Ever struggled to explain the twisting and turning plot of Shakespeare’s classic play to younger students? If so then this resources can help you. Terry Deary has condensed the plot into a twenty-five verse poem called “The Ballad of Big Mac”. Students study the poem over two lessons, analysing the plot and language techniques in the poem. Having identified Deary’s use of pathetic fallacy, students are guided and supported to create their own witch and introduce him or her using pathetic fallacy. After peer-assessing each other’s work, students study an extract from “Doomspell” by Cliff McNish in which he introduces his witch, Dragwena. Students are then encouraged to re-draft and improve their descriptions using all the techniques which they have been taught in the two texts. Designed with less able students in mind, this folder of work would also suit primary school children. The folder includes. Copy of poem with numbered verses so students can be allocated a verse to practice reading/performing to class. A seven-page student workbook with a two comprehension cloze exercises on the poem and guided activities. Teacher answers to cloze exercises. Copy of extract from “Doomspell”. This resource could also be used as an introduction to my other lesson available on this website called “The Witches Spell”.

Using Shakespeare’s famous spell from the witches in Macbeth, this Powerpoint allows students to explore Shakespeare’s language in a fun and interactive way. After considering why people might cast spells, students are given a cloze exercise and fit the missing ingredients into the spell. They then complete a matching exercise focusing on the meaning of the ingredients. Thirdly students categorise the ingredients and then finally they come up with appropriate ingredients for a sleeping spell. This could be a stand alone lesson introducing students to Shakespeare’s language; part of a scheme on Macbeth or a precursor to my follow-up lesson when students write their own spell. Powerpoint with answers and worksheet included.

This twenty-two slide powerpoint introduces the poet and her relationship with her husband; focuses on key language features; scaffolds students to write two PEE paragraphs on language and allows them to investigate the sonnet form. It concludes with them considering how love is presented in the poem in preparation for an exam-style question.

This folder contains two powerpoints. One powerpoint covers how Shakespeare tried to please King James 1st by including ideas about witchcraft, and the divine right of kings in the play Macbeth to reassure James 1 after the Gunpowder Plot. There are lots of images of contemporary documents and portraits and the final task is for students to imagine that they are Shakespeare and to write a letter to his wife back home in Stratford-Upon-Avon, explaining his thought processes on why he chose to write Macbeth. The second powerpoint has ten multiple choice questions about witchcraft with answers, which can be used to spark discussion, followed by historical facts explaining the reasons for belief in witchcraft.

Two Lessons on AQA Power and Conflict cluster poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. The first lesson gives detailed historical background with activities to understand the archaic vocabulary. Students then explore the poet’s use of language. Students are guided to discover why Tennyson adopted his point of view towards the soldiers and the charge. The second lesson explores the language further by explolding quotations showing the fear of the soldiers. Students are then supported to imagine that they were a survivor of the charge and to write a creative account of the battle using actual testimony from survivors and footage of a cavalry charge from “War Horse”.

Get your students ready for Halloween with this article packed full of interesting facts about the origin and history of Halloween. Eight comprehension questions follow, mainly based on select and retrieve questions, with mark scheme included. Finally there is a task to design a leaflet for younger students promoting Halloween. Created to engage students with British history and culture, this resource would also be ideal for EAL learners also.

This folder contains a twenty-slide powerpoint and a worksheets to introduce the key themes of the play as introduced in the prologue. There is a cloze exercise on a modern verision of the poem and a more difficult translation exercise, which could be completed for homework. After getting to grips with the language and themes of the Prologue, students then investigate Shakespeare’s use of compound adjectives inspired by “death-marked love” and “star-crossed lovers” and are encouraged to create their own brand-new compound adjectives, like Shakespeare.

Support your students to write a formal letter with this powerpoint which contains a very letter from a grumpy member of the older generation complaining about teenagers today. Students have to identify the writer’s arguments and then plan how to write a successful letter in response. Perfect for preparing students for GCSE transactional writing.

Introductory lesson on “Remains” with worksheet to storyboard the incident so that students can visualise what happened, followed by exercise to explode the key quotations about how the soldier feels. Accompanied by a powerpoint, extra comprehension questions and further exploration ideas.

In order to successfully achieve the style of a newspaper report, students need to understand how to construct an news report intro. This 24 slide Powerpoint breaks down the structure, then gives five examples of intros for students to analyse, followed by three exercises to write their own intros. A good exercise in getting students to use complex sentences also. The lesson starts by reading a real newspaper report so students are presented with a WAGOLL. Turn your class into budding reporters with this fun lesson.

Inspire your students to write a story using the five part story structure with the title “The Capture”. Share with students the article on real life World War Two bomber survivor Eddie Gurmin and let them imagine what it must have been like to have to bail out of a Halifax bomber at 15,000 feet, only to be captured by the Luftwaffe and sent to a prisoner of war camp for four years. Eddie’s gripping story is presented as an article with real quotations, enabling students to concentrate on creating tension and suspense and using language techniques. Designed to capture the imaginations of boys, this gripping story will equally inspire girls. You can also commemorate the World Wars with this work. Folder includes: Three page article on Eddie Gurmin’s experience in editable Word format. Planning sheet with hints and tips for narrative viewpoint and structure.

Celebrate the live of this great man with three pages of information about his life, followed by a worksheet with sixteen sentences to complete. All answers are provided on the 26 slide powerpoint. Extension activities include: Write a letter to Ghandi. Devise 10 questions to ask him in an interview. Vocabulary extension worksheet of vocabulary used in the text. A Fact File template for research into either Hinduism or the Muslim religion. Website suggestions for further research. Teach your children why he was given the honorary title “Great Soul”.

Using an extract from Daphne Du Maurier’s eternally fascinating novel “Jamaica Inn”, teach students how master writers create characters. The lesson includes: Background information on the novel and writer. Extract from novel describing Joss. Worksheet on language analysis. Prediction exercise for how extract continues. Character Profile Proforma for students to create their own characters with quirky questions to provoke thoughts. Your students will be so fascinated by this rough villain that they will be desperate to read the book or watch the BBC adaptation at least!

Using an extract from the brilliant Roadl Dahl’s memoir “Going Solo”, students analyse how he appeals to the senses to describe his arrival in Africa for the first time. Students are then given lots of ideas for places, times of the day, what they can see, hear, smell, feel and they write their own description, just like an expert. The folder contains a worksheet of the toolkit vocabulary and copy of the Dar Es Salaam extract. All you need to inspire your students to describe places like a professional.

This powerpoint contains three separate lessons on punctuating speech. First of all students revise the rules and then complete two exercises - adding punctuation to a dialogue, then using picture stimuli to write their own original dialogue. The second lesson covers speech tags and the three places tags can be positioned with exercises. The third lesson helps students to make writing dialogue more interesting using adverbs and character description. The lessons culminate in students creating their own dialogue from a scenario, all designed to support increasing independence with punctuating speech

This Powerpoint prepares students for AQA and Eduqas English GCSE creative writing by guiding them through an example of a successful story under the title: “Write about a thrilling experience”. The lesson is structured as follows: Students think of the most exciting thing that has ever happened to them. They begin to plan using either the 5-part story structure or the 3-part story structure, depending on their ability. (Differentiated slides). Slides present the WAGOLL with effective writing techniques highlighted. (Sentence variety; sophisticated vocabulary; appeal to the senses etc) Students attempt four of the identified techniques themselves. Students write their story in exam conditions. Success criteria slide as a reminder. Using WAGOLLS is a great way to get students to understand the exam requirements.

You could use these resources to simulate working in a news room for the day. Students receive a news in bullet point format that there has been an accident in a ski resort. They then have to shape the material into a professionally structured news report. Included in the folder is my lesson on how to write intros for news reports which is key to adopting the correct style for the newspaper report. There is also a WAGOLL illustrating the drafting and re-drafting process. All you need to become news reporters for the day!

With this powerpoint you will study how two texts try to entice you to visit two Spanish cities - Malaga and Alicante. The powerpoint goes through the significant language features. Then you are provided with lots of facts about a third Spanish city - Valencia and you have to write your own advert for the city to persuade people to visit, using the same structure and techniques as the example texts. Word copies of the example texts and the Valencia fact file are included in the folder.

Tired of your students using the incorrect level of formality in their writing? With this fun twenty-four slide Powerpoint, students are shown how inappropriate informal language can be in some fun texts. They are also taught that informal language can be appropriate for the right target audience. Students then practice the correct level of formality by writing an application for their dream job. Finally, a quick quiz at the rounds off the lesson.

This sixty-slide Powerpoint tells the tale of the amazing life of Frederick Douglass who was born into slavery in the USA in 1818. After escaping to the free state of New York, Douglass worked on various newspapers and travelled Europe campaigning for abolition. After learning about the life of this remarkable man with interesting photographs and graphics, students are invited to write the text for a web page to promote his former home, Cedar Hill, as a site of national, historic importance. The house can actually be visited today.