This extract from Arthur Miller’s play ‘The Crucible’ is perfect practice for analysing elements of political and social protest for those studying the AQA A level syllabus.

This word search is a fun and stimulating activity for those studying ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to help consolidate knowledge of characters, key themes, and their spelling.

This extract from John Osborne’s classic 1956 play ‘Look Back in Anger’ is perfect practice for analysing elements of political and social protest for those studying the AQA A level syllabus.

This crossword on Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ provides an enjoyable but academic activity for pupils to test their knowledge of the play. It always works as a great starter or plenary task. Ideal for pupils from KS3 to KS5.

This extract from Harold Pinter’s powerful play ‘One For The Road’ is perfect practice for analysing elements of political and social protest for those studying the AQA A level syllabus. Please note: this extract (and play) contains very mature themes and language.

A series of mock questions on Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’ designed to emulate AQA’s exam style in the Political and Social Protest Paper (Section B). Sixteen questions in total. Perfect for revision and practice assessments.

A lesson focused on how Scrooge is affected by reliving the memory of his lost love, Belle. Perfect for those studying the text at with AQA at GCSE.

Explore Blake’s ‘The Ecchoing Green’ from the ‘Songs of Innocence’ as a poem of social/political protest with this comprehensive lesson aimed at A level students. For those studying the AQA Political and Social Protest Writing course, this lesson deconstructs Blake’s imagery, language and ideas to consider how ‘The Ecchoing Green’ fits in with his vision for the ‘Songs’ as poems of protest.

Explore one of Britain’s most famous poems with this 27-slide lesson on William Blake’s ‘London’ from the Songs of Experience. This lesson includes an exploration of significant contextual issues and a line-by-line close reading of the text. Numerous questions are included for students throughout, as well as references to Blake’s key themes and images within ‘London’. Aimed in particular at those studying ‘Political and Social Protest Writing’ with AQA at A level, this lesson could easily be adapted for high-ability GCSE students. There are questions included for students at the end of the lesson, as well as an official ‘mock’ A level question to be answered in which ‘London’ must be compared with other poems from across Blake’s Songs. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 29-slide lesson analyses Simon Armitage’s poem ‘Remains’, deconstructing its language, structure, imagery, context, message and more. Critical-thinking questions and tasks are included, as well as the option of two exam-style essay questions at the end of the lesson. The lesson is ideal for those studying AQA’s ‘Power and Conflict’ poetry cluster in the Literature GCSE (especially high-attaining groups), where the poem is featured. It could also be taught to GCSE groups as an ‘unseen’ poem or even KS5 groups as a poem of political and social protest. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

Detailed and high-grade notes on each of the major characters in J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’. Perfect for revision of the characters when studying the play at GCSE.

This 24-slide lesson explores Emma Lazarus’ poem, ‘The New Colossus’. Immortalised on its plaque beneath the iconic Statue of Liberty, Lazarus’ poem honours one of the greatest monuments in the world. This lesson explores how the poem personifies and gives symbolic power to Lady Liberty, analysing the sonnet’s language, form, structure, and rhyme. We look at why Lazarus juxtaposes Liberty with the ancient Colossus of Rhodes, and how Lazarus uses the poem to champion the rights of immigrants seeking comfort in the Land of Opportunity. A glossary is provided for challenging vocabulary, and the poem’s key ideas and images are deconstructed in detail. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. An essay question is included, as well as a creative task at the end of the lesson. The full poem is featured within the PowerPoint. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 35-slide lesson explores Robert Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’. The lesson unpicks Browning’s masterful use of the dramatic monologue form and his key themes of monomania, narcissism, power, control, and objectification. Brief biographical information on Browning is featured, as well as information on the poem’s commonly accepted source and Italian Renaissance culture. Questions and discussion points are included throughout for students, as well as key vocabulary and analysis of the poem’s form, structure, and rhyme. A creative writing task - in which students write their own poem inspired by Browning’s - is included at the end of the lesson. This lesson is ideal for GCSE pupils - particularly those studying the poem as part of AQA’s ‘Power and Conflict’ poetry anthology - but could be used with KS3 too. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 21-slide lesson explores Alfred Noyes’ poem, ‘The Highwayman’. Students explore the meaning of heroism and consider the use of ‘anti-heroes’ in film and literature. They are then taught about the history of highwaymen (including how they have been romanticised in popular culture over the years), and learn about the notorious career of Dick Turpin. Students then read Alfred Noyes’ famous poem and unpick its language, imagery, and structure. We think about the romantic and tragic elements of the poem, and discuss whether or not the titular highwayman deserves our sympathy at the end of the narrative. In the next task, the poem’s language and Noyes’ use of various linguistic techniques (including similes, metaphor, and repetition) are identified and analysed. The poem’s atmosphere and epilogue are also explored. The lesson ends with two creative responses to the poem (which could be set as homework tasks or be covered in the next lesson). This lesson is ideal for upper KS2 and lower KS3 students. A copy of the poem is included in this resource. PowerPoint and Word doc are saved as PDF.

This 18-slide stand-alone lesson explores the question: ‘Does spelling matter?’. Students are prompted to think about why spelling is so important, and the lesson demonstrates some humorous examples of how incorrect spelling might lead to some dangerous misunderstandings! We think about some tricky homophones, including effect/affect and practice/practise, and devise some methods for remembering which spelling applies to certain contexts. Students are asked to correct the spellings of various sentences and passages to consolidate their understanding. There is an opportunity for peer and self-assessment at the end of the lesson. Also included is a homophones worksheet for students to complete either in class or as a homework activity. This lesson is ideal for upper KS2 and for KS3 pupils. PowerPoint and Word Doc saved as PDFs.

This is a top-band exemplar essay on how Dickens presents Scrooge as an outsider in ‘A Christmas Carol’. Based on a genuine AQA Literature past paper, this essay is perfect for HA pupils to see how to structure a sophisticated and perceptive essay. The extract and exam question are included on the first page.

This is a top-band exemplar essay analysing how marriage is presented in ‘The Farmer’s Bride’ by Charlotte Mew and ‘Singh Song!’ by Daljit Nagra. These poems are studied as part of AQA’s ‘Love & Relationships’ cluster at GCSE and this question and answer reflects the question style of the exam. Exam question paper is also included.

This resource contains detailed and academically challenging PowerPoints for all five acts of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. Each PowerPoint goes through an act scene-by-scene, analysing language, theme, character and context, combining scholarly notes from a range of sources. These PowerPoints work well when accompanying the reading of the text in class. Students find them useful for revision of the play too. These five PowerPoints have the potential to cover several weeks of lessons. These resources are aimed at A level students (particularly those studying comedy as a genre), but could be used for the study of the play with any high attaining group.

A top-grade essay analysing aspects of comedy in Act I Scene I of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. This resource is aimed at those studying the Aspects of Comedy paper for AQA English Literature at A level.

Based on AQA’s English Literature exam, this resource features an example question and TOP-BAND essay on violence and crime in Stevenson’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’. Perfect for HA pupils studying the text at GCSE.