This crossword on Dickens’s ‘Hard Times’ provides an enjoyable but academic activity for pupils to test their knowledge of the novel. It always works as a great starter or plenary task. Note: Answers to questions looking for the name of a character may be their first or second names, eg. ‘Stephen’ or ‘Harthouse’. The answers typically refer to how the character is most commonly addressed, and it should be easily deducible which is the correct name.

Here are 30 questions to stimulate intellectual and persuasive writing from students. A great range of social and political issues are considered - especially those which can be easily linked to current affairs. These questions are particularly useful for those studying AQA GCSE English Language. PowerPoint saved as pdf.

An extract from George Bernard Shaw’s classic play ‘Mrs Warren’s Profession’, perfect for analysis as an example of political and social protest writing for Section A of the AQA A level exam. It can be challenging to find great resources for this part of the exam, but this extract (with the accompanying exam question) always work fantastically.

Explore elements of political and social protest in this extract from Ralph Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man’. Excellent practice for those studying AQA’s Political and Social Protest Writing A level syllabus. This extract is particularly effective for studying how writers protest against racism.

This word search is a fun and stimulating activity for those studying ‘Pride and Prejudice’ to help consolidate knowledge of characters, key themes, and their spelling.

This extract from Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ is perfect practice for analysing elements of political and social protest for those studying the AQA A level syllabus.

This extract from Bertolt Brecht’s harrowing anti-war play ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ is perfect practice for analysing elements of political and social protest for those studying the AQA A level syllabus.

This word search - containing names and vocabulary from Roald Dahl’s most famous children’s stories - is a fun and engaging activity for students who know and love the author’s work.

This word search on GREEK GODS & GODDESSES is a fun and engaging activity for teaching/consolidating knowledge of Greek mythology. An extension task would be for pupils to write down who exactly each God/Goddess is in their books/notes.

Three stylish graphic design posters on classic works of literature. George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’. Daniel Defoe’s ‘Robinson Crusoe’. Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’. Perfect for your classroom or corridor display!

A lesson designed to revise Louisa Gradgrind’s character function in Dickens’ ‘Hard Times’. Ideal for students reading the text for AQA’s Political and Social Protest Writing A level course.

An invaluable resource designed to build a picture of how Shakespeare presents Macbeth via other characters in the play. Taking key quotes from a variety of characters, we can see how Shakespeare’s characters speak about and to Macbeth throughout the play. This not only unveils how loyalties change and develop throughout the play, but also how Macbeth himself changes and how characters may behave differently in private versus public settings. This is ideal for supporting study of the play at GCSE.

An analytical summary of Mrs Birling in Act II of ‘An Inspector Calls’. This 900-word essay explores how Priestley presents Mrs Birling’s unyielding prejudice in the pivotal second act of the play. Perfect for high-grade students, this is a sophisticated reading of a key character.

A great literacy lesson for KS3 on homophones. This is an introductory exploration of homophones in an easily adaptable and interactive PowerPoint for your lesson. A worksheet (addressed at the end of the PowerPoint) is also included.

Three graphic design A4 posters for Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Twelfth Night’. Perfect for your classroom.

This resource features 28 exam-style questions on Stevenson’s ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ for students to use as mock/practice stimuli. It is designed to support those studying the text for GCSE. Teachers may wish to find appropriate extracts (as per the AQA exam) to accompany each question. These questions cover all the key themes and characters of the novella. If students feel capable answering all of these questions, then they should feel very well prepared for the exam.

An essay on the ‘tragic’ aspects of Malvolio in ‘Twelfth Night’. Often hailed as one of Shakespeare’s greatest comic characters, critics have also flocked to point out the tragic elements of his character arc, particularly the ethical implications of the play’s repeated schadenfreude. This article aims to introduce students to the complexities of Malvolio’s character. This resource serves as a great lesson for those studying the comedic genre in relation to ‘Twelfth Night’ (particularly AQA’s Aspects of Comedy paper), but is equally as useful and engaging for those studying the play through other lenses.

This 30-slide lesson explores T.S. Eliot’s poem, ‘Morning at the Window’. The lesson deconstructs Eliot’s classic observation of metropolitan life and encourages students to think about urban alienation and interaction. Eliot’s language is analysed, as well as his imagery and rhyme. Students are asked to think about the differences between urban and rural life, class divisions, and what ‘windows’ represent. Questions and discussion points are peppered throughout the lesson. The lesson also includes a short analytical response task and ends with a creative writing activity (which could be set as a homework task). This is an ideal lesson for KS3 pupils, though it could be used for GCSE. A copy of the poem is also included. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This FREE poster uses the classic ‘let’s eat grandma!’ joke to explain the importance of using correct punctuation. Use it to enhance your learning environment.

How does Scotland fare under the tyrannical reign of Macbeth? Students rarely consider the country of Scotland itself when analysing Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, but to ignore Scotland is to forget the national scale of this bloody tragedy. This PowerPoint considers the role of Scotland in the play, including 10 key quotes about Scotland from various characters. Teachers can use these quotes however they please - it may create a great group activity or independent task. At the end of the PowerPoint is an exam-style question for students to consider. This is an ideal resource for encouraging students to aim for high marks in their GCSE analysis.