GCSE English Paper 1 Construction Unit

A fully resourced GCSE English Language Paper 1 unit built around a realistic construction site narrative, designed to engage vocational and reluctant learners while teaching all the key reading and creative writing skills needed for the exam.

This pack links fiction, language analysis and creative writing to real-world construction contexts, making it ideal for GCSE resits, vocational learners and lower-attaining students.

What’s included

Original Fiction Extract – Construction Site
A first-person narrative following a learner’s first day on a construction site, used to teach:

• Atmosphere
• Tension
• Character
• Setting
• Evaluation

**Paper 1 Reading Lessons (Q1, Q2, Q4) **
Students complete:

• Q1 – List 4 things
• Q2 – Language analysis (with connotations & techniques)
• Q4 – Evaluation with step-by-step grade-4 structure

Includes:

• Model answers
• Technique bingo
• Guided paragraph frames

**Paper 1 Question 5 Writing Lesson **
Students choose between:

• Descriptive writing (setting, senses, character, atmosphere)
• Narrative writing (tension, conflict, structure, endings)

Includes clear:

• Paragraph structures
• Sentence guidance
• Q5 success criteria
• Exam-style prompts

Creative Writing Task Booklet (Q5 Print-Out)
A printable student workbook to go with the Q5 lesson, featuring multiple construction-themed writing scenarios, including:

• Exploring an abandoned building
• A construction site disaster
• Escaping a dangerous site
• Discovering a mysterious blueprint

Students can choose between descriptive or narrative tasks, practising:

• Sensory language
• Tension and suspense
• Sentence variety
• First-person writing

Construction Literacy Worksheets
Students build vocabulary, grammar and comprehension using vocational texts:

• Day in the Life of a Bricklayer
• Day in the Life of a Joiner / Carpenter
• Day in the Life of a Painter & Decorator
• Construction Word Classes
• Connotations and Word Meanings

These develop:

• Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs
• Key trade vocabulary
• Inference & connotations

Perfect for

• GCSE English Language (AQA Paper 1)
• GCSE resit students
• FE colleges
• Vocational and construction learners
• Year 10 & 11 intervention