This 28-slide lesson explores James Reeves’ poem, ‘The Sea’. This poem is a brilliant example of extended metaphor and poetic craft; it is a beloved staple of many Key Stage 3 poetry lessons. The lesson deconstructs Reeves’ use of metaphor and other linguistic techniques, paying attention to the poem’s rhyme and rhythm too. Biographical information about Reeves is provided, as well as a series of questions, discussion points, and tasks for students. Students are asked to write a short analytical response to the poem, and an exemplar response is included in the PowerPoint. The lesson ends with a creative writing (poetry) task that could be used either as a homework activity or class-based task. This lesson is ideal for KS3 pupils, but could be used for GCSE pupils - especially those who find poetry challenging. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 26-slide lesson analyses and revises the characters of Ignorance and Want in Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. The lesson considers the characters’ appearance and symbolism, linked closely to the context of Victorian society and the thematic explorations of the novella, as well as Dickens’ Biblical parallels and the characters’ structural significance within the story. Tasks and discussion points are featured throughout, and the lesson ends with an extended writing task on the characters. Though they only appear briefly, this lesson demonstrates the significance of Ignorance and Want as symbols for urgent social issues observed and highlighted by Dickens in Victorian society. This is an ideal lesson for GCSE students, but could easily be adapted for KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

Explore Jessie Pope’s famous jingoistic poem ‘Who’s For The Game?’ in this comprehensive and engaging 20-slide lesson. Perfect for KS3 students with some introductory knowledge of World War I, but this could just as well work for a KS4 group who are analysing poetry. Questions, key vocabulary, and tasks are included, as well as some biographical information on Pope and context on the First World War. Exemplar analytical paragraphs on the poem are also included. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 27-slide lesson explores Simon Armitage’s poem, ‘Hitcher’. The lesson analyses each stanza in comprehensive detail, considering Armitage’s use of language, structure, form, and poetic technique. The speaker’s increasing frustration and anger is examined closely as the poem builds to its infamous climax. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. One task involves creative writing, while an essay question is featured at the end of the lesson. This lesson is ideal for upper-KS3 or GCSE students. A copy of the poem is also included in this resource. PowerPoint and Word Doc saved as PDFs.

This 23-slide lesson explores W.H. Auden’s ‘Funeral Blues’. The lesson begins with questions for students about the poem’s title and information about the poem’s history (including how it’s now so famous from ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’). Students then read the poem (a glossary of key terms is provided) and discuss their first impressions. The poem is summarised and explained generally before the lesson moves into detailed questions about the poem: its speaker, its tone, its language, its imagery, its ending, and its message. Notes are given about the poem’s key tensions, as well as form, structure and rhyme. Key themes are listed, and there is a list of sophisticated vocabulary to allow students to conduct precise and high-level analysis. There is an image-based task for students to match pictures to the poem. There are questions provided throughout, including comprehension and though-provoking questions at the end. An example of an essay question (particularly relevant to the Cambridge IGCSE) is also included. PowerPoint is attached as a PDF and in its original format. The PDF is recommended if you wish to retain the fonts, layout, and design.

This 30-slide lesson analyses William Blake’s ‘The Tyger’ from the ‘Songs of Experience’. Blake’s ambiguous poem is deconstructed via its various interpretations - as an exploration of faith, revolution, and industrialisation. Key themes, language, and imagery are unpicked, and Blake’s political context and radical views are explained. Discussion points, questions, and tasks are included throughout, and the lesson ends with an extended essay question in which students compare ‘The Tyger’ to other poems in Blake’s ‘Songs’. This lesson is perfect for A level students studying the collection as part of AQA’s Political and Social Protest Writing course. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 20-slide PowerPoint is an introductory lesson on the context of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, aimed primarily at A level students (particularly those studying the genre of comedy). The lesson contains information on Shakespeare, Commedia dell’Arte, Elizabethan acting, Illyria in context, religious satire, and more. Questions and tasks are featured for students, including a potential homework task. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This lesson explores various elements and features of comedy as a genre. Students are introduced to various aspects of comedy, including wit/wordplay, satire, misunderstandings, and disguise - among many others - with detailed definitions of each and explanations for how writers use them. Key vocabulary is integrated throughout the lesson, as are some tasks for students to complete to test and consolidate their knowledge of the comedic genre. Students are invited to think about comedic films to make the genre more readily accessible. This lesson is particularly applicable for those studying the ‘Aspects of Comedy’ English Literature A level course with AQA, but it is easily applicable to other needs too, particularly Drama/Theatre Studies and general explorations of genre. PowerPoint is saved as PDF.

This 17-slide lesson explores Chapter 10 of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. In this comprehensive lesson, students consider how Orwell brings the novella to its dramatic and iconic conclusion. As the pigs become indistinguishable from their human rivals, students must debate whether the Revolution really was worth it. Looking back on the whole novella, we think about how things went so wrong, and whether any of the Seven Commandments remain unbroken by the end. The allegorical function of the novella is also closely studied, as pupils learn about how we look upon Stalin in hindsight and the fate of the Soviet Union. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. A creative summarising task is featured at the end. The lesson is ideal for KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 21-slide lesson explores John Keats’ poem, ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’. Students begin by exploring popular depictions of Medieval culture, particularly gender dynamics and attitudes towards heroism in storytelling. Stereotypes surrounding knights and damsels are discussed, and we unpick the concept of ‘chivalry’ from both a Medieval and modern context. We talk about the life of John Keats before reading the poem. The ballad’s language, imagery, rhythm, and structure are discussed. Students are taught ambitious vocabulary to describe each of the characters, and we think about how Keats is subverting stereotypes regarding Medieval attitudes to gender within the poem. The notion of the ‘femme fatale’ is explored, and students are encouraged to conduct close linguistic analysis through a table of key quotations from the poem. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students throughout. The lesson ends with a creative task (which could be set as homework or covered in a following lesson). A copy of the poem is included in this resource. This lesson is ideal for KS3 students, but could easily be used for GCSE students exploring poetry too. PowerPoint and Word Doc saved as PDFs.

This 22-slide lesson explores Simon Armitage’s poem, ‘I Am Very Bothered’. The lesson encourages students to analyse Armitage’s poem as a subversion of typical love poetry, thinking about its ironic use of the sonnet form and the speaker’s distorted sense of romantic imagery. The poem’s language, structure, and form is considered. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. An extended essay question (including an exemplar introduction and analytical paragraph) is featured at the end of the lesson. A copy of the poem is also included. This lesson is ideal for Key Stage 3 or GCSE analysis. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 21-slide lesson explores Chapter 3 of John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’. Students are encouraged to think about the pathos created via the death of Candy’s dog, and how George and Lennie’s fate continues to be foreshadowed. Significant focus is placed on Lennie’s fight with Curley, which leads students to an extract-based essay question to answer. Top tips for how to approach the extract question are included here, plus an exemplar introduction and analytical paragraph as a model for students. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The extract-based question is also included in this resource. Ideal for upper-KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This resource - for teachers/students of AQA GCSE English Language - is a series of questions based upon an extract from Franz Kafka’s iconic story ‘The Metamorphosis’, in which Gregor Samsa wakes up to discover himself transformed into a giant insect. Questions are based on Paper 1 of the AQA GCSE Language exam. The questions are included on the PowerPoint, along with tips for how to answer each question. This is an ideal mock or structured support resource for GCSE students.

This 20-slide lesson explores Chapter 2 of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. In this comprehensive lesson, students consider how the revolution begins and how Orwell introduces the key characters of Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer (among others). The Seven Commandments are debated and discussed. The allegorical function of the novella is also closely studied, as pupils learn about Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin, as well as the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The lesson is ideal for KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This resource includes a 32-slide lesson designed to introduce Greek Myths and Legends to students, accompanied by a short story in which the key Greek Gods are established. The lesson aims to introduce the conventions of Greek myths and the most significant characters of the legends. Storytelling and myth-making are explored, as is the influence of Greek mythos on our own modern culture. Students then read the story of ‘Zeus and His Mighty Company’, considering the characterisation of the Greek Gods. Tasks, discussion points, and questions are included for students. A research task ends the lesson either as a class-based or homework activity. The lesson works as an introduction to any unit of work on Greek mythology, or could feature as part of a larger unit on storytelling, heroes, or legends. This lesson is ideal for KS3 or upper-KS2. PowerPoint and Word Doc. story saved as PDF.

This is a thorough and comprehensive lesson on Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem ‘Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee’, which is studied as part of AQA’s GCSE Literature anthology on ‘Love & Relationships’. This PowerPoint unpicks key themes of romantic passion, longing, distance and intimacy with close analysis of language, form and structure. Also included are many small questions for students and a ‘mock’ essay question in which students must compare ‘Sonnet 29’ to another poem, just like in the real AQA exam.

Explore William Blake’s ‘The Lamb’ as a critique of organised religion and child exploitation with this comprehensive lesson. Perfect for those studying Blake’s ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ for AQA’s ‘Political and Social Protest Writing’ paper.

This 14-slide lesson offers students an introduction to the ballad form of poetry. Students explore the history behind the ballad form, focusing on its sensationalist subject matter and significant use of rhyme and rhythm. We discuss how appreciating the oral nature of performed ballads is vital to understanding the rhythm and sound of the poems, and we think about which subjects commonly recur in popular ballads. A starter activity encourages students to consider rhyme and the aural nature of words. Students learn how the ballad form developed into the ‘Lyrical Ballads’ of Wordsworth and Coleridge, popularising the form that we now recognise as poetic ballads. The rise of modern ‘power ballads’ in pop music is also noted. An example of a ballad (by Wordsworth) is given for students to deconstruct its rhythm and rhyme scheme. Students then have a go at writing their own ballad. Another example - this time an original ballad (by yours truly) - is provided to help students with their own ballads. Questions and discussion points are included for students. This lesson is ideal for those studying the ballad form or poetry in general in KS3. PowerPoint is saved as PDF.