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Tess of the d'Urban Quills

Average Rating3.80
(based on 59 reviews)

I'm a passionate secondary English and History teacher and am the main planner of resources for my department; as such, I thought I would start sharing them here with the wider community of teachers and professionals. I am Australian trained, but currently teaching GCSE and A- Level (AQA specifications). All lessons are very visually engaging, with images, clips and a variety of activities. You won't find any boring/blank resources here!

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I'm a passionate secondary English and History teacher and am the main planner of resources for my department; as such, I thought I would start sharing them here with the wider community of teachers and professionals. I am Australian trained, but currently teaching GCSE and A- Level (AQA specifications). All lessons are very visually engaging, with images, clips and a variety of activities. You won't find any boring/blank resources here!
Year 10/11: 'Ozymandias' by Percy Shelley
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Year 10/11: 'Ozymandias' by Percy Shelley

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Two to three lessons on the poem "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Romantic context, high level language and structure analysis, annotations and creative activities make an engaging three-part series.
Year 7: Reading and writing feature articles
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Year 7: Reading and writing feature articles

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A fun 2-3 lessons that introduce students to the structure and form of feature articles. Builds to a task where they write their own feature article as Lois Lane, on the topic of Does the world really need superman? Included in this pack is an original model text of a feature article, written by yours truly :) My class had a lot of fun with this. Enjoy!
High Ability: Macbeth Unit
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High Ability: Macbeth Unit

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I’m very proud to share with you my 12 week unit of work on Macbeth. This unit is aimed at a high ability class and includes 12 weeks worth of lessons, power-points, worksheets, resources, homework etc. The first few weeks focuses primarily on contextual details, followed by elements of tragedy, higher order terminology, and skills pertaining to form, genre, language and structure. Furthermore, this unit is designed as a flipped-model project. Students should read the play at home and focus on discussion and writing skills in class. I’ve included the 12 week program I wrote for my students, that details the breakdown of lessons, key terms for each week and required readings prior to each lesson. Feel free to adapt this to suit your own schedules. My students really engaged with the program and the flipped-model fosters independence, study skills, and student autonomy. Enjoy! Please note that character profile sheets are based on the Schmoop resources.
GCSE: Language Paper 2 OUR PLANET
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GCSE: Language Paper 2 OUR PLANET

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In my opinion, language paper 2 is the most BORING of all the GCSE. In introducing this unit to my mixed ability year 9 class, I decided to take a more relevant and engaging approach. These 4-5 lessons examine the ideas and issues brought to the fore by the wonderful David Attenborough, in his recent 2019 speech at the premiere of the Our Planet series. Find included: An introduction to the issues of climate change Debate and discussion topics, grounding this topic in contemporary social and global issues Highly structured activities that fascilitate students’ skills for Q1, 2 and 3 of this paper Self marking activities Videos and multimedia resources Transcripts of Attenborough’s speech, and Margaret Thatcher’s 1990 climate speech (for comparison for Q2), with guided annotations. Proud of this- English teachers don’t just teach how to read and write. We teach kids how to THINK and be critical. Enjoy!
Year7/8: Non-Fiction Unit
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Year7/8: Non-Fiction Unit

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A scheme of work with 12-13 whole lessons (all power-points and worksheets included) geared at introducing students to non-fiction texts. Students learn about persuasive language features and how to analyse these in various non-fiction forms. Lots of creative activities allow students to apply these skills to the crafting of their own non-fiction texts. Lessons included cover forms/topics such as: newspaper articles, brochures and advertisements.
Freedom- KS3
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Freedom- KS3

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A non-fiction unit based around the concept of "freedom". All power-points and activities included. Students investigate the concept of freedom and how persuasive features are used in a range of non-fiction texts, such as memoirs, essays, articles and speeches. I created this unit for my middle-range year 8 class. Enjoy!
Year 10/11: The Secret Garden- Single Lesson
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Year 10/11: The Secret Garden- Single Lesson

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A helpful revision tool for GCSE Language Paper 1. Looking at an extract from "The Secret Garden", students analyse language devices, respond to a 20 mark style question, and then attempt a creative writing activity.
Gothic Literature- Language Analysis- 2 lessons
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Gothic Literature- Language Analysis- 2 lessons

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1/2 lessons that introduce students to extracts from various Gothic texts, such as The Woman in Black, Interview with the Vampire and two short stories from The Bloody Chamber. Creative writing activity at the end. GCSE skills and related questions: Language Paper 1, Q1, 2, 5
Years 9/10: Stardust
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Years 9/10: Stardust

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A single lesson focusing on an extract from "Stardust," analysing language and structure. GCSE related skills and questions: Language paper 1, Q2, 3
Year 7/8: Treasure Island
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Year 7/8: Treasure Island

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Great for a high ability class, these 4-5 lessons look at an extract from Treasure Island and build skills in: - Language analysis - Identifying language techniques - Creative writing - Peer and self marking. A good introduction if you're starting to look at 19th century texts with younger groups. Enjoy!
Year 9- Jurassic Park (2 Lessons)
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Year 9- Jurassic Park (2 Lessons)

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Two lessons for boys looking at language and structural analysis of an extract from the novel Jurassic Park. Fun clips from the movie, revision of the adventure genre and creative writing. Great for a double lesson!
Gifted & Talented: Fantasy Unit
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Gifted & Talented: Fantasy Unit

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This unit of work and accompanying series of lessons was designed for a class of Gifted and Talented students in year 8. They were studying fantasy fiction in their general English classes, and withdrawn for 2 separate sessions a week to focus on these extension activities. This unit can be integrated into a fantasy unit or taught separately. Details are as follows: PBL, student-centred model Culminating product is a fantasy narrative fiction Lots of scaffolds, differentiation and stretch and challenge Designed as an introduction to understanding literary theory Built around fostering higher order thinking skills, critical and creative writing, and 21st century skills (collaboration, questioning etc). Research and digital literacy- some lessons require independent research and inquiry. Lessons included focus on the following: Why have people dissed fantasy? Critical readings of Le Guinn and Tolkien Introduction of project and need to knows Process of creation: who was Tolkien and what were his methods? Introduction of complex terminology relating to fantasy world-building Breakdown of critical reading of “On Fairy Stories” and linking to ‘what is the purpose of fantasy?’ How to build a convincing fantasy world How to create unique magic systems What are the ethical considerations of fantasy? Originally, this powerpoint was made using Google Slides, and students all had their own digital copy. This is why some of the interactive “portals” (pictures where students can right-click and will be taken to a separate resource) link elsewhere. I have included the resources in a different form so that you can give these to students in hard copy form instead.
Year 7 Poetry: All One Race
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Year 7 Poetry: All One Race

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These three lessons introduce students to the poem “All One Race” by Ooderoo Noonuccal. Sequence of activities is as follows: Brief authorial context Word sort Guided annotation of the poem Scaffold for how to write a TEEL paragraph How to create a meaningful topic sentence Peer feedback activity Included also is: How to analyse techniques effectively placemat Model paragraph
What is narrative perspective?
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What is narrative perspective?

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This brief workshop introduces students to the basic forms of narrative perspective (first, second, third-limited and third-omniscient). Included are a few identification activities and tricks and tips for writing in perspective well.
KS3 How to write a paragraph crib sheet
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KS3 How to write a paragraph crib sheet

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A great crib sheet with lots of structured explanations for how students can begin to: Write critical paragraphs analysing language, structure and form Craft a creative story. I am using this currently as a guided revision tool for my year 7 class.