide
- Skim reading and close reading: Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter to his mother Study Guide
- Symbolism and motif in Ian Beck's short story, 'Propping Up The Line' Study Guide
- The presentation of trauma in Ian Beck's short story, 'Propping Up the Line' Study Guide
- Understanding why people write about war Study Guide
- Using sentence structure to create rhythm in writing about World War One Study Guide
- Vivid descriptive writing using Ian Beck's 'Propping Up The Line' as stimulus Study Guide
- World War One: propaganda and trench warfare Study Guide
- Writing a letter as a soldier in the trenches of World War One Study Guide
- Writing a letter from the British home front: tone, audience and purpose Study Guide
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