A complete SoW for the novel 'Stone Cold', adaptable to all abilities. 20 lessons long, covers all AFs with peer assessment and reading/writing assessments. Some S&L activities too. Also comes with a list of possible activities to support reading. Files go in order - top to bottom, lesson 1-20.

A selection of activities to accompany the reading of Animal Farm, specifically made for low abilities and EAL students. Lots of cloze exercises, posters, collages and a lovely assessment activity that is differentiated for lower, middle and higher abilities within the lower sets. No SoW as the activities generally just work alongside the book.

A selection of activities to support reading of Stone Cold by Robert Swindells. The activities are divided into six categories to ensure that all areas of learning are covered - great for Ofsted and suits different learning styles. Enjoy.

I have created a full SoW and anthology on the topic of Gothic literature. Included is a range of extracts from throughout history, focusing on the Gothic genre - you'll see extracts from 'Frankenstein', 'Dracula' and 'Twilight', plus an analysis of Doctor Who's 'Blink' and an in-depth reading of Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery'. There are regular opportunities for assessment, with creative writing, speaking and listening and literature/reading activities studding the course throughout. Students look at text and film extracts. There is a clear focus on psychology, including the five human fears, which feeds nicely into GCSE literature study of Gothic literature ('The Woman in Black', 'Jekyll and Hyde' or 'Frankenstein'), to help students understand the social context of the genre. This unit has been created to be challenging and depends on students reading independently. I ask the students to download the anthology in advance and read thoroughly, ready for study. Assessment for reading and literature is done in bands using Didau's reading ladder, which is proven to elicit the highest level of analysis from students in reading activities. It is very simple to follow and is differentiated by outcome.

A great article from Charlie Brooker about the TV show 'Take Me Out' - biting and acerbic, he uses lots of metaphor and emotive language. Great for working with higher ability classes, but also workds well with low ability as they like the subject! I recommend showing a clip as well, to grab attention and put the article into context.

A great Powerpoint that analyses an anti-bullying leaflet and also tests students on their knowledge of non-fiction techniques using a handy acronym. Works well with all levels. Finishes with a design task where students can show their understanding of techniques.

A full, 13-lesson scheme of work that focuses on the novel in its entirety. The lessons cover a range of skills, from identifying and re-creating different narrative methods, to exploring the writer's choices and evaluating them. Students are asked to work independently, as part of a team, and as a class to uncover the hidden messages of the story and explore the different characters, events and plotlines. Students should, by the end of the course, be able to read critically and write from a perspective that is subtle, clever and avoids cliché. They should also be able to approach a novel from a wide variety of perspectives, including the use of literature exam skills. This SoW is best suited to higher-ability students, but can be adapted. Due to its length, in-class reading could also happen, although this would need to be extract-based. Adapted from the Penguin materials guide published alongside the book.

I made this activity as an introduction to Frankenstein for extremely low ability students. The accompanying worksheet gets them to look at the opening of Chapter 5 only. The PP is great as a jump into Shelley's life and the novel's history. It leads into a short essay looking at the use of setting and language to create tension in the opening of the chapter. Great for students targeted E-F grades.

This high-level, sophisticated GCSE unit examines Shakespeare's popular play by zooming in on one of the key themes - Macbeth's gradual decline into madness and paranoia. Students look at mental health issues and approaches throughout history through literature, whilst simultaneously studying the play in detail. This is a full, twelve-week unit - with Powerpoint presentation-style lessons - for more able students, tying together literature, reading and writing skills. Students look at the entirety of Macbeth on a scene-by-scene basis; it is recommended that reading is set for homework in advance unless your class are quick readers. You may also choose to use video clips of a stage production to support learning if you have one available. The unit is twelve weeks long as it incorporates all Assessment Objectives for both the Language and Literature GCSEs so negates the need for a separate reading/writing unit. Activities include close analysis, drama and discussion activities (can be extended into a spoken language component activity), creative pieces, close reading of unseen texts (both fiction and non-fiction), exam skills, revision and feedback sessions, group analysis, recall skills and independent textual analysis. All texts link closely to the themes of the play. Students look at non-fiction with a mental health focus; fiction pieces also look at this theme. Discretion and sensitivity is advised. Texts span the years and are both heritage and modern. Those used are: - Melmoth the Wanderer - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - The Bell Jar - Caitlin Moran's 'Letter to the Dark Place' - It's Kind of a Funny Story - NHS England Fact Sheets - NHS Mental Health referral form - MIND fact sheets and articles - Mental Health charity posters - Nausea (Sartre) - Article about domestic violence and abusive relationships Assessment takes the form of practised and unseen activities that tie in with both GCSE Literature and Language papers. Students access a lot of tier 2 and 3 vocabulary in order to ready them for the exam. The unit is designed to promote independence, revision and motivation to succeed. The unit is aspirational and at times can be challenging. Assessments are marked on a band basis, but this can be tweaked to suit your own school's approach.

This is a revision resource for students studying Jekyll and Hyde in the style of The Generation Game. It asks students to remember a 'conveyor belt' of images, then asks them to link the images to the novel. There is also an extra option to link the images again to Macbeth, although you can change this to whatever Shakespeare play you are studying. It takes around an hour to play although it can be condensed! Great fun and gets the students talking.

This unit aims to develop key reading skills with KS3 students in preparation for the new 9-1 English Language exam. Students will read a wide range of speeches from famous speakers the world over, looking at how writers use language, structure and form to send a clear message to those listening. They will develop their exam skills and there is a mark point in the latter half based on an exam-style language and structure question. They will also look at crafting their own speeches, presenting to the class their own speech about something they'd like to banish to Room 101 - there is a week devoted to developing cue cards, practising their delivery and peer assessing. The unit looks at: - Emma Watson's He for She speech to the UN; - MLK's "I Have a Dream"; - Churchill's "We Shall Fight Them on the Beaches"; - Clint Smith's Open Letter to My Future Black Son; - Sarah Kay's "If I Should Have a Daughter"; - Malala's speech to the UN; - JFK's "We Choose to Go to the Moon"; - The POTUS' speech after MLK is assassinated; - Shia LeBoeuf's "Just Do It" Students look at how writers manipulate language and structure to engage and interest readers; they also work on developing their confidence and paralinguistic skills in order to present an exciting and engaging piece.

This unit of work contains 18 chapter-focused lessons adapted from The Outsiders unit notes from the publisher. The unit is designed to last six weeks, with room for marking and assessment plus feedback. Assessments are included, with some differentiated ones added too. This unit is suitable for KS3 students at low-middle ability. Hinton's novel focuses on gang culture and crime and this links well into a PSHE unit or critical thinking sessions surrounding the topic of bullying. The unit is also good for teaching social context to less able students. Each lesson is easy to differentiate and the first nine lessons come along with differentiated worksheets to get you going. Each lesson focuses on a different skill, leading to development of analytical skills and close reading. Work is assessed every two weeks but you are able to adapt this as you see fit. It is wise to complete reading prior to the study of the unit to allow enough time to access all of the material.

This is an entire unit that prepares Year 9 for the new GCSE examinations in English Language. Students are asked to look at a range of non-fiction texts from a variety of sources, and are asked to consider their own opinions on a range of ideas from feminism to battery farming. There is an opportunity for a debate mid-term which is assessed according to the GCSE pass/merit/distinction framework, and multiple opportunities for short-question exam-style assessments along the way. This unit was initially designed to help students develop their critical analysis skills and some of the subjects are included in order to encourage debate. Staff must be sensitive when discussing ideas with students and allow students to develop their own opinions on the topics. This is a unit based on current events, so can also be used for PSHE.

A quick game: start off showing the layout of The Globe and informing the students where different people sat to watch the play. On the next page, students can slot the characters into the correct seats in The Globe to check their understanding. Very visual; great for low abilities.

A SOW plus resources introducing students to the concept of non-fiction writing. Assessed piece is a page of a travel brochure. Students also look at colour symbolism, application forms and instructions.

A very quick starter task that asks students to locate and place full stops and capital letters in a text. The text focuses on the month of November. Can be adapted to include other punctuation as needed.