New
New
Year 11
Eduqas

Comparing ideas and advice on love in different centuries

I can compare Jane Austen and John Steinbeck's advice about young love through their letters.

New
New
Year 11
Eduqas

Comparing ideas and advice on love in different centuries

I can compare Jane Austen and John Steinbeck's advice about young love through their letters.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. When comparing, look for similarities and differences.
  2. Look for subtle differences, where there is a clear similarity, but subtle variations.
  3. To express differences, use a correlative and comparative conjunctions.
  4. Recapping the context of a text can help you to understand why the advice or attitude of each writer is different.
  5. Circumstances may be similar, but being a man or a woman or living in different centuries will make a difference.

Keywords

  • Patronised - the experience of being treated as if you are insignificant is being patronised

  • Caution - advice or warning

  • Indifferent - not being interested in or not caring about something or someone

  • Pragmatic - solving things in a sensible, practical way rather than obeying theories or ideas

Common misconception

Students often think that differences need to be large when comparing texts.

Encourage them to look for subtle differences.

You could discus how Fanny and Thom might have responded to the letters or what they might have said in the original letter. This would provide some imaginative context.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of John Steinbeck's 1958 letter to his son Thom. A copy of Austen's letter to her niece is available in the additional materials.

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.
What word beginning with 'D' means to teach or instruct in an authoritative way?
Correct Answer: didactic
Q2.
Match the word with the definition.
Correct Answer:context,the who, what, where and when of the text

the who, what, where and when of the text

Correct Answer:purpose,why the text was written

why the text was written

Correct Answer:audience,the person or group being addressed by the text

the person or group being addressed by the text

Correct Answer:title,the name given to the text

the name given to the text

Correct Answer:form,the type of text for example, letter or speech

the type of text for example, letter or speech

Q3.
Which of the following is written in a formal register?
Correct answer: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Hi there, I hope you're well.
Ok, let's get started.
Correct answer: We are gathered here today.
Q4.
How do we stereotypically address a reader when we are writing the salutation of a letter?
Correct Answer: Dear
Q5.
What are key conventions of letter writing?
Correct answer: an address at the beginning
Correct answer: a signature
Correct answer: date
typed not handwritten
neat handwriting
Q6.
What would you expect from a letter which is written to advise?
annoyance
Correct answer: sympathy
Correct answer: kindness
Correct answer: helpful suggestions
a list of tasks

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words with their definitions.
Correct Answer:patronised,being treated as if you are insignificant

being treated as if you are insignificant

Correct Answer:caution,a warning or a reminder to be careful

a warning or a reminder to be careful

Correct Answer:indifferent,when you aren't interested in something

when you aren't interested in something

Correct Answer:uncertainty,a state of not knowing something or being unsure

a state of not knowing something or being unsure

Q2.
In which century did Jane Austen live?
20th and 21st
19th and 20th
Correct answer: 18th and 19th
Q3.
One of Jane Austen's famous books is called 'Pride and '.
Correct Answer: Prejudice
Q4.
Which of the following are books by John Steinbeck?
Look Back in Anger
Correct answer: The Grapes of Wrath
Correct answer: Of Mice and Men
A Letter to My Son
Q5.
Austen's advice to Fanny in her 1814 letter is more than Steinbeck's 1958 letter to Thom.
philosophical
kind
Correct answer: pragmatic
idealistic
Q6.
Which of the following signal that you will be writing about differences?
Correct answer: both
also
Correct answer: whereas
Correct answer: however
Correct answer: yet

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