A lesson presentation and a set of research questions on the Heaney poem 'The Summer of Lost Rachel', one of the poems on the new CCEA AS English Literature specification.

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = [variously] Homeric similes / heroic code / Odysseus's character

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = [variously] Homeric similes / heroic code / Odysseus's character

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = [variously] Homeric similes / heroic code / Odysseus's character

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = [variously] Homeric similes / heroic code / Odysseus's character

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = [variously] Homeric similes / heroic code / Odysseus's character

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = [variously] Homeric similes / heroic code / Odysseus's character

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = servants / suitors

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = suitors or servants

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = [variously] Homeric similes / heroic code / Odysseus's character / servants / suitors

A presentation of Homer's Odyssey colour-coded and annotated for use to lead the whole class through the text together and pupils annotate their copies for study. Text is Penguin (2003) translation by E. V. Rieu. Annotations/notes are displayed on successive pages. Colour codes for themes are as follows: purple = xenia yellow = fate green = gods&men pink = women&men blue = fathers&sons red line = [variously] Homeric similes / heroic code / Odysseus's character

A pdf for handout or presentation on formal letters, and a detailed look at play scripts and how to format them, using two exemplars (one of which is from a past pupil). I have used both of these formats to differentiate GCSE English Language creative writing: for pupils who struggle with story structure, they can write a series of letters, or a letter and a reply, based upon characters they know from novels they've studied. Scriptwriting is excellent for gifted and talented pupils who find short story composition not challenging enough. Drama pupils will also benefit from the analysis in the scriptwriting section of how setting and stage directions function. This will aid GCSE and A-level pupils compose their own scripts (I adapted this from a course I taught in first-year university). For KS3 Communication, I used this letter-writing framework for final assessment on novel (so, can be adapted to mark either Reading or Writing as a Key Curriculum Skill).

A comprehensive study map in two parts, addressing the statement that Odysseus's men all die because of his poor leadership skills. Based upon a past-paper mark scheme, I look at the argument from both sides, covering books 9 - 12. These study maps can be completed by pupils individually as revision. I would recommend spending class time letting pupils gather their responses in pairs or groups at first, and then chair a whole-class discussion based upon my completed versions, included here as teacher's answers. Pupils can then produce a final version of the completed study map for their reference.

A selection of resources for a first lesson on spoken language/speeches, using Wordles and active learning - visual, audio, and movement. Lesson objective: Understand that different types of speech can be made, and identify key indicators of purpose, audience, and context. Print and laminate the Wordles and display them around the room, numbering them clearly, then work your way through the 6 presentations for the whole lesson. I have had fantastic results using this for GCSE level English Language. If the videos fail to play (they are quite big files, exported from my original Keynote into PowerPoint!), then search YouTube for the speeches: when studying the spoken word - and especially in an introductory lesson like this - it is important that pupils listen to language, and don't just read transcriptions of it. They must gain experience of pace, tone, volume, and pauses in order to analyse effective use of spoken language. (I've also made a PowerPoint of 'Just Wordles' in case the embedded videos cause problems, and you could have another window open on YouTube with the videos open in different tabs, and then just swap between the presentation and the browser - I had to do this once when the school's IT systems were playing up!) As an English teacher, I also kept these up in my classroom afterwards as inspirational posters.

A detailed handout on the context and content of Obama's 2008 presidential victory speech, for the study of language techniques and spoken language / inspirational speeches. Also included is a hexagon activity, which my GCSE pupils always love - in groups, pupils must debate and defend their reasoning behind matching up and making shapes with the hexagons, displaying different levels of Bloom's taxonomy with regard to which hexagons touch which others. I hope the hexagons haven't moved in the documents; some text boxes might need enlarging if Word changes the font. Print out the hexagons and laminate, and enjoy pupils' presentations to the class of their final patterns!

A detailed handout on the context of Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech, for the study of language techniques and spoken language / inspirational speeches. Also included is a hexagon activity, which my GCSE pupils always love - in groups, pupils must debate and defend their reasoning behind matching up and making shapes with the hexagons, displaying different levels of Bloom's taxonomy with regard to which hexagons touch which others. Some shapes and text boxes might need adjusting in other versions of Word. Print out the hexagons and laminate, and enjoy pupils' presentations to the class of their final patterns!

Folowing my lesson using the Wordles, this is lesson one in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: be aware of the different potential purposes of speeches, and be able to identify the purpose of a variety of presentations. Three purposes examined are: persuasion, entertainment, and information. Includes videos of speeches to illustrate points.

Folowing my lesson on audience, this is lesson four in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: be able to identify techniques that are used to create an effective opening and ending to a presentation. Three elements are examined: introductions, conclusions, and sentence structure. Includes videos of speeches to illustrate points.

Folowing my lesson on tone, this is lesson six in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: to be able to identify techniques used by speakers to effectively engage their audience. Five techniques are examined: voice, accent, volume, pace, and pauses. Includes videos of speeches to illustrate points.

Folowing my lesson on Introduction/purpose, this is lesson two (or three if the previous took two) in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: to be able to identify the audience of a speech, and comment on the impact that audience would have on the language and delivery of the presentation. Five audiences are examined. Includes videos of speeches to illustrate points.