An adaptable PowerPoint presentation to inspire, engage and prompt creative writing for students and further lessons for teachers. Based on the board game Cluedo, this relatively succinct presentation can be used as it is or can be split into a series of lessons to help students understand and develop characterisation, tense changes, plot and so forth. I have used this with Year 10 students with great success as it helped them focus on the basics of their plot, setting and characters; enabling them to sustain their writing for the duration of the lesson. Students can be guided to write their story using Nick Wells’ Drop, Shift, Zoom, Leave method as outlined in the slides. Teachers can have fun and develop the sense of mystery with their students by developing the board game idea and have them choose their characters, setting and weapons at random. I have also included apt music for writing in the footnotes to give your classroom an eerie atmosphere, should you choose.

An Introduction to the Romantic Movement using a Stop and Jot task to collect information. This was used to introduce the EDUQAS poetry anthology to a Year 9 Set 2 class but could also be used for Year 10 & 11. Video links and worksheet included in PowerPoint slides.

Two lessons focusing on the analysis of Bill Sykes’ character and how he compares to his dog Bullseye. PowerPoints include printable extracts, video link and all resources. This was taught to a mid ability Year 7 class. Activities include whole class discussion, pair work and independent work and self-assessment.

A series of Powerpoint presentations for the entire novel. Worksheets can be either directly printed or adapted from the slides. Can be differentiated for ability although built for mid set.

Two lessons: the first is focused on an in-depth character analysis of Magwitch leading pupils to be able to write their own analysis independently. The second lesson is focused on how tension has been created when Pip first enters Satis House. PowerPoints include all printable resources, extracts and video links. These two lessons were taught to a mid ability Year 7 class as part of the teaching of Great Expectations.

A complete lesson including a printable worksheet for independent/group analysis of ‘Follower’. This was used for a Year 8 class but could be easily adapted for younger/older year groups.

Analysis of William Blake’s London with writing prompts and opportunities for differentiation. Aimed at middle set KS4. PowerPoint which could be easily adapted into worksheets for homework etc, also contains printable version of the poem for those without anthologies.

An analysis of Hughes’ use of language, focusing on the use of semantic fields. The PowerPoint includes an introduction to semantic fields, video link and printable copies of the poem and a glossary. This was used for a Year 8 class but can be adapted to suit younger/older year groups.

This complete lesson was used as an introduction for pupils to begin writing a poetry comparison. It should be taught following the analysis and annotation of each poem individually. The PowerPoint includes all printable resources. This lesson was taught to a Year 9 set 2 class as part of an introduction to the Eduqas poetry anthology.

An analysis of Ozymandias using a series of questions to provoke pupil responses. Can be taught as a whole class annotation or as independent classwork. Used to teach a Year 9 Set 2 but also appropriate for Years 10 and 11.