I’m an English teacher with over twenty years of experience teaching Language, Literature, Media and Drama. I’ve taught a host of curriculum incarnations in the UK where I live and trained, the USA and Australia. I am a fairly new TES author and it’s my ambition to build a collection of high quality, enjoyable, interesting resources for students and teachers.
I’m an English teacher with over twenty years of experience teaching Language, Literature, Media and Drama. I’ve taught a host of curriculum incarnations in the UK where I live and trained, the USA and Australia. I am a fairly new TES author and it’s my ambition to build a collection of high quality, enjoyable, interesting resources for students and teachers.
A very detailed breakdown of the novel. The table has a section for every chapter which includes a summary of events, an exploration of literary methods with quotations and a number of specific, detailed connections to Frankenstein. At the end of the document are 13 sample essay questions which use the style and structure of the Edexcel A2 pre-released SAMs questions.
A nine slide ppt and 8 page work pack filled with examples of good quality writing that shows rather than tells, top tips, tasks and challenges for students to build skills in using language to show something with their creative writing skills rather than tell it. Ideal for AQA GCSE Language Paper 1 or Key Stages 2 and 3 creative writing.
Created to raise student achievement in the Edexcel A Level Literature 9ETO/02 examination, a collection of eight sophisticated, evaluative and detailed thesis statements drawing connections between Frankenstein and The Handmaid’s Tale. The statements address all Assessment Objectives for this examination and can be adapted for use in most essays. A number of tasks are included to familiarise students with the language of the mark scheme and to develop their analytical writing skills to an excellent standard. The content and tasks here can be used as one lesson and homework or extended into a longer unit of work.
Five cloze exercise fill in the blanks plot summary worksheets for each stave of A Christmas Carol. The ten page document is editable, printable, requires no preparation and a full answer key is provided.
37 detailed study questions for chapters 1 to 5, a list of gothic features with a task, a short exemplar essay analysing an extract and another extract with questions which can be used as a test. A list of ideas for learning activities is also included.
An interesting and accessible 18 page ppt presentation introduction to Romanticism which focuses on the contextual influences and central values of the movement across works of literature, visual art and music. Quotations from contemporary philosophers and artists are included with examples of neo classical and Romantic works of art and music. This provides a fun and interesting introduction to any unit of work on Romanticism for A Level Literature or Arts students.
Designed for A Level or advanced GCSE students, a 25 slide power-point presentation which provides a detailed introduction to literary criticism. The concept of critical ‘lenses’ is described and short explanations are given of a number of critical paradigms including Formalism, Deconstructionism, Historical, Intertextual, Psychological, Archetypal, Mimetic and Reader-Response. Feminist (8 slides) and Marxist (4 slides) critical perspectives are explored in some detail, encompassing their core aims, central concerns and interests with specific reference to aspects of The Great Gatsby and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Bibliographies and guidelines for conducting further research are also included.
With new additions, a fantastic resource which uses Romeo and Juliet as a focus to practise and refine persuasive writing skills in a variety of forms including a letter to the editor, a newspaper article, a radio interview, a personal journal and a speech. Students develop empathy skills through writing as a series of characters to persuade an audience of Verona’s citizens of their perspective on the events of the play. Each task includes a description of the form students will be asked to write in, a list of its structural and language conventions, and detailed task instructions. This works well as early preparation for the AQA GCSE Paper 2 Section 2 Point of View task for a Year 9 class, or any other persuasive writing examination assessment, or as an extended independent learning homework project. New addition are fun Wanted Poster worksheets for Romeo, Mercutio and Tybalt which act primarily as a drawing activity, and a Hot Honeys Dating Profile worksheet that students can complete for characters of their choice.
A Jekyll and Hyde essay writing unit of work with a worksheet pack for AQA GCSE Literature Paper. This gets fantastic results in examination analytical writing focusing on the themes, issues and contextual influences on the novel Jekyll and Hyde and teachers students how to build an argument and write an essay which meets all assessment objectives. This extends skills to level 8 or 9 in analysis, evaluation, incorporating contextual influences and academic writing. The resource contains a list of the central themes of the novel, two extended thesis statements for students to expand upon with supporting evidence, and a number of shorter ideas which students are asked to use to form their own thesis statements and explorations. There are a number of specific references to the contextual influences on the narrative. Together this builds to a sample exam style question and a detailed essay plan. A ppt of 12 slides and 13 page workpack.
This package focuses on To My Nine Year Old Self by Helen Dunmore and prepares students for the Edexcel A Level Literature ‘Contemporary Poetry’ section of exam paper 9ETO/03. It contains a host of thought provoking learning activities designed to give students an in depth knowledge of the poem and the skills to write an evaluative comparative essay. There is a ppt with thinking routine activities and an analytical paragraph, an extended worksheet of questions and tasks which guides students towards forming and developing their own thesis statements, and an extended analysis which students are asked to adapt into a comparative essay. Links to the examination focus, question style and Assessment Objectives are referenced throughout.
15 ‘Midsummer and Me’ Debate and Discussion Question Cards which outline an ethical issue in the play and ask a series of critical thinking questions. This set is very flexible and can be used in a number of ways. Most popular uses so far are as ‘speed dating’ group discussions or as the basis for more formal debates. Tasks can be used as essay questions.
Class Debates. Full instructions for holding a more formal class debate are provided along with 20 thought provoking, controversial debate topics. A handout explaining and giving examples of persuasive language devices is also included.
This resource makes up part of my bundle full unit of work on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
A full Scheme of Work for the Romantic Poetry unit (9ETO/03) of the Edexcel A Level Literature course. Information and a host of learning activities address each Assessment Objective, focus on contextual influences, conventions and characteristics of the movement, then on each poet and prescribed poem in turn. Tasks and ideas for study are provided to extrapolate evaluative and insightful understanding of the meanings of each poem in conjunction with further activities which prepare students for writing high level essay responses to essay questions.
A detailed program for Australian Stage 4 Year 8 on Trash by Andy Mulligan which is estimated to last 7 or 8 weeks / 20 to 25 lessons. All activities are tied to Australian National Curriculum Outcomes and fully differentiated for G&T, LD and ESL students. Learning activities and assessment tasks are embedded throughout taking the form of group projects, debates, close analysis of visual, literary and digital texts, and creative writing in a range of text types including news reports, feature articles and diary text types. Students also compose graphic organisers, charts and Venn diagrams. Visible thinking routines, self and peer assessment are used throughout, and there is an emphasis on social justice, diversity, sustainability and critical thinking built into all tasks. Extensive ICT learning is embedded through the unit with the creation and development of a ‘Digital Portfolio’ where students will store and reflect on their work. All activities also comply with UK NC guidelines.
A large (136 pages of WORD documents and 11 detailed ppts), fully editable, no prep required complete unit of work which really brings A Midsummer Night’s Dream to life. This unit of work makes the play relevant to student’s lives and the world in which they live, asking them to experience the play as a piece of theatre as well as a literary text. Quizzes, tests, essay questions, worksheets, debate cards, character analysis, group projects, creative activities, contextual information and more. All activities are graduated to fit the learning stages of Blooms Taxonomy moving from recall and understanding through to analysis, evaluation and creation with collaborative projects. Primarily designed for A Level courses or GCSEs, most activities can be easily used with younger age groups at Key Stage 3 (11 to 14 years old). I have placed particular focus on contextual appreciation, textual knowledge, critical thinking, and skills in building and supporting an argument through debate, essay and letter writing tasks. Creative tasks include Director’s Log and Deck of Cards projects. The essay questions in particular are intended to stretch and challenge students’ ability and achievement. The resource includes:
Context, Genre Conventions and Narrative (12 pages)
Close Reading and Textual Knowledge (57 pages and 9 ppt presentations)
Debate and Discussion Tasks (18 pages)
Formal Letters (13 pages and 2 Marking Rubrics)
Essays (17 essay questions, 25 pages and 2 Marking Rubrics)
Collaborative Projects (21 pages and 2 ppts of 35 slides)
A ccss compliant, no prep required 14 page work book consisting of 100 reading questions, a detailed list of the gothic features of the novel and a creative writing task ‘The Danvers Letters’. There is also a two page essay which introduces the novel and argues its merit as a source of study. A document of four sample PEA paragraphs which explore the gothic features of the text and an analysis grid worksheet considering the female characters are also provided.
A short 600 word A Grade exemplar essay exploring the spontaneous overflow of emotion in Shelley’s Stanzas Written in Dejection Near Naples. The meaning and impact of literary devices are explored in connection with contextual issues relation to Shelley’s own life and the wider Romantic movement. Originally designed for the Edexcel A Level Literature course, this can be used as an exemplar analysis and to assist creating an essay response which explores two Romantic poems for the 9ETO/03 examination paper.
For the Edexcel A Level Literature Prose Study: Science and Society, a detailed Scheme of Learning connecting Frankenstein and The Handmaid’s Tale. A range of concepts and focuses for study are included, along with sophisticated vocabulary and terminology. There are many thought provoking discussion questions, critical viewpoints and ideas provided which can be adapted to extended essay content. Interesting individual and collaborative learning activities with a number of links to websites with useful related content are included throughout.
A one page synopsis of the story of the play with embedded quotations. This is ideal to begin a unit of work on the play or as a resource to aid revision.
A 21 page reading guide to Of Mice and Men including chapter summaries, brief thinking tasks, a bank of quotations, character descriptions, explanations of themes and issues.
Two practice AQA GCSE Language Paper 1 Section A examinations. The first uses an extract from the opening of George Orwell’s 1984 and the second uses an extract from JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Each practice examination fits on two sheets of A4 paper and line numbers are included within the sources.