A comprehensive Senior English teaching unit for Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, designed to develop students’ analytical thinking, close reading, and essay-writing skills through a rich exploration of this classic Gothic novel.

Through engaging and thought-provoking learning activities, students investigate themes of identity, power, jealousy, memory, gender, and social class while examining the enduring influence of the past on the present. The unit also explores the novel’s Gothic conventions, narrative techniques, symbolism, and characterisation to develop sophisticated textual interpretations.

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What’s included
• Analysis of themes, characters, context, and cultural assumptions
• Exploration of gender roles, class expectations, identity, memory, and power
• Language features, text structures, symbolism, and figurative language analysis
• Study of Gothic conventions, setting, atmosphere, and suspense
• Examination of narrative voice, perspective, and unreliable narration
• Close reading and comprehension activities
• Essay questions, analytical writing support, and exemplar paragraphs
• Peer and self-assessment activities
• A 10-week teaching sequence with multiple learning activities each week
• Engaging, classroom-ready activities designed to encourage discussion, interpretation, and critical thinking

Teaching approach
This resource adopts a flexible, activity-based approach rather than a rigid lesson-by-lesson format. Teachers can select and adapt tasks to suit their classroom context while supporting students in developing deeper understanding through discussion, analysis, collaboration, and analytical writing.

File info
• Provided as a non-editable PDF
• Not designed as an editable PowerPoint
How to use
• Upload to your LMS (Google Classroom, Canvas, etc.) for digital learning
• Print selected pages for classroom use
• Display pages to support discussion, analysis, and writing activities
• Upload to presentation or design platforms if you wish to adapt for your own use (formatting may vary depending on the program used)