The Workhouse Conflict

Overview

In lesson 3 of Oliver Twist: Voices and Choices, students examine Oliver’s experiences in the workhouse through a carefully selected extract or chapter section. They sequence key events, clarify past-tense verbs and unfamiliar expressions, and discuss how the workhouse setting influences Oliver’s choices and the choices made by others.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify and sequence important events in a narrative extract.
• WALT clarify the meaning and effect of unfamiliar words, expressions, and past-tense verbs.
• WALT explain how a setting can influence a character’s choices.
• WALT support ideas with evidence from the text.

Success criteria

• I can place key events in the correct order and explain the links between them.
• I can use surrounding words and a glossary to work out unfamiliar meanings.
• I can identify past-tense verbs and explain what they show about events.
• I can explain how the workhouse affects Oliver’s choices, using evidence from the extract.

Curriculum links

• Writing Processes: Planning — taking notes using key words and phrases to support idea development.
• Writing Processes: Planning — categorising and synthesising notes to identify patterns, gaps, and connections.
• Writing Processes: Planning — effective planning clarifies ideas, structures content, and meets a writing purpose.
• Text specifications: engaging with carefully selected extracts, chapters, scenes, or visual segments appropriate for Year 7 learners.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Hook and recall. Teacher opens with the hook and learning-intention slides and displays the question, “How might a place make someone feel powerless?” Students silently record one word, then share with a partner and connect it to what they remember about Oliver from lessons 1–2.

2. 5–12 min · First reading. Teacher briefly introduces the selected extract, reminding students to listen for what happens, where it happens, and how Oliver responds; read aloud while students follow their copy. Students annotate or jot one key event, one detail about the workhouse, and one question.

3. 12–20 min · Vocabulary in context. Teacher uses the vocabulary and grammar slides to model identifying the meaning of an unfamiliar expression from surrounding clues and spotting a past-tense verb such as asked, refused, or replied in the extract. Students work in pairs on the workhouse conflict analysis worksheet, recording meanings for selected expressions, matching verbs to their base forms, and explaining what each verb tells the reader about the action.

4. 20–30 min · Sequence and synthesise. Teacher displays the event-sequencing instructions and models turning a long event into a short note using key words rather than copying a sentence. Students individually number six key events on the worksheet, then compare answers in groups of three. Each group agrees on the most important event and adds a short reason.

5. 30–40 min · Setting, choices, and evidence. Teacher shows the setting-and-choice discussion prompts and guides discussion: “What features of the workhouse create pressure?” “What choices does Oliver have?” and “Who has power in this setting?” Students complete the worksheet’s evidence table with one setting detail, its effect on Oliver, and a choice or response. Partners use the sentence frame, “Because the workhouse is…, Oliver…, which shows…,” before sharing selected responses.

6. 40–45 min · Plenary and exit check. Teacher returns to the plenary and exit-ticket slide and asks students to complete the final box on the worksheet: “The workhouse affects Oliver’s choices because…” Students hand in their response and share one clarified word or expression that helped them understand the extract.

Resources

• Selected age-appropriate extract or chapter section from Oliver Twist; provide copies for students.
• the workhouse conflict lesson slide deck covering the hook, learning intentions, vocabulary model, past-tense verbs, sequencing instructions, discussion prompts, and plenary.
• the workhouse conflict analysis worksheet with vocabulary, verb, event-sequencing, and setting/evidence tasks.
• Board or display screen.
• Highlighters or coloured pencils.
• A teacher-prepared glossary for essential unfamiliar expressions, including brief student-friendly meanings.
• Timer.

Assessment

• During reading and pair work, listen for students distinguishing key events from minor details and using context to infer meaning.
• Check worksheets for accurate sequencing, correctly identified past-tense verbs, and evidence-based explanations of how setting affects choices.
• Use the final response as an exit check: look for a clear cause-and-effect statement connected to a specific workhouse detail.

Differentiation

• Provide a shortened extract, read sections aloud again, and pre-teach essential expressions for students who need literacy support or are learning English.
• Offer a sequencing bank with event icons or first-word prompts, plus sentence frames such as “The word ___ probably means ___ because ___.”
• Allow students to discuss ideas orally before writing and accept labelled notes, speech-to-text, or a scribe where appropriate.
• Extend confident readers by asking them to compare Oliver’s choices with another character’s choices and explain how power in the setting shapes both responses.
• Use mixed-readiness groups, assign clear roles, and check in privately with students who may find the workhouse content unsettling.