Intertextuality in Novels

Overview

In this lesson (Lesson 9 of 25) in Exploring Cultural Voices in Literature, students explore how the novel refers to other texts, speeches, songs, myths, films, or historical documents. They identify these links and analyse how they shape meaning and cultural voice.

Learning intentions

• Students will identify examples of intertextuality in the novel.
• Students will analyse how references to other texts contribute to theme, characterisation, and cultural perspectives.
• Students will use a graphic organiser to explain connections clearly and logically.
• Students will create an evidence-based paragraph linking intertextuality to author intent.

Success criteria

• I can point to a specific moment in the text where another text is referenced or echoed.
• I can describe the intertextual reference and explain its purpose in the novel.
• I can use quoting and analysis to show how the reference deepens meaning.
• I can complete a graphic organiser that clearly links reference → effect → cultural voice.

Curriculum links

• Students interpret and analyse how language choices shape meaning in literary texts.
• Students explain relationships between texts, including references and echoes.
• Students use evidence from texts to develop and support responses.
• Students plan, draft, and refine a short analytical paragraph using relevant textual detail.

Lesson structure (70 minutes)

1. 3 min – Welcome & WALT

• Display the WALT: WALT: Intertextuality in the Novel. Briefly remind students that intertextuality is when a text “talks to” other texts.

2. 7 min – Quick model (think-aloud)

• Read or revisit a short excerpt from the novel (teacher-selected) that contains a clear reference (e.g., a phrase, event, song lyric, myth, or historical allusion).
• Think-aloud: “I notice… I predict it links to… This may affect meaning because…”

3. 15 min – Guided identification (pairs)

• Provide each pair with 2–3 short passages from the novel across the lesson’s scope.
• Students highlight potential intertextual moments and label what they think the “other text” might be.
• Teacher circulates using prompts: “What exact words/ideas signal the reference?” “What does it make you think of?”

4. 15 min – Graphic organiser build

• Students complete a graphic organiser for one selected example:
• Text moment (quote + short summary)
• Possible source text (what it may be and why)
• Effects on meaning (theme/character/setting)
• Cultural voice (what perspective is amplified or challenged)
• Teacher checks for clarity and sentence starters.

5. 12 min – Mini-lesson: analytical paragraph moves

• Model a short paragraph structure:
• Topic sentence naming the intertextuality
• Evidence (quote) and brief explanation
• Analysis (how/why it matters)
• Link back to cultural voice/theme
• Emphasise commenting on effect, not just identifying the reference.

6. 12 min – Independent writing (teacher support)

• Students write one analytical paragraph using their organiser evidence.
• Teacher supports with a checklist: “Have I named the reference? Used a quote? Explained effect? Linked to cultural voice?”

7. 6 min – Share-out & exit ticket

• 2–3 students share their best “effect on meaning” sentence.
• Exit ticket: “One intertextual reference I found is… It influences meaning by…”

Resources

• Novel excerpt(s) photocopied or provided in text-friendly format
• Graphic organiser template (reference → effect → cultural voice)
• Highlighters/markers or annotation sticky notes
• Teacher model paragraph (visible on board)
• Sentence starters:
• “The novel echoes…”
• “This reference suggests…”
• “As a result, the reader understands…”
• Quote bank space on the organiser (lined section for evidence)
• Dyslexia-friendly reading options: audio recording of excerpt (teacher read or recorded), and large-font copies with wider spacing
• Timers for each segment

Assessment

• Formative: teacher observation during pair identification and organiser completion (accuracy of identifying intertextuality and quality of effect explanations).
• Formative: review of students’ analytical paragraph for evidence use and explicit analysis of impact on meaning and cultural voice.
• Summative-in-mini: exit ticket confirming students can name an intertextual reference and explain its effect in one or two sentences.

Differentiation

• Support (scaffolds): provide a partially completed graphic organiser for one example; offer a word bank for effects (reflects, critiques, strengthens, contrasts, remembers, reimagines).
• Support (reading): allow students to listen to the excerpt via audio while following along on the page; use large-font text and reduced-page formatting (only the passage needed for the task).
• Extension: students analyse an additional intertextual example or compare two references (which one is more influential and why).
• EAL/SEN: pre-teach key terms in context (reference, echo, allusion, theme, perspective) using sentence frames; permit brief first-draft notes in a home language before drafting the paragraph in English.