This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for the AQA English Language Paper 1 exam with particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. I have written this for my own mid to high ability GCSE class. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative writing, looking at excellent and varied models of texts and identifying successful features before moving to students composing their own creative responses. The 63 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested teaching approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.

Cambridge IGCSE First Language English: Narrative and Descriptive Writing Unit This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for the Cambridge IGCSE First Language English with particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing in Paper 2 Section B Composition or the Component 3 Coursework Portfolio. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative writing, looking at excellent and varied models of texts and identifying successful features before moving to students composing their own creative responses. These can be completed as practice assessments for paper 2 or for the coursework portfolio. A well-presented 61 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher notes with suggested teaching approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. All resources have been tried and tested in my classroom and I hope you enjoy teaching the unit. You may also like: Cambridge IGCSE English Language: Speaking and Listening Unit This unit prepares students for their Cambridge IGCSE Speaking and Listening test (individual talk and conversation) on a specific topic agreed with their teacher. It guides students through the whole process by looking at aspects of effective talks such as openings, rhetorical devices, endings, use of cue cards to structure a talk and responding to questions. A 40 slide PPT is included as well as all eight resources in both word and pdf formats and a detailed set of teacher’s notes.

English Key Stage 3: Travel Writing (Literary Non-fiction) Unit This unit is designed to teach key reading and writing skills in the context of travel literature and to help build some of the key skills required at GCSE level when studying non-fiction texts. It moves from reading to writing and is based on the study of a number of short travel extracts from writers such as Paul Theroux, Jonathan Raban and Dervla Murphy. It is aimed at Year 9 as preparation for GCSE and would work equally well with Year 8 groups. Outcomes include analytical as well as creative writing. All resources including key texts are included as are a set of teacher’s notes and a well-presented 42 slide PPT. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit as much as I did. You may also like English Key Stage 3 Creative Writing Unit for Years 7-8 This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help students write creatively with a particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative texts, looking at excellent and varied models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses.A very nicely presented 83 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested approaches and all thirteen classroom resources.

AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 Hobbies Unit This Step Up to English unit of work is designed to prepare students for the Component 1 Literacy topics Hobbies unit. It supports students to engage with relevant text types, develop some of the key skills and practice the style of assessment questions before they tackle the actual AQA assessment papers. It is designed to last around 4-5 weeks depending on the number of English lessons you have. I have not broken it down into individual lessons as all classes are different and some will need longer on some activities than others. It is designed in a way that classes can practice how to answer the Step Up style of questions thus building confidence before completing the AQA assessments. It includes a 56 slide teaching PPT, all 12 student resources in both word and pdf formats plus 5 digital resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how the unit can be delivered. More Step Up to English Resources Complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes and can be found at: RoseandMay’s TES English Classroom Resources New individual units: AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit New Complete Course AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units) You may also like: AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit

Intervention is, and always has been, a significant issue for schools but is particularly pertinent at the present time given recent and significant disruption to children’s education. This unit has been developed to support senior staff in thinking about their current provision for under performing pupils and to help them action plan a whole-school approach to intervention designed to support those who have been identified as underachieving and who are at risk of not fulfilling their potential.

Intervention involves supporting pupils who for a variety of reasons may have fallen behind their peers in order to make rapid progress. It is, and always has been, a significant issue for schools but is particularly pertinent given recent disruption to children’s education. We also know that in 2019, 27% of students began secondary school without having reached expected standard in their Key Stage 2 SATs Reading assessments and that in 2018 fewer than 1 in 5 of those who entered secondary school not having reached expected standards in reading went on to achieve a level 4 or above in English. Intervention is therefore particularly important in relation to literacy skills as these will limit progress not just in English but across all subjects which require good skills in reading and writing. This unit focuses on how you can, as a teacher responsible for intervention, design a strategy to improve the progress of targeted pupils who are underachieving.

This sel-study CPD unit explores some of the most effective approaches and practical strategies that English teachers can take directly into the classroom to create a stimulating and engaging learning environment in which boys can flourish as writers. Although the strategies focus on how you can engage boys with writing, they represent good practice which can improve the learning for both boys and girls.

This self-study unit offers support and guidance in teaching the reading fiction and non-fiction components of entry level courses in an interesting and engaging way. It will help ensure your programmes of study and lessons are well-pitched, relevant and motivating and develop the key skills necessary for success at this level, making it ideal preparation for planning an entry level course and schemes of learning. Suggested approaches can be easily differentiated for entry level 1 and 2 students by simplifying texts, reducing the amount of content and having one clear objective per lesson. The skills referred to are relevant to all exam boards.

This self-study unit offers support and guidance in teaching the non-fiction writing component of these courses in an interesting and engaging way, helping teachers ensure their programmes of study and lessons are well-pitched, relevant and motivating and develop the key skills necessary for success at entry level. Suggested approaches are practical and can be easily differentiated for entry level 1 and 2 students making it ideal preparation for planning an entry level course and schemes of learning. It is generic and relevant to all main exam boards who offer this qualification.

This self-study unit offers support and guidance in teaching the creative writing component of entry level courses in an interesting and engaging way. It will help ensure your programmes of study and lessons are well-pitched, relevant and motivating and develop the key skills necessary for success at entry level. Suggested approaches can be easily differentiated for entry level 1 and 2 students making it ideal preparation for planning an entry level course and schemes of learning. It is generic and relevant to all main exam boards who offer this qualification.

This self-study unit offers support and guidance in teaching the speaking and listening component of English entry level courses in an interesting and engaging way, helping to ensure your programmes of study and lessons are relevant, motivating and develop the key skills necessary for success at this level. It is full of practical teaching approaches to key aspects of speaking and listening including group work, role-play and teaching the individual presentation - it is relevant to all exam boards.

This unit is aimed at English teachers and departments who wish to develop their practice in relation to teaching narrative and descriptive writing. It is a self study unit which includes lots of practical ideas for the secondary or upper primary classroom as well as opportunities for reflection and activities to help translate what you have learned into practice. The unit covers approaches to teaching key elements of narrative and descriptive writing including planning, structure, sentences and vocabulary as well as specific techniques such as ‘show not tell’. It is an ideal unit for an English teacher preparing to teach creative writing to a Key Stage 3 or GCSE class.

AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Exploring Practice Unit This half-termly practice unit is aimed mainly at Gold award candidates however it is also applicable to those doing the Silver award if, like me, you have candidates doing both awards in the same class. It includes a well-presented 48 slide teaching PPT with lots of engaging activities and texts to ensure students develop the skills necessary to complete the assessment tasks for reading and writing. All 14 student resources are included in word and pdf formats as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes based on my experience of teaching the unit. Please note that the Exploring unit will not be assessed after 2023 therefore this is a practice unit only. More Step Up to English Resources Complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes and can be found at: RoseandMay’s TES English Classroom Resources New individual units: AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit New Complete Course AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units) You may also like: AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit

AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Heroism Unit This half-termly unit is designed to prepare students for their AQA Step Up to English Component 2 Creative Reading and Writing HEROISM assessment. It is aimed mainly at Gold award candidates however it is also applicable to those doing the Silver award if, like me, you have candidates doing both awards in the same class. It includes a well-presented 41 slide teaching PPT with lots of engaging activities and texts to ensure students develop the skills to complete the assessment tasks for reading and writing. All 11 resources are included in word and pdf formats as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes based on my experience of teaching the unit. More Step Up to English Resources Complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes and can be found at: RoseandMay’s TES English Classroom Resources New individual units: AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit New Complete Course AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units) You may also like: AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit

This unit is deigned for secondary and key stage 2 teachers across the curriculum who wish to develop and improve the quality of writing in their classrooms, a challenge increasingly important for exam success which is so dependent on writing. There is now a significant amount of research into what works and this unit seeks to present guidance as well as practical ideas and examples that can be taken straight off the page and into your classroom.This unit has also been published by Pearsons as an interactive mobile app.

When designing effective lessons, there are a number of factors to consider, all of which feed into the planning stage. Models of teaching, the learning objectives and specific teaching strategies as well as the climate for learning within a particular classroom are all part of that process. In this unit you will explore these key aspects of planning and how they can support you in preparing lessons which move the learning forward in an inclusive and engaging way. This resource has also been published by Pearsons as part of a mobile learning platform.

This self-study CPD unit will explore and develop practical strategies to help pupils access and interact with texts in a way that supports thinking skills and develops reading comprehension. The strategies covered are cross curricular in nature, promote a collaborative approach to reading text and are aimed at secondary and upper primary pupils. Please note this unit has also been published by Pearsons as part of a mobile learning platform.

AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 Leisure Unit This half-termly unit is designed to prepare students for their AQA Step Up to English LEISURE assessment. It is aimed mainly at Gold award candidates however I have referenced Silver award tasks in case, like me, you have candidates doing both awards in the same class. It includes a well-presented 51 slide teaching PPT with lots of engaging activities to ensure students develop the skills to complete the assessment tasks for speaking and listening (group discussion/meeting and individual presentation), reading and writing. All resources are included in both word and pdf formats as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes based on my experience of delivering the unit. More Step Up to English Resources Complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes and can be found at: RoseandMay’s TES English Classroom Resources New individual units: AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit New Complete Course AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units) You may also like: AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit

Speaking and listening activities in the classroom are an important part of the learning process, helping to develop key communication skills required not only at school but also by colleges and employers. In the classroom, this will involve pupils participating in whole-class discussion, group work (with perhaps three or four pupils working together), paired work and in making individual presentations to the class. By promoting inclusion, teaching assistants can have a major impact on the success of these activities and a pupil’s learning outcomes. In this unit you will explore a range of activities which help you consider how best to support the teacher in explicitly teaching about spoken language and developing a pupils’ critical thinking skills and confidence as participants. This resource has also been published by Pearsons as a mobile CPD app.

Developing Literacy is a clearly a key element of a TAs role. In this unit you will explore how best to support pupils with reading. As we live and work in an environment in which the printed text is so important, the skill of reading is vital in helping pupils to make progress and ensure they don’t fall behind their peers. This unit aims to provide lots of practical strategies which TAs can use in the classroom or during intervention work with individual or small groups of students to help them become more experienced readers and ultimately more independent learners.