Power and Resilience

Overview

In this lesson, students plan a discursive essay about power and resilience using a structured template, then participate in a peer feedback workshop using a guided protocol. This builds on prior lessons by moving from discussion and text study into planning that supports clear opinions and evidence.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• plan a discursive essay by choosing a clear thesis (opinion) and organising ideas logically
• select and justify which characters, settings and events best support their points
• use an essay structure that improves cohesion (overview, topic sentences, linking statements, concluding paragraph)
• provide and act on peer feedback using a respectful, specific checklist

Success criteria

Students can:

• write a thesis that clearly answers the prompt and signals their opinion
• outline body paragraphs with a topic sentence, relevant evidence, and a brief explanation of meaning
• identify what is working in a peer’s draft plan and suggest one precise improvement
• revise their own plan after feedback, noting changes in a “next step” box

Curriculum links

• Literature: form an opinion about characters, settings and events in texts, identifying agreement/differences with others’ opinions and justifying responses - Literature: identify and explain the ways characters, settings and events combine to create meaning in narratives - Language: understand that cohesion relies on devices that signal structure and guide readers, such as overviews and initial/concluding paragraphs - Language: recognise language used to evaluate texts and how evaluations are substantiated by reference to the text ## Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Retrieval + purpose Teacher displays today’s prompt focus and quickly reviews the unit theme (power/resilience) from last lesson; students turn and talk: “What makes an opinion convincing in an essay?”

2. 5–15 min · Mini-teach: planning for cohesion Teacher models a planning template on the board (thesis/overview, body paragraph plan, concluding paragraph) and highlights cohesion devices: overview paragraph, topic sentences, text connectives, and a concluding restatement. Students fill in the first row: thesis sentence + 2–3 key words about evidence they will use.

3. 15–30 min · Planning workshop (differentiated supports) Teacher distributes one of three planning template options (students choose based on needs):

• Option A: Standard plan (full paragraph headings)
• Option B: Sentence-starter plan (for support with thesis and topic sentences)
• Option C: Evidence-first plan (for students who know evidence but need help organising it) Students work independently to complete: thesis, overview notes, 2 body paragraph grids (Point → Evidence → Explanation → Link to resilience/power), and a concluding paragraph intention.

4. 30–40 min · Peer feedback protocol (guided) Teacher explains and models the protocol: “Glow and Grow” plus one “Justify or revise” item.

• Step 1: Read peer’s plan silently.
• Step 2: Glow: name one strength in their opinion + justification.
• Step 3: Grow: identify one unclear part (thesis, evidence choice, explanation, or cohesion device).
• Step 4: Justify or revise: ask a question that forces clarification, using a stem: “Which character/event best shows power/resilience, and how does your explanation make that clear?” Students swap plans in pairs, record feedback on the checklist, then return plans to the original writer.

5. 40–48 min · Incorporate feedback Teacher sets a revision timer: students must choose one feedback action and update their plan (e.g., rewrite thesis, change evidence, strengthen explanation, or add a link sentence). Students add a “Next step” box: one sentence about what they will do for the draft.

6. 48–50 min · Exit ticket Students submit a quick exit ticket: “One cohesion move I used today was…” and “One way I’ll justify my opinion better is…”

Resources

• Prompt card for the discursive essay (power/resilience)
• Three planning template versions (A standard, B sentence starters, C evidence-first)
• Peer feedback checklist with stems (“Glow”, “Grow”, “Justify or revise”)
• Highlighters (evidence vs explanation vs linking words) or colour-coded pens
• Teacher model template (projected or printed)
• Timer and pair rotation cards

Assessment

• Formative: teacher circulates during planning, using a checklist to note thesis clarity, evidence relevance, and explanation quality
• Formative: peer feedback quality (specificity and justification) recorded on the checklist
• Exit ticket: checks students’ understanding of cohesion moves and next steps for drafting

Differentiation

• Sentence starters and word banks (thesis stems, topic sentence stems, evaluative language stems such as “I believe… because…”, “This shows… when…”, “In contrast…”, “The effect on the reader is…”)
• Alternative template pathway: evidence-first option reduces cognitive load for students who struggle with structure before content
• Choice of essay format (within the same prompt): standard discursive essay plan or a “dialogue-like” structure plan for students who benefit from showing argument as exchanges
• Support for EAL/Diverse learners: provide a bilingual glossary of key evaluative words where available, and allow feedback notes to be written in short phrases before refining into complete sentences
• Challenge/extension within the task: students add an “agreement/difference” line—either how their opinion aligns with or differs from a peer’s perspective, with justification