This resource takes students through the process of reading and understanding an exam question. It encourages students to look closely at the wording and dissect the question before they even consider answering it. All too often students glance at the question and make a start on the answer. This resource helps students see why it's so important to really engage with the question. You can swap the questions on the PPT and activity with exam questions that are relevant to what your class is studying.

A fun, accessible resource for students to revise the key tips for questions 1-4 in Section A of the AQA Non-fiction Higher paper.

When I first met my new classes I went through a 'classroom code' so they were familiar with my expectations. This is the PowerPoint I used. You may edit it as you wish to suit your own purposes.

In Act 2, Scene 1 Macbeth is deciding whether to kill Duncan or not. Read Macbeth’s soliloquy to students from ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me?’ Ask students to listen carefully as you read aloud to them – try to be quite dramatic and theatrical! Instruct students to jot down any words or phrases that they think are especially important. With a copy of Macbeth’s Soliloquy, give pairs three highlighters to share. They must identify how Macbeth is feeling at the prospect of murdering King Duncan, exploring three possible choices: 1) Macbeth is intent on the murder. 2) Macbeth is undecided. 3) Macbeth is horrified by the prospect of murder. They’re to use 3 different colours to represent each of the three choices. They should try to highlight each line in a colour. Issue the Macbeth Chart to students. They’re to create a line graph which illustrates Macbeth’s decision making. This resource is taken from my KS3 Macbeth SOW which you can buy from my shop.

This lesson takes students through how to respond to an exam question. The question is: Starting with this speech, explain how far you think Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a powerful woman. Write about: • how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in this speech • how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in the play as a whole Students explore the play where Lady Macbeth is featured. They highlight/annotate the exam question and speech. They then read through other parts of the play and pick out important quotations for their 'quotations' bank. Students also complete a PEE-based essay plan throughout the lesson in preparation for writing a whole response. Students also consider the assessment objectives. On the PowerPoint there are 'notes' at the bottom of each slide for guidance on how to conduct the lesson.

Sheets for students to stick in their books or for teachers to display in their classrooms that describe requirements for levels and sub-levels in reading, writing and speaking and listening. An accessible resource that allows students to take responsibility for their own progress. It's also a helpful resource for teachers when setting targets. Students find their level on the sheet and they can then look to the next level where it says 'To get a level 5b, I need to...' Also included is a marking key sheet for students to stick in their books to enable teachers to state the particular markers they use to marks students' books. Also, a personal target sheet for students to self-assess their ability at the start of the year. Students may review this at different times of the year to assess their own progress. There's also a target record sheet for students to keep in the front of their exercise books to keep a record of their targets. The idea is that they start filling in their targets from the bottom of the sheet so they're effectively climbing "the ladder" and making progress. Students should regularly review the sheet with their teacher to assess whether they're meeting their targets and whether their NC level is improving over time.

Students work as detectives investigating a crime scene based on Roald Dahl's short story Lamb to the Slaughter. There are two lessons included with the learning objective 'To select, understand and describe evidence; To interpret information and develop explanations.' These lessons have proved hugely successful and fun for students. They absolutely love walking into the classroom to see a crime scene and it's amazing to see even the most disruptive of students get completely into character. There's a little preparation involved in these lessons, but you and your students will reap the benefits.

The SOW takes students through the following learning objectives: Lesson 1 Obj: To be able to define ‘allegory’ and ‘satire’ Lesson 2 Obj: To be able to identify persuasive devices / To research the background and context of Animal Farm. Lesson 3 Obj: To be able to identify language used for characters in Animal Farm Lesson 4 Obj: To be able to identify differences between Snowball and Napoleon Lesson 5 Obj: To be able to use knowledge of the content of Chapter 4 to plan newspaper article. Lesson 6 Obj: To be able to identify improvements to be made through planning. Lesson 7 Obj: To be able to understand how power and language are interlinked. Lesson 8 Obj: To be able to understand how Animal Farm relates to Russian history. Lesson 9 Obj: To be able to analyse and interpret events in Chapters 8 and 9 Lesson 10 Obj: To be able to identify what makes an effective speaker and listener. Lesson 11 Obj: To be able to work effectively as a group and prepare a speech Lesson 12 Obj: To be able to present speech and peer-assess Lesson 13 Obj: To be able to analyse and discuss the film adaptation of Animal Farm Lesson 14 To be able to analyse and discuss the film adaptation of Animal Farm

This is a 6-7 week scheme of work that can be adapted to suit your needs, but it basically leads students up to pitching their idea for a new type of fast food restaurant. Essentially, it leads up to a very engaging speaking and listening assessment. Students must learn to work in a team with different roles. They must learn to delegate tasks based on students' differing abilities. The SOW involves mind mapping, problem-solving and decision-making. Having done this SOW with students before, it really does get their creative juices flowing. They end up taking it very seriously and really do think about their restaurant's brand name, slogan, logo, target audience, USP, appropriate location etc. The competitive element of the SOW really engages boys as well. Not only do students hone their speaking and listening skills, but they gain a basic understanding of how to create a business that will be successful when considering several different factors. The SOW is all included within the PowerPoint with 'notes' added to most slides to be completely self-explanatory. The PowerPoint contains 31 slides, which are very easy to follow and tell students exactly what they need to do.

This SOW focuses on persuasive techniques, language techniques, non-language devices and presentational features used in advertising to have an effect on the reader. Students develop their analytical skills before creating their own advert with commentary for their assessment. Although this may sound dull, students had real fun with this scheme and found it genuinely interesting. They thoroughly enjoyed the 'speed dating' to learn about different advertising techniques. The SOW uses the following learning objectives in its lessons: LESSON 1 To understand how images are composed, and how to read figure signs. LESSON 2 To understand how images use colour, texture and viewpoint. LESSON 3 To understand how persuasive language techniques as used in adverts. LESSON 4: To describe the effect of persuasive (language) techniques used in adverts. LESSON 5 To analyse language techniques and presentational features in an advert. LESSON 6 To create own advert using knowledge and skills gained from analysis. LESSON 7 To create own advert using knowledge and skills gained from analysis. INDEPENDENT TASK TIME LESSON 8 To create own advert using knowledge and skills gained from analysis. INDEPENDENT TASK TIME

Before becoming an English teacher, I was a journalist. I used my skills and knowledge gained there to create a scheme of work to teach students about how language is used in news writing. The SOW proved very successful with Year 9 students of varying abilities. The SOW is 8-10 lessons long, depending on your students’ ability. It leads up to students writing their own news article using the skills gained in the SOW. The SOW uses the following learning objectives in its lessons: LESSON 1 To understand how newspapers use layout LESSON 2 To compare and contrast online and printed newspapers LESSON 3 To explore the power of images in newspapers LESSON 4: To understand more about the language of types of newspaper writing LESSON 5 To explore the way newspaper stories are structured LESSON 6 To identify and understand emotive language, and its effect on readers. LESSON 7 To understand how to write clearly, concisely and correctly. LESSON 8 To understand how to put a whole article together

This SOW was created for Year 7 students of varying abilities. It contains 14 lessons with accompanying resources. The SOW has the following reading, writing and speaking & listening assessments: READING - Explore the relationship between one of the characters and the horse Joey. WRITING - Students are to describe a picture using the senses and one simile or metaphor. SPEAKING & LISTENING - Dramatic performance of a scene from War Horse. The SOW takes students through these learning objectives: LESSON 1 To be able to engage with the key theme of war in the novel To understand the main points about the historical context of the novel LESSON 2 To understand life on a farm in the early 1900s To develop inference skills LESSON 3 To be able to describe character To be able to make comparison To revise the use of connectives to compare LESSON 4 To understand the term ‘points of view’ To be able to compare points of view To be able to rewrite from an alternative point of view LESSON 5 To be able to analyse and describe a setting To develop descriptive writing skills LESSON 6 To develop inference skills LESSON 7 To be able to take different roles in speaking and listening tasks To develop drama skills LESSON 7.5 To be able to take different roles in speaking and listening tasks To develop drama skills LESSON 8 To be able to make links between objects, events and characters To be able to track themes and make logical links LESSON 9 To develop analysis skills To develop the ability to write about language To develop the ability to write about the words chosen by the writer LESSON 10 To be able to explain the relationships between characters LESSON 11 To be able to read independently To develop analysis skills LESSON 12 To assess students’ ability to make inferences about characters LESSON 13-14

This scheme of work contains 13 lessons with over 35 resources, taking students right through the play. It is a comprehensive scheme of work that was incredibly successful with Year 9 students of varying abilities. It includes a reading, writing and speaking & listening assessment. This SOW includes film clips and drama to really engage students with the play. Opportunities to differentiate tasks for higher or lower abilities are highlighted in green in the SOW. Whilst the scheme was put together by me, some resources are taken from the RSC Shakespeare Toolkit for Teachers. The SOW has the following reading, writing and speaking & listening assessments: READING - Starting with this speech (Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 1), explain how far you think Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a tragic hero. WRITING - Letter from Macbeth to Lady Macbeth arguing for or against her ideas. SPEAKING & LISTENING - Dramatic performance of Act 3, Scene 4 (the banquet scene with the ghost of Banquo) The SOW takes students through the following learning objectives: LESSON 1 To understand the characteristics of a tragedy and to understand the battle described at the opening of Macbeth LESSON 2 To explore the meeting between Macbeth, Banquo and the Witches and how to make interpretive choices about the stage of the scene. LESSON 3 To develop an understanding of characters’ thoughts and motives LESSON 4 To understand the persuasive tactics that Lady Macbeth uses to influence Macbeth. LESSON 4.5 To construct a letter that has a clear purpose. LESSON 5 To understand how Macbeth makes the decision to kill Duncan LESSON 6 To understand the Macbeths’ reactions to their murder of Duncan LESSON 7 To understand the motivations of Macbeth and Banquo in the aftermath of the murder of King Duncan. LESSON 8 To understand how Act 3, Scene 4 works dramatically. LESSON 9 To recap the plot and to develop an understanding of how Shakespeare has presented Macbeth as a `tragic hero. LESSON 10 To understand the rise and fall of Macbeth / To identify dramatic devices and to start planning your essay LESSON 11 To structure an essay response to Macbeth which analyses language and dramatic devices. LESSON 12 To see a performance of Macbeth LESSON 13 To see a performance of Macbeth