---
title: Teaching GCSE English Literature Unseen Poetry | KS4 Teaching Resource
description: Here are 6 engaging poems to use when teaching GCSE English Literature unseen poetry, including an outline of how I construct the lesson. KS4 English teaching resource.
---

[Douglas Wise English Teaching Resources](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/blog)

# [Teaching GCSE English Literature Unseen Poetry | KS4 Teaching Resource](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/blog/teaching-gcse-english-literature-unseen-poetry)

 Written by [Douglas Wise](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/blog/author/wise) | 17 March, 2019

In years gone by, I’ve tended to treat the unseen poetry component of the GCSE English Literature course as a bit of a ‘bolt on’ – something I’m more than a little bit ashamed to admit.  Not this year though.  Here’s a quick run-through of how I’ve approach the teaching of it so far.

I select poems that I know well and like, and that I think my class will also like.  The six I’ve focused on so far are listed below.  I’ve put them onto a single document, which you can access by clicking [here](https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/hubfs/Six-Poems-for-Unseen-Analysis.docx).

- ***The First Day*, by Christina Rossetti**
- ***Broadcast*, by Philip Larkin**
- ***Still I Rise*, by Maya Angelou**
- ***Demeter*, by Carol Ann Duffy**
- ***Pike*, by Ted Hughes**
- ***The Eagle*, by Alfred Tennyson**

To start, I usually display one of the poems on the board and ask students to consider the basics – what the poem’s about and what the main ideas that are, and so on.  Slide below for reference.

After a brief discussion, I take the class through my interpretation of the poem and annotate it under a [visualiser](https://amzn.to/2HCQNv8).  I then hand over to them.  Typically, I direct the students towards a poem that’s thematically linked and ask them to annotate it with the questions below in mind.  After about 10 minutes or so, I ask for feedback.

1. **What is the poem about?**
2. **In what ways is the title significant?**
3. **Which three lines seem to be particularly important?**
4. **Which three individual words stand out?**
5. **What poetic devices can you identify?**
6. **How do they help to shape meaning?**
7. **How is the poem structured (i.e. organised)?**
8. **Is the poem written in an identifiable form?**

When that’s been done, I usually move onto some quick vocabulary work (e.g. reporting and analysing verbs or literary terminology) and then either embark on some planning or writing.  If it’s the latter, I tend to provide some sentence starters like the ones below to help students shape their points.

1. **The poet suggests…**
2. **This helps to clarify…**
3. **The primary connotation of…**
4. **The metaphor emphasises…**
5. **The poet personifies…**
6. **The form of the poem reflects….**
7. **By comparison…**
8. **Contrastingly, in the…**

Thanks for reading –

Doug

[hello@douglaswise.co.uk](mailto:hello@douglaswise.co.uk)

<https://www.douglaswise.co.uk/hs/cta/wi/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLj1rRyRJQ5pulgI1S6%2Fyu9bCXG0UzaUvZ4Kidk8FDQQb4m022pGaCGMVQngkSpNppx5ffsrFkOHEQTrQVACcDhuHnykLKo9BMau12VsLBXmsC0csteFV9p4E5Ay0AuST7NA3RHRwlprcJfHEk7E5xrazyL8fn4Oc2DQbi1HrhB2nNSBO6J6waiDEBCueBnJIQl5qWjWLKsSzDlQW7h83Aqiz2pHHOD8gn%2Few%3D%3D&webInteractiveContentId=87140092388&portalId=143698377>

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