1. Challenge Cards: Stretching the
more able pupils in your classroom
Chris Gunner, City of Portsmouth Girls’ School
@cgun88
cgunner@cpgs.co.uk

2. Bronze, Silver & Gold Challenges.
Challenge Card 1:
For each of your
paragraphs, consider
where you could use
sensory language.
Challenge Card 2:
For each of your paragraphs,
decide where you are going
to use the following:
onomatopoeia, pathetic
fallacy, simile, metaphor,
alliteration, short and long
sentences.
Challenge Card 3:
Think carefully about how you
are going to build the tension
in your assessment – in which
paragraph will it peak? Where
will it dip? Why have you
chosen this order? Write this
when planning your
paragraphs.
Progressive level of challenge with a competitive element.

3. Bloom’s Challenges
Challenges linked to mid-higher order thinking according to Bloom’s Taxonomy –
pupils free to choose to suit their strengths.
Can you suggest who the
target audience for ‘Private
Peaceful’ might be and explain
why?
Can you compare the moral of
the story to any other books
you’ve read before? Could you
explain their similarities?
Is the moral of the story
powerful enough? If not, what
could the author do to make it
clearer?
Whose poetry do you feel the
author would agree with more
– Owen & Sassoon, or Jessie
Pope?
When rewriting the ending,
can you change it so it’s not
Charlie who dies, but another
main character?
When rewriting the ending,
can you explain what effect on
the audience you feel this may
have?

4. Creative Challenges
Can you use rhyme, such as a
rhyming couplet, to add to
your persuasive language?
Can you think of another
symbol used to represent
Great Britain to use on your
propaganda?
Can you think of an
appropriate font style for your
persuasive language and
explain WHY you’ve chosen it?
Can you think of a
monstrous/evil image you
could use to represent the
enemy threat?
Can you use the names of terms
and items associated with war in
your poems (bayonet, trench,
shell etc?)
Can you use an extended
metaphor in your poem? See me
for an example of these.
Can you make your poem rhyme
fully, and explain what effect
this might have?
Can you make use of sensory
language to enhance the mood
created in your poem?
Challenges utilising pupils’ existing knowledge,
allows for creativity to flourish.

5. Next Steps…
Cross-curricular challenge cards – getting
pupils to link their learning.
Competition for higher ability classes – visible
tally chart/score-cards. Rewards given at
certain stages.
Plenary opportunity – pupils to discuss which
cards they used & why.