This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men.' Teachers have found them particularly useful in exam revision, comprehension tasks, or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the KS4 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework - this makes the tasks suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that students gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: - 'Context: The Great Depression' - to aid students with 'Drawing on knowledge of the purpose, audience and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation;' - 'Steinbeck's Description' - to aid students with 'Analysing a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact;' - 'Curley's Wife' - to aid students with 'Seeking evidence in the text to support a point of view, including justifying inferences with evidence;' - 'Editing the Text' - to aid students with 'Making an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.' Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is around 30 pages in length!) I've also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

A Russian billionaire, Asman Veryrich, has approached you about setting up a new football club! This exciting, engaging investigation activity allows students to control the direction of their own learning, through speaking, listening, discussing, and reasoning. I initially created these resources to provide something interesting for the students to engage with for their English Speaking and Listening discussions, but it has since been used across Maths, Art and Design, and PSHE departments, as well as by form groups and holiday activity groups, to build teamwork and collaboration skills. Students get involved in all of the fun aspects of designing and setting up a new football club, including selecting a team of players, a manager, a stadium, and a training ground. They also design the team's club badge and football kits. They also need to use their skills of literacy to read and understand key evidence, and skills of numeracy to ensure that they keep their expenses within budget! What is more, groups can compete against one another to create the most successful team in the league, as all of the resources that they choose can help them to acquire valuable league table points! Included in this resource pack are: - Full PowerPoint lesson talking students through the process; - An 8 page team booklet, used to create their designs and calculate their budgets; - A pack of 96 player cards and 12 manager cards to select from (a combination of new and classic footballers are included, to ensure that this will never be outdated); - Budget and recording sheets to track their progress; - An A3 football pitch to strategise and select their team. Considering the time and effort that it took to create these resources, I think that they offer exceptional value. Whenever I have used this activity before, it has taken at least 3-4 lessons, including the introduction, design process, presentations, and evaluation. I originally have used this with mixed ability Year 9 and 10 groups, but colleagues have adapted it easily for students of all key stages. All images have been cited at the end of the PowerPoint presentation and are licensed for commercial use.

These colourful, comprehensive, and well-structured revision cards have been creatively designed for students securing their understanding of William Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Each card is visually-appealing and highly-detailed, covering aspects of each feature including a full summary, cited quotations from the play, definitions/ examples, and a consideration of audience reactions. They are tried and tested, with teachers incorporating them in revision games, using them as essay writing aids, or utilising them as home revision aids. They are provided as both PDFs (to prevent formatting issues between computers) and as Word documents (for easy editing). The revision cards included in this pack are: Characters - Romeo, Juliet, Mercutio, Friar Laurence, The Nurse, Tybalt; Context - William Shakespeare, Patriarchal Society, Religion; Devices - Dramatic Irony, Soliloquies, Dramatic Tension; Scenes - Act 1 Scene 5 (The Masquerade Ball Scene), Act 2 Scene 2 (Juliet’s Window Scene), Act 3 Scene 1 (The Death of Mercutio/ Tybalt Fight Scene); Themes - Love, Hatred, Fate and Free Will. For any questions or comments, please contact TandLGuru@yahoo.co.uk - Many thanks!

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Lee’s Language Devices; Influences on the Writer. Key words and ideas are underlined for easy reference. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This detailed and engaging lesson enables students to gain an understanding of simple, compound and complex sentences, and to use a variation of sentence types in their own writing for clarity and effect. Students learn through a number of fun and interactive tasks, which enable them to: - Define and exemplify simple, compound, and complex sentences; - Identify them in writing; - Understand and analyse how different types of sentences can be used for clarity and effect; - Create a written piece using a variety of sentence structures for clarity and effect; - Evaluate their use of different sentence structures. The resources include: -Visually engaging and comprehensive whole-lesson presentation; -Resources for the card-sorting activity; -A model example and analysis worksheet; -A success criteria; -Step-by-step lesson plan. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final page of the slide.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Michael Morpugo’s ‘War Horse.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS3 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework. Children have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Context: World War I’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Know the purpose, audience and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension.’ ‘Morpugo’s Description’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Know how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, present meaning.’ ‘Captain Nicholls Character Profile’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Study setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these.’ ‘Vocabulary Inspector’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Learn new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is 23 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

In this engaging lesson, children develop an understanding of Anglo-Saxons daily life, in particular: farming, jobs and village life, settlements and buildings and food. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall - gauging what children already know about the Anglo-Saxon era (answers are provided); -Understanding that the scale of time between the Anglo-Saxon period and the modern day, helping to contextualise the how comparatively simple and harsh life was in the time of the Anglo-Saxons; -Interpreting and analysing four sources (provided) in order to gain a deeper understanding of each of the key areas of Anglo-Saxon daily life; -Completing their own extended research to find out more about one of the key areas of daily life; -Composing a creative piece in which they put themselves in the shoes of an Anglo-Saxon villager; -Comparing Anglo-Saxon daily life with other eras; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they feel they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (20 slides), the four sources for the source analysis activity, and the template upon which to record their findings. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in upper KS2 (years 5 and 6) - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

In this lesson, students learn about the key features of Anglican churches. Some of the features covered include: the font, the altar, the pulpit, the lecturn, the nave, the crucifix and stained glass windows. Students learn about the key purpose of the features, and where they can be found in the church. Students also begin to comprehend what the features symbolise. This resource pack contains a comprehensive 16-slide Powerpoint, alongside an eye-catching worksheet. Two extension activities are provided in order to challenge higher ability learners. In the past, I have used this lesson with children from across Key Stage 2 - the key learning is aligned with NC expectations for RE, and also the content prescribed by most diocese regions. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make precise and sustained interpretations regarding Susan Hill’s portrayal of the title character in The Woman in Black. In particular, they consider how the language techniques used (e.g. similes, adverbs and alliteration) are used to introduce and develop the mysterious woman each time that she appears. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Defining the key conventions of ghostly characters; - Understanding and exemplifying key descriptive devices; - Reading extracts introducing and developing the woman, comprehending key meanings; - Analysing how the features of Hill's language help to create a chilling portrayal of the woman; - Peer assessing each other's learning attempts. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Extracts from 'The Woman in Black' in which the woman appears; - 'Hill's Language' worksheet (and answer sheet for teachers); - Cards for descriptive devices sorting activity - Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses; - Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. This was originally taught to mixed ability year 10 groups, but can easily be differentiated for groups of different ages and abilities. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

In this engaging lesson, children develop their understanding of the Romans, through: -remembering the main events of the Roman invasion of Britain; -understanding how features of daily life in Britain changed under the Romans; -exploring sources to further their understanding of life in this period. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Answering recall questions based upon their knowledge of the Romans so far; -Gathering base information about how daily features of life changed in Britain after the Roman conquest, through an informative video; -Checking their understanding through a range of questions about daily life (answers provided); -Exploring a range of sources (including images of Roman pottery, coins, town plans and artworks) to find out more about Roman daily life; -Following clear instructions to design plans for their own Roman towns; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they feel they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (23 slides) and the source bundles (in both Word and PDF) In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4) - the key learning is aligned with curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students revising knowledge relating to climate change. It contains comprehensive sections on: -Overview and Key Ideas; -Causes of Climate Change; -Effects of Climate Change; -Addressing Climate Change; -Key Vocabulary; -Timeline of Climate Change. The resource is ideally suited for students in upper KS2 or lower KS3. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3 or A4, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use.

This interesting and highly stimulating lesson enables students to demonstrate a developed and sustained understanding of the effect of figurative language in popular music texts. In particular, students learn to explore the meanings behind similes and metaphors across songs from a range of genres, considering the effect upon the whole text and the intended audience. As one would expect, Students love learning about similes and metaphors through popular music, and this lesson can really help to open students' eyes to how language can be crafted for effect. This has numerous benefits in later poetry and descriptive writing lessons. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards differentiated learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: - Define and identify similes and metaphors; - Explain the similarities and differences between songs and poetry; - Observe and listen to several examples of similes and metaphors in popular music examples; - Understand and analyse the effect of similes and metaphors upon meanings and the reader; - Apply their knowledge of why similes and metaphors are used to a range of contexts and musical genres; - Collaborate and present their key findings about similes and metaphors in songs to their classmates; - Self-assess their learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - Link to an online compilation video of similes and metaphors in popular music; - 3 x lyrics analysis worksheets of varying difficulties (Katy Perry, Train, and Florence and the Machine - all clean) - A detailed lesson plan, complete with what the teacher and students should aim to achieve at each stage of the lesson. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Susan Hill’s ‘The Woman in Black.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Hill’s Language Devices; Features of Gothic Novels. Key words and ideas are underlined for easy reference. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Benjamin Zephaniah’s poem 'The British.’ Teachers have found the activities particularly useful throughout teaching, or for revision or guided reading sessions. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. It is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising knowledge relating to the British Empire. There are comprehensive sections on: -British Empire Overview; -British Empire Map; -Major Events/ Stages; -Timeline; -Countries/ Territories in the British Empire; -Key Vocabulary; -Top Ten British Empire Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3 or A4, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included). It is most suitable for students in lower KS3/ upper KS2.