This is a PowerPoint thoroughly presenting contextual factors in Romeo and Juliet including: religion + sin, patriarchy, setting and Artistotle. This resource is extremely useful for introducing AO3 factors (exploration of ideas/perspectives/contextual factors ) present in the play with references and some suggestions for discussion.

This resource is a grid to be cut up and given to each student. It has the principal theorists for Child Language Development (such as Chomsky, Pinker, Aitchison, Vygotsky, Piaget) and can be used as a simple revision device, or as a way into constructing a well-supported discursive essay about CLD. Some guidance is included for the teacher.

A level English Language resource for paper 1 section B, child language development. It is a worksheet exploring language acquisition and the brain, with information about Wernicke’s area, Broca’s area etc. I use it to encourage discussion about which of the main theories - Innateness, Behaviourist and Social Interactionist - are supported by the physical aspects of the brain.

Simple step-by-step exercises for lower-ability students taking them through writing a description of a character. Covers simple metaphors and similes too. Culminates in a three paragraph description.

A lesson resource for GCSE English Literature, An Inspector Calls focussing on Gerald. It has a list of quotations by or about Gerald in Act Two which students should sort into categories matching a list of statements. This is followed by a set of discussion points for students to work on in pairs. They are then asked to plan and write the essay: In Act Two of An Inspector Calls, Priestley presents Gerald as a dislikeable character. Discuss this statement with close reference to the play Pages 3 and 4 have the quotations which should be cut up for students to organise into groups. I found this a really useful way to consider Gerald’s role in the play in the context of patriarchy and capitalism. It also asks students to consider the subtleties of his character which make him more believable.

This is a PP, plus style models, for preparing students for the 2021 paper 2 paper, question 5. It focuses on examiner expectations with close attention to the mark schemes. It asks students to do a couple of short tasks as well as look at two style models to get them to think of the kind of techniques used in writing to argue. Finally, students should complete the question in exam conditions and then 1) get feedback from a partner and 2) ideally have it marked by the teacher.

An AQA A level English Language resource for Paper 1 Section B: Challenging Innateness Theory in Child Language Development. In 1986, Chomsky added to his theory of language innateness by putting forward the idea that the Language Acquisition Device contained a Universal Grammar, a set of basic rules of grammar that characterise all languages. Read through the following theories and decide whether they or PRO Innateness theory or CON. This is an extremely useful document for discussing the main theories of Language Acquisition with Innateness as a starting point. Students should spend five minutes reading through and deciding whether the statements agree with Chomsky’s theories or with Behaviourist/Interactionist theories. I have found that it generates a lot of discussion and improves students’ understanding of AO2, concepts and theories.

These are knowledge organisers for 11 of the poems from the Love and Relationships collection. They are very useful for revision because they focus on the language, ideas/themes, context and story of the poems in a concise, easy-to-revise manner. Poems covered: Porphyria’s Lover The Farmer’s Bride Before You Were Mine Follower Love’s Philosophy Mother any distance Neutral Tones Sonnet XXIX Winter Swans When We Two Parted Letters from Yorkshire

A comprehensive creative writing scheme I created to prepare students for Question 5 of paper 1, GCSE English Language both descriptive and narrative writing. My approach was to begin with reading extracts from interesting texts - e.g. The Thirty-Nine Steps, Great Expectations, I’m the King of the Castle and From the Here and Now (Ann Brashares) thus reinforcing skills for Section A of this paper. There are fun writing exercises as warm-ups (these can be successfully extended), a focus on technique and structuring and clear links with the mark scheme. Most of the assessment is peer assessment, although I often use a shared word document so that students can share their work and comment on each others. The final task is a GCSE task which would ideally be marked by the teacher.

This is a transcript of a conversation between Shelagh Fogarty of LBC and a caller called Jonathan on 14/02/24. Jonathan had rung to criticise Shelagh for giving her opinion on her radio talk show. This conversation has since become notorious for being a man trying to tell a woman what she can and cannot talk about, even saying to her he would tell her when she could speak. I have put the link to the YouTube recording of the conversation on the worksheet, because it is best to listen to the original conversation in order to understand some of its pragmatics. There are two extracts followed by eight discussion points (to be done either verbally or in writing) drawing on linguistic theory from Zimmerman and West, Grice, Fairclough, Dale Spender and others. This is very useful in preparing for AQA paper 2 section A when considering some of the main theories for Language and Gender (particularly Dominance theory). It is also great for class discussion focusing on attitudes to women’s speech.

This is a PowerPoint I put together for preparing the READING section of paper 2, November 2020. The paper asks student to examine two texts about mountaineering. It takes students through questions 1 - 4, focusing on question requirements and allowing them to practise key skills whilst familiarising them with the mark-scheme. Vocabulary from the exam and the mark-scheme is explored as well. There are tasks throughout and opportunities for peer assessment but the final question should be marked by the teacher. It should take 2-3 lessons. It might to a good idea to print slides 6, 18 and 23 for students so that they have a copy of the mark schemes for qs 2,3 and 4. I am including the question paper, insert and mark-scheme from AQA.

This is a sheet I made for students, clearly outlining the skills for each English Language paper as well as the different levels of response, e.g. Level 4 Perceptive, detailed, Level 3 Clear, relevant, Level 2 Some, attempts, Level 1 Simple, limited. It was very useful as an overview of what is expected by the two exam papers.

This resource was made for an English faculty assembly about famous women writers starting with Aphra Behn and ending with J. K. Rowling. There is a PowerPoint with quotations from each writer, and a script which tells the stories from the writers’ points of view.

This is a PowerPoint I made to prepare students for section B of paper 2, writing to argue: Fast Fashion. It contains two media texts to analyse and use as style models as well as guidance and tasks to prepare students for writing the article. There is also some peer assessment using mark schemes which I’m including here along with the question paper and media texts. The whole thing could take two to three lessons, including the forty-five minute assessment.