Charlotte Brontë · Independence, dignity and difficult choices
B1 · Charlotte Brontë · Classic Literature
I will be able to:
Remember and Use — 3 minutes
Recall three words from last time. Use one in a sentence. Ask a partner a question. Check and improve.
First lesson? Predict from the picture.
Jane Eyre grows up without her parents. In her aunt’s home, she is often treated unkindly. She is later sent to Lowood, a school where life is difficult. Jane loses her friend Helen, but she continues learning and eventually becomes a teacher.
Wanting a new life, Jane takes a job at Thornfield Hall. She is a governess: a person who teaches a child in a private home. Her pupil is Adèle. Jane meets the owner, Mr Rochester, and they develop a strong connection.
Jane and Rochester plan to marry. However, at the wedding, Jane discovers that Rochester already has a wife, Bertha, who is living at Thornfield. Jane loves him, but she cannot accept the situation. She leaves with little money because she wants to act according to her beliefs.
After a difficult journey, Jane receives help from the Rivers family. She later discovers that they are her relatives and that she has inherited money. She chooses to share it with them. Now she has both family connections and financial independence.
Jane returns to find that Thornfield has been damaged by fire. Bertha has died, and Rochester has been injured. Jane meets him again and decides freely to marry him. The story asks readers to consider dignity, honesty and the freedom to make their own choices.
Original simplified overview; not a quotation. Read the original novel. AI illustration.
Read the additional reading sheet.
The complete text appears after the two activity pages. Read it before answering the reading questions.
As you read, underline details that support your answers. Use the vocabulary panel to help with unfamiliar words.
Match 1–6 with A–F.
A. a member of your family
B. an idea you accept as true
C. a person employed to teach children at home
D. able to act without depending on others
E. to receive money or property after a death
F. the value and respect a person deserves
Use two words in your own sentences.
Answer in sentences. Find evidence in the reading.
Defining relative clauses: use who for people, which for things and where for places.
Join with who: Jane is a woman. She values honesty.
Discuss in pairs:
Useful language: I think… because… / The reading says… / For example… / I agree, but…
Ask your partner a follow-up question.
Write 80–100 words. Write Jane’s diary after she leaves Thornfield. Explain her decision and one hope. Use two lesson words and two relative clauses.
Check meaning, sentence structure and punctuation.
Put these events in story order. Write the letters.
A. Jane inherits money.
B. Jane studies at Lowood.
C. Jane leaves Thornfield.
D. Jane becomes Adèle’s governess.
E. Jane discovers Rochester is already married.
Retell with first, next, later and finally.
Exit reflection: One idea I understand better…
One thing to practise…
Check: Use three lesson words. Check the language focus, capital letters and full stops.
Improve: Choose your response from panel 7. Check it and write an improved version here. For a longer response, use the space below or another sheet.
Share: Tell a partner one thing you can now say. Reflect: What did you improve?
Jane Eyre grows up without her parents. In her aunt’s home, she is often treated unkindly. She is later sent to Lowood, a school where life is difficult. Jane loses her friend Helen, but she continues learning and eventually becomes a teacher.
Wanting a new life, Jane takes a job at Thornfield Hall. She is a governess: a person who teaches a child in a private home. Her pupil is Adèle. Jane meets the owner, Mr Rochester, and they develop a strong connection.
Jane and Rochester plan to marry. However, at the wedding, Jane discovers that Rochester already has a wife, Bertha, who is living at Thornfield. Jane loves him, but she cannot accept the situation. She leaves with little money because she wants to act according to her beliefs.
After a difficult journey, Jane receives help from the Rivers family. She later discovers that they are her relatives and that she has inherited money. She chooses to share it with them. Now she has both family connections and financial independence.
Jane returns to find that Thornfield has been damaged by fire. Bertha has died, and Rochester has been injured. Jane meets him again and decides freely to marry him. The story asks readers to consider dignity, honesty and the freedom to make their own choices.
Original simplified overview; not a quotation. Read the original novel. AI illustration.