In this lesson students are asked to explain how and why Lady Macbeth has changed within the play so far. The lesson starts by offering students an analogy about Lady Macbeth and asks them to comment on it. Students are then asked to read the scene where she sleep walks and reveals her guilt to others (links to various film and stage slips are attached). In groups students are then asked to make links to what she says unwittingly here and to what she has previously said in the play. The lesson ends with an opportunity to respond independently by writing an essay paragraph.
All lessons in this series include:
- Links to online videos (see 'notes' under Powerpoint slides)
- Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson
- Differentiated tasks
- Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing')
- Handouts of scenes or a selection of quotes from scenes studied
- Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment
- Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the scene
- References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme for Paper 1, particularly to the demands for attaining a grade 5 - what is considered a 'good pass' for the qualification.
It's suggested that you download the whole series to appreciate the full learning journey.
If you haven't already, it's a good idea to have a bank of postcards which teachers can send out to parents to celebrate their child's progress in lessons or extra curricular activities. They can truly add a personal touch, more so than a text message which teachers are often asked to send.
This competition offers all students in your school the opportunity to have a go at designing the postcard which teachers will send home.
This bundle includes a powerpoint which can be adapted to use in assembly or in lessons and an A3 poster which can also be adapted to be used in corridors or form rooms.
Most schools have a reprographics room or member of admin staff who can scan A4 designs and adapt them using software like Photoshop and cut them for use by teachers.
Entries for the competition could be shown as part of a display within your department or in the school library.
Attached is a powerpoint introducing students the scene where Macbeth meets the 3 witches. It provides some contextual information which refers back to Lesson 1 in this series on witchcraft and offers questions for students to think about in groups / pairs.
It ends by asking students to annotate 2 poignant quotes said by Macbeth and Banquo and consider their meaning. Students are to use a continuum to track their thoughts on the witches so far.
All lessons in this series include:
- Links to online videos (see 'notes' under Powerpoint slides)
- Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson
- Differentiated tasks
- Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing')
- Handouts of scenes or a selection of quotes from scenes studied
- Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment
- Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the scene
- References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme for Paper 1, particularly to the demands for attaining a grade 5 - what is considered a 'good pass' for the qualification.
It's suggested that you download the whole series to appreciate the full learning journey.
In this lesson students are asked to explain how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s roles have reversed in the story judging by their language. The lesson starts by asking students to identify the differences between them as people, referring to what they have previously learned. Students are then asked to read the scene where Macbeth admits to his torturous guilt (a link is provided to Ian McKellan and Judi Dench's performance). They are then to colour code where they find particular patterns in the imagery Macbeth uses and then invited to compare his use of language to his wife's previous use within her soliloquy near the start of the play. The lesson ends with an opportunity to respond independently by writing an essay paragraph.
All lessons in this series include:
- Links to online videos (see 'notes' under the powerpoint slides)
- Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson
- Differentiated tasks
- Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing')
- Handouts of scenes or a selection of quotes from scenes studied
- Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment
- Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the scene
- References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme for Paper 1, particularly to the demands for attaining a grade 5 - what is considered a 'good pass' for the qualification.
It's suggested that you download the whole series to appreciate the full learning journey.
...even tackles Dactylic Dimeter!
This is an interesting poem which features in both AQA and Edexcel's anthology of Literature exam poems. The poem, if you don't know it, describes the advance made by the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava, part of the Crimean War. It is a conflict poem which explores the themes of glory and tragedy in war which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit.
The lesson begins by showing students some images of the Crimean war and asks them to list what they teach them about the battle and the context, thus predicting what the poem could be about. There is then a slide which lists important facts about the battle which are easy to read and discuss as a class. They are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which explore the themes of violence and bravery. The ideas they pull together for this can then be pulled together as a class and there are slides which reveal the devices for them to then write about.
I have added 2 slides to this presentation which go into depth about structure for more able students - particularly on Dactylic Dimeter which can be hard to explain. There is a clear annotation of a stanza and an explanation of how it works to add the crucial rhythm which this poem is famous for.
The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with AQA's exam success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills.
Attached is;
- A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined
- A handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies
- Essay PEA styles sentence starters writing frames for weaker students (these refer to a different essay question to the lesson but can be adapted)
Within this powerpoint are also links to online analyses of the poem as well as the BBC Bitesize video.
Attached is a bundle of extracts that have been adapted from the original text which are more suitable for weaker GCSE English Literature classes and/or EAL students. In some cases I have taken out words, replaced them or omitted chunks of text so that they are more manageable, whilst aiming to keep the writer's original intention.
In every document there is a simple essay question which students can focus on when reading the extract. I've found them useful to annotate in lessons and then ask students to respond using structured essay paragraphs. All extracts have a word box which defines archaic words.
These would be useful for studying for any exam board and the question can be adapted to refer to the rest of the storyline.
There are 14 extracts as follows:
- How does Stevenson introduce Hyde as a villain?, Ch 1
- How does Stevenson make this scene tense?, Ch 2 (x 2 versions)
- How does Stevenson show that Mr Utterson is worried about Hyde? Ch 2
- What type of atmosphere does Stevenson create in this extract? Ch 4
- How does Stevenson make Carew's murder dramatic? Ch 4
- How does Stevenson present Dr Jekyll as an isolated and desperate character? Ch 5
- Incident at the window, Ch 7
-How does Stevenson show Poole's fear of his master? Ch 8
- What do these quotes suggest could have happened to Jekyll? Ch 8 (list of single quotes, not extract)
- How does Dr Lanyon feel about Hyde here? Ch 9
- How does Stevenson present the theme of addiction? Ch 9
- How does Jekyll feel about killing Mr Carew? Ch 10
- Jekyll wakes up as Hyde, how does Stevenson make this dramatic? Ch 10
- How does Stevenson make this a dramatic ending to the novel? Ch 10
This lesson asks students to analyse what Mrs Birling’s dialogue shows about her as a character and consider how the audience is meant to react. The lesson starts by asking students to consider what what role she plays and how she develops as a character. There is a 'challenge task' also provided which asks them to think about how a modern audience responds to her.
There is a list of quotes from across the play attached as a handout which students can think about in pairs and they can then be annotated on the board by students/the teacher.
Students are then asked to list the positive and negative aspects of her character and what she does across the play. There are some suggestions which follow this.
The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with the AQA English Literature GCSE success criteria which can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills.
Attached is a bundle of resources which will help explore the character of Crooks in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'.
The first 3 documents offer quotes which either describe Crooks or are part of his dialogue from across the whole novel. The last 2 documents focus on his role particularly in chapter 4 of the story where he attempts to undermine Lennie and becomes interested in the 'dream ranch' discussed by Candy and Lennie.
Students can use the quote sheets to annotate their thoughts about him and to make links using coloured pens (the 'quote explosion' looks great on a display).
There is a A3 essay plan sheet where students have plenty of room to plan their ideas for each paragraph - an ideal homework activity.
Attached are two lessons which guide students in planning and performing a role play based sketch which explores the themes within the play 'An Inspector Calls' by J.B Priestley. Since students have the option of studying this for their English Literature GCSE it's often a good idea to ask them to rehearse or perform a Speaking and Listening assessment based on it as it's got a range of ideas to discuss.
Lesson 1:
Students are asked to consider which skills they need to work well within a group and generally in terms of being a good listener and public speaker. Suggestions are listed on the next slide and they are introduced to AQA's mark scheme (Pass, Merit, Distinction). They then have the choice of 3 scenarios based on characters and moments within the play. Some of these are hypothetical situations which may not have happened but are plausible and provide good scope for emotional conflict - these might be best explored by a stronger group which you could select. Attached is a planning sheet with logical steps on how to approach them. There is a chance to rehearse and peer assess notes.
Lesson 2:
Students are asked to check their notes and add any last ones before performing. Attached is a peer assessment tick sheet which is also useful for teachers to use and log grades whilst the class watches. At the end of the performances students are asked to consider the best performances and justify why as well as noting down their final judgement of their own performance linking it to the success criteria.
This is an English lesson on the poem ‘America’ by the Jamaican born poet Claude Mckay. In it he explores his feelings about becoming an American citizen and lamenting how badly black people were treated by the establishment. It discusses the themes of prejudice and freedom which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit (see my poem on Frederick Douglass in my shop).
The lesson begins by asking students to make judgements based on a group of images and consider the lifestyle of black Americans within the 1920s when Claude had moved there. There is then a slide which introduces them to some facts about the social context and another which offers facts about McKay’s life.
There is then a slide reminding students of how sonnets are constructed and asks them to identify the clues that suggest that this poem is one and why that would be appropriate considering the content.
Students are then introduced to the ‘WPSLOMP’ method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which are examples of personification and imagery well as some more challenging features. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and the slides can be annotated by the teacher on the board and there are also some quotes colour coded as the answers.
The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with an adaptable success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. Here I have used SQUID (Statement, Quote, Infer, Device/Develop which is similar to PEA). There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills.
As with all my lessons, there are ‘Talk for Writing’ activities and Challenge tasks for more able students.
Attached is:
-A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined
-The poem with a word bank on it
-Link to online videos (see ‘Notes’ under slides).
-An extension task: write a poem about your country (here the UK) using this poem as inspiration.
All images are from Openclipart.org or Wiki Commons.
This is a popular speaking and listening game which can also be used in other subjects other than English.
How to play:
One student stands in front of the board whilst each slide is projected (these show images and the ‘taboo’ words).
They cannot turn around and look at what’s behind them.
The rest of the class have to raise their hands and describe what’s behind them WITHOUT using any of the words listed. Their aim is to get the standing student to say the word at the top of the board.
This game is based on the novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’.
It’s a great way to revise the novel once you’ve finished it - many of the slides refer to key themes and moments in the story.
There are 38 slides which can be adapted to suit your class’s ability.
All images are taken from openclipart.org.
This resource acts as an introduction to etymology: the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.
Attached are 2 table style handout sheets listing root words which originate from either Greek or Latin. They ask students to list words which use them and to investigate what they mean. This would be useful to do in a computer room or using dictionaries in pairs/groups.
The powerpoint reveals the answers and of course can be adapted to add more.
This would be useful for KS3 literacy classes or within learning support (learning roots of words can help with spellings).
In this lesson students are asked to explore how Roald Dahl describes his childhood in chapter 1 of his autobiography, Boy. It would ideal to use as part of a KS3 unit.
The lesson starts by asking students to read the preface and respond to it in pairs.
There is a group task for students to do after reading the chapter where they are given 4 questions on the board and a challenge task. All questions are linked to the GCSE reading skills AO1, 2, 3 where they have to think about language, structure and the readers’ reactions.
There are slides with the text on for teachers to annotate on a smart board as well as a map to show the area in Wales in which Dahl grew up.
The plenary asks students to discuss anecdotes about members of their own family which links to the text.
This lesson, as my other Literature lessons do, includes:
Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson
Handouts of extracts/text
Differentiated tasks
Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities (‘Talk for Writing’)
In this lesson students are asked to explore how Roald Dahl describes his childhood in chapter 5 and 6 of his autobiography, Boy. It would ideal to use as part of a KS3 unit.
The lesson starts by asking students to discuss how tension can be created in fiction within a pair. There is a challenge task which asks students to think about how pace can also contribute. There are some slides which reveal some ideas that they could have thought about in terms of language and structure (a useful introduction to GCSE skills). Students are then to read chapter 5 and 6 which describe the fall-out Dahl and his friends suffered after the ‘Great Mouse Plot’ involving Mrs Pratchett!
Students are then to stick the attached sheet into their books which has quotes from this anecdote which demonstrate the tension that Dahl creates. Students are to annotate these in pairs and consider how he uses language and structural devices to do so. These tasks are linked to the GCSE reading skills AO1, 2, 3.
The plenary asks students to plot the moments of tension onto a line style graph. There is a template for this attached.
This lesson, as my other Literature lessons do, includes:
Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson
Handouts of quotes/extracts/text
Differentiated tasks
Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities (‘Talk for Writing’)
In this lesson students are asked to explore how Roald Dahl describes his childhood in chapter 2 of his autobiography, Boy. It would ideal to use as part of a KS3 unit.
The lesson starts by asking students to discuss their memories of being 6/7 years old as Dahl was in this chapter. There is a challenge task relating to the meaning of ‘kindergarten’.
There is a group task for students to do after reading the chapter where they are given questions on the board and a challenge task. All questions are linked to the GCSE reading skills AO1, 2, 3 where they have to think about language, structure and the readers’ reactions.
The plenary asks students to write a descriptive paragraph about their first day at school using key skills, using Dahl’s writing as inspiration.
This lesson, as my other Literature lessons do, includes:
Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson
Differentiated tasks
Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities (‘Talk for Writing’)
In this lesson students are asked to explore how the narrator introduces her home and family. It would ideal to use as part of a KS3 unit on autobiography.
The lesson starts by asking students to ‘think, pair, share’ about what a narrative voice is and how stories may be told. There is a slide with explains the different points of view. There is a group task for students to do after reading the extract where they are given 4 questions on the board and a challenge task. All questions are linked to the GCSE reading skills AO1, 2, 3 where they have to think about language, structure and the readers’ reactions.
There are slides with the text on for teachers to annotate on a smart board.
The plenary asks students to write a paragraph describing their home and family in an interesting way using the key descriptive skills.
This lesson, as my other Literature lessons do, includes:
Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson
Handouts of extracts/text
Differentiated tasks
Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities (‘Talk for Writing’)
This is a lesson on a poem about a War Photographer which features in AQA's anthology of Literature exam poems. The poem, if you don't know it, describes how a photographer struggles with their feelings after taking photos of conflict in a war zone. It explores the themes of violence and isolation in war which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. It's particularly useful to compare to 'Remains' by Simon Armitage since it touches upon P.T.S.D and of course 'War Photographer' by Carole Satyamurti (see my lesson on that in my shop).
The lesson begins by asking students to consider what it would be like to be a war photographer and why they would be an effective focus for a poem. There is then a slide which introduces them to Carol Ann Duffy as a poet and offers a quote about her thoughts about it as a form of journalism. Students are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which are examples of metaphors, simile and contrasts, as well as some more challenging devices. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and the slides can be annotated by the teacher on the board and there are also some quotes colour coded as the answers. Students are then asked to think about structure and there is a slide which introduces them to sestets, internal rhyme and the 'volta' as well as explaining the rhyme scheme.
The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with AQA's exam success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills.
As with all my lessons, there are 'Talk for Writing' activities and Challenge tasks for more able students.
Attached is;
- A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined
- A copy of the poem with a word bank
- A handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies
- A PEA style writing frame for weaker students (to be cut into strips and stuck into books)
- Links to online videos/readings (see 'Notes' under slides).
In this lesson students are asked to identify key moments from 'Lord of the Flies' and comment on how the writer explores the theme of violence throughout the story (A01, 3). The lesson starts by asking students what violence is and list all the relevant moments from the book that they remember. A slide follows with suggested ideas to discuss. Student can then in groups consider the list of quotes from across the novel on the A3 sheet attached. They can stick them in their books, annotate and highlight them and then the teacher can annotate them on the board where the class can feedback their ideas. Since there are a lot of quotes on this sheet, student may want to allocate a section to each member of the group in order to get through it all.
Students are encouraged to think about the following questions:
- What is Golding’s message to the reader?
- What is he trying to tell us about what is happening to the boys?
- The novel was published in 1954. How might these quotes link to people’s attitudes towards the world after WWII?
- Some people think that the island is like a violent character itself. Do you agree? Why is this effective?
Students are then asked to write essay paragraphs independently using provided sentence starters which come in 3 formats: a 'layers of meaning' approach, PEA or the 'reading ladder'. An opportunity to self or peer assess their essay writing follows this.
The success criteria provided refers to the Edexcel English Literature course but can be adapted to suit your course.
This lesson, as my other Literature lessons do, includes:
- Links to online videos/websites (see 'notes' under Powerpoint slides)
- Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson
- Handouts of quotes / extracts from the text
- Differentiated tasks
- Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing')
- Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment
- Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the text
This is a lesson on a poem about a Japanese pilot during the Second World War who failed in a Kamikaze mission. It features in AQA's anthology of Literature exam poems. It explores the themes of isolation in war and shame which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. It's particularly useful to compare to 'Remains' by Simon Armitage and 'War Photographer' by Carol Ann Duffy (see my lesson on that in my shop).
The lesson begins by asking students to consider what Kamikaze is and why those Japanese pilots would be an effective focus for a poem. There is then a slide which introduces them to Beatrice Garland as a poet. Students are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which are examples of metaphors, simile and emotions, as well as some more challenging features. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and the slides can be annotated by the teacher on the board and there are also some quotes colour coded as the answers. Students are then asked to think about structure and there is a slide which introduces them to sestets, sibilance and line length.
The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with AQA's exam success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills.
As with all my lessons, there are 'Talk for Writing' activities and Challenge tasks for more able students.
Attached is;
- A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined
- The poem with a word bank on it
- A handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies
- A set of PEA style writing frames for weaker students to use (cut into strips to stick in books)
- Links to online videos/readings (see 'Notes' under slides).
In this lesson students will be asked to peer assess an essay extract and identify key skills from the mark scheme. Attached is an essay extract from a student which has the criteria to meet level 5 on it.
Students are to stick this across a double page and annotate which A0s are used and where and highlight the strongest areas.
This essay is on the powerpoint slides for the teacher to annotate. Students are then offered other quotes from the rest of the book on the board as well as a handout of ones from across the novel with a word box for more complicated words.
The lesson ends with a chance for students to write essay paragraphs independently using provided sentence starters which come in 3 formats: a 'layers of meaning' approach, PEA or the 'reading ladder'. An opportunity to self or peer assess their essay writing follows this.
The success criteria provided refers to the AQA English Literature course but can be adapted to suit your course.