A wonderful lesson. Probably my favourite one ever. The kids enjoy the sense of mystery and the energetic, kinaesthetic lesson but it is based very solidly in seeing progression from them. This has worked for me at every school, with every ability and every year group. It's rare I get to bring up one of my favourite poets, Slyvia Plath, before 6th form, so I wanted to make sure they fell in love with her too. This poem is to her unborn child. The picture is painted pretty clearly in the imagery, so this is the overall puzzle the children have to solve: Who is she talking to when she says "You're". (Before this lesson is a great time to have a you're/your homework or starter.) At sixth form or for top set year 11 the students can work it out on their own or in pairs, but I have usually set it as group work in tables of four. This poetry lesson is also to get them to recognise different types of imagery, be able to analyse quotations and spot patterns in the imagery, making connections across the text. There is a second lesson attached which goes into much more detail about writing analytical paragraphs giving examples of other students' work. This could very easily become a mini-essay even at year 7. There are a range of different activities to suit each type of learner, so simply select the slides which are best for your class. Enjoy!!

Two speaking and listening activities to introduce the theme of crime and punishment in the novel Holes by Louis Sacher. These could be individual lessons to introduce the class to courtroom processes, decision making skills, ethics and morality, and speaking and listening skills in general. The first is a group debate where a list of crimes must be ranked and the class must come to a group decision about which are the worst crimes and which are least offensive, or offences at all. They include having mixed-race relationships, so open a historical (and *sigh* still apparently current) dialogue about racism and equality, useful for citizenship and PSHE. The second is a role playing activity where students set up a courtroom and put a young man on trial for stealing a pair of trainers. There are 9 different roles, including the judge and students can either take one role between two or the non-role-taking students could be the jurors. All PowerPoints come withe clear outcomes, starters, task instructions and plenaries. All you need to do is print one A4 sheet of role cards and/or a list of the crimes for each student (A5 works fine for these). This is a really useful lesson which students find really engaging and interesting, particularly if they are into mystery solving! As an extension activity you could ask them to report on the trial or debate for a newspaper/blog/TV news programme. The non-speaking characters could interview those who took part in the trial and use those quotations in their reports. A court scribe could also be used during the trial to make sure notes can be reviewed.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED! This is a very academic scheme of work, designed to see rapid progress in reading skills based around Gothic literature. No filler, all killer ;D. I initially created this for my English department to use so it is completely comprehensive and should mean all you have to do is print (sometimes) and go! The students I've taught this SOW to (more than 90 different ages, abilities and backgrounds) found the subject matter really engaging and the assessments challenging, but achievable. There are a wide variety of abilities catered for (from set 1 to set 7). I have taught this at KS3 and introduction to GCSE in year 9. Foundation lesson plans are provided for each lesson as well as worksheets or assessments, a PowerPoint for each lesson and homework assignments. This is going to save you tonnes of time and energy. 8 different narratives are covered including poetry, short stories and extracts from novels. These include: * The Raven * The Mummy * The Red Room * Call of Cthulhu * Wyrd Sisters * The Graveyard Book * Harry Potter * Jekyll and Hyde The SOW focuses on reading skills including reading for meaning; understanding characters and motives; genre, themes, conventions and author's messages; language features and analysis; structural techniques and tension building; analytical writing scaffolding structures at sentence, paragraph and whole essay level. There are at least 9 weeks' worth of lessons covered, though it could easily be shrunk or extended to suit your students and the available time. I always aim to give you more than you could possibly need, so only select what is right for you.

An introduction to a SOW on podcasting and radio for KS3 students. Designed for students in groups of 4 - 6. The final game could also be played in groups with a mini-whiteboard or as a whole class. There are two articles on podcasting and radio with a reading race (or just standard questions if you prefer), activities and worksheets to help with new vocabulary (three versions for different ability groups) and a brainstorm to help students KWL their learning. The homework structures their research of podcasts. A selection of recommended and student-friendly podcasts are given. These are differentiated (green for my EAL students, blue for more able or native speakers). I would suggest downloading a select few from some of the blue list as certain episodes can have more adult themes than others. Questions to structure each week's homework are included. There is an overview on the first slide which explains what will be covered in the unit for students. This can be adapted as you need, of course.

An active and engaging poetry lesson on Annabel Lee. There are a range of activities including a crossword with secret message, questions and activities to draw out ideas about characters, genre, structure, form, themes and meanings as well as an AFL plenary and engaging starter. The worksheet attached has a lower ability option with word bank provided and a higher ability option which asks students to work out and then create their own hidden message from the characters. There are also questions to get them thinking on this sheet. The main development of the lesson is built around De Bono's Thinking Hats so will support students' speaking and listening skills and could be assessed as a group discussion. This would make an excellent one-off lesson for or as part of a wider SOW on * Poetry * 19th century literature * American Literature * Gothic Literature Enjoy!

A complete lesson or two including interactive starter, specific questions for analysis, quizzes with answers and an AFL plenary which clearly shows progress. There is also a creative writing structure sheet provided for homework which is accessible for all abilities. These resources make a fantastic introduction to or recap on * any poetry SOW * language features and effects, particularly covering imagery. It clearly builds towards essay writing skills. * lessons on different accents and dialects (Scots) * poems from around the world / variations within English language. * 18th century Literature * Romanticism This was used as my first lesson for iGCSE poetry coursework and nearly half of the students wanted to analyse this poem in their essays because they felt so confident with it. That's with a male and female mixed-ability group of EAL students in year 9. If they loved it, so will your students! Check out my Love Poetry bundle to get extra value! Everything you need here for an excellent lesson. Enjoy!

Ten games which cover a range of skills and focuses in English. These have made my lessons really fun and kept the kids hooked and happy, not realising that there's some serious learning or revising going on. Want to trick them into reading? I got you. Want to introduce them to different word types? Here you go. Want them to revise key quotations? It's here. I hope there's plenty here to keep you going and examples are given wherever needed so very little preparation is needed. Enjoy!

10 starter games which help students with memorising lines, characterisation, imagery etc. Plus a bonus one! These are all tried and tested and beloved by my classes from 11 - 19! Examples are given of any more complicated games. No printing or resources needed apart from this Powerpoint (and not even that necessarily if you know the rules!) (These also make fun games for parties either at the end of term or, frankly, after a few pints at the pub!)

Potential interview or cover lesson? I love Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire. Reading extracts from books I love always makes for more interesting lessons and revisting book 1 will keep me going until April when the new season starts! There are enough activities on the PowerPoint to easily cover a 2-hour lesson, though it could be cut down to an hour without difficulty. Activities include: learning new vocabulary; guided reading; drama; a short video clip for comparison and consolidation (caution: it uses the word "bitch" while talking about dogs, but is clearly also a joke at Tyrion's expense about his promiscuity); helps assess their ability to find quotations and read for basic meaning (Who is saying what? How do authors blend descriptions of people and places?); an assessment of their reading skills with questions focused on characters and relationships; differentiated from bottom sets to top sets with a range of questions; answers are included for those questions. Phew! I hope this is pretty much fool proof! I have tried it with all of my sets (bottom = levels 2 - 4; middle = 4 - 6; top = 5 - 8) who found it challenging (good!) but also showed some of their best work. Bottom set were able to complete the questions with short answers in about 20 minutes. My top set were still working after an hour, giving much longer answers with quotations and analysis of language. Obviously, some activities are more suited to some groups and lessons than others, but there is enough variety here to keep everyone interested. I would love to know how you get on with this! Please let me know, particularly if you use it for an interview. (Remember your relevant outcomes/objectives!)

Everyone needs a hand with structure and planning. This is a simple one-page word document which breaks down a story into 8 paragraphs. Students can draw a picture for each box to help them visualise the most important part; higher ability students can write key vocabulary and style notes; or, for less able or SEN students, they can write a sentence or two and this can become a topic sentence for developing later.

The grand finale! Hold for applause....

"Don't I...know you...mister?"

15 research topics for students performing Sweeney Todd. Each research topic has at least three links to videos and websites. My students worked in pairs to prepare a factual powerpoint and a short scene or song about each topic with some very funny results! Enjoy!

City on Fire!

The 10th and 11 musical snippets for the short Sweeney Todd script available from my store. Mrs Lovett and Toby sing as they sell their delicious pies, followed by the Beggar Woman's curses at the bakehouse.

Mrs Lovett persuading Sweeney Todd what to do with the body.

Pirelli's introduction and the shaving contest.

Toby's song, Perelli's Miracle Elixir, shortened to fit the script available from my store.

My Friends, London and Alms songs, shortened to fit the script available from my store.

Mrs Lovett's first song, shortened for the script available from my store. This plays in Media Player and VLC.