A fully-fleshed resource, which has activities designed for analysis of two extracts from The Woman in Black. There is an activity which looks at Ann Radcliffe’s definitions of horror and terror. Included is an extended writing question and writing frame. I have also added a creative writing task with a model response, plus a re-drafted model which could be used to illustrate the importance of making conscious choices as an author. I use the resource with very able year 8 classes, but it would be suitable for key stage 3 and 4 students alike. 15 slides in length and enough material for up to two lessons. Lesson has been updated with working links (September 2019).

A simple introduction to verb and adverb word classes including straightfoward definitions, colourful and animated examples, and a range of tasks designed to get students not only to recognise these word classes but to use them successfully in their own writing. The lesson would be suitable for students of late primary age (perhaps years 4, 5, 6) or early secondary (year 7), depending upon their needs and abilities.

A pair of lessons which focus on extract analysis of characters from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Frankenstein. The Frankenstein lesson contains printable resources for close language analysis in groups and the Jekyll and Hyde lesson contains an engaging activity where students can draw and label Mr Hyde. I would recommend the resource be used with low to middle ability KS3 students.

A simple planning resource and essay question for The Handmaid's Tale

The resource is aimed at AS / A level students just beginning the novel. The presentation unpacks the first page and half of Atwood's novel in a fair bit of detail. The epigraphs, satire, context, significance of names and mode of narration are all covered. More like this to come.

This resource can be used across 2-3 lessons and leads students through the plot, context, settings, characters and key themes of the poem. I have tried to throw in a few strategies to make the lesson more student-led and less discussion or teacher focused, such as asking students to come up with their own questions about a section of text. The slides also contain my thoughts and ideas where they may be helpful.

Separate PowerPoints for chapters 2 and 3 of The Handmaid's Tale. The chapter two presentation deals with the introduction of the Marthas, the shift in style from the first chapter and some of the key images from the second chapter. The chapter three presentation focuses on the character of Serena Joy. It includes context on the three women Serena Joy's character was based on. I have included some links to clips of the women, which stimulate debate as their views are fairly controversial. Then there is a simple outline for group work and an essay question.

A bright and visual presentation with a mix of teacher led and student led activities, designed to promote engagement and independent thought. Structure, form, language and context are all covered. There is an annotation activity for students' anthologies (not just copying off the board). The resource would suit middle ability and more able students studying the Eduqas exam board for GCSE and provides work for at least 2 lessons.

A lesson filled with contextual information on Keats’s On The Sea. Discussion points are also provided for Keats’s use of the sonnet form as well as his philosophy of negative capability and the role of the poet.

A lesson with group work tasks on Keats’s In drear nighted December. The tasks also provide links to Keats’s later poems including Ode on a Grecian Urn and To Autumn.

A lesson which examines the imagery, form and context of Keats’s On sitting down to read King Lear once again. A group task is provided to facilitate study of the imagery of the poem quatrain by quatrain.

A step-by step look at John Keats’s ‘When I have fears that I may cease to be’. The lesson begins with a look at the context, the unusual form of the poem and then the language. It also asks students to begin to make comparisons to similar ideas in some of Keats’s other poems e.g. the ocean in On The Sea and the harvest in *To Autumn. *

A full lesson on The Eve of St Agnes by John Keats, taking students through key points of plot, context, form and structure, language features and themes. I used this over a two-lesson teaching sequence.

The lesson begins by building character profiles of Commander Fred Waterford and Fred Judd, and asks students to consider the significance of each character. Next is a close focus on the presentation of his character with discussion questions and, finally, a motion that forms the basis of a debate over his character.

The presentation looks at Moira across the text. It begins with a quotation hunt , contains a task where students evaluate who would be the better protagonist (Moira or Offred) , considers the issue of race and provides a starting point for an essay question.

A presentation which takes students through the very basics of understanding what it means to 'compare' one thing to another, to analysing a model answer and then planning their own response. The model answer compares Death of a Naturalist and Excerpt from the Prelude from the Eduqas exam board. Parts of the resource would suit low ability learners but, for the most part, the presentation suits middle ability learners.

A simple lesson focusing on the use of rhyme in Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. I would recommend it being taught to younger students getting to grips with how we annotate rhyme schemes and compose rhymed poems; I taught this lesson to a mixed ability year 7 class. The presentation includes a starter asking students to use metaphors. Then, there is a slide exemplifying the difference between true and near rhyme. I’ve included an embedded video of a good reading of the poem. Following this is an annotation exercise and, finally, students are asked to write their own rubai using the same rhyme scheme as Frost.

This lesson teaches students how to analyse the language of a poem through a range of activities relating to Counting Tigers by Gillian Clarke. It includes a choice of starter activity, a quotation ‘exploding’ activity, two exemplar responses to an exam-style question on the poem and a writing frame utilising the PETAL acronym to help students write their own response. The lesson is highly visual and there may be enough content to cover more than just one one-hour lesson. I taught this lesson to a low-ability year 9 class, but it could easily be pitched to GCSE students as an unseen poem.

A simple lesson to help students get to grips with the meaning and effects of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116. First, a modern translation of the poem is provided so that students can access its meaning, along with definitions for key words. Then, there is an example of how one of the key lines in the poem could be ‘exploded’ , followed by a task instructing students to ‘explode’ a line from the poem themselves. Several exemplars with images are also provided to help students on their way. Finally, there is a PETAL writing frame to support students in responding to the question: How does Shakespeare present love in Sonnet 116?

A lesson designed for the extract from 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston from the Edexcel IGCSE anthology for English Language specification A. The lesson includes two starter activities, a pair of engaging embedded YouTube videos relating to the text, a simple task for annotating the text, an example question 4 from a past-paper with an exemplar response, and a writing frame utilising the PETAL acronym to support students in writing an exam-style response for question 4. This lesson was used with a year 9 class approaching their GCSE years and could easily be used or adapted for use with years 10 and 11 for initial teaching of the text.