Gothic teaching pack

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 Gothic teaching pack

Contents
Overview for teachers ....................................................................................... 03
Key stage 3: Gothic scheme of learning .................................................................. 04
Lesson overview .............................................................................................. 05
Lesson 1: An introduction to Gothic fiction .............................................................. 20
Resource 1 ........................................................................................ 22

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Resource 2 ........................................................................................ 24
Lesson 2: Exploring Gothic vocabulary .................................................................... 25

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Resource 3 ........................................................................................ 29
Lesson 3: Understanding Gothic settings ................................................................. 31
Resource 4 ........................................................................................ 31

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Resource 5 ........................................................................................ 33
Lesson 4: Analysing literary and language techniques .................................................. 38
Resource 6 ........................................................................................ 39
Lesson 5: Comparing two Gothic texts .................................................................... 41
Resource 7 ........................................................................................ 42
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Resource 8 ........................................................................................ 44
Lesson 6: Creating Gothic settings......................................................................... 46
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Lesson 7: Exploring Gothic conventions in poetry ....................................................... 49
Resource 9 ........................................................................................ 50
Lesson 8: Exploring structure in a Gothic text ........................................................... 56
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Resource 10 ...................................................................................... 57
Resource 11 ....................................................................................... 58
Lesson 9: Exploring Gothic characters .................................................................... 61
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Resource 12 ....................................................................................... 62
Lesson 10: Creating Gothic characters .................................................................... 66
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Resource 13 ...................................................................................... 66
Lesson 11: Understanding Gothic conventions and characters in modern texts .................... 70
Resource 14 ...................................................................................... 70
Lesson 12 Creating your own Gothic character .......................................................... 76
Lesson 13 Reading assessment ............................................................................. 79
Lesson 14 Writing assessment .............................................................................. 82
Resource 15 ...................................................................................... 85
Answers ........................................................................................................ 88

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 Gothic teaching pack

Overview for teachers

The aim of this scheme of learning and teaching pack is to introduce KS3 students to the key
elements of the Gothic genre, while building their core reading, writing, oracy and analytical
skills, and their understanding of literary devices, language techniques and structural elements.
You’ll find extracts from celebrated Gothic novels to share with students, as well as Gothic
poems and short stories from the late eighteenth century to the present day. These texts include
The Castle of Otranto, Northanger Abbey, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Strange Case
of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, ‘The Red Room’, ‘The Raven’ and the popular new YA series City of

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Ghosts.
The lesson activities provide an overview of Gothic genre conventions, settings and characters to

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anticipate the Gothic elements students might study at KS4 for GCSE English Literature, such as
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Sign of Four, A Christmas Carol, Great
Expectations, Jane Eyre and Frankenstein.
The teaching pack also includes a range of comprehension tasks to build students’ unseen fiction

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and unseen poetry skills and their confidence with new texts. Consequently, there is an
emphasis on word-decoding tasks to build students’ vocabulary and their understanding of how
to manage challenging words, and comparative tasks looking at two texts. There are also
exciting stimulus ideas for creative writing tasks for students to develop their fiction writing
skills for GCSE English Language.
Aimed at year 7-9 students, this student-facing pack includes a range of differentiated activities,
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with stretch and challenge (S&C) extension activities as well as more supportive ‘ladder up’ (LU)
tasks, sentence starters and scaffolded resources.
It includes a detailed scheme of learning for a term and includes 14 lessons, structured in the
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following way:
• Do now activities
• Starter activities
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• Main activities with embedded formative assessment tasks, learning checks and reading
comprehension questions.
• Plenaries
• Homework tasks
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Each lesson is accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation which works in tandem with the
teaching pack. The teaching pack also includes classroom worksheets for each lesson. Suggested
answers are included in both the PowerPoints and the teaching pack for self- or peer-marking in
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class.
The pack culminates in a (GCSE-style) summative assessment task (lessons 13-14).

About the writer

We would like to extend our huge thanks to Teachit contributor Victoria Walker for writing
this teaching pack. Victoria has taught English for over 15 years in schools across the
country. She is currently Deputy Headteacher at St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive
School in Chatham, Kent.

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 Gothic teaching pack

Key stage 3: Gothic scheme of learning

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What should students know and be able to do by the end of this What are the big ideas in this scheme of learning?
unit of work?
This scheme of learning aims to give students a broad overview of the
Students will know: Gothic genre while developing their language, structural analysis and
creative writing skills so they are prepared for some of the key
• a definition of ‘Gothic’ as a literary genre

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elements of GCSE English Language and English Literature. Students
• an overview of the history and development of Gothic fiction will:
• key vocabulary, language, settings, structural devices and tropes 1. Understand a definition of the Gothic literary genre.
associated with the Gothic literary genre
2. Read a range of high-quality unseen Gothic fiction and poetry
• key extracts from Gothic novels and poems. extracts, generally delivered in chronological order.

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Students will be able to: 3. Build a word bank of Gothic vocabulary.
• analyse a Gothic setting 4. Develop comprehension and reading skills for each extract prior to
• create their own Gothic setting analysis.

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• analyse how another writer has created a Gothic villain or other 5. Develop analytical skills through scaffolded tasks and by learning
character and revising key literary, language and structural terminology.

• create their own Gothic villain or other character 6. Develop oracy and writing skills through group discussion of texts
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and supported writing tasks through the use of sentence starters
• compare two Gothic extracts. and modelling.
Key 7. Develop creative writing skills, beginning with shorter forms of
S&C: Stretch and challenge tasks writing and building up to a GCSE-style assessment practice task.
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LU: Ladder-up suggestions for students who require additional support
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 Gothic teaching pack

Lesson overview

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Learning objective Assessment or homework

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Week Unseen text Skills / knowledge focus
or outcome tasks

The Castle of
To understand what Otranto (1764) Knowledge: definition of Gothic genre; historical Mini-assessment / peer-marking

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1 the Gothic genre is extract context of Gothic writing Exam-style retrieval practice
(Lessons To develop Northanger Abbey Skills: comprehension; understanding how the questions
1-2) vocabulary decoding (written 1803, writer has used literary and language techniques Homework: Comprehension
skills published 1817) to create a setting; word decoding questions on Northanger Abbey
extract

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To understand how Knowledge: Gothic word bank, literary and Mini-assessment / marking
2 writers use literary
Frankenstein (1818) language techniques Exam-style language question
(Lessons techniques and
extract Skills: comprehension; analysing language and Homework: Create your own
3-4) language to create a

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Gothic setting writing analytically using PETER paragraphs Gothic setting

To compare two Knowledge: Gothic word bank, literary and

Jane Eyre (1847)
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3 unseen fiction texts language techniques Peer-marking
extract
(Lessons To develop the Skills: comprehension; using vocabulary and Homework: Gothic description
‘The Red Room’
5-6) skills to create your imagery to improve description; comparing two calligram
(1896) extract
own Gothic setting extracts
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Knowledge: Gothic word bank, five-part story Homework: Write a stanza of
4 To explore Gothic structure; climactic vs cliffhanger ending; your own Gothic poem
(Lessons poetry and ‘The Raven’ (1845) structure of poetry (stanza, rhyme scheme)
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Mini-assessment / marking
7-8) structure Skills: comprehension; identifying and analysing
structural techniques using PETER paragraphs Exam-style structure question

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 Gothic teaching pack

Learning objective Assessment or homework

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Week Unseen text Skills / knowledge focus
or outcome tasks

The Strange Case Knowledge: Gothic word bank, tropes for Gothic Homework: Create your own

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5 To understand how of Dr Jekyll and Mr characters; techniques for creating a character; Gothic character
(Lessons writers create Hyde (1886) extract conventions of a mini-saga
Mini-assessment / marking
9-10) Gothic characters Dracula (1897) Skills: comprehension; using PETER paragraphs to opportunity: Exam-style

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extract analyse a character; writing a mini-saga analysis question

Knowledge: Gothic word bank, tropes for Gothic

monsters; techniques for creating a character;
language techniques; what is flash fiction;
To understand Homework: Flash fiction story
6 influences of Gothic on popular culture today;
modern Gothic City of Ghosts revision of language devices, structural techniques Mini-assessment / marking
(Lessons

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conventions and (2018) extract and Gothic tropes opportunity: Description of
11-12)
characters your Gothic character
Skills: write a description of your Gothic character;
vocabulary; punctuation; paragraphs; flash fiction

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writing

Assessment:
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To assess knowledge End-of-unit assessments:
and understanding Exam-style summative reading
7 of Gothic The Hound of the Knowledge: Plot of the extract assessment (comprehension,
(Lessons To assess reading Baskervilles (1902) Skills: demonstrating all skills accrued throughout language and structure)
13-14) comprehension skills extract the unit
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Exam-style summative writing
(unseen fiction) assessment (using title or
To assess fiction stimulus image)
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writing skills
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 Gothic teaching pack

Week 1: Lesson 1

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Learning objectives
Suggested
Knowledge/skills Activities Differentiation notes Homework

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timings
Resource list
Learning objective: Do now: 10 mins S&C: Students start to No
To understand what (Slide 1.1) Look at a range of Gothic images in the teaching pack or on identify some key features homework
‘Gothic’ fiction is the whiteboard/PowerPoint. What similarities and differences do of the Gothic genre. set this

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students see? lesson.
Students consider and feed back to teacher in whole-class discussion.
Knowledge: Starter: 10 mins LU: Images from starter
Definition of Gothic (Slide 1.2) Introduce the unit topic of Gothic fiction. Students map provided to scaffold
genre out their prior knowledge using the diagram. students’ thinking.
History of Gothic Halfway through allocated time, encourage a paired discussion of

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fiction diagrams to see if partners can help each other move anything in the
‘guess’ column to the ‘know’ space, or answer any of their questions.
Skills: Main activities: 30 mins S&C: Students consider why

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Activation of prior Activity 1: (Slide 1.3, Resource 1) Class reading of the Gothic fiction they think the Gothic is still
knowledge resource. Students answer the comprehension questions. a popular genre.
Information retrieval Elicit feedback from the class. Answers are included on the LU: Remind students to scan
Reading PowerPoint and in the teaching pack. the text looking for the key
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comprehension Discuss the stretch and challenge question as a whole class. word from the question, and
that the answers will usually
Summary skills Activity 2: (Slide 1.4, Resource 2) Class reading of the extract from
appear in chronological
The Castle of Otranto. Pause during reading to check understanding
order.
and remind students to underline ‘Gothic’ words.
Students compare their chosen words in pairs and complete the
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paragraph summary task.
Resources: Plenary: 10 mins LU: Students are reminded
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Slides 1.1-1.5 (Slide 1.5) Students discuss or write an explanation of whether they of the Gothic tropes and
Resources 1 & 2 agree it is a Gothic novel, linking their explanations to examples from given a sentence starter to
the text. support their oracy/writing.

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 Gothic teaching pack

Week 1: Lesson 2

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Learning objectives
Suggested
Knowledge/skills Activities Differentiation notes Homework

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timings
Resource list
Learning objective: Do now: 10 mins S&C: Students asked to Students read
To develop reading skills (Slide 2.1; Resource 2) Ask students to reread the extract and highlight or guess the meaning of the Northanger
for challenging texts underline any words they do not understand. words and annotate Abbey extract

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their text accordingly. and answer the
information
Knowledge: Starter: 5-10 mins
retrieval
Strategies to deduce the (Slide 2.2) Students discuss the word strategies they already have.
questions for
meaning of an unfamiliar Teacher elicits ideas from pairs/groups. homework.
word
Plot/events of literary
extracts

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Skills: Main activities: 30 mins S&C: Create peer
Using strategies to decode Activities 1 & 2: (Slides 2.3-2.4; Resources 2 and 15) Elicit ideas from support pairings for the
unfamiliar words students. Teacher models three ways to establish the meaning of unknown dictionary work.

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Comprehension / words using the slides. Check students’ confidence with using dictionaries. LU: Why does Isabella
information retrieval skills Students work out the meanings of any words they do not know, using the choose the church to
techniques, and note them down in their glossary. Teacher selects students run to? Discuss context
to feed back to class to check the answers. Answers are included in the of women’s roles in
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PowerPoint and teaching pack. society and her
Discuss the stretch and challenge question as a whole class. vulnerability — being a
nun would offer her
Activity 3: (Slide 2.5; Resources 2 and 15) Students answer the
protection.
comprehension questions on the extract.
Teacher selects students to feed back. Answers are included in the
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PowerPoint and teaching pack. LU: Sentence starters
Activity 4: (Slide 2.6) Students attempt flash fiction task (100 words). provided.
Resources: Plenary: 10 mins
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Slides 2.1-2.8 (Slide 2.7) Students summarise and visualise their learning.
Resource 2, 3 & 15 (Slide 2.8; Resource 3) Set homework task.

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 Gothic teaching pack

Lesson 10: Creating Gothic characters

Do now activity
You are going to read an extract from Dracula today. You probably know something about the
character of Dracula already, from films and popular culture.
Think of three to five Gothic elements associated with this character, based on what you know
about the Gothic genre.

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Starter activity
Complete the cloze exercise below as a learning recap.

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........................... novels generally have an ......................... character in them who is

responsible for the terrible .......................... that happen. In the first Gothic stories, the

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........................... was often an ........................ or .......................... being. As

time went on, writers developed the idea of the evil character, suggesting that they were either

a ........................... ‘evil twin’ of the main character, or that there was something in the
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main character’s own .......................... causing the events.

events Mind Gothic duplicate

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evil man Evil villain supernatural

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Activity 1
Read the Extract from Dracula (Resource 13) and answer the following questions.
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Resource 13: Extract from Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker

In this extract, Jonathan Harker, the narrator, describes meeting the vampire Dracula for the
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first time. At this moment in the novel, Harker thinks Dracula is a man.

‘Just as I had come to this conclusion I heard a heavy step approaching behind the great
door, and saw through the chinks the gleam of a coming light. Then there was the sound of
rattling chains and the clanking of massive bolts drawn back. A key was turned with the
loud grating noise of long disuse, and the great door swung back.
Within, stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in
black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere. He held in
his hand an antique silver lamp, in which the flame burned without chimney or globe of any
kind, throwing long quivering shadows as it flickered in the draught of the open door. The

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 Gothic teaching pack

old man motioned me in with his right hand with a courtly gesture, saying in excellent
English, but with a strange intonation:—
“Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!” He made no motion of stepping
to meet me, but stood like a statue, as though his gesture of welcome had fixed him into
stone. The instant, however, that I had stepped over the threshold, he moved impulsively
forward, and holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an
effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed as cold as ice—more like the hand
of a dead than a living man.’

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1. Name four noises that the writer hears in the opening paragraph. What can the reader infer
from these noises?

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......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................

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......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................

2. Name four things we are told about Dracula’s appearance in the second paragraph. What can
we infer from his appearance?
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......................................................................................................................

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......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
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3. What does the phrase ‘strange intonation’ mean? What can the reader infer from this?

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
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4. What are the first words Dracula says?

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.................................................................................................................

5. What does Dracula do once Jonathan has stepped inside? What can the reader infer from
this?

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................

Stretch and challenge: What similarities can you see between this and the extract from The
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the last lesson?

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 Gothic teaching pack

Activity 2
In groups, find a suitable quotation for each of the literary and language technique headings on
the Dracula poster below.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

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Onomatopoeia

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Light and dark symbolism

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Similes Gothic diction

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Stretch and challenge: Can you identify the effect of each technique in contributing to the
Gothic description of the character and the atmosphere of the extract?

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 Gothic teaching pack

Activity 3 Writing a Gothic mini-saga

In groups, find a suitable quotation for each of the literary and language technique headings on
the Dracula poster.
You have now read two stories in which an ‘ordinary’ character meets the ‘villain’ character for
the first time. Write a mini-saga exploring what happens when an ‘ordinary’ character meets
your Gothic villain for the first time.
Rules for your mini-saga:
• The story itself must have exactly 50 words (you are allowed another five for the title).

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• The story needs to have a beginning, middle and end.

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Ladder up: Borrow from Stevenson and start with ‘It was three o’clock in the morning …’

......................................................................................................................

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......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
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......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
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......................................................................................................................

Plenary
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Review your partner’s mini-saga and give them some ‘What went well’ and ‘Even better if’
feedback. Has your partner …
• used exactly 50 words for their story, plus five for a title? (If not - can you edit their work
to help them achieve this?)
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• included a beginning, middle and end for their story?

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What went well

Even better if

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 Creating Gothic characters Answers 10.1

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Lesson 10
Learning objective: To understand how

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writers create Gothic protagonists and
antagonists
Do now activity

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You are going to read an extract from
Dracula today. You probably know
something about the character of
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Dracula already, from films and popular
culture.
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Think of three to five Gothic elements
associated with this character, based on
what you know about the Gothic genre.
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 Starter activity Answers 10.2

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Complete the cloze exercise below as a learning recap:

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_____________ novels generally have an ____________ character

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in them who is responsible for the terrible ____________ that
happen. In the first Gothic stories, the _____________ was often
an _____________ or _____________ being. As time went on,

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writers developed the idea of the evil character, suggesting that
they were either a _____________ ‘evil twin’ of the main
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character in some way, or that there was something in the main
character’s own _____________ causing the events.
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events mind Gothic duplicate

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evil man evil villain supernatural

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 Activity 1 Answers 10.3

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Read the Extract from Dracula (Resource 13) and answer the following

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questions.

1. Name four noises that the writer hears in the opening paragraph.

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What can the reader infer from these noises?
2. Name four things we are told about Dracula’s appearance in the
second paragraph. What can we infer from his appearance?

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3. What does the phrase ‘strange intonation’ mean? What can the
reader infer from this?
4. What are the first words Dracula says?
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5. What does Dracula do once Jonathan has stepped inside? What can
the reader infer from this?
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Stretch and challenge: What similarities can you see between this and
the extract from The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the last
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lesson?

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 Activity 2 10.4

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In groups, find a suitable quotation for each of the literary and

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language technique headings on the Dracula poster.
• Onomatopoeia

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• Use of contrast
• Light and dark symbolism
• Similes

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• Gothic diction hi
Stretch and challenge: Can you
identify the effect of each
technique in contributing to the
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Gothic description of the

character and the atmosphere of
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the extract?

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 Activity 3 Writing a Gothic mini-saga 10.5

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You have now read two stories in which an ‘ordinary’ character

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meets the ‘villain’ character for the first time. Write a mini-saga
exploring what happens when an ‘ordinary’ character meets your

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Gothic villain for the first time.
Rules for your mini-saga:
• The story itself must have exactly

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50 words (you are allowed
another five for the title).
• The story needs to have a
hi
beginning, middle and end.
ac
Ladder up: Borrow from Stevenson
and start with ‘It was three o’clock
in the morning …’
Te

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 Plenary 10.6

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Review your partner’s mini-

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saga and give them some
‘What went well’ and ‘Even

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better if’ feedback.

Has your partner …

• used exactly 50 words for

ts
their story, plus five for a
title? (If not - can you
edit their work to help
hi
them achieve this?)
• included a beginning,
ac

middle and end for their

story?
Te

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