I Shall Return - teaching resource

I Shall Return by Claude McKay – WJEC Eduqas GCSE Poetry Anthology Teaching Resource

This comprehensive two-lesson mini-unit focuses on Claude McKay’s evocative poem I Shall Return, featured in the WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature Poetry Anthology. Designed to build students’ confidence with unseen and anthology poetry, the resource explores the poem’s context, language, structure and themes while providing exam-focused guidance for effective comparison with other anthology texts.

The teaching pack includes a 40-slide fully editable PowerPoint presentation and three accompanying worksheets with structured, engaging activities to support learning.

Resource highlights:

• Contextual Background: Claude McKay’s life, Jamaican heritage, and the influence of the Harlem Renaissance

• Close Reading: Step-by-step analysis of I Shall Return with comprehension tasks and model answers

• Language & Imagery: Exploration of McKay’s use of colour, natural symbolism, and sensory description

• Structure & Form: Analysis of the sonnet form, repetition, caesura, rhyme and rhythm, and their effects on meaning

• Themes: Longing, exile, identity, nature’s healing power, and memory

• Exam Practice: Exam-style essay questions with example responses and planning guidance

• Comparison Guidance: Strategies for linking I Shall Return with other anthology poems such as I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Ideal for classroom teaching, homework, intervention, or revision, this resource provides everything students need to develop a secure understanding of I Shall Return and to prepare effectively for the WJEC Eduqas GCSE English Literature exam.

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