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Year 10 English Literature: Power and Conflict poetry lesson pack

A complete, ready-to-teach GCSE lesson on power and conflict poetry. Below is a real sample of what ChalkHour makes: the full pack adds three levels of worksheet, model answers, a teaching explainer and print-ready PDF and Word files.

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Real sample

Exposure by Wilfred Owen: Man vs Nature

This lesson focuses on Wilfred Owen's 'Exposure' from the AQA Power and Conflict anthology. It explores the reality of trench warfare, specifically the conflict between soldiers and the natural environment.

Learning objectives

  • Identify and explain the use of personification and sibilance in 'Exposure'.
  • Analyse how Wilfred Owen presents the power of nature as a superior force to human conflict.
  • Evaluate the effect of the refrain 'But nothing happens' on the reader's understanding of the soldiers' experience.

Lesson plan (60 minutes)

  1. Starter · 5 min

    Entry activity: Analysis of the title 'Exposure'. Students brainstorm meanings (exposure to elements, exposing the truth of war).

  2. Introduction · 10 min

    Guided reading of the poem. Teacher models reading for rhythm and tone. Brief discussion on the historical context of the 1917 winter.

  3. Direct Instruction · 15 min

    Teacher-led 'Explainer' and Worked Example. Breaking down the first stanza using the 'What, How, Why' method.

  4. Independent Practice · 20 min

    Differentiated Worksheet Task: Students work through Support, Core, or Stretch questions based on prior attainment.

  5. Plenary · 10 min

    8-Question MCQ Quiz to check for understanding of key themes and techniques.

Key vocabulary

Personification
Giving human qualities to non-human things (e.g., the 'kniving' wind).
Sibilance
The repetition of 's' sounds to create a hissing or whistling effect.
Futility
Pointlessness or uselessness; the feeling that actions have no purpose.
Refrain
A repeated line or phrase in a poem.
Half-rhyme
Words that almost rhyme but not quite, used to create tension (e.g., 'faces/fusses').

Core worksheet (first questions)

  1. Explain the effect of the personification in the opening line.
  2. How does the use of sibilance in stanza 4 affect the reader?
  3. Why does Owen use half-rhymes (para-rhyme) instead of full rhymes?
  4. In stanza 6, how does Owen use imagery of 'home' to contrast with the trenches?

Quiz (sample)

  1. 1. Who or what is the primary antagonist in 'Exposure'?

    • A. The German army
    • B. The British generals
    • C. Nature/The weather
    • D. The soldiers' own fear

  2. 2. What is the rhyme scheme of each stanza?

    • A. AABBCC
    • B. ABABAB
    • C. ABBAC
    • D. AQAQAQ

  3. 3. 'The merciless iced east winds that knive us' is an example of what?

    • A. Simile
    • B. Personification
    • C. Hyperbole
    • D. Onomatopoeia

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