A handy little bookmark, designed to be folded and sized so that 3, once folded, fit comfortably inside one A4 sized laminating pouch. The bookmark reminds students how to tackle each of the four Reading Qs on AQA English Language Papers 1 and 2. I hope that you find this useful. Please leave a review.

Using a journal entry penned by Samuel Pepys as an eyewitness account of the Great Fire of London and a Guardian newspaper article of the King's Cross tube station fire in 1987, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is different perspectives of fires in the city of London. I have adapted the texts ever so slightly, simplifying some vocabulary and sentencing to make them more accessible to students whose reading ages are significantly lower than their chronological age, to provide an appropriate point of access to the skills demanded by the new AQA GCSE Language Paper 2A exam paper. Also included is a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole-class interactive whiteboard teaching of the resource. I have adhered to the phrasing of the exam questions, but the tasks are differentiated thus: Q1 - same as the actual exam paper Q2 - cloze exercise of the summary (this could be easily tweaked to sentence stems) Q3a - highlight and write down 3 relevant examples of language used to convey viewpoint Q3b - cloze exercise of use of language to convey viewpoint and attitude and an extension task where pupils complete PEE paragraphs, supplying relevant evidence and explanations. I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is currently beyond the ability of the students for whom I have produced this resource. I hope that it might be of some use to others. I've produced 8 of these highly differentiated papers for Paper 2A now and all are available FREE at my 'shop' with SMART Notebook resources too. Help yourself! Matt :)

A Practice GCSE Paper 1 Section A exam paper, using an extract from J R R Tolkein's 'The Hobbit', published in 1937. In this extract, a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins enters the lair of a dragon named Smaug and steals a golden cup. The dragon awakens and is infuriated at the theft of his treasure. UPDATED APRIL 2017 - a set of REVISED SMART Notebook slides to assist you in teaching the 4 exam Qs, question by question. I've added a new Q3 key terminology starter, a modelled Q3 structure response and a new Q4 slide. The Notebook slides can be unlocked and the content easily amended to suit any other text and Qs you might wish to use in the future. Also available FREE at my 'shop' is a highly differentiated version of this paper for less able pupils to respond to. Works well alongside this in mixed ability groups or just for less able candidates. Help yourself - there are loads of specimen Paper 1s and 2s at my 'shop'! I hope this is of some use to you. Matt :)

A new AQA-style English Language Paper 2 on the theme of HUNTING wild animals. To accompany the Word document version of the mock exam paper, I have produced also a set of SMART Notebook slides to be used in classrooms as a “Walking - Talking Mock Exam” in advance of the June 2018 exam. The slides provide Q by Q explanations, indicative content for each answer and then Qs with timers for students to practice responding in timed conditions. I hope that this proves useful to you. Please leave a review. Thanks, Matt :)

Using a letter penned by Charles Dickens as a survivor of a terrible rail disaster and a newspaper article 15 years after the Paddington rail disaster, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is different perspectives of rail disasters. I have adapted Dickens’ letter ever so slightly, simplifying some vocabulary and sentencing to make it a little more accessible to students whose reading ages are significantly lower than their chronological age, to provide an appropriate point of access to the skills demanded by the new AQA GCSE Language Paper 2A exam paper. Also included is a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole-class interactive teaching of this resource. I have adhered to the phrasing of the exam questions, but the tasks are differentiated thus: Q1 - same as the actual exam paper Q2 - cloze exercise of the summary (this could be easily tweaked to sentence stems) Q3a - highlight and write down 3 relevant examples of language used to convey viewpoint Q3b - cloze exercise of use of language to convey viewpoint and attitude I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is beyond the ability of the students for whom I have produced this resource. I hope that it might be of some use to others. I've produced 8 of these differentiated papers for Paper 2A now and all are available FREE at my 'shop'. Please help yourself! Matt :)

A practice Paper 1 exam paper based on the ending of Susan Hill's novel,'I'm the King of the Castle', published in 1970. In this dramatic extract, taken from the climax of the novel, the protagonist - a victim of bullying named Charles Kingshaw - drowns himself in a nearby pond, unable to bear the torment he endures at the hands of a boy who is about to become his step-brother. UPDATED APRIL 2017: a REVISED series of SMART Notebook slides to accompany TES contributor Claire Mesher's practice exam paper so that you can teach this extract and Qs 1 to 4 interactively, supplying also a model response to Q3 where the focus is on structure and using key subject terminology appropriately, a Q3 key vocab matching starter activity and a new Q4 slide. I hope this is of some use. Thanks, Matt :)

A highly differentiated AQA-style Language Paper 1A, designed for use with students who have very low-level literacy. There is a pupil workbook and also the SMART Notebook slides which replicate the workbook for interactive, whole-class teaching and learning. Q1 - as per exam paper Q2 - cloze exercise, modelling writing about language Q3 - sequencing structure and then cloze exercise, modelling use of structural features vocabulary. I've produced loads of these and they, like the typical specimen papers I have also produced, are available FREE at my shop. Hope it's of some use to you. Matt

A Practice GCSE Paper 1 Section A exam paper, using an extract from Hound of the Baskervilles. This is an ALTERNATIVE extract to the other Hound of the Baskervilles practice exam resource I have uploaded (no longer available here at TES as it has been published by www.teachit.co.uk where you can now access it, alongside other resources I've had published there.) In this extract, the narrator – Doctor Watson – and Sir Henry Baskerville are trying to solve the mystery of what the butler, Barrymore, is doing in the middle of the night. UPDATED APRIL 2017: included is a REVISED set of SMART Notebook slides to assist you in teaching the 4 exam Qs, question by question. I've also added a Q3 key terminology matching starter activity, Q3 modelled response and a new Q4 slide. The Notebook slides can be unlocked and the content easily amended to suit any other text and Qs you might wish to use in the future. NOTE: I have uploaded LOADS of AQA practice exam paper 1s AND 2s to my 'shop', ALL FREE of charge. Help yourself - and leave a review! Thanks! I hope this is of some use to you. Matt :)

A variety of writing tasks: letters, newspaper articles, journal entries designed to consolidate pupils' comprehension of plot and characters. Useful classroom-based writing activities or set them as homeworks! Hope they're useful. Designed for use with students at KS3.

The Examiners' Report for the June 2017 series commented on candidates' responses to Paper 1B writing tasks by stating that "Many students would have benefitted from a quality rather than quantity approach: having the confidence to take time to plan, and then craft a shaped and structured response in two or three sides, with time at the end to revise and improve." These 200 Word challenges are designed to encourage narrative or descriptive writing in response to an image, with either three techniques or three vocabulary choices to include in their 200 words long response, produced in 30 minutes, with 10 minutes spent proofreading, editing and correcting. I hope that they are of use to you.

Using an extract from George Orwell's non-fiction, "Down and Out in Paris and London" (1933) and an article taken from The Daily Mail online from 2014, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is attitudes towards the homeless in England in different centuries. I have adapted the texts, simplifying a little vocabulary and sentencing to make them a little more accessible to students whose reading ages are significantly lower than their chronological age, to provide an appropriate point of access to the skills demanded by the new AQA GCSE Language Paper 2A exam paper. Also included is a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole-class interactive whiteboard teaching. I have adhered to the phrasing of the questions, but the tasks are differentiated thus: Q1 - same as the actual exam paper Q2 - cloze exercise of the summary (this could be easily tweaked to sentence stems) Q3a - highlight and write down 3 relevant examples of language used to convey viewpoint Q3b - cloze exercise of use of language to convey viewpoint and attitude (again, this could easily be tweaked to the sentence stems of PEE paragraphs where pupils supply the point, evidence and explain how language is used to convey the author's viewpoint.) I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is a skill currently beyond the ability of the students for whom I have produced this resource. The students I plan to use these resources with have reading ages between 6 years 6 months and 10 years old. I hope that it might be of some use to others. I have produced 8 of these resources now, all FREE at my 'shop'. Help yourself! Matt :)

Designed for less able students at Key Stage 3 or 4, this is a practice exam paper for the NEW AQA English Language Paper 1A: Reading 20th C Fiction texts. I have used an extract taken from David Almond's novel, 'Skellig', published in 1998. I've also designed a series of SMART Notebook slides for whole-class interactive teaching of the workbook, Q by Q. The format of the paper is as follows: Q1 - the same Q2 - cloze exercise focusing on how the writer uses language Q3a - sequence a series of statements to show understanding of narrative events / structure Q3b - cloze activity, modelling Q3 response, for pupils to complete. I know that the new GCSE paper is untiered and students will not be given this level of support in the exam. However, this resource is intended to provide an appropriate point of access and opportunities for students whose literacy is a barrier to learning to practise the reading response skills demanded by this exam - and to support the teachers who have to deliver it! I hope that it is of some use to you. I have produced other resources just like this one using extracts taken from Frankenstein, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Monkey's Paw, The Hobbit, A Christmas Carol, War of the Worlds, The Sniper, Z for Zachariah, Dracula, The Pearl, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Machine Gunners and Buddy. NOTE: I've also uploaded loads of specimen new AQA Language Paper 1 and 2s to my 'shop', all available free of charge. Please leave a review and help yourself! Matt :)

Designed for less able students at Key Stage 3 or 4, this is a practice exam paper for the NEW AQA English Language Paper 1A: Reading 20th C Fiction texts. I have adapted an extract taken from Liam O'Flaherty's short story, 'The Sniper' (1923), simplifying a little of the vocabulary to make the text a little more accessible for students whose reading age might be lower than their chronological age. I have also designed a series of SMART Notebook slides for interactive teaching of this highly differentiated practice exam paper Q by Q. The format of the paper is as follows: Q1 - the same Q2 - cloze exercise focusing on how the writer uses language Q3a - sequence a series of statements to show understanding of narrative events / structure Q3b - cloze activity, modelling Q3 response, for pupils to complete. I know that the new GCSE paper is untiered and students will not be given this level of support in the exam. However, this resource is intended to provide an appropriate point of access and opportunities for students whose literacy is a barrier to learning to practise the reading response skills demanded by this exam - and to support the teachers who have to deliver it! I hope that it is of some use to you. If you want others, the following are all available FREE at my 'shop': War of the Worlds, Skellig, Frankenstein, Dracula, The Machine Gunners, Buddy, The Pearl, To Kill a Mockingbird, Z for Zachariah, The Hobbit, The Monkey's Paw and others. I've also uploaded loads of typical specimen new AQA Language Paper 1 and 2s to my shop, all available free of charge. Please leave a review and help yourself! Matt :)

Help yourself. Just don’t sell it or you’ll be cursed with bad luck :)

A set of five resources, made available in both PPT and SMART Notebook formats, for use with Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. Act by Act, each resource offers a variety of activities designed to encourage students to ‘think hard’ about the text. Useful classroom resources, or set as homeworks, or use as revision of the text in preparation for the GCSE Lit exam.

Using an extract from George Orwell's non-fiction, "Shooting an Elephant" (1936) and an article taken from The Daily Mail online from 2011, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is attitudes towards elephants. I have adapted the texts, simplifying some vocabulary and sentencing to make them a little more accessible to students whose reading ages are significantly lower than their chronological age, to provide an appropriate point of access to the skills demanded by the new AQA GCSE Language Paper 2A exam paper. Also included is a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole-class interactive whiteboard teaching of this resource. I have adhered to the phrasing of the questions, but the tasks are differentiated thus: Q1 - same as the actual exam paper Q2 - cloze exercise of the summary (this could be easily tweaked to sentence stems) Q3a - highlight and write down 3 relevant examples of language used to convey viewpoint Q3b - cloze exercise of use of language to convey viewpoint and attitude (again, could easily be tweaked to the sentence stems of a PEE paragraph where pupils supply the point, evidence and explain how it conveys the writer's viewpoint.) I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is a skill currently beyond the ability of the students for whom I have produced this resource. I hope that it might be of some use to others. I have produced 8 of these highly differentiated resources, all available FREE at my 'shop'. Please help yourself! Matt :)

A specimen Language Paper 1A, designed for use @ KS3, using as the extract the moment where Lucy steps into the wardrobe and enters Narnia, meeting Mr. Tumness for the first time. I've included a series of SMART Notebook slides to support whole-class interactive teaching of the paper, Q by Q and there is a Q3 key terminology matching starter activity; a modelled Q3 structure response and a new Q4 slide. There are loads of these specimen Paper 1s and 2s ALL FREE at my 'shop' here on TES, as well as highly differentiated versions for students with low-level literacy. Please leave a review and help yourself to them! Matt :)

A new AQA-style English Language Paper 2 specimen exam paper. The 19th century text is an extract taken from Darwin’s ‘Voyage of the Beagle’ The 20th century text is an excerpt from Howard Carter’s diary, detailing his breach of Tutankhamun’s tomb The section B writing task is also available as a JPEG which can be displayed on an interactive whiteboard in your classroom. I hope that this is of use to you. Please leave a review. Thanks, Matt :)

Designed for NEW AQA Language paper 1A: a practice exam paper using the opening of Robert O'Brien's novel, 'Z for Zachariah', published in 1974. This extract, written in the form of a first-person diary, is narrated by a 16 years old girl named Ann Burden who believed herself to be the only survivor in her town after a nuclear war. She thinks someone is coming and she is no longer alone. Is this person a friend or a foe? The format of the exam questions matches those in AQAs specimen exam papers. UPDATED APRIL 2017: included is a REVISED series of SMART Notebook slides for teaching the exam paper Q by Q; a Q3 key terminology matching starter activity; a modelled Q3 structure response and a new Q4 slide. NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of AQA practice exam Paper 1s AND 2s to my 'shop' ALL FREE of charge. Please help yourself - just leave a review. Thank you! I hope this is of some use to you.

This 36 page pupil workbook contains a variety of highly differentiated activities to accompany the study of Alfred Noyes' classic ballad, 'The Highwayman' with students whose literacy is a barrier to learning. UPDATED: 20-03-17 I've added a wide range of images as a separate downloadable Word document for use with the Media Storyboard task. This might be preferable if your students have poor fine motor skills and, where possible, the images reflect a variety of camera 'shot' types so they can justify the choices they have made in the accompanying 'commentary' writing task. UPDATED 09-02-17 To include SMART Notebook slides which replicate all 36 pages of the Pupil Workbook. Some of the activities include: * pre-reading non-fiction comprehension: 'Dick Turpin' * sequencing Part One narrative events to show awareness of structure * cloze summary of Part One and extension task with sentence stems for completion * cloze and sentence stems for the journal of Tim, the ostler * a media storyboard and commentary * simile and metaphor, commenting on the use and effects of language * sequencing Part Two narrative events to show awareness of structure * cloze summary of Part Two and extension task with sentence stems for completion * newspaper report of the deaths * production of a non-literary leaflet: Highway Safety for Travellers I hope this is of some use to you. Please leave review. Thanks, Matt :)