The Handmaid's Tale Archives | Sound of Pen

Say Now Showing A-Level Students How To Read The Non-Verbal Narrative

aNaLySiNg NoN-vErBaL NaRRaTiVe WiTh TaTe McRaE, SaY nOw, aS iT iS & mOrE

JCDecember 28, 2025

Let's watch some music videos and see how our favourite dance routines can sharpen our ability to unfold meaning in whatever kind of text we're exploring! T... Read More...

A-LevelGCSEStudy 4

Halsey thinking deeply about the ideas explored in Sound of Pen's Study Soundtrack Podcast

StUdY SoUnDtRaCk PoDcAsT: ePisOdE 1 WiTh HaLsEy, SiGriD, FoNtAiNeS d.C. & MoRe

JCNovember 1, 2025

I love my weekly Sound of Pen classes SO much. But even the hour we spend together each Wednesday isn't enough to make our way through all the ideas we have. S... Read More...

A-LevelGCSEStudy 4

BrAtWooD

JCJuly 21, 2025

We started the school year by listening to Charli XCX's 'I Love It' and exploring 'The Handmaid's Tale'. We learnt so much about how to write an essay and had such a good time! Back in September 2024, we kickstarted another year of Sound of Pen ... Read More...

A-LevelPodcast & VideoStudy 4

Charli XCX fighting her way through the smoke that symbolises all the barriers faced by women throughout time.

ThE WhO’s WhO oF a-LeVeL eNgLiSh LiT WiTh ChArLi XcX

JCJune 13, 2025

Charli XCX is everywhere! And that's a very good thing! Equally brilliant is the way in which her music can help facilitate a deeper understanding of the chara... Read More...

A-LevelStudy 5

ChArAcTeR sTuDy WiTh TaKiNg BaCk SuNdAy

JCJune 12, 2025

Taking Back Sunday return to the UK next month to headline 2000trees. The perfect time, then, to revisit post-hardcore/emo smash 'Cute Without The E'! http... Read More...

A-LevelGCSEStudy 5

bUTTeRfLiEs & thE wOrLD’s BeSt RoCk BaNDs

JCOctober 30, 2024

We know what butterflies are but why do so many writers fill their pages with them? Let's make sure we have something interesting to say about that butterfly image when we come across it! ACTIVITY 1 What ideas do we associate with the butt... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSEStudyWriting With Style 4

cHaOs WiTh ShAkEsPeArE & tRoPhY eYeS

JCOctober 1, 2024

So many of our favourite songs are as multi-layered as any of the texts we study in school. For proof, look no further than the startling 'Life In Slow Motion'... Read More...

A-LevelClassesLecturesStudy 2

wRiTiNg AbOuT rEaL LiFe WiTh FrEd AgAiN..

JCSeptember 24, 2024

Maybe you already dance (and, yes, dancing around the bedroom with your headphones on does count!). If you don’t, you should start. Mainly, because it will mak... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSEStudyWriting With Style 4

gLaStOnBuRy & GiLeAd

JCDecember 9, 2023

Let's spend today's session thinking about exactly why we would love to live at Glastonbury Festival FOREVER AND EVER - and why we would rather never go to Gilead AT ALL, thank you very much! ACTIVITY 1 Today, you will explore the language... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSELecturesStudy 4

ThE NaTuRe oF dReAmS iN a-LeVeL LiTeRaTuRe WiTh YeArS & YeArS, AtC & MoRe PLAN & NOTES

JCMarch 16, 2023

The texts we study are so full of dreams. Which sounds lovely. But - like love - dreams are complicated, unwieldy things. Listen to the songs below if you want... Read More...

A-LevelClassesPodcast & VideoStudy 4

ThE sYmBoLiC VaLuE oF WaLLs iN a-LeVeL LiTeRaTuRe WiTh LiNKiN PaRk, ThE pReTTy ReCkLeSS, hAyLeY KiYoKo & wE aRe ThE iN cRoWd

JCMarch 7, 2023

Walls aren't simply walls. They're symbols of power, traps within which we confine ourselves - and that's not all. Our favourite artists are here to help us in... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSELecturesStudy 2

AgAiNsT tHe CuRReNt’S FiGhT fOr ReDeMpTiOn

JCJanuary 1, 2023

Read Sound of Pen's essay about Against The Current's 'That Won't Save Us'. The song underlines ideas that will feel so relevant to your A-Level Lit study. MUSIC FOCUS: Against The Current.ACTIVITY FOCUS: Read our essay and then think about how y... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSELecturesStudy 4

bLaCk WiTh LoLo, MaGGiE LiNdEmAnn, dAvE, cArLiE hAnSoN & GiRLfRiEnDs

JCSeptember 15, 2022

Looking at writers' use of colour is a worthwhile exercise - how many pieces of writing don't refer to a colour of one sort of another at some point?! Today, w... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSEStudyText MessagesVocab 4

ToP TeN sOnGs: CoLoUr

JCAugust 31, 2022

A lot of songwriters make use of colour in their lyrics - and some of those artists employ blacks, whites, greens, pinks etc. as potently as actual painters. H... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSEListsStudyText Messages 4

AgAiNsT ThE cUrrEnT & ThE MoNsTeR MoTiF

JCApril 11, 2022

Imagine you're living in the 12th Century, chatting to your friends in Latin and someone uses the word 'monstrum'. You know immediately that they're taking about a divine omen (probably one indicating misfortune) - an object of dread, a bad sign, th... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSEStudy 4

making your teenagers read with against the current

AgAiNsT ThE cUrrEnT & TyPiCaLiTy

JCApril 10, 2022

The more you read, the easier your life as an English student gets. And yet sometimes the thought of actually picking up a book which is not on the A-Level ... Read More...

A-LevelClassesStudy 4

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE & yOnAkA: aNaLySiNg LiGhT

JCJuly 4, 2021

As you read through the below, you'll find our model ideas in orange and green. There are tasks for you to complete in purple. We always love the summer te... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSE 2

yOnAkA, oLiViA rOdRiGo & pOiNt nOrTh: uSiNg MeTaPhOrS & RePeTiTiOn

JCMay 20, 2021

Finding the words to describe that feeling our favourite music gives us is never easy. And so we repeat ourselves in the hope that someone will get what we're trying to say! Or we use metaphors because sometimes saying what something is not actually... Read More...

A-LevelClassesGCSEWriting With Style 2

BeSt Of 2021: iMpRoVe YoUr CoRe sKiLLs 1

JCApril 6, 2021

The music we listen to keeps us afloat and fills us with good and lovely feelings. It helps us to remember that WE ARE NOT ALONE. Here are our reviews of some ... Read More...

A-LevelBlood BrothersClassesCore SkillsGatsbyGCSEHandmaid'sOthelloPre-1900 PoetryRomeo & JulietWriting With Style 2

ThE hAnDmAiD’s TaLe: WoMeNrCooL

JCFebruary 20, 2021

womenrcool. YOU do not need telling. If only there'd been someone with your good sense running Gilead. Thankfully, the future IS in your hands - and the... Read More...

A-LevelClassesHandmaid'sPodcast & VideoRevision 2

A-LeVeL: AgAiNsT ThE CuRRenT & ReDeMpTiOn: pArT 2

JCFebruary 18, 2021

In our first live lesson with real students in an actual classroom, we talked in more detail about redemption and Against The Current! It was SO much fun. If you weren't there, though, DON'T PANIC - you can find part 1 by clicking here, and part 2 o... Read More...

A-LevelClassesHandmaid'sLecturesPodcast & VideoText Messages 2

A-LeVeL: AgAiNsT ThE CuRRenT & ReDeMpTiOn: pArT 1

JCNovember 29, 2020

MUSIC FOCUS: Against The Current.ACTIVITY FOCUS: Explore ATC's ideas about redemption, then apply those same ideas to 'The Handmaid's Tale'. Read our analysis ... Read More...

A-LevelClassesHandmaid's 2

A-LeVeL: AgAiNsT ThE CuRRenT & ReDeMpTiOn: eSSaY

JCNovember 22, 2020

Listen to YUNGBLUD's god save me, but don't drown me out, Bring Me The Horizon's One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest... or Against The Curr... Read More...

A-LevelClassesEssays KS5Handmaid'sLecturesPodcast & VideoText Messages 2

A-LeVeL: bRiNg Me tHe HoRiZoN & ThE hAnDmAiD’s TaLe

JCOctober 11, 2020

MUSIC FOCUS: Bring Me The Horizon.ACTIVITY FOCUS: Link BMTH lyrics to quote from 'The Handmaid's Tale' - then create a bookmark to help you remember Atwood's key lines. If you've already listened to the groundbreaking Bring Me The Horizon's 'Para... Read More...

A-LevelClassesHandmaid'sPodcast & Video 2

The Handmaid’s Tale