1. An Inspector Calls Learning Objectives: What’s the plot?
What are the themes and how are they developed through Priestley’s presentation of each character?
Why did Priestley write the play?

2. An Inspector Calls Plot Chain
Plot chain challenge:
You were each given a slip on your way in to the room.
Task: make a human chain that puts the plot events in the correct order.
Stretch and Challenge: If you have been given a slip with something about context on it – link your self into the most relevant place in the plot chain.

3. Set in April 1912, Brumley, Midlands, UK
Set in April 1912, Brumley, Midlands, UK. The Birling family and Gerald Croft are celebrating Sheila Birling's engagement to Gerald with a dinner. 
Mr Arthur Birling, Sheila's father, is particular pleased since the marriage means closer links with Crofts Limited which is run by Gerald's father. Crofts Limited is a rival company to Mr Birling's company, Birling and Company, Mr Birling hopes that these family links will bring the two competitors together to 'lower costs and higher prices'.
When the women leave the room, Mr Birling lectures his son, Eric Birling, and Gerald about the importance of every man looking out for himself if he wants to get on in life.
The doorbell rings unexpectedly during Mr Birling's speech to Eric and Gerald, they were not expecting a visitor. Edna Maid (the maid) announces that an inspector has arrived.
Inspector Goole says that he is investigating the death of a young woman who committed suicide, Eva Smith.
Mr Birling is shown a photograph of Eva, after initially denying recognising the woman in the photo, he remembers firing her in 1910 for organising a strike over workers pay. Birling feels justified for his actions and does not believe he committed any wrongdoing.
Inspector Goole moves the investigation over to Sheila. Sheila recalls also having Eva sacked about her manner when served by her in an upmarket department store (Eva smirked to another shop assistant about the dress Sheila tried).
Sheila regrets her actions and feels hugely guilty and responsible for Eva's death.
The Inspector reveals that Eva Smith changed her name to Daisy Renton. Gerald acts guilty and Sheila notices his worry, she confronts Gerald when the Inspector leaves the room. Gerald reveals to Sheila he had an affair with Daisy Renton.
Act 1

4. Sheila gives her engagement ring back to Gerald.
Gerald explains to The Inspector that he had an affair with Eva, but hasn't seen her since he ended their relationship back in Autumn 1911.
Sheila gives her engagement ring back to Gerald.
The Inspector turns his attention to Mrs Sybil Birling, she confesses that she also had contact with Eva, but Eva gave herself a different name to Mrs Birling.
Eva approached a charity chaired by Mrs Birling to ask for help. Eva was desperate and pregnant but help was refused by Mrs Birling because she was offended by the girl calling herself 'Mrs Birling'.
Mrs Birling tells Eva that the baby's father should be made entirely responsible. She also tells Inspector Goole that the father should be held entirely responsible and should be made an example of.
Act 2

5. Eric is revealed as the father
Eric is revealed as the father. He stole money from Mr Birling's office to provide money to Eva. Eric is angry at his mother when he learns that she has refused to help Eva.
The Inspector tells them that they are all partly to blame for Eva's death and warns them of the consequences of people not being responsible for each other, "If men will not learn that lesson, when they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish".
After Inspector Goole leaves, the family begin to suspect that he was not a genuine police inspector. A phone call to the Chief Constable confirms this. Next, they phone the infirmary to be informed that no suicide case has been brought in.
Mr Birling, Mrs Birling and Gerald congratulate themselves that it was all a hoax and they continue can continue as before. This attitude upsets Sheila and Eric.
The phone rings. Mr Birling announces to the family that a girl has just died on her way to the infirmary, a police inspector is coming to question them.
Act 3

6. An Inspector Calls Top Trumps:
Rules: You have two sets of cards:
- Theme cards
- Character cards
Put the theme cards in the middle of the table:
Nominate a dealer – The dealer shuffles the character cards and deals out.
Turn over the first theme card.
You must take it in turns to argue that your character represents the theme better than anyone else's.
The dealer will listen / scribe will make notes on each argument and will judge who was most convincing.
(the dealer changes after 3 themes)
You might want to bring in little prizes for winners (something topical maybe – a glass of sherry perhaps, some cigars….. or a bottle of disinfectant ) I think I might just get chocolate for my class though….

7. Character Cards
Edna

8. Age / Youth
Responsibility
Class
Welfare
Gender
Change
CHALLENGE THEMES:
Irony
The Patriarchal Nature of Capitalist Society
Critiques of the Aristocracy
Appearance vs. Reality
Conscience

9. Responsibility
Class
Gender
Age/Youth
Welfare
Change
Theme Cards

10. What do you know about the context of An Inspector Calls?
Priestley deliberately set his play in 1912 because the date represented an era when all was very different from the time he was writing. In 1912, rigid class and gender boundaries seemed to ensure that nothing would change. Yet by 1945, most of those class and gender divisions had been breached. Priestley wanted to make the most of these changes. Through this play, he encourages people to seize the opportunity the end of the war had given them to build a better, more caring society.
What was my message?

11. Group Challenge In Groups of 3-5: Can you annotate this table with:
Relevant quotes from the play.
Links to key themes.
Stretch: what contextual knowledge can you add?
Assign groups age numbers and share at end.

12. Plenary
In words:
Why did J.B. Priestley write an Inspector Calls?
Hints:
Why was it written in 1945?
Why did he set it in 1912?
What was his message?
Stretch: is the play still relevant? Why?

13. An Inspector Calls: Essay Writing
What is the difference between each question?

14. Think/Pair/Share Be the examiner:
Can you write 3 questions of your own?
One based on character.
One based on theme.
One based on drama or structure

15. Walkabout – Talkabout - Annotate
You will be assigned either:
A character.
A theme.
An aspect of context.
Annotate the questions with –
At least one quote
An opinion you have
The most important event
Give each student a character, theme or aspect of context to fcus on – they annotate each question just focusing on whatever you assigned them – Most able should do context.

16. Print A3

17. Print A3

18. Print A3

19. Print A3

21. What is good about this essay?
In ‘An Inspector Calls,’ the playwright JB Priestley explores the theme of social responsibility by challenging the ‘privacy’ of the upper class, by revealing that actions that the family may have thought of as private and personal really had an effect beyond themselves. This blurring of the line between the public and the private reflects the play’s interest in class and the conflict between those who want to maintain the privatisation of wealth and those who are advocates for socialism. As the play progresses, the Inspector essentially aims to erase this line between public and private. The Inspector like Priestley argues for more than just removal of privacy in wealth, he argues for removal of privacy in the community and urges for recognition that ‘we are all members of one body.’ The play begins with all the characters of the Birling family and Gerald at the dinner table celebrating Sheila and Gerald’s engagement. During this dinner, Mr Birling makes several speeches all with a similar message that, ‘A man has to mind his own business and look after his own.’ This line perfectly summarises the initial attitudes of the Birling family and reflects the views of the privileged in society i.e. the middle/upper classes. The repetition of the personal pronouns, ‘own,’ ‘his’ portrays Birling as an inconsiderate man. Some may argue that in fact by ‘own’ he is referring to a community however, the characterisation of Birling so far in the play prevents this. The phrase ‘mind your own business,’ implies that we should only be involved in what concerns us. However, considering that he once described himself as a ‘hard headed business man,’ I think that a more apt interpretation is that he is expressing his capitalist viewpoint. To an audience of 1945, this would come across as quite a frightening ideology. Having experienced 2 world wars, the society had almost eradicated the class system in hope of a more caring community. JB Priestley crafts the structure of the play so that the audience ‘(hear the sharp ring of a door bell)’ which causes Birling to ‘(stop to listen).’ This not only foreshadows that the Inspector shall suggest otherwise but also forces the reader to devalue what Birling has just said and they direct their attention to Inspector Goole. This shift is very important as audience begin to side with the Inspector and therefore, socialism.
Decide whether to give whole essay or cut up – I think I will read whole thing but the get 2s/3s to annotate a para each….

22. As more is revealed about the Birlings and Gerald, we are made to further side with the inspector, adopting his socialistic views. Through the use of exposition and dramatic irony, JB Priestly slowly reveals the impact of the Birlings’ and Gerald’s actions on Eva Smith, a symbol of the lower class. Mrs Birling aims to shift the responsibility that she should have over Eva and her unborn child to the father of the child and demands the inspector to ‘Go and look for the father of that child it is his responsibility.’ She unlike Sheila and the audience doesn’t realise that the father is in fact her own son, Eric. The use of the imperatives complemented by the arrogant tone that I expect her to say this shows her ease in dismissing responsibility and drawing a line between herself and the lower class. It is evident that Mrs Birling’s hubris character, a product of the capitalist society of 1912, creates this division purely on the basis of wealth indicating that she thinks that people of different classes should have nothing to with each other. Through the use of dramatic irony that Eric is the father, Priestley disproves Mrs Birling’s views and shows that actions that we all take have effects beyond ourselves and families. Through the picture that Priestley creates of the upperclass and their separation from the rest of the community due to their wealth, he allows the audience to realise why he is an advocate for the welfare state. Priestly further voices his left winged views through Inspector Goole’s exiting speech. It is powerful as the fact that a character that has proven to be so omniscient is saying it, therefore, it most seems like a prediction/threat as opposed to advice. Further, the religious imagery in the speech is used to appeal to the religious audience, ‘…if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.’ The list with its repeated use of ‘and’ creates the impression that the Birlings and therefore, symbolically the upper class will forever suffer if they don’t take responsibility for their actions. This is reinforced by the noun, ‘fire’ which has direct connotations of damnation and hell, eliciting fear into the audience. Moreover, the ‘blood’ and ‘anguish’ might be hinting to a social revolution where the poor stand up against the higher classes, causing further divide and ‘blood.’ Further, in the BBC Production of An Inspector Calls (2015), the actor pauses between the nouns which creates a stronger multiplier effect, adding stress to the words and more importantly the meaning that they hold and fear they elicit. Or even a repetition of a world war. We can say that the Inspector’s final speech has a powerful message that is an undercurrent of the play, which is that we all have some responsibility for looking after one another.

23. After the legal consequences have been removed when it is revealed that the Inspector wasn’t actually a real inspector, the family react differently. Through this Priestley aims to suggest that we should not only take legal responsibility but social responsibility too. Sheila feels guilty for what she has done and understands the value of the lesson that the Inspector has taught her, taking responsibility over the legal boundaries. This is evident in the quote, ‘Everything we said had happened really had happened. If it didn't end tragically, then that's lucky for us.’ The repetition of the word, ‘happened’ mimics the line by the inspector, ‘what happened to her then, may have determined what happened to after…’ Sheila’s views expressed in this line therefore, indicate her support towards socialism. The phrase ‘end tragically,’ also resembles ideas that the Inspector presented. She understands that it is only a matter of time until their sins towards their community catch up with them. Conversely, Mr Birling believes that, ‘the whole thing’s different now,’ i.e. he believes that they will not be legally punished and since he doesn’t seem to have a guilty conscience, he is ‘(jovial)’ about this. Priestley may have wanted the actor of Mr Birling to act ‘(jovial)’ to give the audience another opportunity to scrutinise his beliefs. The fact that the play ends with the hearing that ‘a girl has just died in the infirmary,’ shows how Priestley sympathises with Sheila (and Eric). Additionally, the fact that Priestley doesn’t provide closure to the play, indicates how it is
In conclusion, as more is exposed about the actions that the family took to put Eva on the oath of her self-destruction, the family realise that actions that they and indeed upper class citizens think of as private have effects on lower classes. This division that the upper class draw between themselves and others, although still present in some characters at the end, in most the line becomes blurred and the value of responsibility is realised. Priestley purposefully doesn’t provide closure to the case of Eva in order to emphasise the most important theme in the play: social responsibility. The cliff hanger therefore, is more powerful than a closure as it not only forces the audience to think more deeply about the role of Inspector Goole and consequently realise this advocacy of socialism but for the audience to ponder of their responsibility over the lower classes and realise the need for de-privatisation.

24. So how should we be structuring our essays?
Whole essay?
Paragraph
In pairs devise the perfect structure…..

25. Plenary: Speed Writing
Can you write a PEEL paragraph?
Context
Ideas
Structure
Drama
Language
Message

26. Use the first ten minutes of the lesson to plan:
Timed Essay (45 mins)
How does Priestley explore the theme of change in An Inspector Calls?
Write about:
The ideas about change in An Inspector Calls
How Priestley presents these ideas by the way he writes.
Let students use the book for first ten minutes
Use the first ten minutes of the lesson to plan:
-Line of argument
- Key quotes

27. What context can I write about?
Macbeth – Breaking Natural Order
ACC- Poverty and inequality in Victorian London
AIC – Responsibility to others (we shouldn’t only care about ourselves) – he is supporting Welfare State.