The first part of a scheme of work on poetry from Beowulf, through Chaucer to the Romantic era. It gives students an understanding of how language has changed and the importance of the oral tradition. Lessons on the Romantic era help students engage with the sonnet and ode forms, provide context and teach them about Romantic ideals such as the sublime. The lessons on Keats are also available as a separate, smaller bundle.

A KS5 scheme of work (or a KS4 scheme for the more able). It covers the introductions, the Romantic genre, Walton's narrative, the first part of Victor's narrative, Byron and the Oedipus complex. The scheme is resourced with links to external websites such as the British Library and comes supplied with articles for which I claim no intellectual credit. Students can access the QR codes and hyperlinks which are given from time to time with an ipad or mobile phone.

A KS3 scheme of work which covers the first three chapters of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. There are a range of activities which cover both reading and writing aspects of the novel. Note that we use ipads at my school so, where they are infrequently mentioned, you could set the task as a homework or else book a computer room. Keep your eyes peeled for lessons on chapters 4 and 5 in the coming weeks.

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

A resource which offers discussion activities on the character of Offred's mother, as well as a simple plot ordering activity for revision.

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 mini bundle with activities for comparing the following poems from the new Eduqas GCSE specification: Mametz Wood, Dulce et decorum est, Afternoons, Too Autumn and Ozymandias.

The lesson begins with some definitions of reliable and unreliable narrators, requiring students to justify which they feel Offred is. Next, students discuss the benefits of each type of narrator to an author before looking at some specific sections where Offred can be seen as unreliable. They must analyse the possible reasons and effects of this lack of reliability.

The lesson begins by building character profiles of Commander Fred Waterford and Fred Judd, and asks students to consider the significance of each character. Next is a close focus on the presentation of his character with discussion questions and, finally, a motion that forms the basis of a debate over his character.

The presentation looks at Moira across the text. It begins with a quotation hunt , contains a task where students evaluate who would be the better protagonist (Moira or Offred) , considers the issue of race and provides a starting point for an essay question.

The presentation introduces the idea of the double or 'doppelganger' through various famous examples in literature, film and comics. This transitions into discussion on Ofglen as a double for Offred, before looking at how other characters can also be considered doubles. The final task directs students towards Janine's appearances in the novel and there are discussion questions to help them begin analysing her character.

The presentation begins by focusing on the character of Nick as first presented in Chapter 4 of the novel. There is a group task with key quotations for this purpose. Next, to promote discussion, there is inter-textual information on Newspeak from Orwell's 1984, which has strong similarities with the language used in Chapter 4. Finally, there are some questions about the end of the chapter and sexual repression in Gilead, along with a link to an online article on the same topic; QR code provided for students with ipad or similar.

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).

Separate PowerPoints for chapters 2 and 3 of The Handmaid's Tale. The chapter two presentation deals with the introduction of the Marthas, the shift in style from the first chapter and some of the key images from the second chapter. The chapter three presentation focuses on the character of Serena Joy. It includes context on the three women Serena Joy's character was based on. I have included some links to clips of the women, which stimulate debate as their views are fairly controversial. Then there is a simple outline for group work and an essay question.

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.

The presentation contains a number of activities which will appeal to a range of abilities. For the lower ability there is a storyboard of the prologue and, for stronger students, there are activities on the sonnet form, iambic pentameter and an article on the role of fate in Shakespeare's plays. There are challenge and extension activities. Enough work for 1 - 2 one-hour lessons.

A pair of lessons which focus on extract analysis of characters from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Frankenstein. The Frankenstein lesson contains printable resources for close language analysis in groups and the Jekyll and Hyde lesson contains an engaging activity where students can draw and label Mr Hyde. I would recommend the resource be used with low to middle ability KS3 students.

An introduction to the conventions of Gothic literature for KS3. This is an engaging resource with a video clip, a game of taboo, some descriptive writing and peer assessment. It is very accessible and would suit the low to middle ability.

An introduction to Romanticism aimed squarely at KS3. The focus is on the art and ideals of the Romantic era and begins with some annotation of Fuseli's The Nightmare. There is a link to an engaging video on the topic, though it runs rather fast, so it would be worth pausing for discussion or using the video with higher ability only. The presentation contains printable grids with key questions, drawing students attention to important things in the artwork. The resource does not deal with any literature, but provides an opening from which you can segue into the works of the Romantics.

A presentation which takes students through the very basics of understanding what it means to 'compare' one thing to another, to analysing a model answer and then planning their own response. The model answer compares Death of a Naturalist and Excerpt from the Prelude from the Eduqas exam board. Parts of the resource would suit low ability learners but, for the most part, the presentation suits middle ability learners.