Walking Away - teaching resource

Walking Away – AQA GCSE Love and Relationships Poetry Anthology

This two-lesson mini-unit provides an in-depth study of Cecil Day-Lewis’s ‘Walking Away’, a key poem from the AQA GCSE Love and Relationships Poetry Anthology. Perfect for classroom teaching, revision, and exam preparation, this comprehensive resource develops students’ close reading, analytical, and comparative essay-writing skills.

The resource includes a 59-slide fully editable PowerPoint and seven accompanying worksheets, packed with engaging activities, model answers, and structured tasks to support learners of all abilities.

Lesson One

• Context – An introduction to Cecil Day-Lewis’s life and the inspirations behind Walking Away

• First Contact – Guided reading of the poem with glossary support and comprehension questions (answers included)

• Exploring Meaning – Analysing key imagery and symbolism, supported by structured questions and model responses

• Essay Writing – An exam-style essay question with a sample model answer

Lesson Two

• Themes – Exploring parent/child relationships, memory, time, growing up, and distance

• Language & Imagery – Analysing Day-Lewis’s language choices, line-by-line analysis, and use of metaphor

• Structure & Form – Understanding the use of first-person narration, enjambment, caesura, rhythm, and rhyme

• Exam Focus – Comparing Walking Away with Before You Were Mine and Mother, Any Distance using guided comparison tasks and model answers

This resource is fully editable and can be adapted to suit different abilities, teaching styles, and classroom needs.

To preview Walking Away in detail, select “View All Slides” and click on the images.

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