This engaging and thought-provoking lesson aids students in developing a secure understanding of Chapter 2 of Ted Hughes’ 'The Iron Man.’ This chapter is entitled ‘The Return of the Iron Man.’ The resources guide the children along a learning journey in which they understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Sequencing the key events so far; -Analysing the language techniques used by the writer. Children are guided through the lesson via a colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation, which includes a range of thought-provoking activities and model examples/ answers. The tasks are comprised of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, summarising, explaining and deeper thinking activities. Children also get the opportunity to partake in a creative activity at the end of the lesson. There’s a lot in the session (16 slides in total) so you may wish to either select the content that is pertinent to you/ your class or spread the lesson resource over two sessions. The resource is ideally pitched for children in lower KS2, but could feasibly be used with slightly older or younger children, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

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 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 resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Philip Pullman’s ‘Northern Lights.’ 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: Religion’ - 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.’ ‘Pullman’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.’ ‘Lyra’s 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).

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of A Salesman.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Scene by Scene Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Miller’s Dramatic Devices; The Features of Tragedy. 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 engaging and informative lesson enables students to make clear, detailed and well-informed interpretations of Act IV Scene I of The Merchant of Venice. In particular, students develop their understanding of the key events/ implications of the scene, identify and analyse the language devices used by Shakespeare within key quotations from the scene, and consider the effect of these choices on Shakespearean audiences. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Engage with an artist’s impression of the courtroom scene, honing their skills of inference and deduction; Reading and comprehending the main events and meanings in the courtroom scene; Identifying and analysing Shakespeare’s use of language through examples of Portia and Shylock lines in the scene; Considering Shakespeare’s intentions and the Shakespearean audiences reactions to the scene; Self assessing their learning through the lesson; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Language devices cards for the card-sorting activity; Key quotations cards; Copy of Act IV Scene I; Shakespeare’s Intentions/ Audience Reactions template; Comprehensive lesson plan. Resources are provided in PDF (to maintain formatting), Word (so that they are easily editable) and also in zipfiles. The lesson contains opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies.' It contains comprehensive sections on: - Context; - Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); - Main Characters; - Themes; - Golding's Language Devices; - Features of Form. 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 engaging and interesting lesson aims to improve students' knowledge of the main themes (Dreams and Loneliness) in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. It also aims to build their skills in retrieving information from texts, understanding the writer's ideas and opinions, and making precise and confident interpretations about texts. The lesson uses a range of tasks, that require students to use their visual and interactive skills. It follows this learning journey: - Understanding what dreams and loneliness are, and how we each experience them; - Defining themes and understanding how writers use them; - Understanding how and why themes are used in other famous texts; - Retrieving evidence from the text to demonstrate where the characters experience dreams and loneliness; - Analysing how the themes are used to help get across John Steinbeck's ideas about 1930s America; - Evaluating each others' analytical attempts. The resource includes a comprehensive and visually engaging PowerPoint presentation, a worksheet for recording the retrieved quotations, a helpful template for the main task, and a lesson plan/ teacher guidance sheet. All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation. You can choose to buy this resource alone, or as part of the 'Of Mice and Men - All Lessons and Scheme' bundle, which contains seven full lessons, resources, teachers notes, and PowerPoint presentations, plus a Pointless Of Mice and Men game, for just £5!

This engaging and interesting lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of one of the key characters in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Macduff. In particular, they learn to make insightful interpretations about the character, and are enabled to to infer and deduce Macduff’s key characteristics from his involvement at particular moments in the play, in addition to considering how Shakespeare deploys Macduff as a fitting hero to face Macbeth’s tyranny. The lesson utilises a range of tasks, that require students to be visual and interactive learners. It follows this learning journey: Inferring key information about the character of Macduff from events in the text; Identifying and ordering the key events in the text in which Macduff is involved; Understanding his role in the downfall of Macbeth; Understanding his character in relation to historical context, considering Shakespeare’s intentions through the character; Analysing Shakespeare’s development of Macduff as a key character throughout the text; Evaluating the learning in the lesson. Included in this resource pack are: A well-presented, thorough, and informative, whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; Resources for the card sorting sequencing activity, detailing Macduff’s numerous actions throughout the play; A Macbeth vs Macduff worksheet, to enable students to understand Macduff’s heroic characteristics; A template to help scaffold the main task, complete with P.E.E instructions; A comprehensive teacher guidance form/lesson plan to assist delivery. All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning about Ancient Greek Clay Pottery as a part of their art and design study. This was originally used alongside a history study of the Ancient Greeks. It contains comprehensive sections on: -Overview; -Styles and Techniques; -Significant Places/ Artists; -Creative Ideas and Examples; -Key Vocabulary; -Timeline of Ancient Greek Clay Pottery. This resource can be adapted for all ages, but was originally designed for KS2 children. 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 engaging investigation activity allows students to use develop their innovation, creativity and collaboration skills to control the direction of their enterprise project. The resource set guides students through the entire project, from conception to evaluation, and includes resources/ guidance for the following activities: -Deciding upon different roles within their groups, in order to carry out multiple tasks effectively; -Designing a company name and appropriate logo and slogan; -Researching their product area, including competitors and USPs; -Conducting market research; -Budgeting; -Detailed product design; -Packaging design; -Creating instructions for users; -Formulating and presenting a persuasive pitch; -Surveying the target audience for their feedback; -Self-evaluating strengths and areas for development. A comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the project. There are at least a week’s worth of resources in here, enabling students to fully immerse themselves in the project. I orignally have used this with KS2 and KS3 students, but they could reasonably be adapted for students in KS4. All images have been cited at the end of the PowerPoint presentation and are licensed for commercial use.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for Year 5 children, teachers and parents covering knowledge relating to ‘Sound’, as a part of their science learning. It contains comprehensive sections on: Overview; The Solar System; The Sun and the Moon; The Planets; Planets Facts; Key Vocabulary. The content is fully aligned with the NC expectations for Year 5 children relating to ‘Space’: -describe the movement of the Earth, and other planets, relative to the Sun in the solar system -describe the movement of the Moon relative to the Earth -describe the Sun, Earth and Moon as approximately spherical bodies -use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement of the sun across the sky. 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 resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Malorie Blackman’s ‘Noughts and Crosses.’ 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 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: ‘Blackman’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.’ ‘Callum McGregor Character Profile’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Study setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these.’ ‘Context: Jim Crow Laws’ - 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.’ ‘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.

This fun and original assembly aims to inspire children to be ‘upstanders’ who know how to act when they see unsafe or unkind behaviour. The key aims of the session are to: -Understand why it is important to be an ‘upstander’ and not a ‘bystander;’ -Learn where the word ‘snitch’ comes from and understand why it is never ok to use the word against others in school; -Know the difference between ‘reporting’ and ‘telling tales.’ This assembly is tried and tested, and has always been really well received in the past. It is comprehensive (24 slides in total - there is enough material for a 30-35 minute assembly or perhaps two 15-20-minute assemblies). The slides are visually engaging and well-presented, and the subject matter is tailored to the interests and needs of young people. For example, there is an age-appropriate video to help explain the word ‘upstander’, entrance and exit music relating to the key themes, and references to scenarios and dilemmas that they themselves might find themselves in order to help them to make the right choices in their own lives. No further resources are required - everything that you need to present the assembly is included! It was originally delivered in a primary school, but may be tailored to suit the needs of your own students/ age ranges. The assembly presentation is fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve included guidance notes to assist the speaker just in case. Hope that you find this useful.

Based on the popular game show 'Pointless', this resource is perfect for use as a whole lesson resource, enrichment option, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. (I've also added a blank template so that you can make your own games from scratch). Containing almost 30 slides of sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build or revisit knowledge of characters, plot, and themes in 'A Christmas Carol.' Round 1. The characters in A Christmas Carol Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Themes, Ideas, and Objects Round 4. Places where the ghosts take Scrooge The nature of this game ensures that the resource can challenge students of all levels. A blank template has also been added, so that you can create your own games!

For use alongside lesson observations and learning walks, this succinct performance grid enables observers to gauge and categorise teaching and learning sessions using OFSTED guidance for effective teaching. The first page of the document provides descriptors of 'outstanding', 'good', 'requires improvement' and 'inadequate' teaching within appropriately considered focus areas, for example: Questioning, Planning, Use of Additional Adults, etc. Schools that already employ this tool often opt to highlight the descriptors on this page as they observe, thus creating a bigger picture of the strengths and areas for improvement in the teaching and learning observed. Schools who still grade individual lessons have noted that this is a helpful aid in arriving at an overall judgement. The second page allows observers to further pinpoint and describe the 'www' (what went well) and 'ebi' (even better if) aspects of the lesson, in order to make feedback to teachers more clear.