If you’re teaching War Girls by Jessie Pope, you don’t need to spend hours creating discussion questions, poetry analysis activities, essay tasks and creative responses from scratch.
This complete War Girls teaching resource bundle brings together a varied collection of ready-to-use activities designed to take students from their first exploration of the poem to deeper, more confident independent analysis.
Use the resources across a sequence of lessons or choose individual activities to complement your existing teaching. Students can explore Pope’s presentation of women, work, independence, gender roles, social change, patriotism and wartime responsibility, while examining how her choices of imagery, repetition, rhyme, rhythm, structure, language and tone shape the poem’s energetic portrayal of women during the First World War.
Designed for secondary English and English Literature, the bundle can be used flexibly for whole-class teaching, paired and group discussion, independent learning, homework, revision and analytical writing.
This is not simply a collection of disconnected worksheets. The bundle combines close analysis, discussion, debate, extended writing and creative response, giving students multiple ways to engage with the poem while developing increasingly independent interpretations.
Supports close reading and detailed poetry analysis
Encourages active discussion, debate and interpretation
Develops students’ ability to support ideas with textual evidence
Combines analytical and creative approaches to poetry
Suitable for paired, group, whole-class and independent learning
Provides flexible activities for lessons, homework and revision
Explores Pope’s use of imagery, repetition, rhyme, rhythm, contrast, structure and tone
Encourages students to consider the relationship between the poem and its First World War and social context
Poetry Analysis Task Cards exploring context, form and structure, title, speaker, themes, imagery, language devices, sound techniques, lexical choices, shifts, tone, setting, mood and personal response
36-question Roll the Dice Discussion Board exploring women’s work, independence, gender expectations, wartime change, clothing, relationships, language, repetition, rhyme, structure, tone and Pope’s overall message
10 Silent Debate statements designed to encourage students to form, justify and challenge interpretations of the poem
15 essay questions covering key areas of analysis including women’s changing roles, independence, gender expectations, work, clothing, femininity, repetition, rhyme, rhythm, structure and tone
10 creative writing prompts including historical fiction, podcast scripts, diary writing, journalism, dialogue, descriptive writing, poetry, letters, interviews and short stories
9 creative classroom tasks, including a recruitment poster series, podcast script, illustrated poem, playscript, documentary storyboard and script, diary entry, fashion and uniform design, newspaper article and then-and-now collage
Teacher instructions for the Roll the Dice and Silent Debate activities, making both activities quick and straightforward to implement
Introduce War Girls and develop students’ initial responses
Explore the social and historical context of the First World War
Investigate how women’s lives and employment changed during wartime
Analyse Pope’s presentation of women as active, capable and independent
Explore themes including gender, work, independence, social change, femininity and wartime responsibility
Examine the significance of “No longer caged and penned up”
Explore the range of occupations Pope presents and what they reveal about changing gender roles
Analyse the significance of women’s uniforms, clothing and physical appearance
Investigate Pope’s repeated use of “girl” and its effect on the presentation of women
Explore the tension between women’s new independence and the anticipated return of the “khaki soldier-boys”
Analyse repetition, rhyme, rhythm, structure, contrast and tone
Run low-prep paired, group or whole-class discussions
Encourage students to debate competing interpretations rather than search for a single “correct” reading
Set independent analytical, creative or revision work
Develop ideas for extended analytical and essay responses
Greater confidence analysing War Girls independently
A deeper understanding of Jessie Pope’s presentation of women during the First World War
Stronger ability to analyse language, imagery, repetition, form and structure
Greater understanding of changing gender roles and women’s wartime work
Experience developing and defending interpretations
Improved discussion and analytical writing skills
Greater confidence selecting and using textual evidence
Opportunities to approach the poem through both analytical and creative thinking
The variety of resources means the bundle can support far more than a single lesson. Begin with discussion and historical context, move into focused analysis of gender, language, repetition and structure, challenge students through Silent Debate, develop extended responses through the essay questions, or finish the unit with one of the creative tasks.
Teachers can select the activities that suit their class or combine them to create a broader War Girls teaching sequence.
Download the complete War Girls by Jessie Pope Teaching Resources Bundle and start using it immediately, from first reading and classroom discussion through to detailed poetry analysis, independent interpretation and extended writing.
If you’re teaching War Girls by Jessie Pope, you don’t need to spend hours creating discussion questions, poetry analysis activities, essay tasks and creative responses from scratch.
This complete War Girls teaching resource bundle brings together a varied collection of ready-to-use activities designed to take students from their first exploration of the poem to deeper, more confident independent analysis.
Use the resources across a sequence of lessons or choose individual activities to complement your existing teaching. Students can explore Pope’s presentation of women, work, independence, gender roles, social change, patriotism and wartime responsibility, while examining how her choices of imagery, repetition, rhyme, rhythm, structure, language and tone shape the poem’s energetic portrayal of women during the First World War.
Designed for secondary English and English Literature, the bundle can be used flexibly for whole-class teaching, paired and group discussion, independent learning, homework, revision and analytical writing.
This is not simply a collection of disconnected worksheets. The bundle combines close analysis, discussion, debate, extended writing and creative response, giving students multiple ways to engage with the poem while developing increasingly independent interpretations.
Supports close reading and detailed poetry analysis
Encourages active discussion, debate and interpretation
Develops students’ ability to support ideas with textual evidence
Combines analytical and creative approaches to poetry
Suitable for paired, group, whole-class and independent learning
Provides flexible activities for lessons, homework and revision
Explores Pope’s use of imagery, repetition, rhyme, rhythm, contrast, structure and tone
Encourages students to consider the relationship between the poem and its First World War and social context
Poetry Analysis Task Cards exploring context, form and structure, title, speaker, themes, imagery, language devices, sound techniques, lexical choices, shifts, tone, setting, mood and personal response
36-question Roll the Dice Discussion Board exploring women’s work, independence, gender expectations, wartime change, clothing, relationships, language, repetition, rhyme, structure, tone and Pope’s overall message
10 Silent Debate statements designed to encourage students to form, justify and challenge interpretations of the poem
15 essay questions covering key areas of analysis including women’s changing roles, independence, gender expectations, work, clothing, femininity, repetition, rhyme, rhythm, structure and tone
10 creative writing prompts including historical fiction, podcast scripts, diary writing, journalism, dialogue, descriptive writing, poetry, letters, interviews and short stories
9 creative classroom tasks, including a recruitment poster series, podcast script, illustrated poem, playscript, documentary storyboard and script, diary entry, fashion and uniform design, newspaper article and then-and-now collage
Teacher instructions for the Roll the Dice and Silent Debate activities, making both activities quick and straightforward to implement
Introduce War Girls and develop students’ initial responses
Explore the social and historical context of the First World War
Investigate how women’s lives and employment changed during wartime
Analyse Pope’s presentation of women as active, capable and independent
Explore themes including gender, work, independence, social change, femininity and wartime responsibility
Examine the significance of “No longer caged and penned up”
Explore the range of occupations Pope presents and what they reveal about changing gender roles
Analyse the significance of women’s uniforms, clothing and physical appearance
Investigate Pope’s repeated use of “girl” and its effect on the presentation of women
Explore the tension between women’s new independence and the anticipated return of the “khaki soldier-boys”
Analyse repetition, rhyme, rhythm, structure, contrast and tone
Run low-prep paired, group or whole-class discussions
Encourage students to debate competing interpretations rather than search for a single “correct” reading
Set independent analytical, creative or revision work
Develop ideas for extended analytical and essay responses
Greater confidence analysing War Girls independently
A deeper understanding of Jessie Pope’s presentation of women during the First World War
Stronger ability to analyse language, imagery, repetition, form and structure
Greater understanding of changing gender roles and women’s wartime work
Experience developing and defending interpretations
Improved discussion and analytical writing skills
Greater confidence selecting and using textual evidence
Opportunities to approach the poem through both analytical and creative thinking
The variety of resources means the bundle can support far more than a single lesson. Begin with discussion and historical context, move into focused analysis of gender, language, repetition and structure, challenge students through Silent Debate, develop extended responses through the essay questions, or finish the unit with one of the creative tasks.
Teachers can select the activities that suit their class or combine them to create a broader War Girls teaching sequence.
Download the complete War Girls by Jessie Pope Teaching Resources Bundle and start using it immediately, from first reading and classroom discussion through to detailed poetry analysis, independent interpretation and extended writing.
