I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
Rather than differentiation, many schools are thinking more in terms of scaffolding in the current climate.
The attached documents include:
a ppt used for CPD
a guidance document containing a range of strategies that can be used to scaffold work for children.
A CPD presentation that introduces the strategies of:
presenting new information in small steps
modelling
scaffolding
This presentation is aimed at re-introducing teachers to these important elements of Rosenshine’s principles of instruction and includes some examples of how this may look in the classroom.
A document created to conduct more beneficial book scrutinies with a focus on curriculum and what students know and can do.
Students meet with a member of staff and have their exercise book with them.
The document outlines what is to be looked for from the books and what the students should be able to articulate.
The document also includes a set of questions that could be asked of students during the scrutiny/pupil voice.
A scheme of work for the AQA power and conflict poetry unit.
The MTP signposts opportunities to make links to the other literature texts. The texts that are linked to are:
Romeo and Juliet
An Inspector Calls
Opportunities to develop language paper skills are also signposted.
Comment back for English teachers in an excel file.
The comments cover the following areas:
- Pupil effort
- Pupil attitude
- Pupil homework
- Pupil classwork
- Pupil targets for improvement
Also broken down to provide comments for:
- Poetry
- Prose
A power point presentation covering major theorists in Media studies with opportunities for students to watch videos, conduct research and analyse media images as part of their revision.
Theorists and theories covered:
- audience positioning
- Representation and readings - Stuart Hall
- Roland Barthes - Action code & enigma code with video clip examples
- Claude Levi Strauss - Binary opposition - with video example
- Vladimir Propp - character theory with vide example
- Todorov - Narrative theory
- Syd Field - 3 act plot structure
These documents outline what makes a student a HAP, MAP or LAP now that curriculum levels have been removed.
HAP = High achieving pupil
MAP = Middle achieving pupil
LAP = low achieving pupil
The documents outline the skills required (in both reading and writing) for each student in year 7 through to year 11 to be categorised as a HAP, MAP or LAP in English language. The skills are bullet pointed to allow ease of use for all department members.
For KS4 this information is separated into both language and literature.
For literature this is broken down even further so that teachers can determine whether students are a HAP, MAP or LAP in specific components of English such as:
- poetry
- 19th century literature
- Shakespeare
- modern novel
These documents would be ideal for teachers to use when assessing student progress in specific components of their English studies be it language or literature. Once used, the student work can then be compared to their target in order to track progress.
Resources to support the development of Accelerated Reader programme and DEAR sessions which are dedicated to reading. (DEAR) In my school students read for 20 minutes daily.
Resource bundle includes:
- a presentation for staff on Accelerated reader including purpose and benefits - including educational research regarding the importance of reading
- a presentation for students on Accelerated reader and DEAR
- templates for book and library passes
- example book marks
- an example student planner page to log reading
- a presentation on reading engagement strategies
Resources that provide students with a fun exploration of English as an introduction to KS3 or KS2.
Students develop a variety of English skills through the theme of going on a quest. Along the quest students must negotiate a number of labours which will each help them to develop necessary skills such as:
- descriptive writing
- formal letter structure
- planning skills
- narrative writing
- solving riddles
- creating characters
Resources to support the exploration and then creation of radio drama.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- work to a brief as per industry standard
- explore existing radio dramas
- listen to radio drama with focus on The Archers
- explore the history of radio dramas
- explore symbolic codes
- explore cultural codes
- explore technical codes
- explore conventions of radio drama
- explore style and structure of radio drama
- explore representation in radio drama
Resources to support the exploration of 'The masque of the red death' by Edgar Allan Poe
Opportunities to:
- explore symbolism
- explore context of the black death
- explore writer's use of language
- explore gothic genre
- compare to the tell tale heart
Resource to support the revision of A Christmas Carol and how to form exam responses to an extract from the novel and make links to the novel as a whole.
These resources provide opportunities for carousel activities whereby students read 4 extracts from the novel and make notes to form an exam response. Students will consider other parts of the text as part of their answer.
4 extracts included
2 fully differentiated (by colour) lessons to support the teaching of the 'The Drum' by John Scott.
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
Resources provide opportunities for students to develop skills for 9-1 poetry exam including language and structure analysis and context exploration.
20 full differentiated (by colour) and meticulously planned lessons to support the teaching of reading and writing skills. These lessons are ready to go.
Ideal for transition from KS2 to KS3, for year 6, year 7 or year 8 classes.
Within these lessons students are exposed to a wide range of fiction, non fiction and literary non fiction texts and will use these as a stimulus for creating their own texts.
These lessons allow students to develop skills for accessing the new English language and English literature 9-1 specifications.
Students will explore the following texts/extracts:
- Article on bats
- Extract from the Twits & BFG - Roald Dahl
- Extract from Frankenstein
- Extract from A Christmas Carol
- Extracts from autobiographies
- Extract from Bill Bryson - travel writing (non-fiction literary)
- Extract from Bleak house
- The Lion the witch and the wardrobe
- blogs
- poetry - Sister Maude, Mother any distance
- articles about Friendship
Students will develop the following skills in preparation for accessing new 9-1 GCSE
- Synthesis
- Comparison
- Language. structure, form analysis
- Theme exploration
- Analytical writing
- Imaginative writing - narrative and descriptive
- Transactional writing
Assessment opportunities and homework tasks also included
A range of documents for subject leaders including:
- question prompts for preparing for an Ofsted interview
- Department self evaluation in line with Ofsted's good criteria
- Department vision
- report writing comment banks
Resources to support the teaching of the new specification (9-1) AQA paper 2 reading section.
Resources are fully differentiated by colour:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
Resources provide opportunity for pupil talk, provide objectives and assessment tasks. Model answers also included.
The texts used are taken from the AQA text book (turtle on the cover) but texts are also included in this bundle.
Fully differentiated lessons to support the teaching of 'The Class Game.'
2 lessons that include pupil talk tasks, assessment, outcomes and cover:
- context of the poem
- language analysis
- form and structure exploration
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow - higher ability
Resources to support the introduction of poetic techniques
Students will gain an understanding of a wide variety of poetic terms, study examples and create their own
Students will analyse the use of personification
The lessons culminates in students applying poetic techniques to their writing.
A learning walk / observation document that can be used to observe lessons across secondary school subjects.
This has been created in light of Ofsted’s latest framework which puts emphasis on curriculum and what students know and can do.
Three focus areas are teaching for memory, responsive teaching and subject expertise.
Behaviour / culture for learning is not included but should always be considered when visiting lessons.