• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Naming language techniques (GCSE); Allusion, irony, oxymoron and pun). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Which technique matches this description? Describing something as if it IS something else, without 'like' or 'as'. (pathetic fallacy / simile / juxtaposition / metaphor) → metaphorPrompt: Recall the key test for each technique: like/as? human actions? weather? s-sounds? exaggeration? contrast?
2. Which device is used? "Oh great, another test," groaned Raj. (pun / verbal irony / situational irony / oxymoron) → verbal ironyPrompt: Is it a reference to a famous story, contradictory words side by side, a play on words, or the opposite of what's expected?
3. Which technique is used here? In the gleaming shop window, luxury watches sparkled; on the pavement outside, a man slept under cardboard. (juxtaposition / metaphor / simile / personification) → juxtapositionPrompt: Check for 'like' or 'as' first, then human actions, then exaggeration.

• Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
• Share the objective: Words from myth, literature and history (herculean, quixotic, boycott…). Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Which word or phrase matches this description? a trusted adviser (from Mentor, who guided Odysseus's son)
• Step 1: Many English words come from Greek and Roman myth, literature and real people; knowing the story helps you remember the meaning.
• Step 2: mentor: a trusted adviser (from Mentor, who guided Odysseus's son)
• Step 3: So the answer is: mentor
• Answer: mentor
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Which word or phrase matches this description? a rival or force that brings someone's downfall (from the goddess of retribution) (mercurial / nemesis / herculean / tantalise) → nemesisPrompt: Recall the story behind each word: the hero, the god, the place or the person.
2. Type the word or phrase (in English) that matches this description. to refuse to deal with a person, company or country as a protest (from Captain Charles Boycott, Ireland, 1880) → boycottPrompt: Recall the story behind each word: the hero, the god, the place or the person.

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Which word or phrase best completes the sentence? The goalkeeper's weak left side was his ___. (nemesis / odyssey / Achilles' heel / Pandora's box) → Achilles' heelPrompt: What idea does the sentence need: effort, few words, harshness, idealism, temptation, protest, weakness…?
2. Which word or phrase matches this description? changing mood quickly and unpredictably (from Mercury) (mercurial / maverick / herculean / tantalise) → mercurialPrompt: Recall the story behind each word: the hero, the god, the place or the person.

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-12.