These task cards are writing stimuli they do not include any teaching resources. They are designed to challenge your stronger writers. They can be used as starters, home works or challenge cards for when classroom tasks are completed. The file includes 4 writing to describe cards and 4 writing to narrate. There is a power point to display in class and word document task cards (4 per A4 sheet) that can be laminated for everyday classroom use. Each card, which has an unusual image, asks students to write using a specific set of linguistic devices: juxtaposition, olfactory imagery, pathetic fallacy etc. in order to challenge them to really think about crafting their writing - not just writing the first thing that comes into their heads.

This power point is designed as a first teaching resource. Each slide has one stanza fully annotated along with differentiated questions. (Orange for lower ability, green for mid ability and blue for higher ability.) The first slide has a table for you to insert names of the students and what colour they ae working on. (Depending on your class you may not need three levels of questioning – or you may want to use a mix of all three – it depends on the nature and ability of your class. For my top set I asks them to only do green and blue – for my bottom set only orange and green. For my intervention group only orange.) The questions are based on analysing the poem as though it is an ‘unseen’ poem to best aid an initial detailed understanding of the techniques and tone of the poem. There is a starter which asks pairs to explore the connotation of the word ‘remains’ and a plenary that asks students to draw one image and think of one word that summarises the poem. At the end is an exemplar based on a first stanza question which uses P.E.E.D.Z.L. (Obviously adjust this slide if you use a different format for analytical writing.) The final slide asks a more holistic question based on the ‘power and conflict’ theme. This power point is designed to last two lessons and usually I get the class to peer assess – using the unseen marking criteria – their response.

A set of 8 task cards that focus on comma splices. Each card has a short extract and students have to identify and correct the comma splice. The task cards can be used as a starter or plenary or as an independent extension task.The cards can be laminated for repeated use. There is also a Help Card to encourage independent reflection. The Help Card allows you to ask students to reflect on their comma splice mistakes in their writing and correct them when doing red pen/ correction time.

This resource is designed to help build the comparative and summary skills for Paper 2. The source texts are short and packed with content in order to make devices easy to spot but also to make the texts relatively quick to analyse. One set are fictional descriptions of a storm the other non-fiction descriptions of Blackpool. (Neither contain a 19th century text as the resource is an introduction to the skills and not meant as a representation of the actual exam texts.) There is also a self assessment sheet with the marking criteria and a place to reflect on WWW and EBI and set targets. The resource is great for homework as it is easy to upload to homework sites but also great as a whole class resource as the sources and the questions are all on one A4 sheet. There is a full set of Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 questions for each set of sources and an extension Q5 question linked to the themes (there is no mark scheme for Q5 on this resource.)

Looking for a resource to help inspire and guide students love of Halloween and spooky stories? Trying to avoid the often cliched graphic narratives full of blood and gore? This resource (a power point, Knowledge Organiser and short video) will help students to understand the conventions and style of the genre and how to create the more subtle Gothic style instead of the more gory horror. The Knowledge Organiser helps to explain the difference between the two genres and the structure of a Gothic narrative. The power point starts with a short exemplar to display to the class and discuss why it is Gothic and not Horror. The power point also includes three tasks: 1 - identifying descriptions that are either Horror or Gothic. 2 - changing typical Horror vocabulary to a more Gothic style. 3 - two short examples of Horror descriptions that students need to edit to create a Gothic style - and exemplars to use after the writing tasks. The power point finishes with some knowledge checker slides to asses and reinforce learning and then final a picture of a typical Gothic setting for students to use to as inspiration for their own Gothic setting descriptions.

Are your students struggling with discursive writing? Do they find achieving an unbiased tone and style difficult? Do they struggle with presenting a considered and judicious personal opinion based on the pertinent arguments from both sides of a debate? This resources pack is designed to help you teach your students the discursive style. The resources - apart from the boxing fact sheet - will support any topic you wish to use with the class. The resources include: A short video to help students understand the style and purpose of discursive writing. An exemplar to use (tablets in the classroom) to help identify the style, tone and purpose of discursive writing. A Knowledge Organiser to support sentence openers and encourage the use of adverbials and conjunctions. A boxing fact sheet covering some of the arguments for and against boxing. Teachers notes suggesting possible structure for the lesson and a suggested task for a discursive article based on the boxing fact sheet. There is a power point that displays all the resources if you do not want to print whole class sets or that you can add slides to and adapt for your classroom.

Support your students with this word mat tailored specifically for describing a ballet dancer. The resource includes ideas for figurative descriptions, an extensive vocabulary list, and ideas for creating sensory descriptions. The mat will support students in enhancing their descriptions by including rich, varied language to create immersive and atmospheric descriptions and experiment with figurative language to add depth and complexity to their writing. There is an exemplar short text demonstrating to students how to use structure to help mimic the rhythm and speed of a dancer’s movement. There is a short video to highlighting how students should consider crafting their writing to capture the dynamism and movement of a ballet dancer. There is also a short 5 slide power point that has 2 AI generated images on each slide to use as writing prompts in a lesson.

Support your students with this word mat tailored specifically for describing Christmas lights. The resource includes ideas for figurative descriptions including personification, similes, metaphors, allusions, hyperbole and extensive lists of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. The mat will support students in enhancing their descriptions by including rich, varied language to create immersive and atmospheric descriptions and experiment with figurative language to add depth and complexity to their writing. There is a short video, ideal as a starter, to explain to students how to capture the magic of christmas lights in their writing and to suggest ideas and different focuses for their piece of writing. There is also a 8 slide power point that has AI generated images ideal to use as writing prompts during the lesson.

Support your students in discovering the rich history and traditions of Thanksgiving with this engaging comprehension passage. Perfect for students aged 11 to 14 it has questions for both weaker and more advanced readers. The text explains the Pilgrims’ daring voyage on the Mayflower to the first Thanksgiving feast with the Wampanoags – and what Thanksgiving reading comprehension would be complete without a few fun facts about turkeys? The questions provided are targeted at different reading skills and cater to both less advanced and more advanced readers. True or False Statements: These questions assess basic comprehension and factual recall. They are suitable for less advanced readers as they require straightforward recognition of information from the text. One Sentence Answer Comprehension Questions: These questions test the ability to identify key details and main ideas. They are suitable for less advanced readers as they involve direct answers that can be easily found in the text. Identify Questions: These questions require readers to extract specific information and list multiple items. They are slightly more challenging as they require a deeper understanding and the ability to locate and synthesise information from the text. Summary Question: This question assesses the ability to summarise and condense information, which is a higher-order reading skill. It is more suitable for advanced readers as it requires them to understand the main ideas and details and then articulate them concisely. Challenge Question: This question involves critical thinking and inference. It is designed for advanced readers as it requires them to analyse the relationship between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags, infer mutual benefits, and connect these ideas to broader themes. Imagine Question: This question encourages creative thinking and application of knowledge. It challenges readers to use their understanding of historical context to imagine and articulate key points of a treaty, thus testing their inference and synthesis skills. Overall, the questions range from basic recall and comprehension to more complex analysis and inference, making them suitable for a wide range of reading abilities. The “Create” question, in particular, challenges students to apply their reading and inference skills creatively, demonstrating a deeper understanding of the text and its implications. The resources also include a crossword (and answer key) where all the questions are based on the reading comprehension. Questions are presented as either a question-and-answer worksheet or just a question sheet if students will be completing work in their books. A full teacher key is included that also offers possible answers to the challenge and imagine questions.