A task introducing students to the idea of the Great Exhibition, which outlines a research activity and a 'Great Exhibition' of their own. I have used as an introduction to 'The Ruby in the Smoke' by Philip Pullman, but could be used for any 19th century text. There is also some focus on the similarities and differences between society then and now, which is a gentle way in to the AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 based on Narrative Viewpoints and Perspectives. This activity took my students three lessons to introduce, to research and to present back.

A great pre-reading activity based on Macbeth. Students simulate being in a police investigation and try to uncover the identity of a missing woman based on the things she has said and done. (It’s Lady Macbeth). Students work in groups, in role, which makes for an excellent speaking and listening activity, as well as a great introduction to the play. (It works best when you’ve not done anything with them on the play).

A practice paper based on an extract from Pullman’s ‘The Subtle Knife’ as well as a lengthy PowerPoint presentation taking students through the paper. Several lessons-worth of material here. I’m using with Key Stage 3 as preparation for the GCSE skills, but could be used at Key Stage 4 too, particularly with a lower ability group.

Designed with the New AQA English Literature Specification in mind, this resource takes a detailed look at chapter 25 of 'The Help', the novel's opening and the ending, as well as including activities to guide students in exploring their own key moments. The resource sustains focus on examination skills and the assessment objectives for this paper. This is for the comparison between the modern novel with modern drama exam and includes some comparison tasks with 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. However, you could easily adapt these slides/activities to cover a different play, or miss them out altogether. There are a good 7-10 hours worth of lessons here (depending on your class and what you do with it). Homework is included, although is suggested in the notes section to give you the choice of class/homework. This is not a repetition of my other resources on 'The Help', but a resource in its own right. If you have found those resources helpful, this sequence of lessons would be a good follow-on, or vice versa.

A 12 page selection of many of the key/interesting quotes from the novel. The pack includes two Word documents, one with the quotes in chronological order, the other with quotes grouped in themes. You could give this to students as a hand out, or as a cut and stick activity where they decide which themes the quotes belong to (many of them really belong to more than one category, but I've not duplicated them within categories to make the file more user-friendly). You could also just give students the quotes for a specific theme to aid them in essay writing, either as a starter or as the basis for an essay plan. If you like this resource, you might also like the display resource in my shop, which includes 16 of the quotes presented visually for display purposes.

A detailed presentation taking students through comparison of key areas in both texts, which prepares them to answer a sample question on male dominance. (AQA ENGLISH LITERATURE A (7712/2B) Paper 2B: Texts in Shared Contexts: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the Present Day) Includes detailed teacher notes to supplement the information on the slides. Also includes discussion tasks to prevent it being too 'chalk and talk'. You may also like my AQA Drama and Prose Contextual Linking resource, which provides an unseen extract from Carter's 'The Magic Toyshop' and focuses on male dominance. (The sister question to this one on the exam paper).

A whole lesson's worth of activities including starter, PowerPoint instructions, worksheets, plenary and formal lesson plan with spaces for your own details. This lesson explores levels of formality in the language used in various points of the play. It includes some role play, group work and individual work. Could be used over two lessons depending on ability range.

Several lessons focused upon the setting in 'The Help' and the theme of isolation. Created with the new AQA A Level English Literature Specification in mind. Opportunities for group work, class discussion and individual analysis.

Created with the new AQA English Specification in mind, these resources should give you a number lessons of student research, group discussion and debate. Includes: Comparison with Othello, Character study activity, Analysis activities for the opening and ending and a plot overview, detailed exploration of chapters 16 and 17, Pre-reading activity, narrative perspective task and a comparative lessons which compares the novel with the AQA Poetry Anthology. Several hours of teaching material here!