Skills you learn from English Literature (Year 9)

English Literature builds a surprising range of skills - close reading, structured argument, comparing texts, and stepping into perspectives different from your own. This lesson plan will help you to show Year 9 students the skills they're building from English Literature.

This lesson is designed to be delivered in 30 minutes as a teacher-led classroom activity.

This activity supports the following frameworks:

  • Gatsby Benchmark 4

This activity is suitable for Year 9 and features careers linked to the following subjects:

  • English Literature

This is one of three lesson plans designed for Year 9 English Literature teachers:

These lesson plans will help you show students how English Literature connects to their future careers.

We recommend using this lesson plan at the end of the autumn term. By this point students will have a term of English Literature behind them, giving them real material to reflect on when thinking about the skills they've been building. Recognising those skills helps students see English Literature as more than a subject to study - and helps them spot the same skills in the other GCSE subjects they'll soon be choosing.

Learning objectives

  • Students will understand that English Literature builds a broad range of transferable skills.
  • Students will be able to name 2-3 skills they've developed this term and give examples.

Before the lesson

  • You will need a computer connected to the internet and a classroom screen.
  • Open the What can you do with English Literature? page and have it ready on the screen.
  • Review the Skills that English Literature builds section and think of teaching examples for each one.

During the lesson

1. What have we studied this term? (5 mins)

  • Ask students to call out texts or activities they've covered in English Literature this term.
  • Write the suggestions on the board and highlight any patterns.

2. Skills that English Literature builds (15 mins)

  • Bring up the What can you do with English Literature? page on the classroom screen.
  • Review the contents of the page with students so that they understand what it covers.
  • Scroll to the Skills that English Literature builds section and work through each skill in turn.
    • Ask students which text or activity from the board involved that skill.
    • Share your own teaching examples if students are stuck.

3. Making it personal (10 mins)

  • Ask students to pick 2-3 skills from the list they feel they've developed this term.
  • Go round the class, asking each student to name one skill and give an example of when they used it.
  • Close by reminding students that these are valuable skills for work and life, not just for exams.

After the lesson