Handout
Mr Birling’s Speeches Group Activity
The connection questions contained in this activity support students in analysing Mr Birling's key speeches, and thus enable them to better understand Priestley's portrayal of his character.
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Teaching An Inspector Calls
Use this unit to transform how you teach J.B. Priestley's play and support your students in becoming effective writers, critical thinkers, and socially responsible citizens, who excel in their GCSEs.
Analytical Writing: A Character Paragraph
Students write an analytical paragraph on character having generated claims, selected evidence and read a model paragraph.
Analytical Writing: The GCSE Character Essay
Students write an essay on character having generated claims, selected and annotated evidence, and read a model essay.
Developing Character Inferences
Students are introduced to the concept of inferencing; they draw inferences from the opening scene of the play, and consider what messages Priestley sends through the language, character and setting.
Differing Perspectives and Conflict
Students begin Act Two of the play, reflecting on the differences in perception emerging between the characters and considering how conflict can arise from such differences.
Entering the World of the Play
Students begin reading the play, having applied what they have learnt about Priestley and the relevant sociohistorical context to make predictions about its content.
Eric's Decisions and Consent
Students consider the role power plays in the interactions between characters, focusing on the relationship between Eric and Eva, before discussing consent.
Exploring Social Inequality
Students explore social inequality in the UK, discussing how an individual’s background can impact their opportunities before examining graphs that display social inequality and employment trends.
Exploring Where I'm From
Students prepare for reading the play by considering the relationship between the individual and society, and by reflecting on identity. After discussing a poem about identity, they write their own.
Inspecting Inspector Goole
Students create an identity chart for Inspector Goole, analyse his parting words, and look for clues to uncover who or what Inspector Goole is.
Priestley's World and the World of the Play
Students learn about important events that occurred during Priestley’s lifetime, completing a human timeline to understand their chronology, and are introduced to the concepts of socialism and capitalism.
The resources I’m getting from my colleagues through Facing History have been just invaluable.
—
Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif
