Objectives

• Analyse how Fanthorpe uses the moment of physical departure in Chapter 1 to explore the tension between freedom and fear.
• Identify and interpret the distinct perspectives of The Child, The Speaker, and The Adult Observer, explaining how each is constructed through diction and narrative distance.
• Analyse how Fanthorpe's choice of the prose-poem form — its compressed sentences, present-tense verbs, and sensory precision — enacts the themes of identity and growing-up.
• Write a fully evidenced analytical paragraph that embeds quotation, names a technique, and links to a thematic argument specific to 'First Flight'.
• Evaluate how Fanthorpe's 1982 context — humanist empathy, post-hospital-ward perspective, Thatcherite Britain — shapes the poem's refusal of sentimentality.

The sequence

1. Lesson 1: The Moment of Letting Go: Reading Fanthorpe's Opening Conceit

   60 min · ch. 1

   Do now

   On your mini-whiteboard, jot down a single word that captures how it feels to release something you’re scared of losing. Next, write another word that reflects how you feel just a moment later. Be prepared to share your thoughts on the difference between the two words. Please keep this silent for now — no discussions yet.

   Teacher input

   Model a close reading of the poem's opening movement — the 'quiet, almost accidental loosening' — by examining how Fanthorpe avoids dramatic language. On the visualizer, annotate the phrase that depicts the body lifting from 'known ground': illustrate how the present-tense verb and the word 'almost' together indicate both agency and a lack of it. Clarify that this is Fanthorpe's key technique: precision that maintains uncertainty. Connect this to the prose-poem form — without line breaks for safety, each sentence must bear its full significance.

   Independent task

   Students will produce a 150-word annotation of the opening movement of Chapter 1, highlighting three specific word or phrase choices that Fanthorpe uses to depict the moment of departure. For each choice, they should: identify the technique, quote it exactly, and include one sentence explaining the feeling or idea it evokes for the reader. Annotations should be submitted on a structured template featuring three labeled boxes.

   Exit ticket

   Fanthorpe's use of the word 'almost' in the opening movement suggests that The Child lacks full agency in the decision to leave.

2. Lesson 2: Watching and Letting Go: The Adult Observer's Divided Loyalty

   60 min · ch. 1

   Do now

   Read this sentence from Chapter 1: the Adult Observer watches but does not intervene. Without discussing with anyone, jot down three reasons someone might prefer observing instead of taking action. Then, highlight the one you believe Fanthorpe would find most intriguing, and write a single sentence explaining why.

   Teacher input

   Model how the Adult Observer's narrative distance is shaped in Chapter 1, where the living go about their 'everyday activities' without awareness. On the board, highlight how Fanthorpe employs third-person perspective and domestic details—like 'rooms still carrying the warmth of recent presence'—to illustrate that the Observer's grief manifests through observation instead of dialogue. Show how this choice is significant: the absence of stanza breaks in the prose poem reflects the Observer's struggle to find a moment or space to pause and grieve.

   Independent task

   Students will write a structured PEEL paragraph (150–200 words) addressing the question: 'How does Fanthorpe portray the Adult Observer as both connected to and distanced from The Child in Chapter 1?' They should incorporate at least two quotations from the passage that discusses domestic detail and use the term 'distance' as a critical concept. The completed paragraphs will be collected and assessed based on the model structure demonstrated in the lesson.

   Exit ticket

   The Adult Observer's silence serves as a deliberate technique that enhances the narrative rather than merely reflecting a character trait. By leaving them wordless, Fanthorpe deepens the emotional impact of the scene and invites readers to engage more thoughtfully with the underlying themes.

3. Lesson 3: Form as Feeling: How the Prose-Poem Enacts Freedom and Fear

   60 min · ch. 1

   Do now

   Check out the first three sentences of Chapter 1 on the board. Count the verbs, then count the adjectives. Which group has more? Write a one-sentence hypothesis about what that ratio reveals regarding Fanthorpe's priorities in this poem.

   Teacher input

   Model a form-focused analysis of the passage that describes the soul's ascent — 'ascending and expanding' — in Chapter 1. On the visualiser, highlight how Fanthorpe's sentences lengthen as the soul rises, then contract again when grief for the living comes back into focus. Demonstrate to students that this is intentional: the prose-poem format enables her to control rhythm without using line breaks, allowing the reader to experience the expansion and contraction as a feeling before grasping it as meaning. Refer to this as 'syntactic mimicry'.

   Independent task

   Students annotate a printed extract of the ascent passage from Chapter 1 (the 'ascending and expanding' movement), marking: (a) three spots where the length of sentences varies and (b) the emotional shifts that come with each change. Next, they write a 100-word explanation of how Fanthorpe utilizes sentence structure to convey the tension between freedom and fear. Both the annotated extracts and the written explanations are submitted.

   Exit ticket

   Before: > Name one formal feature of the prose-poem — not a language technique — and write one sentence explaining how it contributes to the theme of freedom in Chapter 1.

   After: > Identify a formal aspect of the prose-poem—excluding language techniques—and provide a sentence explaining how it enhances the theme of freedom in Chapter 1.

4. Lesson 4: Suspended Between Worlds: Synthesising Identity, Grief and the In-Between

   60 min · ch. 1

   Do now

   Without looking at your notes, jot down: (1) one way Fanthorpe illustrates freedom, (2) one way she conveys fear, and (3) one quote for each. This is a memory check — keep it silent, no notes, and you have two minutes.

   Teacher input

   Model how to construct a multi-strand argument using the poem's closing movement in Chapter 1 — the soul 'floating between attachment and release.' On the board, illustrate how to start a paragraph with a thematic claim ('Fanthorpe refuses to resolve the tension between identity and loss'), then integrate evidence from The Child's perspective, The Speaker's grief, and the Adult Observer's silence. Treat these as three lenses on the same moment instead of separate points. Show how the word 'suspended' serves three purposes: physical, emotional, and philosophical.

   Independent task

   Students are tasked with crafting a 250–300 word analytical response to the question: 'How does Fanthorpe use the closing movement of Chapter 1 to depict identity as something that exists between states rather than within them?' They should reference all three perspectives (The Child, The Speaker, The Adult Observer), include at least three quotations, and incorporate the critical terms 'narrative distance,' 'syntactic mimicry,' and 'threshold.' Responses will be collected as the summative draft.

   Exit ticket

   Fanthorpe suggests that identity is shaped by personal experiences and the profound impact of one's relationships.

Activities

Assessment

• Lesson 1 annotation template: marker checks that students can distinguish between technique, quotation, and effect — specifically looking for whether 'almost' is read as qualifying agency rather than simply meaning 'nearly'.
• Lesson 2 PEEL paragraph: marker checks that 'distance' is used as a critical term applied to narrative method, not just described as physical separation between characters.
• Lesson 3 syntactic annotation: marker checks that students identify sentence-length change at the moment grief reasserts itself in the ascent passage, not only at the moment of departure.
• Lesson 4 exit ticket: marker checks that the student's sentence about identity positions it as relational or liminal — between states — rather than fixed within a single character or moment.

Standards covered

Common Core 11 12

• RL.11-12.1 — cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
• RL.11-12.4 — determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone
• RL.11-12.5 — analyse how an author's choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact
• W.11-12.9 — draw evidence from literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research

AP Literature

• Literary Argumentation (LAN-1) — make a defensible claim about how Fanthorpe's use of the prose-poem form contributes to the meaning of 'First Flight'
• Figurative Language (FIG-1) — identify and interpret the effect of Fanthorpe's diction — 'almost', 'suspended', 'warmth of recent presence' — on the reader's understanding of identity and grief
• Narration (NAR-1) — analyse how the shifting perspectives of The Child, The Speaker, and the Adult Observer shape the reader's experience of the poem's central conceit
• Structure (STR-1) — explain how Fanthorpe's manipulation of sentence length in the ascent passage enacts the tension between freedom and fear

AQA

• AO1 — read, understand and respond to texts; students should be able to maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response, using textual references including quotations to support and illustrate interpretations
• AO2 — analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate
• AO3 — show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written and received, including Fanthorpe's 1982 humanist context and post-hospital-ward perspective
• AO4 — use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation