Explaining the effect of a technique (GCSE)

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.9-10.4CCSS RI.9-10.4England: GCSE English Language Paper 1 Q2England: GCSE English Language Paper 2 Q3

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Explaining the effect of a technique (GCSE).

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Naming language techniques (GCSE); Tone and mood

Leads to: The effect of sentence forms: short sentences, fragments, lists, questions

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 6 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Naming language techniques (GCSE); Tone and mood). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Which technique matches this description? Repeating 's' and 'sh' sounds, often to create a soft or sinister effect. (juxtaposition / hyperbole / personification / sibilance) → sibilancePrompt: Recall the key test for each technique: like/as? human actions? weather? s-sounds? exaggeration? contrast?
Which technique is used here? The motorway was a river of red tail-lights. (juxtaposition / pathetic fallacy / simile / metaphor) → metaphorPrompt: Check for 'like' or 'as' first, then human actions, then exaggeration.
Type the technique (in English) that matches this description. Giving human qualities or actions to something non-human. → personificationPrompt: Recall the key test for each technique: like/as? human actions? weather? s-sounds? exaggeration? contrast?

Hook · 6 min

Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
Share the objective: Explaining the effect of a technique (GCSE). Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 12 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Read the question and choose. "Rain. Endless rain. It drummed, dripped and dribbled down the glass." What is the effect of the short opening sentences?
Step 1: A strong analysis links the technique to its effect: what it suggests, the mood it creates, or how it makes the reader feel.
Step 2: So the answer is: they emphasise the relentless, dreary weather
Answer: they emphasise the relentless, dreary weather
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 12 min

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

Is the proposed answer correct? "The old factory stood silent, its broken windows staring blankly at the street." What is the effect of the personification? → it makes the abandoned building seem lifeless and eerie (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → yes, it is correctPrompt: Picture what the words make you see, hear or feel.
Read the question and choose. "The wind howled through the empty streets." What is the main effect of the verb 'howled'? (it shows the streets are busy / it makes the wind seem wild and threatening, like an animal / it suggests the weather is calm / it tells us the time of day) → it makes the wind seem wild and threatening, like an animalPrompt: Picture what the words make you see, hear or feel.

You do: independent practice · 17 min

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

Exit ticket · 7 min

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

Is the proposed answer correct? "The city never sleeps." What does the personification suggest? → people in the city are ill (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → no, it is not correctPrompt: Picture what the words make you see, hear or feel.
Read the question and choose. "The tiny boat was tossed like a toy by the furious sea." What does the simile suggest? (children are playing on the beach / the boat is helpless against the sea's power / the boat is made of plastic / the sea is calm and playful) → the boat is helpless against the sea's powerPrompt: Picture what the words make you see, hear or feel.

Watch out for

Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Naming language techniques (GCSE).
Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: The effect of sentence forms: short sentences, fragments, lists, questions.
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-9.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Explaining the effect of a technique (GCSE)

Name

Date

Score/ 8

1
Question 1
Is the proposed answer correct? "While the guests feasted on lobster, the kitchen staff shared a single loaf." What is the effect of the juxtaposition? → it shows everyone is equally happy
- A. yes, it is correct
- B. no, it is not correct

The Flood

The river had been rising for three days, but in the village nobody spoke of it. People hung out washing, argued about football and queued at the bakery as if the brown water swelling beneath the bridge were simply another neighbour, loud but harmless. Nadia noticed. From her bedroom window she watched the river swallow the lowest step of the old jetty, then the second, then the third. At night she lay awake listening to it muttering against the stones, a low, endless grumble that seemed to grow hungrier by the hour. On the fourth morning, the sky was the colour of a bruise. Rain did not fall so much as hang in the air, soaking everything it touched. Nadia's grandmother, who had lived in the village for seventy years, stood at the door, sniffing the wind like an old dog. "Pack a bag," she said quietly. "Now." They were halfway up the hill when they heard it. A roar. A crack. Then silence, which was worse. Below them, the bridge had gone. Where it had stood, the river surged on, carrying fence posts, garden chairs and a single red umbrella, spinning slowly, like a flower.

2
Question 2
Read "The Flood". What is the effect of the personification 'muttering' and 'grow hungrier' in paragraph 2?
- A. it suggests the river is lost
- B. it shows the river is drying up
- C. it makes the river seem like a threatening creature that is growing more dangerous
- D. it makes the river seem calm and friendly
3
Question 3
Read "The Flood". In paragraph 1, what does comparing the river to 'another neighbour, loud but harmless' suggest about the villagers?
- A. They are planning to leave.
- B. They are frightened of the river.
- C. They dislike their real neighbours.
- D. They are complacent and underestimate the danger.

Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)

Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you: But when the leaves hang trembling, The wind is passing through. Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I: But when the trees bow down their heads, The wind is passing by.

4
Question 4
Read "Who Has Seen the Wind? (Christina Rossetti, 1872)". What is the effect of the word 'trembling' to describe the leaves?
- A. it shows the leaves are cold and ill
- B. it makes the scene noisy and violent
- C. it makes the leaves seem delicate and alive as they move
- D. it suggests the leaves are falling off

5
Question 5
Read the question and choose. "The motorway was a river of red tail-lights." What does the metaphor suggest?
- A. the motorway is flooded
- B. the cars are racing
- C. the traffic is slow, continuous and flowing together
- D. the road is empty
6
Question 6
Is the proposed answer correct? "The city never sleeps." What does the personification suggest? → the city is quiet at night
- A. yes, it is correct
- B. no, it is not correct
7
Question 7
Read the question and choose. "Do we really want our children to grow up in a world without forests?" What is the effect of the rhetorical question?
- A. it makes the writer seem unsure
- B. it changes the topic
- C. it pushes readers to agree that protecting forests matters
- D. it asks for information
8
Question 8
Is the proposed answer correct? "Hissing, the serpent slid slowly through the shadows." What is the effect of the sibilance? → the 's' sounds echo the snake's hiss and create a sinister mood
- A. yes, it is correct
- B. no, it is not correct

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Answer key: Explaining the effect of a technique (GCSE)

1. B. no, it is not correct
2. C. it makes the river seem like a threatening creature that is growing more dangerous
3. D. They are complacent and underestimate the danger.
4. C. it makes the leaves seem delicate and alive as they move
5. C. the traffic is slow, continuous and flowing together
6. B. no, it is not correct
7. C. it pushes readers to agree that protecting forests matters
8. A. yes, it is correct