1 Close encounter
What is it? A selection of resources for practising close reading
What users say “This is fab. I teach a functional skills English class and am not a subject specialist. This is incredibly helpful and also very creative.”
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2 Turn after reading
What is it? A work pack to help develop a love of literature in students
What users say “This is a fantastic resource, with a lovely sense of humour and some very interesting tasks.”
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3 Lord of the rungs
What is it? An easy-to-follow reading skills ladder
What users say “Great stuff - a few simple steps to mastering reading, and it’s all on one page.”
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4 Description medicine
What is it? An activity to explore visualisations of descriptive passages, using extracts from novels
What users say “Fantastic worksheet. Interesting to see the students’ drawings, and it helped me to understand the way different students interpret things.”
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5 State of independence
What is it? A list of activities for students to complete when reading independently
What users say “I have been trying to think of my own ideas for this kind of activity - what a time-saver. And some ideas I would never have thought of. Thank you.”
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6 Reader response
What is it? An alternative to book reviews, this note sheet helps students to break down their responses into smaller chunks
What users say “A different format and looks easy for students to complete.”
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7 Auden, even
What is it? A booklet containing various reading and writing tasks, covering WH Auden, travel writing, anti-smoking adverts and more. Designed for a six-week intervention course
What users say “Really helpful for my year group. Thank you.”
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8 Skim deep
What is it? A resource to help students absorb information by skim reading
What users say “My pupils loved the unusual content of the text.”
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9 Animal writes
What is it? A short scheme of work that covers core reading skills for secondary students, based on the theme of animal rights
What users say “An excellent resource.”
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10 Read more widely
What is it? A booklet that encourages students to read by introducing a competitive element and recommending authors such as Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Michael Morpurgo and Ian McEwan
What users say “This has given me some great ideas for my secondary school. It’s a really good, competitive way to get kids engaged with reading.”
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