Three graphic design A4 posters for Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Twelfth Night’. Perfect for your classroom.

This crossword on Dickens’s ‘Hard Times’ provides an enjoyable but academic activity for pupils to test their knowledge of the novel. It always works as a great starter or plenary task. Note: Answers to questions looking for the name of a character may be their first or second names, eg. ‘Stephen’ or ‘Harthouse’. The answers typically refer to how the character is most commonly addressed, and it should be easily deducible which is the correct name.

A comprehensive A-Z list of key terminology to help students understand and analyse political and social protest writing as part of the AQA A level Literature paper. This resource aids pupils’ expansion of vocabulary and promotes sophistication and maturity when analysing texts and their contexts.

A worksheet for students to use for making notes on the key characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’.

This lesson provides an introduction to the sonnet form. The lesson explains the key features of the sonnet form, its stereotypes and conventions, and outlines the differences between Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets. Questions and discussion points are included throughout, and students are shown an example of a sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, which they are then invited to discuss. At the end of the lesson is a research task which could be set either in class or as a homework activity. This is an ideal introduction for any KS3 unit on poetry or specifically the sonnet form. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This resource features 28 exam-style questions on Stevenson’s ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ for students to use as mock/practice stimuli. It is designed to support those studying the text for GCSE. Teachers may wish to find appropriate extracts (as per the AQA exam) to accompany each question. These questions cover all the key themes and characters of the novella. If students feel capable answering all of these questions, then they should feel very well prepared for the exam.

A great lesson activity or homework task designed to test and consolidate students’ understanding of homophones. This is a fun visual activity with an element of critical thinking/problem solving involved. Ideal for KS2 or KS3.

This resource is a collection of 30 practice questions based on J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’. Providing perfect revision for those studying the text at GCSE, this bundle of 30 exam-style questions will give your students plenty of practice at analysing the play’s key themes, characters, and ideas. Questions are included on every character and each of the main themes. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

An invaluable resource designed to build a picture of how Shakespeare presents Macbeth via other characters in the play. Taking key quotes from a variety of characters, we can see how Shakespeare’s characters speak about and to Macbeth throughout the play. This not only unveils how loyalties change and develop throughout the play, but also how Macbeth himself changes and how characters may behave differently in private versus public settings. This is ideal for supporting study of the play at GCSE.

This resource contains an extract from Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ as well as 4 exam-style questions based on the AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1. Questions examine students on reading comprehension, language analysis, structural analysis, and constructing an argument in relation to the extract. This is an ideal mock for students to sit or a lesson resource for teachers to use with classes to practise and tackle the demands of each question.

This resource includes an extract from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel ‘The Great Gatsby’, along with 4 exam-style questions based on AQA’s GCSE English Language Paper 1. An ideal mock or practice paper to study in class for high-attaining GCSE groups.

This resource contains an extract from Alice Sebold’s novel ‘The Lovely Bones’ as well as 4 questions based on AQA’s GCSE English Language Paper 1. This is an ideal practice or revision resource for those studying the AQA GCSE. Also included is a PowerPoint with some step-by-step questions for students to consider before answering the mock questions.

This resource - for teachers/students of AQA GCSE English Language - is a series of questions based upon an extract from Franz Kafka’s iconic story ‘The Metamorphosis’, in which Gregor Samsa wakes up to discover himself transformed into a giant insect. Questions are based on Paper 1 of the AQA GCSE Language exam. The questions are included on the PowerPoint, along with tips for how to answer each question. This is an ideal mock or structured support resource for GCSE students.

This 14-slide lesson offers students an introduction to the ballad form of poetry. Students explore the history behind the ballad form, focusing on its sensationalist subject matter and significant use of rhyme and rhythm. We discuss how appreciating the oral nature of performed ballads is vital to understanding the rhythm and sound of the poems, and we think about which subjects commonly recur in popular ballads. A starter activity encourages students to consider rhyme and the aural nature of words. Students learn how the ballad form developed into the ‘Lyrical Ballads’ of Wordsworth and Coleridge, popularising the form that we now recognise as poetic ballads. The rise of modern ‘power ballads’ in pop music is also noted. An example of a ballad (by Wordsworth) is given for students to deconstruct its rhythm and rhyme scheme. Students then have a go at writing their own ballad. Another example - this time an original ballad (by yours truly) - is provided to help students with their own ballads. Questions and discussion points are included for students. This lesson is ideal for those studying the ballad form or poetry in general in KS3. PowerPoint is saved as PDF.

This extract from ‘The Bell Jar’ by Sylvia Plath is great practice for those studying AQA’s English Language GCSE. Included is an extract from the novel as well as 4 mock questions in the style of the AQA paper (Section 1A). There are plenty of rich linguistic and structural features to unpick here. This extract is particularly aimed at high-attaining pupils. Please note: The novel contains mature themes.

This resource includes an extract from Ian Fleming’s ‘Dr. No’ with an accompanying PowerPoint featuring language analysis questions. This resource is based on AQA’s GCSE English Language Paper 1. Two 8-mark language questions are featured to help students practise close linguistic analysis. This resource is ideal for KS3 students preparing early for GCSEs, or for GCSE students in need of accessible and scaffolded learning.

This resource uses an extract from Salman Rushdie’s ‘Midnight’s Children’ as a practice paper for those studying AQA GCSE English Language. The resource includes the extract from the novel, an accompanying PowerPoint with three exam-style questions, and a top-band exemplar response to Question 2 of the mock (analysing the writer’s use of language). Questions are modelled on the first three questions of AQA’s GCSE English Language Paper 1. These questions test reading comprehension, linguistic analysis and structural analysis. This resource is ideal for those studying AQA’s GCSE English Language (particularly HA groups).

For those studying AQA GCSE English Language, here is an extract from and 4 exam-style questions on John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’. Perfect practice for the AQA exam. Structured and ‘scaffolded’ starter questions are included to help SEND students, as well as step-by-step guidance for how to tackle questions 3 and 4, which are notoriously more challenging.

This resource includes an extract from E.M. Forster’s 1909 short story, ‘The Machine Stops’, as well as an accompanying PowerPoint with four questions on the source based on AQA’s English Language GCSE Paper 1.

An analytical summary of Mrs Birling in Act II of ‘An Inspector Calls’. This 900-word essay explores how Priestley presents Mrs Birling’s unyielding prejudice in the pivotal second act of the play. Perfect for high-grade students, this is a sophisticated reading of a key character.