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Year 10
Edexcel

Understanding 'The Class Game'

I can explain how Casey presents the conflict between the ruling and the working classes.

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New
New
Year 10
Edexcel

Understanding 'The Class Game'

I can explain how Casey presents the conflict between the ruling and the working classes.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Casey shows pride in her working class roots.
  2. The poem was written when Margaret Thatcher came to power as UK Prime Minister.
  3. Some people argue Thatcher waged a 'class war' against the working classes.
  4. Casey's poem reflects the way some people looked down on the working class.

Common misconception

Casey was working class and wrote about her own life experiences in the poem.

Not much is known about Mary Casey. She did come from a working class background but we cannot be certain if this poem reflects her own life experiences. This is why it is important to use tentative language when analysing a literary text.

Keywords

  • Trade unions - associations of workers formed to protect and promote their collective interests

  • Exacerbated - made worse or more severe

  • Hierarchy - a system where groups of people are ranked above one another according to status, authority, or importance

  • Sociolect - variations in language influenced by social factors like class, education or ethnicity within a community

  • Privatisation - the transfer of ownership/control of public services from the government to private companies

Before reading the poem, display a list of the slang/colloquial words and see if students can predict what they mean before reading the poem. Then, use the context of the poem to work out the meanings.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Edexcel GCSE Poetry Anthology ('Conflict' cluster).

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a suburb?
Correct answer: a residential area just outside of a city known for its quieter atmosphere
a residential area in the middle of a busy city
a residential area primarily populated by the working class
Q2.
What does 'informal' mean?
conceptual or theoretical language, not concrete or tangible
Correct answer: relaxed or casual in style, often used in everyday conversation
language used in education or academic writing
lacking clarity or precision, unclear or uncertain in meaning or expression
Q3.
Why is it important to include wider context in an analytical response?
it shows you know the poem really well
Correct answer: it can influence your interpretations of the text
it helps you chose your supporting evidence
it isn't important to include wider context
Q4.
Which of the following would you associate with an upper class person?
council housing
unskilled manual labour
low social status
Correct answer: prestigious education
Correct answer: large amount of wealth
Q5.
Who was Margaret Thatcher?
the poet of 'The Class Game'
the mother of the poet of 'The Class Game', who inspired the poem
UK Prime Minister during the WWII
Correct answer: UK Prime Minister during the 1980s-90s
Q6.
Why is it important to review and redraft your work?
Correct answer: to check for inaccuracies
to check your answer is long enough
Correct answer: to improve the clarity of your argument
it isn't - you shouldn't waste time checking

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is social class?
the type of school you attended as a child
the sense of belonging or affiliation with a particular cultural group
Correct answer: a hierarchy of individuals in society based on factors like wealth or status
Q2.
Which of these factors are usually thought of as indicators of someone's social class?
Correct answer: wealth
religion
Correct answer: power and authority
physical characteristics
Q3.
Which two words does Casey use in 'The Class Game' to emphasise the difference between the living conditions of working class and middle class people?
Correct answer: "corpy"
"gullet"
Correct answer: "semi"
"toilet"
"bog"
Q4.
Which of these policies characterised Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister?
Correct answer: selling of council homes to private buyers
taxing businesses to pay for improving public services
Correct answer: curtailing the rights of trade unions
creating a nationalised trade union to improve worker's rights
Correct answer: privatising public services
Q5.
Arguably, 'The Class Game' draws attention to ...
how people unfairly judge middle class people.
Thatcher's attempts to strive for social equality.
Correct answer: the ways that people often look down on working class people.
Casey's own struggles growing up in a working class family.
Q6.
Every analytical paragraph should include ...
an opening sentence, focusing on the poet's use of methods.
Correct answer: supporting evidence.
a link to context.
Correct answer: comments on the writer's intentions.