I am an experienced English teacher and Literacy Coordinator. All of my resources are organised, engaging, ready to teach and designed to save you - the teacher - your valuable time!
Please have a look at all of my resources - at least 20% of which are free.
I am an experienced English teacher and Literacy Coordinator. All of my resources are organised, engaging, ready to teach and designed to save you - the teacher - your valuable time!
Please have a look at all of my resources - at least 20% of which are free.
A 12 lesson scheme of work overview to support students in their studies of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (play by Simon Stephens) for Edexcel English Literature IGCSE 4ET1.
All the resources are available on TES.
The first lesson can be found for free here.
If you find this resource helpful, please leave a review and have a look at other resources available in my shop.
A simple worksheet to help students to plan the creation of their own superhero. Students consider the main character traits that they would like their character to have and then plan backwards to think about how this could be portrayed to the reader through their costume, name, body language etc.
This would be helpful when studying characterisation, connotations and superhero conventions. Suitable for KS3.
A detailed and engaging homework menu to be used alongside a horror writing unit. This menu structures homework tasks, but also gives students creative freedom to pursue their own interests.
I tend to set one homework per fortnight to ensure that students have sufficient time to produce something of high quality. The deadlines can be set by the teacher to allow more or less time for certain tasks. This has worked exceptionally well with my classes who produced some outstanding homework.
All the tasks require student to synthesise the information they’ve researched to present it in a new way. Students of all abilities are able to access this homework and are still challenged by it.
It is provided as a pdf for easy printing.
Please have a look at some of the other resources in my LikeAnExpert shop.
A 15 lesson scheme of work designed to support students through the entire play of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. This is aimed at high-ability key stage 3 (it was originally designed for a high ability year 9 class), but it would be easily adapted for key stage 4. It contains a range of tasks that have been modelled on GCSE literature tasks.
All of the lessons are available to download - some of them are free.
Resources for the lessons on the scheme of work:
Click here for a bundle of all the lessons to take you through the play plus a quiz, knowledge organiser and character revision posters.
1) A 40 Question Shakespeare Quiz
2) Introduction to Characters and Themes in The Merchant of Venice
3) Act 1 Scene 1 (Antonio and Bassanio)
4) Portia’s Choice in Act 1 Scene 2 (FREE)
5) Shakespeare’s Portrayal of Shylock in Act 1 Scene 3
6) Jessica’s Character in Act 2 Scenes 1-3
7) The Casket Test in Act 2 Scene 7
8) Shylock’s Portrayal in Act 2 Scene 8
9) Prince Arragon in Act 2 Scene 9
10) Interpretations of Shylock in Act 3 Scene 1
11) Dramatic Irony in the Casket Scene in Act 3 Scene 2
12) Independently Interpreting Shakespeare Using Act 3 Scenes 3-5
13) Act 4: The Courtroom Scene
14) Evaluate the Ending of the Play in Act 5
15) A 35-Question Quiz on the Play with Answers Included
16) A knowledge organiser with key information for studying the play.
Freebies:
For character revision posters for your classroom, click here.
For an English/Drama lesson based on Portia’s choice in Act 1 Scene 2, click here.
For a Scheme of Work overview for the unit, click here.
Please leave a review as I value all the feedback I receive, and have a look at other resources available in my shop.
Revision cards/posters for the five main characters in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare - great for quizzing, introducing characters or as prompts for lessons or homework. These posters contain visual clues about the characters plus four important character quotes for students to remember.
The characters included are:
Antonio
Bassanio
Shylock
Jessica
Portia
More Merchant of Venice Resources:
A complete bundle of resources for The Merchant of Venice which includes lessons to take you through the entire play, a quiz, knowledge organiser and revision posters. .
This bundle includes:
1) A 40 Question Shakespeare Quiz
2) Introduction to Characters and Themes in The Merchant of Venice
3) Act 1 Scene 1 (Antonio and Bassanio)
4) Portia’s Choice in Act 1 Scene 2 (FREE)
5) Shakespeare’s Portrayal of Shylock in Act 1 Scene 3
6) Jessica’s Character in Act 2 Scenes 1-3
7) The Casket Test in Act 2 Scene 7
8) Shylock’s Portrayal in Act 2 Scene 8
9) Prince Arragon in Act 2 Scene 9
10) Interpretations of Shylock in Act 3 Scene 1
11) Dramatic Irony in the Casket Scene in Act 3 Scene 2
12) Independently Interpreting Shakespeare Using Act 3 Scenes 3-5
13) Act 4: The Courtroom Scene
14) Evaluate the Ending of the Play in Act 5
15) A 35-Question Quiz on the Play with Answers Included
16) A knowledge organiser with key information for studying the play.
Merchant of Venice Freebies:
For character revision posters for your classroom, click here.
For an English/Drama lesson based on Portia’s choice in Act 1 Scene 2, click here.
For a Scheme of Work overview for the unit, click here.
Leave a review and choose any other resource for free from the LikeAnExpert shop.
A detailed homework/online -learning resource for students to learn about the context of the black historical figures in John Agard’s poem ‘Checking Out Me History’. Answers are provided on a separate PDF.
Students complete tasks on the following four figures:
Toussaint L’Ouverture
Shaka Zulu
Nanny de Maroon
Mary Seacole
I use this to ensure that students have an understanding of who these figures were and their importance in history. This leads to a greater understanding of the poem.
If you find this resource helpful, please leave a review and have a look at other free and paid-for resources available in my shop.
A spreadsheet plan for an 36 weeks of explicitly teaching word roots. This spreadsheet allocates each week a word root and gives examples of three words that contain this root and are used across a range of subjects across the school.
This can support you to explicitly teach students a word root per week to unlock thousands of words for your students.
Have a look at this bundle of resources for embedding Word Root of the Week in your school.
Related Resources
* Word Root of the Week assembly/form time slides for the whole academic year.
* Staff CPD on Whole-School Reading Strategies
* A bundle of whole-school literacy resources including this CPD, CPD on Reading Strategies and resources for implementing a Word Root of the Week in your school.
Please leave a review as I value all the feedback I receive, and have a look at other resources available in my shop.
A fully-resourced engaging English or Drama lesson which explores the narrative of act 1 scene 2 of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Portia’s choice of suitors. It also prompts students to consider the importance of exposition and spacing on stage when performing a play.
This lesson is ready to teach and easily adaptable. It develops both English and Drama skills.
Learning Objective: Explore the Scenario of Portia’s Choice in Act 1 Scene 2.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will consider how spacing and staging can be used to show character and setting.
-Students will understand Portia’s dilemma in act 1 scene 2.
Students will understand the features of a script and will put these into practice by writing their own.
Lesson Outline:
Do it now: Mind-map features of a script
Starter: Thinking about exposition, the students create freeze frames of different scenarios in large groups.
Activity 1: Summary of act 1 scene 2. Drama task where students act as Portia and her suitors.
Activity 2: Modelling of script layout and script-writing task in pairs.
Performances and peer assessment
More Resources for The Merchant of Venice
Click here for a bundle of all the lessons to take you through the play plus a quiz, knowledge organiser and character revision posters.
Freebies:
For character revision posters for your classroom, click here.
For an English/Drama lesson based on Portia’s choice in Act 1 Scene 2, click here.
For a Scheme of Work overview for the unit, click here.
I am grateful for all reviews and feedback. If you found this helpful, have a look at the other resources in my LikeAnExpert shop.
A detailed year 6 lesson to prepare them for the transition to secondary school. Students will consider what they already know and what questions they have. They will then watch a video from a Year 7 form tutor and work together to consider how they could prepare for secondary school.
Lesson overview, printing instructions and worksheets are all included.
If you find this lesson useful, have a look at other resources available in my shop.
A simple worksheet with questions to help you to get to know your students at the start of a new academic year. This one page sheet helps you to get background on your students and is easy to refer back to mid-year - especially if you have students who are not engaging.
Please leave a review as I value all the feedback I receive, and have a look at other resources available in my shop.
A detailed scheme of work for three lessons preparing year 6 students for their transition to secondary school.
This scheme of work includes:
A lesson preparing students for the challenges of secondary school: the resources for this lesson are available for free here.
A lesson to help students develop their organisation skills for secondary skills. The resources are available here.
A lesson to prepare students for how their friendships might change in year 7 and strategies they can use to protect their mental health. The resources are available here.
If you find this lesson useful, have a look at other resources available in my shop. . Please leave a review as I value all the feedback I receive.
A scheme of learning overview document and end of unit assessment for an introduction to poetry; this unit is suitable for key stage 3 (particularly year 7) to build upon what they have learned in key stage 2. It embeds knowledge of poetic techniques, whilst also introducing them to poetic analysis.
All the resources for teaching this scheme of learning are available in my shop (some of them are free!)
Please leave a review!
A GCSE/IGCSE revision quiz on the social and historical context of Of Mice and Men as assessment preparation.
The rounds included in the full quiz are:
Context
Setting, Structure and Symbols
Literary Devices
Descriptions - Name the Character
Animals
Character Names and First Lines
George and Lennie
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapters Five and Six
If you find this useful, please leave a review and consider purchasing the full 100 question quiz with 12 rounds or this Of Mice and Men revision bundle (more free resources in there too!)
A weekly planning template that has been very effective in helping me to use my time more efficiently. I used to use the Eisenhower Matrix as a tool for working towards my goals, but I found that as a teacher so many unexpected tasks can crop up in a day (some important - many of them urgent) that it didn’t work for me, and I found it too confusing when trying to prioritise what to work on next.
I find this tool far more helpful for time management. Every day, I first complete all the items in the ‘today’ column, I then move on to the ‘this week’ column and when this is done I can move on to the ‘long term goals’. Using this, I have found that I tend to have completed all my weekly tasks by around Wednesday, which means that Thursday and Friday’s limited spare time can be put towards long term goals.
I have attached it as a pdf for easy printing, but it is also included as a ppt in case you would like to edit it so that it works better for you.
If you find this resource helpful, please leave a review and have a look at other resources available in my shop.
1 hour lesson presentation to create a social contract between the students and teacher. This lesson has been successfully used for Key Stages 3, 4 and 5.
Creating a social contract can be a very powerful behaviour management tool. Please leave a review to let me know how it worked for you.
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Twitter - @Like_An_Expert
A detailed knowledge organiser/revision mat to support students studying horror writing.
It includes sections on punctuation, grammar, conventions of horror and famous horror writers.
This is an excellent resource to be used for setting homework, quizzing in classes or as a support mat. It is included as a pdf (for easy printing) and as a ppt for editing (please be aware the ppt does not display correctly in the preview).
Leave a review and choose any other resource for free from the LikeAnExpert shop.
A detailed knowledge organiser/revision mat to support students studying ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare.
It includes the following:
Literary terms definitions
Structure and form definitions (including iambic pentameter and blank verse)
Descriptions of the main characters
An outline of some of the key themes.
This is an excellent resource to be used for setting homework, quizzing in classes or as a support mat. My students in particular find the relevant literary terms helpful.
Leave a review and choose any other resource for free from the LikeAnExpert shop.
Enhance your students’ analytical skills with this comprehensive lesson on Macbeth, designed to deepen their understanding of Shakespeare’s use of tension, dramatic irony, and paradox. This 90-minute lesson (or two one-hour lessons) guides students through key segments of Acts 3 and 4, helping them unpick the Bard’s meaning with structured support and discussion prompts. Ideal for Key Stages 3 and 4, this lesson is perfect for exploring how Macbeth’s ambition begins to consume him as the witches’ prophecies unfold.
Resource Highlights:
27 Fully-Prepared Slides: All the resources you need for a complete, engaging lesson.
In-Depth Literary Analysis: Focuses on Shakespeare’s use of tension, dramatic irony, and the impact of the witches’ prophecies.
Teacher Support: Detailed discussion questions and provided answers ensure you can guide students effectively.
Learning Outcomes:
Comprehensive Understanding: Students will read and interpret key scenes from Acts 3 and 4.
Collaborative Analysis: Encourages group discussions and class engagement to deepen analysis.
Focused Literary Device Exploration: Students will learn to identify and explain the effect of literary devices such as dramatic irony and paradox.
Lesson Breakdown:
Do It Now: A quick 90-second recall on Jacobean beliefs in witches to set the context.
Starter: Introduce key literary terms, followed by a guided reading and discussion of Act 3, Scene 1, leading to a 100-word student summary.
Activity One: Delve into Act 3, Scene 4 with student-led discussions and summary writing.
Plenary: Students reflect on how Shakespeare builds tension, using key vocabulary to articulate their thoughts.
Why Choose This Resource?
Designed for Confidence-Building: Helps students feel secure in their analysis of complex texts.
Ready to Use: Download and start teaching immediately with no prep required.
Leave a review and select another resource of equal value for free from the LikeAnExpert shop.
An engaging and detailed lesson to teach students how to approach the summary question in their reading paper for the CIE 0500 English First Language specification. In this resource is an original exam script which students practise answering.
This resource contains:
A ready-to-teach powerpoint with printing and teaching instructions.
An example summary question/extract and the mark scheme
A revision handout so that students can practise the four step method for approaching this question.
This has been updated according to the 2024 specification change.
Learning Objective: Write an effective summary.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will understand how to meet the requirements of the mark scheme for the summary writing question.
Students will experience a ‘walking mock’ of how to approach the summary writing question.
Students will practise applying the mark scheme by using peer assessment.
Lesson Outline:
Do it now: Think, pair, share: What are the key skills needed for writing a summary?
Starter: Overview of the exam question, skills and marks.
Task 1: Modelled and scaffolded summary task divided into four steps. For the final step, students should be given 15 minutes to write their answer.
Task 2: Scaffolded peer assessment - students assess multiple other examples so that they can see a range of answers.
Task 3: Self-reflection
Leaving question: What questions do you still have about writing a summary?
Freebies:
A free lesson giving an overview of CIE 0500 Language Paper One here.
A free lesson giving an overview of CIE 0500 Language Paper Two here.
Free marking templates for CIE 0500 here.
If you find this lesson helpful, have a look at my CIE 0500 Language Paper 1 bundle here or the Language Paper 2 bundle here. If you’re interested in both, there is a combined bundle here which is cheaper than buying them separately.
Please leave a review as I value all the feedback I receive, and have a look at other resources available in my shop. **
A detailed knowledge organiser to support students in taking CIE 0500 First Language English language paper 1.
It includes the following:
Key terms defined for reading skills (skimming, scanning, PAFT etc).
An overview and suggested exam technique for questions 1, 2 and 3 adapted directly from the mark scheme.
The resource is included as a pdf for easy printing and as a ppt in case you would prefer to edit it.
This is suitable for any IGCSE students. It is an excellent resource to be used for setting homework, quizzing in classes or as a support mat.
Freebies:
A free lesson giving an overview of CIE 0500 Language Paper One here.
A free lesson giving an overview of CIE 0500 Language Paper Two here.
Free marking templates for CIE 0500 here.
If you find this lesson helpful, have a look at my CIE 0500 Language Paper 1 bundle here or the Language Paper 2 bundle here. If you’re interested in both, there is a combined bundle here which is cheaper than buying them separately.
Please leave a review as I value all the feedback I receive, and have a look at other resources available in my shop. **