These resources are the product of my retirement! After years as a teacher, I tutored. Tackling different exam boards, texts and aspects of English I had to develop lots of materials, which I'm hoping will help those of you still at the chalk face.
These resources are the product of my retirement! After years as a teacher, I tutored. Tackling different exam boards, texts and aspects of English I had to develop lots of materials, which I'm hoping will help those of you still at the chalk face.
For CIE/ IGCSE Literature, these 18 practice papers on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream each have an extract from the play, with a question on the extract, and a second question on character or theme, as in the exam itself, providing useful revision and exam experience.
For CIE Literature, 32 practice papers on Rebecca Each paper has an extract-based question, with the chapter and page references given from the Virago Modern Classics edition for each extract, and a general question on theme or character, as in the exam itself. Copyright precludes the provision of the full extracts.
For the CIE IGCSE Literature exam, these 14 exam-style papers each have an extract from Othello with an extract-based question, followed by a more general question on theme or character. They should provide useful revision and exam practice.
Using the GCSE 9-1 sample questions provided by the exam board, here are 12 similarly-styled extract questions on characters and themes in the novell which should provide effective revision and exam practice.
Based on the sample GCSE 9-1 assessment materials, these 15 extracts and questions are of a similar style to provide relevant exam practice and revision.
For the AQA Literature GCSE 9-1 Shakespeare section on Romeo & Juliet, here are 15 more extracts in the style of the sample question & 2017 exam paper to provide students with revision in the form of exam practice. These questions are on themes and characters and feature a wide range of different scenes.
Using past and sample papers for the AQA 9-1 Literature exam, these 14 exam questions have been created in a similar style. Each has an extract and question on characters or themes to provide helpful revision and exam practice, either in class or at home.
Based on the GCSE 9-1 specimen assessment materials, these 11 extracts have both an extract-based question and a general question similar in style to those provided by OCR in order to provide effective exam practice and revision.
AQA ‘Pride and Prejudice’ 13 extract questions on themes in the novel created to be similar in style to the sample exam question provided by AQA for 9-1 to provide effective revision and exam practice.
For CIE Literature, 22 practice papers on Great Expectations, Part 3. Each paper has an extract and extract-based question and a general question on character or theme, as on the exam itself.
An extract from near the beginning of ‘Wuthering Heights’ when Heathcliff arrives. The questions are a mix of vocabulary, information retrieval, language and character analysis, which could serve as a useful introduction to pre-twentieth century literature & to the styles of questions found on 9-1 GCSE.
If this is useful, check out my 3 comprehensions on literary baddies or 4 non-fiction comprehensions, with answers, and descriptive writing tasks…and very reasonably priced too!
One of the first horror stories, this famous and often copied tale is a good introduction to both the genre and the style of nineteenth century literature. Each of the 8 extracts is taken from a key moment and includes a range of questions, (vocabulary, language analysis, and information retrieval.) As such, I think they are similar to GCSE 9-1 papers and so might be useful for pre-GCSE students, or for tuition.
These 8 extracts (from: Speckled Band, Study in Scarlett, Hound of Baskervilles,Engineer’s Thumb, Boscombe Valley Mystery, Silver Blaze, 5 Orange Pips & Scandal in Bohemia,) all contain a mixture of language, vocabulary and information retrieval style comprehension questions. The comprehensions are suitable for introducing KS3 students to texts from pre 1914 and providing experience of the demands of the 9-1 GCSE . They focus on the more accessible, interesting sections of the Sherlock Holmes Mysteries & as such, hopefully provide an impression of the characters of Sherlock & Watson, as well as the language and setting, and the complexities of Conan Doyle’s work. To see a similar style resource, please look at my free worksheet on Hard Times.
For CIE IGCSE Literature, 18 practice papers on Dickens’s ‘Great Expectations’ Part 2. Each paper has an extract, extract question and general question on character or theme, as in the exam.
Based on the specimen materials, these 13 extracts from Othello, with questions a) & b) have been created to provide effective revision and exam practice for GCSE 9-1
A topical comprehension on the perils of plastic pollution, especially in oceans, following from the BBC programme, Blue Planet. It has a range of questions: vocabulary, information retrieval and language analysis. Together these are worth 25 marks. Suggested answers are provided separately. There is also a descriptive writing task, which is also worth 25 marks. This resource could, therefore, be useful as an exam paper, classwork task, cover lesson, homework or be used for tuition. It has been designed for KS3 using question styles similar to those found on GCSE 9-1. It is editable so can be modified to suit your requirements.
Hope its useful! If it is, check out my 4 similar topical non-fiction comprehensions, on darts, the RNLI, the resurgence in crafts like sewing and knitting and paramedics. Another useful resource at a very reasonable price!