A powerful, discussion-first unit exploring war and conflict across five poems, two songs, and one short film — built for Year 9-10 English classrooms and structured as a ready-to-teach 6-week sequence.

Spanning the Crimean War through to WWI, Vietnam, and a contemporary animated short, students examine how writers, musicians, and filmmakers navigate glorification versus reality, immediate versus lasting trauma, and the emotional distance between witnessing conflict and living safely far from it. A dedicated themes-and-activities deck groups texts by shared idea rather than chronology, with ready-made paired analysis, debate, and timeline-mapping activities. Every deck is packed with discussion questions and hands-on activities distributed throughout — no worksheets, no passive comprehension tasks.

What’s included:
• Deck 1: Dulce et Decorum Est (Owen) — the brutal reality behind war’s romanticised language
• Deck 2: Exposure (Owen) — psychological toll and futility
• Deck 3: The Charge of the Light Brigade (Tennyson) — glorification versus grim reality
• Deck 4: War Photographer (Duffy) — witnessing suffering from a safe distance
• Deck 5: Remains (Armitage) — trauma that resurfaces long after combat ends
• Deck 6: Songs — “War” (Starr) & “19” (Hardcastle) — directness and documentary authenticity as protest
• Deck 7: “War Is Over!” (short film) — shared humanity across enemy lines
• Deck 8: Cross-Text Themes, Comparison & Activities — five thematic lessons with built-in paired analysis, debate, and creative activities
• Deck 9: 6-Week Teaching Sequence & Portfolio Assessment — full pacing guide plus annotation, comparative discussion, and analytical/creative writing tasks
Culminates in a portfolio-style assessment combining analytical annotation with extended writing — ideal for a summative task that captures both skills in one product.

Perfect for: Year 9-10 English, AQA/Eduqas Power and Conflict anthology support, GCSE poetry study, cross-media literacy, portfolio assessment design
File information: Non-editable PDF, Not an editable PowerPoint / How to use: Upload to your LMS for digital learning / Print selected pages for classroom use / Display pages to guide discussion and activities / Adapt in presentation or design platforms if desired (formatting may vary)