Lessons for Second Level

The following activities have been designed for pupils at Second Level. Pupils can learn the fashionable letter-folding techniques of the early nineteenth century, explore how poets use language to create a sense of place, and can even create soundscapes of spooky scenes from one of Scott's poems! 

• The Hunt
  • Did you know that many of Scott's poems were turned into different forms, including operas, paintings, and even comics? This activity uses the Classics Comic's version of a scene from The Lady of the Lake. It encourages pupils to think of the same event from different perspectives, to retell it in their own way, and to imagine what happens next in a form of their own choosing.
• The Lay of the Last Minstrel
  • This activity uses the opening section from Scott's The Lay of the Last Minstrel and the character of the minstrel to explore the theme of characters more broadly. This can then be used as a springboard for both a dramatic activity, and a creative writing exercise. 
• Letter Writing
  • How did people talk to their far-away friends in the days before phones and computers? By writing letters! Using one of Scott's own letters about his writing as a template, in this activity pupils' write a letter about their favourite poem, creating and drawing a personal crest, and learning the fashionable way to fold a Georgian letter.
• Writing about Place
  • Places in poems can be real or imagined, and can be local or a long way away. This activity explores how we describe and write about place, taking inspiration from a description of Melrose in the Scottish Borders in Scott's poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel.
• Jock of Hazeldean
  • This activity engages with Scott's ballad, 'Jock of Hazeldean'. Though ballads were popular subjects for printed collections during Scott's lifetime, traditionally, ballads had been songs that were sung and listened to. Pupils are encouraged to explore the ballad presented in different formats, from visual to musical.