Most resources I develop are geared towards GCSE 2016-18 (AQA and Edexcel) curriculum and are practical solutions to classroom teaching. I keep most of these black and white for simple/cost-effective print.
I read each novel/play/poem and break down into manageable parts.
I find this most effective within classrooms where students require chunks of information they can order, in sequence. The 'study-packs' I create can apply to any book/play/poem and provide visual tools for memory recall.
Most resources I develop are geared towards GCSE 2016-18 (AQA and Edexcel) curriculum and are practical solutions to classroom teaching. I keep most of these black and white for simple/cost-effective print.
I read each novel/play/poem and break down into manageable parts.
I find this most effective within classrooms where students require chunks of information they can order, in sequence. The 'study-packs' I create can apply to any book/play/poem and provide visual tools for memory recall.
A Student-Teacher 13-page booklet with a wide variety of questions and tasks relating to the text that really test the student ability to recall and interpret key meanings and terminology. This resource works through the book in order of the chapters and could very much be used across a whole term, or as a revision guide for students to take home. Includes: Grammar, Punctuation, Writing Techniques, Lists, Timelines, On-Line Research.
The strength of this tool is that, once completed, it provides the student with a detailed 'visual' map of the entire book, i.e. most useful for GCSE examination 'recall' purposes. It also provides the English Teacher with a 'very' clear understanding of the learner's level of understanding.
Resource can be used as a natural progression tool towards students reading or watching the play and responding to AO4, i.e. typical teenage behaviour; how Stephen's presents Christopher in the play; how characters deal with loneliness; how characters are presented.
This is SUCH an amazing book on so many levels.
A seven-page resource (prints back to back as four) used in class in 2016, leading to students researching a whole range of topics, from Animal Cruelty to Forest Fires to Homelessness to Bullying. The resource includes sections for students to:
- Compile internet research into their chosen topic/subject/cause
- Create and label the parts of a leaflet they design themselves
- Dictionary research, i.e. words such as Compassion, Sympathy, Empathy
I've used this resource in class recently with Year 9's who are studying MacBeth and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll. The resource applies to any KS4 Year Group. I've found that by delivering the classes, then relating individual classes to this workbook, it has provided them with an opportunity to 'draft' their exam-style responses, whilst drilling down to the types of response required to hit high-level GCSE. I am becoming more aware, as a teacher working between two outstanding schools, that the level of resource, matched to superb teaching, can help raise the aspirations of the students in a quite straightforward manner, i.e. pitching high from the start and working hard to maintain this level of dedication to task (for student and teacher) - Note: this is but a personal view, though the students I am working with are both responding and flying.
This resource contains whole exam content (Edexcel) and can be printed as a double-sided A4 booklet of 22-pages, or in individual sections, i.e. per Play, Book or Poem.
The resource combines student tasks + key information relating to the texts (Macbeth/An Inspector Calls/Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde/Poetry) + technical information relating to the Edexcel Indicative Content and Descriptors.
The resource was designed in line with the Edexcel sample assessment materials (First Certification from June 2017).
It comprises:
COMPONENT 1/SECTION A
Shakespeare
Part A and B – Extract/Whole 1 hour 45 minutes 80 Marks
MACBETH (Control and Conflict)
SECTION B
Post 1914 Play or Novel
Essay question from quote
AN INSPECTOR CALLS (Experiential Learning and Exploitation)
COMPONENT 2/SECTION A
19th Century Novel
Part 1 and Part 2 – Extract/Whole 2 hours 15 minutes 80 Marks
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE (Atmosphere and Settings)
SECTION B
Poetry since 1789
Part 1 – Named poem/Poem of choice
Part 2 – Two unseen poems
POETRY (Tension and Character Presentation)
Ideas, Context, Language, Form and Structure
Catrin by Gillian Clarke is used in this resource with option boxes for the additional
+ UNSEEN POETRY
This resource fluidly combines the technical information with guidance tools and student tasks so, in theory, a student can:
- Work through the entire content of all parts of a trial exam in a single day/week
- Understand the Indicative Content suggestions and gain insight into Exemplar Responses
- Gain insight into the Descriptor-language and comprehend the level of dedication to achieve a high grade
Used in June 2016 with Year 8's.
Three media extracts.
Students identify six key facts from each, then write a 50+ word summary of the article.
Worked well in line with discussion relating to sentence-structure and connectives and by media article number three the students ability had vastly improved.
A resource developed by Teacher and Documentary Filmmaker Tor Alexander Bruce based on an original film created over a period of four years using a £40 mini-DV camera. The resource includes the original documentary cover with some insightful questions linking to what could be an individual, class or a whole year project, as the subject matter of the film is applicable to a wide audience.
A pack containing combined resources to create a complete study-aid for students which includes:
New Word Chart / Quotation Booklet / Timeline / Visual-Mapping / Internet-Research Booklet
Can be used effectively alongside any Novel or a Play.
A pack containing combined resources to create a complete study-aid for students which includes:
New Word Chart / Quotation Booklet / Timeline / Visual-Mapping / Internet-Research Booklet
Can be used effectively alongside any Novel or a Play.
A four page resource where students enter a Crime Scene Investigation and examine the facts leading up to the death of MacBeth. The suggestion is for the students to examine the events of the play in reverse, which may, or may not, lead to a consideration that MacBeth had proven his valour and deserved to inherit the throne (could tie this in with general knowledge that MacBeth, in real life, did rule).
The body-outline sheet could be printed A3 so students can label.
The resource final page (4 in total) asks the students to provide written response from both the play and their own feelings, relating the how they view MacBeth.
An original poem written in rhyming couplets. Can be used for analysis, breaking down the meaning - Author available for Skype discussion with class on this and other poetry if required by Teacher/Department. Author has written plays, books and a range of poetry.
A simple yet highly effective resource to allow students to develop a visual understanding of their study material. I find that by printing off a couple of hundred of these, A3, prevents time-wasting and student scrawling. This single-page resource creates some form of continuity in student files or exercise books. As a high number of students require some form of a 'visual-assist' in classes, i.e. to get their heads around the study material,
mind-maps are a wonderful, complimentary addition to any classroom.
Resource used in training of Teaching Assistants/Teachers to prepare for Ofsted inspections.
Created in line with two inspections via a local authority and was very well received by teachers in training and the Ofsted inspector.
As a learning tool it assists with overall classroom awareness/knowledge of 'what the teacher prepares for' throughout the course of each working day and leading to an inspection.
Resource was supported by the local authorities own paperwork and the student TA's graded their own lessons in accordance to these guidelines.
Recommended to create combined awareness of the types of items each Ofsted inspection will cover.
See Of(in)ste(a)d resource by same author for a complimentary tool to add to this resource.
A pack containing combined resources to create a complete study-aid for students which includes:
New Word Chart / Quotation Booklet / Timeline / Visual-Mapping / Internet-Research Booklet
Can be used effectively alongside any Novel or a Play.
This is a 20-page resource, printing as a 10-page double-sided booklet, used in class as a combined resource to examine AQA Paper 1, using MacBeth and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The resource contains the 'full' list (table format) of AQA options for literature and then takes the student through each exam question with the extracts and content broken down. Includes the indicative content notes and AO details.
Has proven useful for current Year 9's compiling a complete 'Study Pack', i.e. so they have specified resources to refer to, in different formats. Highly useful for the purpose of memory recall, where the student can 'see' the journey they have made through each text 'in order'.
MACBETH
How does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a hero in this speech?
How does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a hero in the play as a whole?
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
How does Robert Louis Stevenson use the setting to create mystery and fear in this extract?
How does Robert Louis Stevenson use settings to create mystery and fear in the novel as a whole?
Used with Year 9's this week as a handout in class to show them the literature options at a glance which led to discussion on reasons for departmental choices on each book, play and poetry cluster. Then used to form an interesting group talk based on government dictatorship and freedom of choice, versus what would be the situation in a country with no centralised government. Includes a single lined sheet for student notes.
Resource shows one example I have filled in and one blank after this - 2 pages. Any school logo can be attached.
This was first introduced at a West-London High School where students I was teaching had low-esteem and needed tasks based on who they were as individuals, i.e. to get then develop their interest in the subject before they could tackle curriculum-based work. I developed it as a means of allowing face-to-face communication to discuss 'their' interests and I based the assignment(s) on this. When a 1000-2000 word assignment is returned to you, with Harvard-referencing notes and a proud, smiling face, by a student who, previously, didn't attend school, it kind of has one questioning whether 'personalised' subject matter can 'still' hit the assessment criteria and create a more harmonious environment.
LIMITED /MANDLESHTAM
BASIC AWARENESS
IDEAS FORMING/SIMPLE
VALID ATTEMPT
APPROPRIATE/SOME CLARITY
ACCURATE/ ORGANISED
RELEVANT/ CONSISTENT
CLEAR/ EFFECTIVE
CONSISTENT, DETAILED, DEVELOPED
CONFIDENT/LACKS ORIGINALITY
PERCEPTIVE/JUDICIOUS
SOPHISTICATED
Used this resource in class this week - works with fantastic results when students asked to complete second draft using 'Effective Connectives' - found a full table of these online and projected it. The difference between the Year 7 first-draft response compared to the second draft, incorporating 'and' highlighting the connectives was amazing in terms of the fluidity of their writing.
Currently using with Year 7's so they can achieve a snapshot of the entire storyline.
First-page summary used for shared classroom reading.
Then in pairs the students describe their own understanding of the story.
They then feed this information back to the whole class.
Then tackle a first draft - summary writing in their own words.
Finally, they complete a final draft of the summary, introducing connectives.
A four-page resource, printing double-sided 2 pages.
Very effective to achieve an general understanding of the novel through writing and discussion, not solely through reading.
This resource was used from a discussion with Year 10's who watched the PP 'Insight - A Writer'. This led to them describing how they felt they were not engaged enough in 'free-writing'. Each student then used a single page resource the same as this to express their thoughts, with some fantastic conversational results and some very interesting and quite often abstract subject material.
Poster used when mentoring/working with unemployed adults who attended Gateshead College over a
four-week period. They all had strengths but many had accumulated so many layers of loss of self-belief and severe barriers to learning. This poster, together with a wide-range of 'business' resources, was designed as a motivation tool, in order to explore the 'superbness' in each individual. This type of positive affirmation tool, together with some emotionally-intelligent response to viewing their situation through fresh eyes, really did assist their journey. Why shouldn't we celebrate our superbness, in a reality picture where, quite often, it is only our faults and weaknesses that are examined? If others will not, then celebrate it yourself! Or email me at eyeofthefly@hotmail.com and I'll tell you myself.