- This topic has 22 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated February 20, 2025 by
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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s class we began our study of War of the Worlds, thinking about the history behind the book. We discussed what we enjoyed and didn’t enjoy about the novel before thinking through the ways in which we can see the anxieties of the 1800s reflected in the plot. We spoke about the famous radio play drama of the 1930s, thought about the impact of Darwinism and Empire on the story and finally the class researched Wells to see what his life can reveal about the novel overall. Well done everyone, fab ideas today particularly when thinking about what science fiction as a genre reveals to us about our relationship to science & the unknown. Keep it up and see you next week 🙂
Homework
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s class we continued work on War of the Worlds, thinking about the Martians in the story and what they tell us about Wells’ overall message. We began by thinking about Wells’ personality and life, using this to consider his idea that nothing in his novel was impossible. We then thought about the characters’ response to the Martian invasion and whether we found it realistic before talking about the title and why Wells may have called it something slightly misleading. The class came up with their own titles before finally writing some excellent defences of the Martians, reflecting on the historical context of imperialism and Darwinism that the book explores, which they did fantastically. Very well done everyone, brilliant contributions from all today. Keep up the wonderful work and see you next week 🙂
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Sorry I was not in the lesson, I did listen to the recording. Thank you very much. Here is my homework
Yichen
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s class we looked at close and deep textual analysis of War of the Worlds, working with GCSE-style questions. We began by thinking through a passage from the text, dissecting particularly strong quotations and discussing them as a class. We looked at a GCSE-style question and thought about in depth analysis of an Orwell passage to help us think about the level of detail we need. The class read an example GCSE response, and then practiced some essay planning. Really great work today everyone, well done for all your interesting ideas. Keep it up and see you next week 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s class we finished our work on War of the Worlds thinking about modernising the story as a play. We looked at the ways in which stagecraft functions, considering the visual aspect of playwrighting and what it can add. We spoke about the structure of the novel and how to translate it and the students came up with brilliant ideas for a modern re-telling of the story in their groups. Finally we completed some essay question planning and looked at the ‘exploded’ quotation method of analysis. Well done everyone, I loved hearing your play ideas in particular! Keep up the wonderful work 🙂
Stagecraft vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFDZzbWGfKI
Homework article: https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/feb/13/ts-eliot-the-waste-land-mental-illness
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s lesson we began our work on The Wasteland, learning the context, philsophy and literary movements behind the poem. We began with discussing the poem before learning about modernism and connecting this to the way fragmentation and narrative is used within The Wasteland. We spoke about the work of other modernist artists, from Woolf to Picasso, and looked at elements such as the French symbolist movement. We then spoke about the birth of pyschological literature, discussed the homework article and finally researched and debated Eliot’s life and what it tells us about his writing. Amazing and attentive work everyone, you’ve been so great today in unpicking some strange and abstract topics. Keep it up and see you soon 🙂
Copy of the poem: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47311/the-waste-land
Allusions chart: https://bernytan.com/art/a-visual-guide-to-references-in-ts-eliots-the-waste-land-1922
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