This 14-slide lesson explores Chapter 5 of John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’. Students are encouraged to think about the tragedy of Curley’s wife: her dual role as a both a femme fatale and a victim. The key themes of dreams and hope are considered alongside the fatal turning point in George and Lennie’s dream. A non-fiction creative task is included for students at the end of the lesson. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. Ideal for upper-KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 16-slide lesson explores Chapter 4 of John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’. Students are encouraged to think analytically about how Steinbeck introduces Crooks and racism in the novella. Lennie’s innocent optimism is also considered as students continue to explore Steinbeck’s presentation of the power of the American Dream. This lesson ends with a creative writing task for students inspired by this chapter. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. Ideal for upper-KS3 or GCSE students. 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 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 21-slide explores Rosemary Dobson’s poem, ‘The Three Fates’. The lesson encourages students to consider ideas of fate, discussing the role of the Three Fates in Greek mythology. Dobson’s life and work is also introduced. The poem is read and students give their first impressions, before delving into close linguistic analysis. Dobson’s use of imagery, form, structure, and rhyme is then deconstruction. Students are taught the key themes of the poem, and equipped with ambitious vocabulary to allow for sophisticated analysis. We then debate how we might describe the tone of the poem. Questions and discussion points are included throughout the lesson. An exam-style essay question is featured at the end. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 21-slide lesson explores Robert Hayden’s poem, ‘Those Winter Sundays’. The lesson considers the connotations evoked by the title before teaching students about Hayden’s life and work. Students then read the poem and are encouraged to think about information that can be inferred by ‘reading between the lines’ of the poem. The poem’s language and imagery is deconstructed in view of what it suggests about the relationship between the speaker and their father. We consider what is ‘unspoken’ in the text and what the reader might deduce from this. Students are encouraged to reflect on the ambiguity of the poem’s ending before considering the overall form, structure, and rhyme. The poem’s key themes are discussed, the tone is considered, and ambitious vocabulary is presented to students to allow them to produce sophisticated and precise analysis of the poem. Questions and discussion points are included throughout the lesson, and an exam-style question is presented at the end. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 21-slide lesson explores Isobel Dixon’s poem, ‘Plenty’. Students are encouraged to consider what it means to have ‘plenty’, reflecting on ideas of necessity vs. luxury. We look at Dixon’s life and work, thinking about how the poem reflects her childhood. We read the poem together before delving into its language, imagery, structure, rhythm, and form. Tasks include images linked to key ideas in the poem, which students must identify. Questions and discussion points are included throughout the lesson. The poem’s key themes and ideas are deconstructed, and ambitious vocabulary is introduced to aid students with sophisticated analysis. We also consider the tone and mood of the poem. At the end of the lesson, an exam-style essay question is featured for students, with tips for how to structure the response. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 21-slide lesson explores Maya Angelou’s classic poem, ‘Caged Bird’. The lesson introduces students to the key themes, ideas, and context behind the poem. Angelou’s life and work is discussed and the poem’s use of extended metaphor is deconstructed. Close analysis is conducted of language, form, structure, and rhyme, and students are encouraged to reflect on multiple readings of the poem. Key vocabulary is introduced to help students produce precise and sophisticated analysis when discussing racism, misogyny, and other forms of prejudice and marginalisation. Discussion points and questions are included throughout. An essay-style question is featured at the end of the lesson. This lesson is ideal for students approaching the poem either as part of a learned anthology or to develop their abilities analysing ‘unseen’ or isolated poetry. Owing to the universal nature of the poem, the lesson is suitable for a wide range of secondary-aged students, particularly those aged between 13-16. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

Help students to finally master commas with this engaging 18-slide lesson that covers all the main rules. We all know that many students struggle with commas. This lesson aims to explain the key rules alongside practical examples. It explains how to use commas in lists (including the Oxford comma), for fronted adverbials, and subordinate clauses. Humorous comma errors are included for students to identify and amend. This lesson is ideal for KS3, but could definitely be used for GCSE students struggling with apostrophes too. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 17-slide lesson explores Stevie Smith’s poem, ‘Not Waving But Drowning’. Students are asked challenging but important questions about how conscious we are of the feelings of those around us - our family, friends, and even neighbours, colleagues, and acquaintances. We discuss the nature of Smith’s poetry - her recurring themes, styles, and subject matter - before reading her famous poem. We think about how the poem might be read as an allegory, reflecting on important ideas surrounding mental health and compassion. The language, imagery, structure, and rhyme of the poem are then deconstructed in detail. Students explore the poem’s key themes, and ambitious vocabulary is introduced to facilitate sophisticated analysis. At the end of the poem, an exam-style question is included. Please note: this poem (and lesson) explores some mature themes regarding mental health. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 20-slide lesson explores how props and stagecraft are used in Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. Important theatrical context is discussed in order to analyse how Wilde’s play relates to ideas of farce, melodrama, and Naturalism in the late 19th century. Students are encouraged to reflect upon the various props used in the play and their symbolic significance. Costumes, entrances, exits, asides, off-stage characters, and dramatic irony are also considered. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson provides a comprehensive contextual introduction to Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Posing questions to students about young love, marriage, passion, and stereotypes, the lesson introduces key themes and ideas related to Shakespeare’s iconic tale of doomed romance. The genre of tragedy is considered, as are typical elements of romance. We look at Shakespeare’s life and work, and examine a series of posters for ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to see how the play is commonly presented in the cultural imagination. Important historical and theatrical context is explained, and key terminology is introduced to allow students to produce sophisticated analysis. Questions and discussion points are featured throughout, and there is a research task at the end of the lesson. Also included is a series of films inspired by ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to facilitate conversations around the play’s cultural impact. PowerPoint saved as PDF. Also included is a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ word-search.

This resource includes a booklet containing 10 extracts from 10 works of dystopian fiction by 10 different authors. The booklet contains imaginative and thought-provoking explorations of dystopian worlds - and each is ripe for analysis. Authors featured include Suzanne Collins, E.M. Forster and George Orwell. Also included is a PowerPoint with a brief introductory lesson to the dystopian genre. This explains the key features of dystopian literature and introduces the key vocabulary associated with the genre. This is perfect for a KS3 module or unit of work on dystopian fiction. It works well in conjunction with creative writing tasks. 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 resource uses an extract from Salman Rushdie’s ‘Midnight’s Children’ as a practice paper for those studying AQA GCSE English Language. The resource includes the extract from the novel, an accompanying PowerPoint with three exam-style questions, and a top-band exemplar response to Question 2 of the mock (analysing the writer’s use of language). Questions are modelled on the first three questions of AQA’s GCSE English Language Paper 1. These questions test reading comprehension, linguistic analysis and structural analysis. This resource is ideal for those studying AQA’s GCSE English Language (particularly HA groups).

This extract from ‘The Bell Jar’ by Sylvia Plath is great practice for those studying AQA’s English Language GCSE. Included is an extract from the novel as well as 4 mock questions in the style of the AQA paper (Section 1A). There are plenty of rich linguistic and structural features to unpick here. This extract is particularly aimed at high-attaining pupils. Please note: The novel contains mature themes.

This resource includes an extract from Madeleine L’Engle’s ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ as well as four exam-style questions based on Paper 1 of AQA’s English Language GCSE. This extract is an ideal mock or practice paper for those studying the AQA GCSE, or it could be used in class to develop understanding of the requirements of the exam. Also included is a PowerPoint with ‘top tips’ for answering each of the four questions.

For those studying AQA GCSE English Language, here is an extract from and 4 exam-style questions on John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’. Perfect practice for the AQA exam. Structured and ‘scaffolded’ starter questions are included to help SEND students, as well as step-by-step guidance for how to tackle questions 3 and 4, which are notoriously more challenging.

This resource includes an extract from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel ‘The Great Gatsby’, along with 4 exam-style questions based on AQA’s GCSE English Language Paper 1. An ideal mock or practice paper to study in class for high-attaining GCSE groups.

This resource contains an extract from Alice Sebold’s novel ‘The Lovely Bones’ as well as 4 questions based on AQA’s GCSE English Language Paper 1. This is an ideal practice or revision resource for those studying the AQA GCSE. Also included is a PowerPoint with some step-by-step questions for students to consider before answering the mock questions.