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Year 9

Skim reading and close reading: 'Testament of Youth' by Vera Brittain

I can show a thorough understanding of an extract from Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’, a memoir which recounts experiences on the British Home Front during World War One .

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Year 9

Skim reading and close reading: 'Testament of Youth' by Vera Brittain

I can show a thorough understanding of an extract from Vera Brittain’s ‘Testament of Youth’, a memoir which recounts experiences on the British Home Front during World War One .

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Vera Brittain (1893-1970) was a British writer and nurse.
  2. Brittain is best known for her 1933 memoir ‘Testament of Youth’.
  3. ‘Testament of Youth’ recounts Brittain’s personal experiences of loneliness and loss during World War One.
  4. Skimming and scanning a text involves quickly reading something, and gathering its main ideas and overall tone.
  5. Close reading involves carefully considering a writer’s methods and their effects.

Keywords

  • Testament - truthful account

  • Memoir - a nonfiction account of something written from a person's memories

  • Close reading - carefully, thoughtfully and slowly examining a text and considering the choices the writer made

  • Gist - the main idea or essence of something, often brief and in a simplified form

  • Home front - civilians of a country that is at war who feel its impact in their daily lives

Common misconception

'Testament of Youth' is fictional.

A memoir is an account of something based on a person's memories. They are examples of nonfiction.


To help you plan your year 9 english lesson on: Skim reading and close reading: 'Testament of Youth' by Vera Brittain, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The Brittain extract is challenging in both its sentence construction and vocabulary. Considering how to read this extract with your class could be the focus of the majority of your planning. You could consider the words you want to gloss, how you will read, and what questions you wish to ask.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

There is a copy of the extract from ‘Testament of Youth’ by Vera Brittain on the worksheet for this lesson.

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), 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

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6 Questions

Q1.
'Literary perspectives from the First World War' focuses, primarily, on experiences of World War One. Match these key terms relating to this war to their definitions.
Correct Answer:home front,civilians of a country that is at war who feel its impact day to day
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civilians of a country that is at war who feel its impact day to day

Correct Answer:front line,the line of battle that is closest to the enemy
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the line of battle that is closest to the enemy

Correct Answer:western front,the line of trenches in Europe where many WW1 battles took place
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the line of trenches in Europe where many WW1 battles took place

Correct Answer:trench,a deep ditch dug in order to protect soldiers from enemy fire
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a deep ditch dug in order to protect soldiers from enemy fire

Q2.
Each of these key terms helps us develop an understanding of an unseen text. Match each key term to its definition.
Correct Answer:skim reading,quickly reading a text and selecting its key ideas and overall tone
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quickly reading a text and selecting its key ideas and overall tone

Correct Answer:close reading,examining a text and considering the choices the writer made
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examining a text and considering the choices the writer made

Correct Answer:gist,the main idea or essence of something, often brief and simplified
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the main idea or essence of something, often brief and simplified

Q3.
'Literary perspectives from the First World War' focuses, primarily, on experiences of World War One. Match some of the feelings of civilians on the British home front to their source.
Correct Answer:anxiety,for those on the front line
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for those on the front line

Correct Answer:ignorance,about the experience of trench warfare
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about the experience of trench warfare

Correct Answer:hunger,there were food shortages
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there were food shortages

Correct Answer:freedom,with fewer men, women took up employment
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with fewer men, women took up employment

Correct Answer:fear,of invasion or bombing
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of invasion or bombing

Q4.
A pupil is about to read a nonfiction extract (Literary perspectives from the First World War). They say, "Writers don't use methods in nonfiction texts." How would you correct them?
Sometimes nonfiction writers employ methods. When they do, they can be analysed.
You can analyse structural methods, but not language devices.
Correct answer: Writers of nonfiction texts seek to engage readers via their methods.
Correct answer: Every text - from shopping lists to novels - uses methods which can be analysed.
You can analyse language devices, but not structural methods.
Q5.
A pupil wants to analyse the methods of a nonfiction extract ('Literary perspectives from the First World War'). What are methods?
the quotations a writer wants us to analyse
Correct answer: the structural choices a writer has made
Correct answer: the language choices a writer has made
the critical response to the text
the autobiographical details the writer has included
Q6.
An important method of communication was the during WW1. This is a short written message which often informed civilians of death of a loved one.
Correct Answer: telegram

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Each of these key terms is a type of text explored in the unit 'Literary perspectives from the First World War'. Match each term to its definition.
Correct Answer:memoir,truthful account
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truthful account

Correct Answer:testament,an account of something written from a person's memories
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an account of something written from a person's memories

Correct Answer:nonfiction,writing about real events
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writing about real events

Q2.
Vera Brittain wrote 'Testament of Youth' ('Literary perspectives from the First World War'). Match each key date to its event to plot a rough outline of her life.
Correct Answer:1893,Brittain is born
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Brittain is born

Correct Answer:1914,Brittain turns 20; WW1 begins
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Brittain turns 20; WW1 begins

Correct Answer:1915,Brittain leaves university and becomes a nurse
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Brittain leaves university and becomes a nurse

Correct Answer:1914-1918,During the war, her fiancé, brother and two close friends are killed
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During the war, her fiancé, brother and two close friends are killed

Correct Answer:1918,WW1 ends and Brittain returns to university
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WW1 ends and Brittain returns to university

Correct Answer:1933,'Testament of Youth' published
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'Testament of Youth' published

Q3.
Vera Brittain wrote 'Testament of Youth' ('Literary perspectives from the First World War'). It is a , a nonfiction account of something written from a person's memories.
Correct Answer: memoir
Q4.
Vera Brittain wrote 'Testament of Youth' ('Literary perspectives from the First World War'). In it, she says that during war, people dreaded the doorbell ringing in case it was a postman bringing a...
Correct Answer: telegram
Q5.
Vera Brittain wrote 'Testament of Youth' ('Literary perspectives from the First World War'). In it, she describes the "gnawing " she felt all the time her fiancé was on the front line.
Correct Answer: anxiety
Q6.
Vera Brittain wrote 'Testament of Youth'. In it, she writes that WW1 created a " " between men who had been at the front, and their loved ones who had not.
Correct Answer: barrier