New
New
Year 9

Skim reading and close reading: Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother

I can show a thorough understanding of a 1917 letter that Wilfred Owen sent to his mother from the trenches of World War One.

New
New
Year 9

Skim reading and close reading: Wilfred Owen’s 1917 letter to his mother

I can show a thorough understanding of a 1917 letter that Wilfred Owen sent to his mother from the trenches of World War One.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) was a British poet and soldier.
  2. Owen is best known for his stark, unflinching and graphic poems about World War One.
  3. Making predictions about what a text might be about is a helpful preparatory step before reading something.
  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

  • Nonfiction - writing that is factual rather than made up; the opposite of fiction

  • Skimming and scanning - the act of quickly reading over a text, gathering its keywords, tone and main ideas

  • 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

  • Tone - a writer’s attitude or emotional stance; encompasses the mood, feeling and overall atmosphere

Common misconception

Skimming and scanning means you just aren't reading a text properly.

Reading is a skill and, often it is good not to dive into its most difficult skill - analysis - immediately. Instead, giving yourself some time with the text, its title and overall ideas can allow for a deeper understanding in the long run.

Consider your own understanding and annotation of Owen's letter and how this will support your pupils. This could include glossing any words, or preparing some additional questions.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of Wilfred Owen's 1917 letter to his mother. There is a copy 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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6 Questions

Q1.
Who was Wilfred Owen?
Correct answer: a poet
Correct answer: a soldier in WWI
a soldier in WWII
Ian Beck's grandfather
Q2.
Through his war poetry, Wilfred Owen wanted to show what about fighting in the war to his readers?
that it was worth the sacrifice to fight for England
Correct answer: that fighting in the war was violent and brutal
that lives lost fighting in the war were wasted
Q3.
How the author of a text feels about the subject matter is known as...
interpretation
methods
Correct answer: tone
Q4.
To analyse something is to...
Correct answer: examine it in great detail
give a brief overview of it
to give a definition of the meaning of it
Q5.
Having or expressing devotion to and support for one's country is to be .
Correct Answer: patriotic, a patriot
Q6.
Many soldiers who fought in World War One experienced . In modern times we would refer to this condition as PTSD.
Correct Answer: shell shock, shell-shock

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords on the right to their definitions on the left.
Correct Answer:nonfiction ,writing that is factual rather than made up

writing that is factual rather than made up

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

the main idea or essence of something, often brief and simplified

Correct Answer:tone ,a writer’s attitude or emotional stance; encompasses the mood

a writer’s attitude or emotional stance; encompasses the mood

Q2.
and scanning a text involves quickly reading something, and gathering its main ideas and overall tone.
Correct Answer: skimming
Q3.
involves carefully considering a writer’s methods and their effects.
Correct Answer: close reading
Q4.
The aims of close reading include:
selecting some words, images or phrases
Correct answer: understanding shifts in tone
understanding the overall tone
Correct answer: understanding the finer points
Q5.
Which reading approach best helps you understand the gist of a text?
Correct answer: skimming and scanning
close reading
making predictions
Q6.
Wilfred Owen wrote a letter to his mother in 1917 in which he described "Those fifty hours were the of my happy life".
Correct Answer: agony