Letter writing: planning, using Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter as stimulus
I can plan an imaginative letter that recounts an experience in the trenches of World War One using Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother as stimulus.
Letter writing: planning, using Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter as stimulus
I can plan an imaginative letter that recounts an experience in the trenches of World War One using Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother as stimulus.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Letters were a vital form of communication during World War One.
- Receiving and sending letters brought small moments of joy to those on the front, and those at home.
- Owen is best remembered for his poetry about World War One, but he also sent many letters home.
- Owen’s letters are different in structure, audience and tone from his poems, but still convey the horrors of war.
- Arguably, Owen’s letter is structured into three sections: scene-setting, recounting an event, conveying his attitude.
Keywords
Recount - to describe something that happened, to tell its story
Court-martial - to be tried for a crime in which you are deemed to have broken military law
Execrate - curse, hate, detest
Structure - how something is put together; the most basic structure in a text is its beginning, middle and end
Tone - a writer’s attitude or emotional stance; encompasses the mood, feeling and overall atmosphere
Common misconception
Poems are carefully crafted and use methods, but nonfiction letters won't have a structure or include methods.
Almost all writing follows some sort of structure even, for example, a shopping list. Methods are tools writers use to convey their messages. Every single word, technically, is a method.
Equipment
A copy of Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter to his mother is available on the worksheet for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
- Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
to describe something that happened
curse, hate, detest
how something is put together
a writer’s attitude or emotional stance