I'm an English Teacher based in Northern Ireland, with extensive experience of delivering the CCEA Specification for GCSE and A-Level Literature and Language. I'm passionate about making resources that are effective, engaging and lesson-ready.
I also teach a little bit of KS3 Maths!
I'm an English Teacher based in Northern Ireland, with extensive experience of delivering the CCEA Specification for GCSE and A-Level Literature and Language. I'm passionate about making resources that are effective, engaging and lesson-ready.
I also teach a little bit of KS3 Maths!
These resources have been designed to allow pupils to understand the essential components of a creative writing piece and incorporate them into their own extended writing.
I have used these for both KS3 pupils and GCSE pupils.
This series of lessons begins with the fundamentals (adjectives, verbs, adverbs etc.) before moving onto more challenging elements of crafting a creative writing piece (narrative structure, sensory descriptions). Each lesson and activity incorporates Active Learning strategies to fully engage pupils in a fun and interactive study of creative writing, with plenty of opportunities to develop their descriptions as they proceed.
Included in these resources are PowerPoints and Worksheets on:
- Creative Writing Checklist
- Developing Descriptions: Adjectives, Verbs and Adverbs
- Understanding Metaphors and Similes
- Metaphor and Simile Homework Sheet
- Using Vivid Language
- Using Sensory Imagery (guessing game)
- Worksheets to help include Sensory Imagery
- Famous opening lines and Sentence Openers
- Inspiration for famous pieces of literature
- Descriptive Settings Guessing Game
- Structuring Stories
- Re-writing boring descriptions
- Settings images
These resources have been developed to assist teachers in introducing a study of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" to both KS3 and GCSE pupils. They allow pupils to engage with the world of Shakespeare and his play in an accessible manner, and stress the relevance of both Macbeth and his wider works in contemporary times.
Included in this bundle:
1. Introduction to Shakespeare (PPT)- explores the life and works of Shakespeare, evaluates the impact of Shakespeare on the modern world and tackles and pre-conceptions pupils have of Shakespeare.
2. Macbeth Plot Summary (PPT)- an accessible and concise summary of the play with visual aids.
3.Macbeth Context (PPT)- explains the social and historical factors that influenced the writing of Macbeth, including King James I and The Gunpowder Plot.
4. Gender Context (Doc)- explains the gender roles of men and women in Early Modern England and the conventional views on masculinity and femininity.
5. Macbeth and the Witches (PPT)- explores the Early Modern view of witches and compares it with pupils' contemporary view of witches.
6. Macbeth Themes (PPT)- a detailed exploration of the key themes in Macbeth: Ambition, Fate, Deception and Guilt.
7. Macbeth Motifs (PPT)- a detailed exploration of the motifs in Macbeth: Blood, Darkness/Light, Hallucination/Madness, Prophecy, Children/Family.
8. Macbeth PEED Paragraphs (PPT)- a guide to help pupils structure an analytical response to Macbeth, with an accompanying sample paragraph.
9. Macbeth: The Witches (Doc)- a literary and linguistic analysis of the witches in Act 1 Scene 1.
10. Macbeth Question Worksheet (Doc)- guided questions to assist pupils in their analysis of Act 1 Scene 1.
11. Macbeth: Key Quotes and Themes (PDF)- a series of key quotes and themes that will allow pupils to ascertain elements of the plot and meaning in Macbeth.
This detailed 14 slide PowerPoint has been developed to assist teachers in delivering a detailed analysis of Millay’s “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed” to Literature students. This poem features in the CCEA GCSE Conflict Poetry Anthology.
There are detailed questions that prompt critical stanza-by-stanza analysis from pupils. Each set of questions enables pupils to focus on identifying and analysing poetic methods (AO2) and strengthening their understanding of the poem.
There are detailed and focused analyses of each stanza, focusing on poetic methods (AO2) to supplement the initial notes taken by students.
Also included in this document:
-Context on Edna St Vincent Millay(AO3)
-Pre-reading tasks
-Initial reading questions
-Possible thematic connections to other poems in the Conflict Anthology
This detailed 23 slide PowerPoint has been developed to assist teachers in delivering a detailed analysis of Frost’s “Acquainted with the Night” to Literature students.
There are detailed questions that prompt critical stanza-by-stanza analysis from pupils. Each set of questions enables pupils to focus on identifying and analysing poetic methods (AO2) and strengthening their understanding of the poem.
There are detailed and focused analyses of each stanza, focusing on poetic methods (AO2) to supplement the initial notes taken by students.
Also included in this document:
-Context on Robert Frost(AO3)
-Context on “Acquainted with the Night” (AO3)
-Pre-reading tasks
-Initial reading questions
-Questions on the Themes of Rural Life, Nature and Work
This detailed 34 page document is developed to assist both pupils and teachers in their understanding of the CCEA GCSE Conflict Poetry anthology, while guiding them towards a detailed analysis.
For each of the 15 poems in the anthology, there are detailed questions that prompt critical stanza-by-stanza and line-by-line analysis from pupils. Each set of questions enables pupils to focus on identifying and analysing poetic methods (AO2) and strengthening their understanding of each poem.
Also included in the document-
-specific contextual information for each poem (AO4)
-specific themes for each poem to assist in connections between poems (AO3)
-further prompt questions to analyse specific poetic devices (AO2).
Poems:
The Charge of the Light Brigade (Alfred, Lord Tennyson)
Vitai Lampada (Henry Newbolt)
The Man He Killed (Thomas Hardy)
Who’s for the Game? (Jessie Pope)
Easter Monday (In Memoriam E.T.)(1917) (Eleanor Farjeon)
Anthem for Doomed Youth (Wilfred Owen)
An Irish Airman Foresees his Death (W B Yeats)
What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet XLIII) (Edna St. Vincent Millay)
Vergissmeinnicht (Keith Douglas)
Bayonet Charge (Ted Hughes)
Requiem for the Croppies (Seamus Heaney)
Mametz Wood (Owen Sheers)
Last Post (Carol Ann Duffy)
Poppies (Jane Weir)
Out of the Blue (Simon Armitage)
This detailed 60 page document has been designed to assist students and teachers in their thematic understanding of Chaucer’s “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale”.
For each theme, detailed interpretations of the text are provided, along with accompanying quotations and line references to assist in a student’s exploration of that theme in an essay. This has proven beneficial for my A-Level students, by having them directly engage with Chaucer’s language and methods to help achieve AO2.
Due to the repetitive nature of the Wife’s narrative, there will inevitably be some overlap with some of the themes. However, my students have found this beneficial as it has made some of the ideas easier to learn.
Themes that are explored:
Marriage
Authority / Power
Gender / Gender Roles
Gentillesse / Social Class
Male / Female Relationships
The Wife’s Narrative Style
Sexual Relationships
The Church
The Wife as a Character
Struggle for Power / Maistre
This detailed 26 page document is developed to assist both pupils and teachers in their understanding of Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale", while guiding them towards a detailed analysis.
This resource, for both the Prologue and Tale, is divided into distinct sections (with line references) to assist readers in navigating the Wife's narrative incoherence.
For each section there are detailed questions that prompt critical line-by-line analysis from pupils. Each set of questions enables pupils to focus on identifying and analysing poetic methods (AO2), allowing them to draw on relevant contextual material (AO3) and make connections across the text (AO4), while strengthening their understanding of the poem.
Also included in the document-
-poetic device guidance and questions
-questions on "The Portrait of The Wife of Bath" from Chaucer's "General Prologue"
-specific themes for the poem to assist in connections across the texts(AO4)
-further prompt questions to analyse specific poetic devices (AO2).
My A Level students have found this document immensely beneficial in group work analysis and individual research and analysis.
This detailed 52 page document is developed to assist both pupils and teachers in their understanding of the CCEA A Level Frost and Heaney poetry anthology, while guiding them towards a detailed analysis.
For each of the 24 poems in the anthology, there are detailed questions that prompt critical stanza-by-stanza and line-by-line analysis from pupils. Each set of questions enables pupils to focus on identifying and analysing poetic methods (AO2) and strengthening their understanding of each poem.
Also included in the document-
-specific contextual information for each poem (AO3)
-specific themes for each poem to assist in connections between poems (AO4)
-further prompt questions to analyse specific poetic devices (AO2).
My A Level students have found this document immensely beneficial in group work analysis and individual research and analysis.
Poems:
Frost-Into My Own, Mowing, Going For Water, Mending Wall, After Apple-Picking, The Road Not Taken, Birches, “Out, Out-”, For Once Then Something, Gathering Leaves, Acquainted With The Night, Desert Places.
Heaney- Personal Helicon, The Forge, The Peninsula, The Wife’s Tale, Bogland, The Harvest Bow, The Railway Children, The Summer of Lost Rachel, Postscript, ‘Had I not been awake’, The Conway Stewart, The Baler.
This resource pack contains a detailed, chapter-by-chapter summary for Nathan Filer's "The Shock of the Fall". It can be used for both teachers and students to assist in engaging with a fragmented and unconventional narrative that is difficult to follow.
Secondly, there is a document that contains detailed character notes and textual references for crucial characters within the novel, focusing primarily on the narrator, Matt. There are also quotes and page references to assist in the analysis of language, imagery etc.
Also included is a document that contains many of the key quotes from the novel and links to external sources for contextual research. There is also a detailed document that explores the narrative style of the protagonist under the following headings: Structure, Purpose of the Narrative, Unreliable Narrator and Chapter Titles.
These resources have been made to assist my pupils who will be studying this novel for their A Level Coursework for the CCEA Specification. However, as the novel is very recent and there are not many materials on it, they will assist anyone in studying it.
This bundle contains PowerPoints on every Robert Frost poem in the current CCEA AS Specification. These PowerPoints have been designed to promote student success in their exam response to Robert Frost’s poetry, and each one contains the following:
Detailed, line-by-line analysis of poetic devices and language for each poem (AO2)
Contextual information on Frost and specific context on each poem (AO3)
Questions on the relevant themes of each poem to assist with the thematic connections with Heaney’s poetry (AO4)
Detailed stanza-by-stanza/line-by-line questions to prompt critical analysis from pupils (AO2)
Pre-reading tasks and post-analysis questions to consolidate understanding of the poem
Included poems- Into My Own, Mowing, Going For Water, Mending Wall, After Apple-Picking, The Road Not Taken, Birches, “Out, Out-”, For Once Then Something, Gathering Leaves, Acquainted With The Night, Desert Places.
This bundle contains PowerPoints on every Seamus Heaney poem in the current CCEA AS Specification. These PowerPoints have been designed to promote student success in their exam response to Seamus Heaney’s poetry, and each one contains the following:
Detailed, line-by-line analysis of poetic devices and language for each poem (AO2)
Contextual information on Heaney and specific context on each poem (AO3)
Questions on the relevant themes of each poem to assist with the thematic connections with Frost’s poetry (AO4)
Detailed stanza-by-stanza/line-by-line questions to prompt critical analysis from pupils (AO2)
Pre-reading tasks and post-analysis questions to consolidate understanding of the poem
Poems include- Personal Helicon, The Forge, The Peninsula, The Wife’s Tale, Bogland, The Harvest Bow, The Railway Children, The Summer of Lost Rachel, Postscript, ‘Had I not been awake’, The Conway Stewart, The Baler.
This bundle contains PowerPoints on every poem in the Conflict Anthology for the current CCEA GCSE Specification. These PowerPoints have been designed to promote student success in their exam response to Conflict poetry, and each one contains the following:
-Detailed, line-by-line analysis of poetic devices and language for each poem (AO2)
-Contextual information on each poet and poem (AO3)
-Related poems / themes to assist with the thematic connections within the Conflict Anthology(AO4)
-Detailed stanza-by-stanza/line-by-line questions to prompt critical analysis from pupils (AO2)
-Pre-reading tasks to assist in a thematic understanding of the poem
Included poems- The Charge of the Light Brigade, Vitai Lampada, The Man He Killed, Who’s for the Game?, Easter Monday (In Memoriam E.T.)(1917), Anthem for Doomed Youth, An Irish Airman Foresees His Death, What Lips My Lips Have Kissed And Where And Why (Sonnet XLIII), Vergissmeinnicht, Bayonet Charge, Requiem for the Croppies, Mametz Wood, Last Post, Poppies, Out of the Blue.