A word document booklet, which can be printed or sent to students, containing extracts from six different texts, followed by 8-10 comprehension questions. Each set of questions is followed by a creative writing extension task themed around the extracts. The extracts have been sourced from the following texts: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee ‘Supersports High’ - an article from The Times (12.8.2012) Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier The resource may be suitable for students in years 6-8 depending upon their reading ability.

A fully-fleshed resource, which has activities designed for analysis of two extracts from The Woman in Black. There is an activity which looks at Ann Radcliffe’s definitions of horror and terror. Included is an extended writing question and writing frame. I have also added a creative writing task with a model response, plus a re-drafted model which could be used to illustrate the importance of making conscious choices as an author. I use the resource with very able year 8 classes, but it would be suitable for key stage 3 and 4 students alike. 15 slides in length and enough material for up to two lessons. Lesson has been updated with working links (September 2019).

A presentation which gets students to re-write classic fairy tales with a twist. Very visual and comes complete with planning grids. Suitable for KS2 and early KS3.

A full lesson designed to guide students through the poem ‘Prayer Before Birth’ by Louis MacNeice, which is found in the Edexcel IGCSE Literature specification. The lesson is aimed at students in years 10 and 11. The resource is visually attractive and includes: a choice of starter activity; summary and background on the poem; an embedded YouTube video of a reading of the poem; 7 slides with key lines from the poem and guided questions to help students analyse the poem (these could be used for group work or guided analysis); a short summary of the features of form and structure; an additional task directing students to examine the theme of nature vs industrialisation.

A full lesson designed to guide students through the poem ‘Piano’ by D. H. Lawrence, which appears on the Edexcel IGCSE Literature specification. The resource includes: a starter activity; contextual information; detailed questions on language analysis to cover the whole short poem; information on the main features of form and structure.

A lesson filled with contextual information on Keats’s On The Sea. Discussion points are also provided for Keats’s use of the sonnet form as well as his philosophy of negative capability and the role of the poet.

A lesson which goes into some detail on the themes and ideas (as well as form, language and structure) of Keats’s Ode on a Grecian Urn. Tasks are largely discussion based and look at the poet’s ideas of negative capability, his themes of gender and his manipulation of the ode form.

The resource is aimed at AS / A level students just beginning the novel. The presentation unpacks the first page and half of Atwood's novel in a fair bit of detail. The epigraphs, satire, context, significance of names and mode of narration are all covered. More like this to come.

A step-by-step PowerPoint that takes students through writing an analytical response to a question on Shelley's Ozymandias. It centres on an exemplar piece that might be indicative of a grade 7 or 8 and has a writing frame included. There is also an annotating activity and a web hunt. It does not cover comparison to other poems. Suggested for more able years 10 and 11.

A bright and visual presentation on Wordsworth's Excerpt From The Prelude. It contains printable slides to annotate in groups with focused questions. Also included are tasks which require students to make predictions before reading the poem and there is information on the context. Middle to high ability students would suit this presentation. Please note, the Eduqas excerpt is different from the AQA excerpt. This resource is designed for the Eduqas GCSE specification.

Some of the better lessons I created for a year 9 War Poetry SOW. They are visual, many contain clips and are all fully differentiated (including LOs).

A lesson which examines the imagery, form and context of Keats’s On sitting down to read King Lear once again. A group task is provided to facilitate study of the imagery of the poem quatrain by quatrain.

2-3 lessons worth of content on Significant Cigarettes, an excerpt from Rose Tremain’s 2007 novel The Road Home, which appears in the Edexcel IGCSE Anthology. These lessons were used to help produce the poetry and prose coursework. Students wrote on the theme of ‘identity’ in three texts. There is a wide range of activities, including guided annotation, discussion questions, analysis and practice paragraph writing. The PowerPoint is 15 slides in length, so there should be plenty for you to pick and choose from. The excerpt is not supplied with the lesson.

A lesson designed for the extract from 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston from the Edexcel IGCSE anthology for English Language specification A. The lesson includes two starter activities, a pair of engaging embedded YouTube videos relating to the text, a simple task for annotating the text, an example question 4 from a past-paper with an exemplar response, and a writing frame utilising the PETAL acronym to support students in writing an exam-style response for question 4. This lesson was used with a year 9 class approaching their GCSE years and could easily be used or adapted for use with years 10 and 11 for initial teaching of the text.

A full lesson designed to lead students through the extract from Adichie’s TED talk ‘The Danger of a Single Story’ found in the Edexcel IGCSE Literature and Language anthology. The lesson is recommended for students in years 10 and 11. The resource includes a choice of two starter activities, a linked video of the original TED talk (check the notes section for recommended times to watch with your class), a group discussion activity with prompt cards, a table with key quotations and devices for students to complete with analysis, and a PETAL writing frame to support students in writing an exam-style response.

A simple introduction to verb and adverb word classes including straightfoward definitions, colourful and animated examples, and a range of tasks designed to get students not only to recognise these word classes but to use them successfully in their own writing. The lesson would be suitable for students of late primary age (perhaps years 4, 5, 6) or early secondary (year 7), depending upon their needs and abilities.

The lesson takes students through some key aspects of context, including some of the language of the letter Keats wrote to Fanny Brawne which sheds light on the themes of this sonnet. There are slides containing comprehension questions designed to get students talking about Keats’s use of the sonnet form and comprehension questions which engage with the main imagery of the poem. The final part of the lesson provides questions to prompt comparisons with other poems by Keats.

The second in a sequence of lessons on dystopian fiction which builds upon grammatical skills for writing. The resource works as a stand-alone lesson too. The lesson introduces students to adverbs and adverbial phrases through the blurb of Gone by Michael Grant, getting them to identify the different types of adverbial in the text before asking them to write their own blurb or story opening in the dystopian genre. This lesson was designed for Year 7 but could work for students in years 5, 6 or 8 dependent upon ability.

A full lesson covering (lots of) context, form and structure, tone and pace, language and interpretations of the poem.

A simple planning resource and essay question for The Handmaid's Tale