A Teaching Guide to Pre-1914, Duffy and Armitage Poems
‘Mother, any distance’ and ‘The Laboratory’
The presentation of women in ‘Mother, any distance’ and ‘The Laboratory’
This teaching guide is one of 4 guides which cover between them the 12 Key Poems for AQA A GCSE English Literature for Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage and the relevant Pre-1914 poems (Higher Tier).
As pupils must compare a particular theme, idea or approach in the poems in the examination, these guides are centred on a particular theme which is relevant to the Key Poems each guide covers. In this way it is hoped that the comparative approach to these poems will be inherent from the beginning.
Therefore, this teaching guide is designed as a way into the comparative and analytical approach required by the AQA A GCSE English Literature examination paper. Rather than giving a poem-by-poem teaching guide – many of which are readily available – this guide considers the 12 key poems for Higher Tier in groups of 2. Each pair is linked by a key theme from a past paper, just as each pair or group of 4 poems is linked by a specified key theme in the examination question (although, of course, many other links are possible between these poems).
The guide suggests ways in which you can teach your pupils ways of comparing, closely analysing and evaluating the...
