JB Priestley’s timeless classic attacks the class system and sexual bias. In a tense setting, the Birling family are put on trial by the ghostly Inspector Goole and made to confront the outcomes of their discrimination towards the working-classes. In our post-modern world, the class system and its privileges are currently on trial in many different ways. Therefore, this text remains essential reading for our students. I have taught this text many times over the last twenty years and I have used this specific resource (revised in 2021) to: lead my teaching in class, as a distance learning material in online lessons, as a homework assignment and even as a tool of revision – All have worked well for the students.
This dynamically presented PowerPoint lesson (26 slides, approximately two hours teaching time) provides a step-by-step guide to a GCSE essay writing assessment. Working with the essay question of,
Essay Question: ‘Mr. Birling’s motivations are fairly easy to understand, but his wife Sybil’s seem more obscure. What does Sybil value most in life, and how does Priestley frame that valuation?’
This is a complete resource with no further work required from the teacher.
