A set of detailed notes about the significance of Paulina, with all important quotations typed in bold, collated in preparation for our senior school study of ‘The Winter’s Tale’. Part of preparation for the Advanced Higher English exam in Scotland.

A great booklet to keep pupils focused when viewing the film for the first time. Analysis of which parts effectively create tension in the viewer.

A set of questions to accompany the fantastic short film New Boy written by Roddy Doyle.

Analysis of film reviews and then essay plan. Pupils thoroughly enjoyed these tasks.

A detailed set of notes about Caliban, focusing on his pivotal role throughout the whole of the play. Important quotations recorded in bold with text references. Summary of his key contribution to the drama. My pupils collaborated on this, in preparation for writing an essay about significant characters in two plays (see my other notes on Camillo and Paulina from 'The Winter’s Tale).

Some resources to support the teaching of this brilliant Scottish short story. Discussion questions, analysis, essay plan etc.

A quiz for 6 teams based on the Scottish set text poems: Originally Valentine Mrs Midas War Photographer The Way my Mother Speaks In Mrs Tilscher’s Class My class really enjoyed this as a revision activity

A Power point with background information about the life of Christy Brown. A great resource for introducing the autobiography or the film.

A really fun listening test to do with first year high school pupils. Text available to listen to online.

A detailed help sheet to scaffold pupils in the writing of a reflective essay about friendship.

Questions on the novel, then a detailed essay plan for writing 3 diary extracts.

A worksheet that I created for revision purposes before National 5 and Higher English exams in Scotland. (But suitable for England too) Tackles parenthesis, repetition, listing, colons, semi-colons etc. Pupils said this really helped them clarify how to answer many of the exam questions.

Work to suit secondary pupils in S3/4 (age 14+) A set of questions to support pupil analysis of the text, and then a detailed essay plan to help pupils write an essay about the range of feelings communicated in the poem.

A unit of work to support a workshop-style approach to teaching creative writing. I’ve been working on this for a couple of years and pupils really enjoy it. We look at excerpts from a range of inspiring texts (e.g. ‘Sophie’s Choice’ by William Styron, The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini, ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue, ‘The Snapper’ by Roddy Doyle, ‘About Grace’ by Anthony Doerr and ‘Talking Heads’ by Alan Bennett) and go on to consider how these authors have utilised key techniques such as creating tension, narrator’s voice, vivid setting description, engaging openings etc… Pupils then attempt a short writing task based on each text. Texts not reproduced for copyright reasons, but page numbers and publishers listed. I have found that many pupils go on to purchase and read these texts after looking at them here.

A powerpoint to support pupils writing about genre conventions in My Left Foot. Lots of information about conventions of a BIOPIC with links to other biopic films.

A template to help pupils write down their observations of camera work, sound etc. during a key scene in My Left Foot. Excellent preparation for writing a film essay about a key scene. Pupils can then collate their notes into a final document.

Part of a thematic project I'm doing with S3 Scottish pupils. This is a worksheet to accompany a newspaper article: 'Texas Students Can Bring Guns to College'. I can't publish the article for copyright reasons, but it's easily available online. Please look at my other resources for connected materials.

A powerpoint to introduce Anthony Burgess's 'A Clockwork Orange'. Key information about characterisation, plot, theme, and explanations of dystopia, totalitarianism etc. Youtube links to other supporting materials.

An excellent resource for getting pupils to analyse the effectiveness of a writer's word choice. A homework sheet with a step-by-step guide to how to tackle each sentence. My pupils' close reading (comprehension/interpretation) marks improved significantly after doing this.

Planning booklet to support pupils in the production of a really detailed piece of personal writing