The Handmaid's Tale: Contexts, Themes and Questions
Advanced Learner Pack for AS / A Level
Set text for:
- AQA A A Level
- AQA B A Level
- Edexcel AS and A Level
- OCR A Level
The Handmaid’s Tale is a visionary, controversial and exciting novel with themes of personal and political identity, corruption, and gender conflict, and its roots in a fine and multinational tradition of the dystopian novel.
Stretch your strongest students with illuminating notes and activities that expose the compelling themes and contexts of this esteemed text.
Look out for!- Further reading suggestions and ‘Did you know?’ boxes
- Key term boxes to encourage students to use sophisticated language
- Sample answers and commentary for the largest exam boards: OCR and Edexcel
Comprehensive notes, questions and exam-preparation material investigating the influential contexts and themes of The Handmaid's Tale for a fuller, more sophisticated understanding. Pitched to the 2015 AS and A Level specifications, this pack will inspire your strongest students to go the extra mile in their journey towards exam success.
Pushing high achievers…- Informative notes encourage students to think independently about the core aspects of the play, including characters, form, genre and themes
- Packed with questions to promote intelligent discussion – the perfect springboard for higher-level analysis
- Suggestions for wider reading empower students to foster an individual critical stance towards the play
- Exam-style questions provide extensive practice for creative, unique responses
- Higher-level sample answers with examiner commentary help students recognise what makes a good answer
- Revision and exam tips help students focus answers to gain top marks
- A carefully constructed historical timeline
- Indicative content for all questions
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What do teachers say about this resource? (12093)
Well constructed, highly detailed and effective in meeting its intended purpose - challenging and expanding the most able pupils to reach A/A*... I like the multiple layers of reading across the text including elements such as satire and erotic tradition, as these are often overlooked when teaching a text at A Level... Having activities after each topic is also helpful... The links to further reading provide opportunities for students to expand on their knowledge - this is a good springboard for coursework as well... The revision tips at the end of the resource were also effective - they're specific and targeted... This resource is perfect for enhancing student knowledge of the text - it's an incredibly well resourced and detailed piece that encourages students to engage with debates surrounding the text. This is enhanced by the wide range of sources referenced... The activities help guide pupils when engaging with critical sources - this is particularly helpful for any potential Literature university hopefuls as it will develop their independence.
Clear, detailed and cogent. The author has clearly done a great deal of research and has distilled that into a text that is at once scholarly and approachable. Dividing the resource into detailed thematic concerns makes the resource easy to navigate and could allow for practical classroom use... There are some excellent, thoughtful and detailed insights into themes and ideas... The sample responses and indicative content for answers are helpful revision resources... The notes on genre and form are very useful in that they give a good critical background to the novel... Excellent debunking of the myth that the novel is simply men vs women. It encourages a far more nuanced approach... The structure of the text is clear and cohesive... I would certainly purchase this resource to aid in my teaching, especially for A grade students and above... Thank you for taking the time to research and develop this resource; it is extremely useful!
What a treat! As somebody who has taught this novel for a number of years and also studied it myself, this was a veritable smorgasbord of ideas, links and developed content that was as enriching to me as a teacher as it would be for any academically able pupil aiming for a top grade... Perfectly aimed at high-ability pupils who are targeting an A or an A* and need wider ideas and a more developed approach to help challenge and develop their thinking. It is perfectly created for self-study, and I liked the way in which the discrete sections could be focused on in turn or selected to support class teaching... Broken down into excellent topics that would allow any teacher a great springboard to discuss and link to wider dystopian texts or the companion text... This was a resource that was a pleasure to read and review and actually consolidated a number of ideas and approaches I was thinking of using for my own teaching of the text. Thank you!
Keywords
- A Level English Literature
- A Level OCR English Literature (H472)
- Paper 2: Prose
- Comparative and Contextual Study
- A Level Edexcel English Literature (9ET0) Advanced Learner
- Component 2: Prose
- Science and Society
- Gifted and Talented
- A Level English Literature Advanced Learner Pack
- A Level AQA B English Literature (7717)
- A Level AQA A English Literature (7712)
- Dystopia
- Paper 2: Texts and Genres: Elements of political and social protest writing
- Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the present day