A Christmas quiz perfect for those final days of term or for use in form!

A Harry Potter themed creative writing lesson focusing upon creating an effective description of setting. Pupils begin by exploring several descriptions of famous locations on Diagon Alley which they use to gather examples of how the five senses are used. Following this, pupils are challenged to create their own description of their chosen location on Diagon Alley before completing a peer-assessment which helps to reduce teacher marking! All resources are included and provide examples of shops, higher level vocabulary and examples of language devices in action to offer additional assistance and guidance.

A fun and engaging end of year quiz! There are seven different rounds including one with an English twist. All the correct answers are included in the notes for the teacher's reference.

This quiz was used in the final days of term before we broke up for the summer and proved really popular with students. It can be easily adapted to make it more up to date or could be a fun form time activity in the mornings.

A handy double sided revision aid with some key subject terminology, examples of devices in action, different sentence types and higher level vocabulary.

An original short story which explores Christmas in another culture and era is explored in these lessons which focus on both reading and writing skills. The text itself features lots of descriptive devices and higher level vocabulary to challenge learners. Accompanying lessons see pupils employ a wide range of skills to explore different aspects of the text and could definitely be extended beyond the one lesson format they are currently in if needed!

A challenging lesson used for my high ability year 11s to consolidate their knowledge of Simon throughout the text. Pupils were encouraged to rapidly recap on their knowledge of this pivotal character in an interactive starter, this was further strengthened through the use of the board game (need some dice for this section!) which also acted as a great visual aid for their revision before settling into analysis based upon a sample paper. All resources are included - the board game is the final slide on the PowerPoint and could be used in a multitude of ways - paired or group work for example.

A recap lesson of the three AOs (content, language and structure and context) in relation to the theme of change in Afternoons by Philip Larkin and Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney.

A recap lesson of the three AOs (content, language and structure and context) in relation to the theme of war in The Manhunt by Simon Armitage, Mametz Wood by Owen Sheers and Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen.

A fun filled lesson that introduces pupils to the main themes and characters of the novel. Challenges include selecting and retrieving background information from around the classroom, exploring a selection of the novel's most famous book covers and sequencing the story using images prior to reading a brief summary.

A simple and chunked lesson to introduce lower ability pupils to the Roald Dahl classic The Landlady. Pupils explore key words in a settler word search before demonstrating their existing knowledge and ability to extract information about the author himself. Depending upon ability pupil are challenged to read a brief extract from the text independently but this could of course be changed to paired, group or a whole class reading if more support is required. Following this, pupils engage in a quiz based upon the extract to introduce an element of competition and encourage them to select and retrieve appropriate information before developing their confidence with quotation retrieval. Where possible, extra challenges have been built in to further stretch more able pupils.

A powerful lesson that simultaneously helped me to develop my middle ability year 10 class' knowledge of the plot whilst also allowing them the opportunity to engage with exam skills as they were preparing for assessments. A cloze procedure task is included to speed up the group's knowledge of the text but could also act as a handy recap tool before the real hard work began! Lots of support materials are included along with an example introduction, example analytical paragraph and selection of Piggy related quotations. These are all of quite a sophisticated manner in order to promote challenge within this middle ability set but could very easily be adapted for differing class groups. All resources are included at the end of the PowerPoint.

A recap lesson of the three AOs (content, language and structure and context) in relation to the theme of war in The Soldier by Rupert Brooke and A Wife in London by Thomas Hardy.

A fiction writing lesson that helps pupils identify ways to include the senses in their writing to make it as vivid as possible. Links to the film trailer, a short extract, senses grid and glossary are also included to help with differentiation. My class particularly enjoyed being able to engage with the topic of war in a variety of different ways and some rich whole class discussion prior to the main activity of continuing the narrative proved extremely powerful!

A complete lesson that builds on pupils' ability to compare and contrast characters. A fun and engaging starter that initiates the 'spot the difference' theme of the lesson is followed by analysis of an image depicting Oliver and the parish board. Later the pupils read the accompanying extract and work on demonstrating their ability to select and retrieve key quotations. Students then complete an extended reflection which encourages them to delve into layers of meaning.

An SMSC lesson that explores the serious issue of knife crime. Lots of opportunities for whole form discussions and engagement with wo very different case studies of the presentation of knife crime in the media.

Perfect for revision of key characters and some of their most important quotations along with pertinent symbols and their significance.

A fun and interactive lesson for pupils to explore Flag by John Agard. Pupils focus upon the symbolic nature of flags, develop their analytical skills through independent analysis and consolidate this by teaching fellow pupils. All resources included.

A fast paced lesson that focuses on language analysis and justification of responses both verbally and written. Pupils are asked to justify their top 5 songs choices should they be marooned on the island as the boys are, a short cloze procedure allows pupils to recap on the first four chapters before language analysis commences with a clear and thorough example provided to guide pupils. This worked really well with my middle ability year 10s who can, on occasion, struggle to support their thoughts and ideas but were given lots more confidence to do so after the thought provoking starter. Al resources are included on the PowerPoint itself.

This lesson focuses on a scene from stave 3 where the Ghost of Christmas Present introduces Scrooge to the entire Cratchit family. Pupils are encouraged to consider their own associations with Christmas, complete a quick fire round of questions that can be used in a speed dating fashion before empathising with one of the Cratchits by completing a diary entry from their perspective.