Survival and Displacement

Lesson Overview

This 45-minute lesson (Lesson 3 of 7) is part of the unit Exploring War Through Literature designed for Year 7 students in England. The lesson explores the themes of survival and displacement in a selected war-time text (teacher to specify a suitable novel or text, e.g., The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas or Goodnight Mister Tom). Students will engage in reflective storytelling activities that encourage empathy and personal connection to these themes.

This lesson strictly aligns with the National Curriculum for English Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9). It incorporates Speaking & Listening, Reading, and Writing objectives, fostering analytical and empathetic skills.

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Alignment with the National Curriculum (England)

Relevant Programmes of Study (English KS3):

• Reading:

  • Understand increasingly challenging texts through considering authors’ ideas and perspectives
  • Identify how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning
  • Infer meanings and justify these with evidence from the text

• Writing:

  • Use spoken language effectively to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining, and exploring ideas
  • Use imaginative, interesting and thoughtful texts to reflect experiences and explore ideas

• Speaking and Listening:

  • Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations, and debates

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Learning Objectives

Progression Level	Learning Objective
Emerging	Recognise the need for survival in difficult situations (focus on basic comprehension and personal connection).
Developing	Discuss examples of survival in the text, identifying key moments and characters involved.
Secure	Analyse characters’ strategies for survival and how displacement affects their motivations and actions, with textual evidence to support points made.

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Resources

• Selected war-time text (extracts focusing on survival and displacement)
• Whiteboard / flipchart and markers
• Paper and pens for storytelling activity
• “Survival & Displacement Reflection” worksheet (prepared in advance)
• Emotion cards or prompt questions for storytelling

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Lesson Structure

1. Starter (5 mins) - Emotional Connection

• Activity: Teacher introduces the themes of survival and displacement with a brief discussion using open questions:
  • What does it mean to survive?
  • Has anyone ever had to adapt or change because of a difficult situation?
• Use simple emotion cards to encourage students to express feelings linked to displacement (e.g., scared, hopeful, lost).

Purpose: Activate prior knowledge and emotional empathy, key for engaging with complex themes.

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2. Guided Reading & Discussion (15 mins)

• Activity: Read aloud or listen to an extract from the text that highlights a survival scenario and/or displacement moment.
• Whole-class discussion:
  • Identify moments of survival and displacement (Developing objective)
  • Discuss how characters react and what strategies they use.
  • Mapping survival strategies on the board (e.g., adaptation, support networks, resourcefulness).

Note: Scaffold by using sentence starters for Emerging learners (e.g., “The character survives by...”) and encourage Secure learners to find textual evidence using direct quotes.

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3. Storytelling Activity (15 mins) – Personal or Imagined Narratives

• Task: Students create a short story or narrative piece (spoken or written) about a time they (or an imagined character) faced a challenge requiring survival or experienced displacement.

• Use the following prompts:

  • Who were you with?
  • What was the challenge?
  • How did you/your character survive or adapt?
  • How did it feel?

• Work in pairs or small groups (3 students) to share stories aloud, practising speaking and listening skills as per the KS3 speaking & listening curriculum.

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4. Reflection and Mini-Plenary (7 mins)

• Students complete the “Survival & Displacement Reflection” worksheet, answering:

  • What did you learn today about survival and displacement? (Emerging/Developing)
  • Which character’s survival strategy did you find most effective and why? (Secure)
  • How can understanding these themes help us understand real historical or current world events?

• Teacher facilitates a short plenary sharing key insights, correcting misconceptions and reinforcing the learning objectives.

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5. Assessment and Differentiation

• Formative assessment:

  • Observe contributions during discussion to gauge understanding of survival themes.
  • Assess storytelling task for depth of connection to theme and use of descriptive language.
  • Review reflection worksheet for individual learner progress (emerging to secure).

• Differentiation:

  • Provide sentence starters and emotion word banks for Emerging learners.
  • Challenge Secure learners to use literary terminology (e.g., metaphor, motive) when analysing characters.
  • Allow use of drawings or mind maps for those who prefer visual expression.

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Extension/Homework idea

• Research a real-life story of displacement or survival during war or conflict and prepare a short presentation or poster for the class.

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Teacher's Notes

• Encourage sensitivity, recognising some students may have personal or family experiences linked to displacement or trauma.
• Emphasise respect during storytelling and discussions.
• Use this thematic exploration to build cross-curricular links with History and PSHE.

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This lesson plan immerses Year 7 students in critical empathy and analytical skills, combining literacy with emotional awareness—core to the National Curriculum’s vision of developing confident, reflective readers and speakers.