This is a mini workshop session which focuses on how to use sentence structures for effect for the creative writing section of paper 1 of the WJEC GCSE English exam. This lesson is designed for revision sessions as the exam draws close but can be developed further or used with another exam board. This session uses Donald Trump for inspiration in how to use interesting sentences to describe. It also recaps high and low level language features. It is a fast paced session with paired activities and a main writing task taken from a practice paper. It ends with a self assessment plenary. Be advised that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This resource is designed for revision workshops and focuses on structural features to be used for question 3 of the AQA GCSE English exam, however it can be altered to suit an alternative exam board. As the exam draws closer I find spending a half hour at the end of each session as a “quickie workshop” very useful and have developed these short, sharp revision activities. To teach structural features I use the mnemonic “ROW OF CLONES” ( available in the powerpoint) to help with some of the more common structural features used. This quickie workshop uses an extract from Chocolat in order to practice identifying structural features, this can be a individual or group activity depending on the needs of your class. It can also be used as homework. Please note that TES previews distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a 30 page presentation full of starter / small activities designed to broaden imagination and develop creative writing skills. I personally like to start the academic year with these as a way to promote a fun and lively image to GCSE English and engage learners with the course early on. I find that these types of fun, group activities help break down any negative barriers students may have to English and helps to build confidence in disengaged learners. These activities are mostly group / paired activities which can be boiled down to individual tasks. These tasks can be achieved by learners of all levels and are very useful in helping students tackle the creative writing sections of the GCSE exam. Hope it helps

Many of my students enjoy getting embroiled in a debate about the Royals and so I try to embed this interest within my lessons. This is a 6 page resource based around a recent article on the BBC news website about Meghan Markle. The aim of the resource is to try and bridge the gap between Level 2 Functional Skills and GCSE English Language by making low level structural features (such as short sentences / paragraphs, inclusion of tweets, purpose of online text) a point of the resource. The resource comes with a link to the online article, which includes a short video of the event, a copy of the article itself and a series of question sheets which have been scaffolded into levels and abilities to cater to the mixed levels I often see in FS classes. These question sheets start with simple read and obtain style questions and work their way up to questions which focus on structural features and ask for some analysis. The way in which you want to distribute these questions is left in your hands. You may want all students to try all the questions or leave the difficulty level up to the student and let them choose the level questions they want to tackle and use the rest as extension tasks. The topic of this resource allows for embellishment to your lesson if you feel the students will take to it, you can include a group discussion on the topic of Royals or what merits as news worthy in todays day and age. However you want to use this resource in your class is up to you. Hope it helps. Please keep in mind that the TES preview can distort the look of a resource and this is not a true reflection.

This is a fun, fast paced, team based session which comes with a full powerpoint lesson from start to finish, 3 worksheets and 2 videos. This session covers the main language features which the students will need to know for this exam (DAFOREST / POSHIMP) and addresses not just the terminology but the purpose and job the language features perform. The main aim of the session is geared towards Paper1 Question 5. I use this lesson as an introductory session to language features for my students and build on these key skills as the term moves on. There is enough material to cover a 3 hour session in tis pack. As inspiration we look at an unusual character from the TV show ‘Big Giant Swords’ and use this person to inspire creative writing from the students. Please be aware that TES previews can distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a quick paced and fun filled session with team games and activities. The main focus is on using language to persuade but underpins widening vocabulary and descriptive use. This session comes with the full lesson from start to finish on powerpoint and a 6 page worksheet pack. The lesson starts with fun team games such as Stop the Bus and Guess the Animal ( need to supply your own list of animals). The lesson the steers towards looking at endangered animals and looks at what we can do to help in our everyday lives. This session does assume that students are aware of DAFOREST and POSHIMP language features and leads towards the final task which is geared wards paper 2 questions 3 and 5 of the exam paper. There is enough material to fill a 3 hour session in this pack. Please note that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

It has been 200 years since the birth of Emily Bronte and her novel Wuthering Heights has just as much to offer now as it did then. This session is designed to look at Wuthering Heights with 21st century eyes and introduce a new generation to this story. This session is an engaging, fast paced and fun session with plenty of student lead activities to help the them come to their own conclusions and to share those conclusions with others. This is a jam packed lesson with scaffolded / differentiated questions to help students access this 19th century text at all levels. The session comes with paired and groups activities ranging from read and obtain tasks, read and infer tasks, group discussions and opportunities for students to express their own opinions. This session focuses on paper 1 question 2 and ends with the question “How does Emily Bronte use language to suggest that Heathcliff is perhaps Mr Earnshaw’s illegitimate mixed race son?” - a question which is inclusive, can bring about further discussion and touches upon British Values, something that I was praised for in an recent observation of this session. Much of this session works hard to build on students inference skills, which is key to this exam. Many tasks have both simple questions and deeper, more thought provoking questions, therefore embedding this skill in to almost every task in the session. This session comes with a full powerpoint over 10 worksheets which can be used and adapted in whichever way you need, handouts with tips, hand outs with answer break downs, discussion prompts and a run down of a list of characters and plot summary and the trailer for the 2011 movie. There is enough material to span 3 hours or more, therefore allowing you as the teacher to adapt to your own timetable and students abilities. Many of the slides can also be used as handouts - such as the starter slide which comes with a word search. Please keep in mind that TES previews can often distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection of the materials. Hope it helps.

This is a fun lesson looking at the notion of the Earth Being flat as a means to an introduction to Paper 2 questions 7a and b from the Edexcel exam board. The session looks at two different articles on the topic and delves into how they are written and how the writer conveys a point of view. There is a break down of the exam questions and answer format to help students formulate an answer to these questions. There are team and paired activities and a short video. The session comes with a starter and plenary and 8 pages of worksheets / activities. Please be aware that the TES preview does at times distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This resource aims to broaden students knowledge of our history, promote equality and diversity whilst also improving their read / obtain skills and engagement with texts. This resource focuses on the contributions of Sikhs during the two World Wars, as many students are unaware of their participation as it is rarely mentioned in movies and memes and unfortunately, this seems to be where many students get their information. This resource has enough material for an hour and half session but has enough substance to be developed further into any direction you see fit. The focus of the session is primarily E3/L1 read and obtain with some higher level vocabulary slotted in to stretch and challenge. The session also involves a class discussion, a video with task attached , paired and individual activity and is measured via a points system, as in my experience lower level students enjoy being awarded points as they progress in a session. I usually use these types of sessions to try and motivate disengaged students to engage with written text, as many “switch off” when there is text to read or they are required to write something themselves, and so this has been designed for that purpose, however there is room for development to suit your own students needs. Please be aware that the TES preview can at times distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This session uses an extract from The Witcher and is designed to be a fast paced, Fun and engaging, group based session which allows the learners room for self discovery and peer support in order to practice using the skills they have been taught through out the year. This is largely a recap session on Language and Structural features (I have used DAFOREST, POSHIMP and ROW of CLONES but these can be adapted) they have been taught and to prepare them as the exam dates grow close. Designed for paper 1 question 3 of the edexcel exam board but can be adapted to be used with other exam boards. The focus of this session is on the learners to lead the lesson rather than the teacher to feed knowledge and is great as a recap/ exam prep or workshop lesson. Slides from the presentation can be printed and used as handouts or worksheets, are designed to be used with an IWB with room for annotations during group discussions and feedback tasks and come with comments to help delivery. Please keep in mind that the TES preview can distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

A small set of starters (or plenaries) to actively promote mental wellness in your students. These small activities are designed to help prompt positivity and ownership of behaviours and attitudes with easy to do activities based on CBT techniques. These are easy to apply to your sessions, can be used as tutorials or to help overcome anxiety in the build up to assessments or exams. Feel free to elaborate upon or change depending on what your class needs are. Hope it helps. Please note that the TES preview can often distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection.

We all have those sessions where the students can’t wait to bolt out the door once the session is finished and will hurry through any task to make the class finish quicker. Over the years I have used a wide variety of engaging plenaries to help keep the potential for learning at its max up until the last second of the session. These are a collection of my top 10 that I have successfully used in my sessions. These plenaries come in all shapes and sizes, from group and team tasks, to independent and personal tasks to larger tasks with a competitive edge. You can use these plenaries to reinforce learning from that session or from a whole term, some can be used to assess individual learning and provide feedback on your session and others encourage students taking ownership for their education. Please keep in mind that the TES preview at times distorts the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

We have all had those sessions where the class has been slow to start and a struggle to engage, despite our best efforts. I have put together 10 of my most tried and tested starters which have been the most effective with my learners. These starters are groups and game centered with a competitive element, they peek the learners attention and intrigues them from the moment they sit down. This ensures that your class has a positive and fun reaction / association to your sessions. Some activities are great for recapping previous learning or developing specific skills. These types of starters are also perfect for those sessions where you have the faithful few who always drop in late and disrupt your flow. These starters ensure the class is engaged, so the negative effect of any disruption is reduced and you keep control of the class. This resource gives a break down of each activity along with some sample materials you can use to help get your self started. Please keep in mind that the TES preview at times distorts the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This poster is a really helpful resource to have in your classroom or out on students tables during sessions to help them to remember and use high level language features in their work. The poster breaks down the acronym POSHIMP and uses Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones as a visual memory aid to help reinforce. This is in the format of powerpoint and so is easy to swap / alter or use in other powerpoints. Please keep in mind that the preview can distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This resource is excellent for revision, workshop or homework sessions. In current times, it can also be useful for remote / online sessions. This session breakdowns question 4 of paper 1 in a way that both supports the low ability and stretches the more able students. It is designed to calls on each student to actively use their developed knowledge and prior learning to successfully engage with the session. This session is designed with a variety of short build up tasks, larger revision and recall tasks which lead up to the final analytical, examination writing task. The powerpoint is open and adaptable to be used in whichever was works for you. You can add in timed or paired activities if you plan of delivering this session or you can leave it to be used by the student as homework. Please keep in mind that the TES preview does at time distort the look of the resource and tis is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This session is fast paced and covers a lot of ground. I have used it in both level 2 functional English and as a starter lesson in GCSE English Language in the first month of the new academic year. As many students I have taught within FE are resistant to English, lessons which encourage the demonstration of opinions, encourage critical thinking and group / pair activities are extremely helpful in engaging students with English early on. This session looks at male dancers such as Sergei Polunin and the recent comments made by an American presenter about Prince George taking ballet at school. We use this example to cover wider topics such as prejudice, tolerance and encourage discussions which allow students to look at the issue from a different angle, but also to look at subject specific topics such as writers point of views, language features. The resource comes with the full lesson, with starters, discussion, main activity and peer assessment plenary, on powerpoint, with hyperlinks to various online videos / articles and 7 pages of worksheets and support material. There is enough material to cover a 3 hour session and so can be altered to suit whatever length sessions you may have. Please keep in mind that the TES preview does sometimes alter the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps

This resource looks at writers use of language to reflect opinion and bias in journalism. It can be used in relation to the AQA GCSE English Language exam (8700) for questions 3 and 4 from paper 2 but can also be used in the delivery of L1 and L2 Functional Skills. This resource includes an article with some read and obtain questions which range from simple retrieval of information to questions which require deeper thought and inference, which helps those teachers with mixed ability classes. It also includes a discussion element which looks at gender stereotypes and roles of women and motherhood, which the article touches upon. I have personally found that by including these deeper social and stereotypical elements into my classes helps students to navigate their own thoughts and feelings on certain topics, but also allows them to have their ideas challenged and to work towards accepting diversity. Female stereotypes and sexism is very topical at the moment in the light of the Weinstein scandal and so this is a resource which could be expanded upon. Hope it helps