I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
Resources to support the exploration and then creation of radio drama.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- work to a brief as per industry standard
- explore existing radio dramas
- listen to radio drama with focus on The Archers
- explore the history of radio dramas
- explore symbolic codes
- explore cultural codes
- explore technical codes
- explore conventions of radio drama
- explore style and structure of radio drama
- explore representation in radio drama
A resource to expose students to a range of poetry and to practice analysing an unseen poem.
Students will be exposed to the following poems:
- If
- The Tyger
- Funeral Blues
Students will use ARTWARS to analyse the poem in groups or independently
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
With very few sample assessment materials provided by the exam boards I have created my own.
They have been made to look exactly like the assessments that students will sit n the real 9-1 examinations and are phrased in the same ways too.
This paper uses an extract from act 1 scene 2
The student responses can then be marked using the relevant mark scheme for Shakespeare.
Assessment requires extract analysis and then question b is based on the play as a whole.
A Walking talking mock that uses the AQA examiner feedback from summer 2023 to guide students through a process of planning and then writing answers/essays to the ‘Macbeth’ question.
Power point (37 slides) and student work booklet included.
This resource focuses on helping students to:
• plan their response
• consider the text chronologically
• embed context rather than bolt it on at the end
• consider how themes can be context rather than just Historical events
• create thesis statements
• consider the texts as a construct
Exam questions used in this resource: Macbeth’s violence
Model answers included.
Additional exam question used: Macbeth and Banquo’s attitude towards the super natural.
A complete walking talking mock for AQA English language paper 2.
Includes a student booklet containing model answers which encourage students to achieve thoughtful responses, exam tips and opportunity for students to practice annotation and structuring answers to the questions.
This resource uses the November 18 AQA English language inserts.
A power point is included to guide students through the mock including mark schemes.
A document created to conduct more beneficial book scrutinies with a focus on curriculum and what students know and can do.
Students meet with a member of staff and have their exercise book with them.
The document outlines what is to be looked for from the books and what the students should be able to articulate.
The document also includes a set of questions that could be asked of students during the scrutiny/pupil voice.
Resource to support exam revision for new specification AQA Power and conflict.
Resource guides students through comparing Kamikaze and Poppies
Included:
- mark scheme wording to help students
- a sample comparison paragraph
- tasks to help students identify similarities and differences
This presentation was used as part of teaching staff CPD that introduced direct instruction.
The presentation guides staff through:
what direct instruction is
the pitfalls of inquiry based learning
examples of how direct instruction may look
benefits of direct instruction
Engelmann’s direct instruction
A student booklet and teacher power point that takes students through how to answer and revise for the Jekyll and Hyde AQA literature question.
Model answers included and guidance on how to plan and then structure an academic introduction and essay.
Opportunities for students to write their own answers with and without scaffolds.
The resource uses two different exam questions.
Resources to support the teaching of letter writing.
The lessons take stimulus from the following:
- Children in need
- Comic relief
- Pimp my ride
- Holidays from hell
Resources provide opportunities to:
- structure formal letters
- use the 6 part structure to form letter content
- write persuasively
- write emotively
A power point presentation covering major theorists in Media studies with opportunities for students to watch videos, conduct research and analyse media images as part of their revision.
Theorists and theories covered:
- audience positioning
- Representation and readings - Stuart Hall
- Roland Barthes - Action code & enigma code with video clip examples
- Claude Levi Strauss - Binary opposition - with video example
- Vladimir Propp - character theory with vide example
- Todorov - Narrative theory
- Syd Field - 3 act plot structure
Ideal for year 7 or year 8. Two lessons to develop the AQA new specification paper 2 skills for question 4 using the AQA KS3 papers. (Comparison of writer perspectives)
Also ideal for low ability KS4
Resources provide opportunity to:
- explore non fiction texts
- select and retrieve explicit and implicit information
- identify example of a writer's language
- explain the effect of writer's language
- compare the perspectives of the writer
- use writing frames to structure a response
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
Texts included:
- Article about meeting the Grime artist 'Stormzy'
- Article about meeting Sir Paul McCartney
20 full differentiated (by colour) and meticulously planned lessons to support the teaching of reading and writing skills. These lessons are ready to go.
Ideal for transition from KS2 to KS3, for year 6, year 7 or year 8 classes.
Within these lessons students are exposed to a wide range of fiction, non fiction and literary non fiction texts and will use these as a stimulus for creating their own texts.
These lessons allow students to develop skills for accessing the new English language and English literature 9-1 specifications.
Students will explore the following texts/extracts:
- Article on bats
- Extract from the Twits & BFG - Roald Dahl
- Extract from Frankenstein
- Extract from A Christmas Carol
- Extracts from autobiographies
- Extract from Bill Bryson - travel writing (non-fiction literary)
- Extract from Bleak house
- The Lion the witch and the wardrobe
- blogs
- poetry - Sister Maude, Mother any distance
- articles about Friendship
Students will develop the following skills in preparation for accessing new 9-1 GCSE
- Synthesis
- Comparison
- Language. structure, form analysis
- Theme exploration
- Analytical writing
- Imaginative writing - narrative and descriptive
- Transactional writing
Assessment opportunities and homework tasks also included
A series of lessons following the I do, we do, you do structure that guides students through how to write an academic response to the GCSE exam question on Power and conflict poetry.
Students are guided through:
how to tackle the question
how to plan their response
how to write an effective introduction
how to structure an academic essay
Three exam questions included for students to work on.
A CPD presentation around inclusive pedagogy aimed at supporting students with MLD (mild learning difficulties)
The presentation explores the importance of inclusive pedagogy with research and with reference to Engelmann.
Strategies are suggested and explored that would help teachers to cater for these students well and encourages bias in the learning for SEND students.
An implementation task is also provided for staff whereby they implement strategies and monitor progress,
A series of lessons following the I do, we do, you do structure that guides students through how to write an academic response to the GCSE exam question on ‘An Inspector Calls.’
Students are guided through:
how to tackle the question
how to plan their response
how to write an effective introduction
how to structure an academic essay
Three exam questions included for students to work on.
Differentiated resources to support the teaching of poetry that deals with discrimination.
Poems covered:
- Half Caste - race
- The class game - social class
- Your dad did what
- Hitcher
- Cousin Kate
- Our Sharpeville
- Parade's end
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
A presentation containing several strategies to get students planning their responses before they start writing.
Also included are some templates and resources to help students form an effective plan and then enable them to move on to structuring a cohesive and structured response to the question.
Also included are resources and strategies to encourage students to spend time editing and re-drafting their responses.
Resources included:
Narrative writing planning template
Non fiction writing planning template
Structure strips
Sample writing questions
presentation containing many possible strategies
Editing resources
Resources to support the development of the following questioning and higher order thinking skills and strategies:
- Blooms taxonomy
- Socratic questioning
- No hands
- Pause time
- Secret 7
- Big question
Ideal for leading departmental or whole school training on questioning strategies.
Resources included:
- CPD power point presentation on questioning strategies with tasks for staff to complete to get them thinking about their existing practice and how they could develop this
- Socratic questioning prompt sheet to support student development of their questioning of each other within lessons
- Links to Ofsted expectations
- Departmental audit template