Speaking and listening activities in the classroom are an important part of the learning process, helping to develop key communication skills required not only at school but also by colleges and employers. In the classroom, this will involve pupils participating in whole-class discussion, group work (with perhaps three or four pupils working together), paired work and in making individual presentations to the class. By promoting inclusion, teaching assistants can have a major impact on the success of these activities and a pupil’s learning outcomes. In this unit you will explore a range of activities which help you consider how best to support the teacher in explicitly teaching about spoken language and developing a pupils’ critical thinking skills and confidence as participants. This resource has also been published by Pearsons as a mobile CPD app.

Intervention is, and always has been, a significant issue for schools but is particularly pertinent at the present time given recent and significant disruption to children’s education. This unit has been developed to support senior staff in thinking about their current provision for under performing pupils and to help them action plan a whole-school approach to intervention designed to support those who have been identified as underachieving and who are at risk of not fulfilling their potential.

This unit is aimed at English teachers and departments who wish to develop their practice in relation to teaching the whole class novel. It is a self study unit which includes lots of practical ideas for the secondary or upper primary classroom as well as opportunities for reflection and activities to help translate what you have learned into practice. The unit covers how to choose and introduce the novel, improving reading fluency, developing key reading skills, writing about the novel and drama approaches. It is an ideal unit for a teacher preparing to teach a novel to a Key Stage 3 or GCSE class. This unit has also been published as part of a CPD mobile learning platform.

This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help students write creatively with a particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative texts, looking at excellent and varied models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses. It is aimed at a first year Junior Cycle class and may also be a suitable unit for a second year class depending on ability. A well presented 83 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested approaches and all thirteen classroom resources. Learning outcomes (from Junior Cycle Specification) addressed in this unit include: Writing Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing activities and be able to plan, draft, re-draft, and edit their own writing as appropriate. Write for a variety of purposes, for example to imagine, explore, engage, amuse, narrate. Engage with and learn from models of oral and written language use to enrich their own written work Reading Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words, the use and effect of simple figurative language, vocabulary and language patterns, and images, as appropriate to the text. I enjoyed teaching this unit and hope you do too.

This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for AQA’s English Language GCSE Paper 1 with particular focus on section B creative writing. I have written it with my own lower attaining GCSE class in mind. It supports students in developing some of the key skills required to write their own engaging pieces such as writing effective openings, writing dialogue, varying sentences, creating characters and planning responses. It supports and leads them towards the creative writing task (either narrative or descriptive) required for section B which they complete at the end of the unit. The 75 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested teaching approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I have also included extra creative writing tasks based on images in the AQA format. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.

This engaging, student-friendly home learning unit is designed to help Grade 9-10 students develop their narrative and descriptive writing skills. It is intended for home learning and includes lots of interactive and practical tasks to help students embed key skills. It includes a work booklet with accompanying resources including planning frames, narrative extracts and creative writing tasks for exam practice. I have included a standard PDF and a version with text boxes which can be filled in by your students. It will be invaluable for teachers who wish to set an extended unit of work or revision activities for their classes or for parents who wish to support with learning and exam preparation.

This engaging, student-friendly and digital home learning unit is designed to help GCSE students develop their narrative and descriptive writing skills. It is intended for home learning and includes lots of interactive and practical tasks to help students embed key skills. I have uploaded both a standard PDF and a PDF with text boxes which can be filled in by your students. It is relevant to all main exam boards and includes a work booklet with accompanying resources including planning frames, narrative extracts and creative writing tasks for exam practice. It will be invaluable for teachers who wish to set an extended unit of work or revision activities for their classes or for parents who wish to support with learning and exam preparation.

This highly engaging, relevant and fully resourced unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for responding to and writing non-fiction texts. It is built around the topic of the climate crisis. There are two sections: Reading section – building key skills through the study of three different non-fiction texts including a letter, web pages and a blog. Writing section – includes how to write a persuasive speech and an internet blog. Included in this package is a 56 slide teaching PPT as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all 11 student resources. Common Core Standards CCS CCRA W2,4,5 R7,10 I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.

This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for the Junior Certificate exam with particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. I have written it with my own lower attaining class in mind. It supports students in developing some of the key skills required to write their own engaging pieces such as writing effective openings, writing dialogue, varying sentences, creating characters and planning responses. It supports and leads them towards a creative writing task (either narrative or descriptive) which they complete at the end of the unit. The 75 slide teaching PPT is included in PDF format as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes with suggested teaching approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I have also included extra creative writing tasks based on images. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit. Junior Cycle English Learning Outcomes include: Writing Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing activities and be able to plan, draft, re-draft, and edit their own writing as appropriate. Write for a variety of purposes, for example to imagine, explore, engage, narrate. Engage with and learn from models of oral and written language use to enrich their own written work. Use and apply their knowledge of language structures, for example sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar, to make their writing a richer experience for themselves and the reader.

AQA English Literature GCSE: Comparing Poems Unit This highly engaging English poetry unit is designed to introduce and explore Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Storm on the Island’ and Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically and comparatively using a specific paragraph and essay structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. Outcomes include a PETAL paragraph and the unit culminates in a comparative essay exploring how the authors present the natural world in their poems. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all resources are in pdf format. You might also like: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’

Junior Certificate English: Non-fiction Unit - Climate Change Crisis This engaging and fully resourced unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for responding to and writing non-fiction texts. It is built around the topic of the climate change crisis. There are two sections: Reading section – exploration of three different non-fiction texts including a letter, web pages and a blog. Writing section – focus on writing a persuasive speech and an internet blog. This includes a nicely presented 61 slide teaching PPT (PDF and editable PPT formats) as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all student 13 resources in both Word and PDF formats. Junior Cycle English Learning Outcomes Writing Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing activities and be able to plan, draft, re-draft, and edit their own writing. 3.Write for a variety of purposes. Write competently in a range of text forms using appropriate vocabulary, tone and a variety of styles to achieve a chosen purpose for different audiences. Reading Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts, including digital texts. Use an appropriate critical vocabulary while responding to literary texts. Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words, the use and effect of simple figurative language, vocabulary and language patterns, and images. Identify and comment on features of English at word and sentence level using appropriate terminology, showing how such features contribute to overall effect.

This highly engaging and enjoyable unit is focused on the subject of mountaineering and explores literary non-fiction texts as a prelude to students completing their own creative and non-fiction writing. It is ideal for a grade 9-10 class. Texts include extracts from Joe Simpson’s ‘Touching the Void’ and Matt Dickinson’s ‘The Death Zone’ both of which are dramatic accounts of mountaineering expeditions. There are lots of opportunities for paired and group discussion and students learn how to write effectively including analytical responses to reading as well as their own creative pieces and an argumentative essay on the subject of extreme sports. There is a particular focus on planning and your class will be introduced to innovative planning methods including the box plan and the ‘because, but, so’ model. I have included a 62 slide teaching PPT as well as 21 well-presented resources to use as handouts in class. Please note that the PPT and resources are in PDF format and a Zip file is also included. Junior Cycle English Learning Outcomes include: Reading 3. Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts. 4. Use an appropriate critical vocabulary while responding to literary texts 8. Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words, the use and effect of simple figurative language, vocabulary and language patterns, and images, as appropriate to the text. 11. Identify and comment on features of English at word and sentence level using appropriate terminology, showing how such features contribute to overall effect Writing Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing activities and be able to plan, draft, re-draft, and edit their own writing. Write for a variety of purposes, for example to analyse, evaluate, imagine, explore, engage, amuse, narrate, inform, explain, argue, persuade, criticise, comment on what they have heard, viewed and read. Respond imaginatively in writing to their texts showing a critical appreciation of language, style and content, choice of words, language patterns, tone, images. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.

This English teaching unit is built around the topic of volunteering and teaches key skills relating to speaking and listening, responding to texts and writing. It is designed for a Junior Cycle Year 2 class but could be used with other year groups depending on ability. It covers skills such as discussing and presenting, explores texts including posters, on-line information texts and adverts with students exploring key features before completing an analytical response. The writing section helps students to plan and complete a formal letter of application and an argumentative essay. A well-presented 56 slide teaching PPT is included in PDF format as are all nine student resources in both Word and PDF format and a set of detailed teacher notes. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit. Junior Cycle Learning Outcomes include: Spoken Language Know and use the conventions of oral language interaction, in a variety of contexts, including class groups, for a range of purposes. Deliver a short oral text using appropriate language, style and visual content for specific audiences. Writing Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing. Write for a variety of purposes, e.g writing to analyse and to argue. Write competently in a range of text forms, for example formal letter. Reading Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts, including digital texts. Use an appropriate critical vocabulary while responding to texts. Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words, vocabulary and language patterns, and images, as appropriate to the text.

This engaging and fully resourced unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for tacking the Junior Cycle Higher English exam paper. It is built around the topic of Leisure. There are two sections: Reading section – exploration of three different non-fiction texts including a leaflet and two digital texts. Assessment opportunities include a piece of extended analytical writing with a focus on the author’s use of language. Writing section – culminates in writing a critical analysis of a film poster and a review. This includes a 57 slide teaching PPT (PDF and editable PPT formats) as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all 9 resources in both Word and PDF formats. Tasks and texts are relevant and engaging and ideal preparation for the Junior Cycle exam. Junior Cycle Learning Outcomes include: Reading 3. Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts, including digital texts. 4. Use an appropriate critical vocabulary while responding to literary texts. 8. Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words, the use and effect of simple figurative language, vocabulary and language patterns, and images, as appropriate to the text. 11. Identify and comment on features of English at word and sentence level using appropriate terminology, showing how such features contribute to overall effect. Writing Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing activities and be able to plan, draft, re-draft, and edit their own writing as appropriate. 3.Write for a variety of purposes, for example to analyse, evaluate, imagine, explore,engage, amuse, narrate, inform, explain, argue, persuade, criticise, comment on what they have heard, viewed and read. Write competently in a range of text forms, for example review.

Edexcel Functional Skills in English: Level 1 Unit - Taking the Next Step This engaging half-termly unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for tacking the Edexcel Functional Skills Level 1 English exam paper. It is built around the idea of preparing for the world of college or work. There are three sections: Speaking and Listening – preparation for the discussion and presentation task Reading section – exploration of three different non-fiction texts Writing section – a focus on writing a personal statement for a college application which culminates in an assessed piece of work This includes a 64 slide teaching PPT (editable PPT format) as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all 13 resources in both word and pdf formats. Tasks and texts are highly relevant and engaging and ideal preparation for the Level 1 exam. You may also like: Edexcel Functional Skills English: Level 1 and 2 Speaking and Listening Unit Edexcel Functional Skills English: Level 1 Unit - The Next Step Edexcel Functional Skills English: Level 1 Unit - Climate Change Crisis

**Poetry Unit - William Blake’s ‘London’ ** This engaging unit is designed to introduce and explore William Blake’s poem ‘London’ in detail including analysis of form, structure and language. It will also help develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific paragraph structure which can be applied to any extended response to literature. It is ideal for students studying the AQA Anthology. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all files are in pdf format. You might also like: Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’

POETRY – Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ This short unit is designed to introduce and explore Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Storm on the Island’’ as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. It includes a very nicely presented 24 slide teaching PPT as well as all 10 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how you could deliver the unit. Outcomes include an analytical PETAL paragraph which could be extended into a longer essay using the structure provided. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all files are in pdf format. You might also like: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’