This 6-lesson Year 7 English scheme of work explores Homer’s The Iliad, engaging students with epic literary techniques, character transformations, divine mechanics, and classical themes. Each lesson includes a complete presentation and fully differentiated worksheets across three achievement tiers.

Lesson Overview

Lesson 1: Homeric Language & Epithet Creation

Focus: Analyzing epic compound adjectives (epitheta ornantia).

Key Tasks: Unpacking classical character titles, constructing modern epithets using figurative language, and writing hexameter-inspired confrontation scenes between Achilles and Agamemnon.

Lesson 2: Divine Intervention: Fate vs. Choice

Focus: Examining how Olympian gods control mortal warfare.

Key Tasks: Identifying divine intervention techniques (mortal disguise, dark mist, direct attack), analyzing text extracts, and debating whether mortal heroes retain true agency (kleos).

Lesson 3: The Heroic Code & Battlefield Conflict

Focus: Investigating the mechanics of honor (timē) and public status.

Key Tasks: Deconstructing the initial rift between Agamemnon and Achilles, exploring the consequences of insulted pride, and evaluating battlefield moral judgment.

Lesson 4: Achilles: From Pride to Vengeance

Focus: Tracking Achilles’ psychological shift following Patroclus’ death.

Key Tasks: Completing a dual-perspective profile (wounded pride vs. consuming rage), analyzing Book 18 quotes, and debating whether Achilles is a tragic hero or a destructive force.

Lesson 5: The Ransom Interview: Priam & Achilles

Focus: Exploring compassion, grief, and shared humanity in Book 24.

Key Tasks: Writing a dramatic script depicting King Priam pleading for Hector’s body, analyzing rhetorical strategies (invoking Peleus), and reflecting on the limits of martial glory.

Lesson 6: Epic Themes & Unit Assessment

Focus: Synthesizing unit knowledge and evaluating classical vs. modern heroism.

Key Tasks: Evaluative essay writing on mênis (rage), kleos (glory), and human vulnerability, drawing together textual evidence across the epic.

Key Resource Features

3-Tier Differentiation: Support worksheets feature word banks and sentence starters; Core worksheets provide structured analytical frameworks; Extension worksheets challenge high achievers with Greek terminology (mênis, timē, hamartia) and philosophical critique.

Print-Ready & Complete: Includes double-sided worksheets paired with model answers and teacher guidance.