Secondary school English teacher since 1996. Was Director of Faculty for ten years but relinquished that responsibility in September 2015. Enjoy producing teaching resources - save it / use it / tweak it / bin it, as you see fit!
Secondary school English teacher since 1996. Was Director of Faculty for ten years but relinquished that responsibility in September 2015. Enjoy producing teaching resources - save it / use it / tweak it / bin it, as you see fit!
Designed for use with students in Y7 whose reading ages range between 7 and 10 years, a highly differentiated workbook of activities providing pupils with opportunities to develop and demonstrate their reading comprehension skills and subject knowledge.
Activities include:
* Cloze exercise summary tasks
* Extension activities with sentence stems to support independent writing
* sequencing activities to demonstrate an understanding of narrative structure, introducing key terminology in readiness for GCSE English Language
* independent research task with prompts to scaffold
* scriptwriting the dialogue which evidently takes place in the 'Missing Chapter', Chapter 13, teaching or consolidating conventions
* AQA-style Language Paper 1 tasks on Qs 1 to 3, based on an excerpt from Stoker's 'Dracula' (adapted)
* homophone activity arising organically out of the narrative in Chapter 25
* AQA-style Language Paper 1 tasks on Qs 1 to 3, using the climactic episode from the novel in Ch 27
* Post-reading book cover design task, with model and template
Aswell as the 37 page pupil workbook, I have produced a set of SMART Notebook slides which replicate the workbook to support whole-class, interactive teaching of the resource.
I hope that this resource is of use to colleagues who are teaching children with low-level literacy, providing an appropriate level of challenge and an appropriate point of access to build pupils' confidence and enjoyment of reading, promoting rapid and sustained progress.
Matt :)
A new AQA Eng Lang paper 1A practice exam paper designed for use with less able students.
The extract is adapted (with some vocabulary and sentences simplified) from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and I have produced some simplified activities.
Also included are a series of SMART Notebook interactive whiteboard slides, for teaching the resource Q by Q with the students, adding an interactive element to the Word resource.
Q1 - the same
Q2 - cloze activity where students are expected to provide relevant textual details
Q3a - sequence the narrative events into the correct order to show understanding of structure
Q3b - cloze activity modelling Q3 response. Pupils show comprehension by correct selection.
In their own published Key Stage 3 English AQA test papers, Q3 is tested by pupils sequencing a series of statements in the correct order so I have adhered to this format.
I know that pupils will not be given this level of support in their GCSE exam but they still need access to differentiated material and activities in order to make sufficient progress to be able to access the questions on the GCSE paper.
I hope this is of help to those of you who teach students whose literacy is a real barrier to accessing this new exam paper and have now uploaded lots of others like this one.
If you like this resource, I've created lots of other differentiated papers like this one, using extracts from the following novels or short stories: War of the Worlds, Dracula, To Kill a Mockingbird, Skellig, The Pearl, The Machine Gunners, Buddy, Z for Zachariah, The Sniper, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Monkey's Paw.
Also uploaded to my 'shop' and all FREE are loads of typical specimen paper 1 and 2 practice exam papers for the new AQA 9 to 1 English Language exams, with accompanying SMART Notebook slides for teaching Qs 1 to 4, Q by Q.
Please leave a review and help yourself.
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 :)
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 set of five resources, made available on PPT and also SMART Notebook formats, offering students a variety of challenging tasks which demand ‘thinking hard’ about the text.
They are useful in the classroom, set as homework or as a revision activity in preparation for the GCSEs Lit exam.
Hope they’re useful.
Matt :)
PLEASE NOTE: AQA Paper 1A will ONLY use 20th or 21st C fiction extracts in the real exams (NOT 19th C fiction extracts.)
These resources were originally created to introduce our 'Gifted & Talented' students at Key Stage 3 to some 19th century classics while introducing also the format of the new AQA English Language Paper 1 section A exam paper.
Each exam paper features an extract from a different 19th C classic, including:
* Great Expectations - Pip meets Miss Havisham
* Dracula - Harker realises he is a prisoner at Castle Dracula
* Dracula (alternative extract) - Harker encounters the three hags
* Frankenstein - Victor attempts to animate the Creature
* A Christmas Carol - Jacob Marley's ghost visits Scrooge
and there are also IWB slides to support your teaching of the exam paper Q by Q, for all 4 Qs.
The Qs follow the format of that published by AQA in their approved specimen papers.
NOTE: I have uploaded LOADS of Paper 1 AND 2 exam papers to my 'shop' and ALL FREE of charge! Help yourself - please leave a review. Thanks!
I hope they are of some use to you.
A set of 15 editable PPT slides, one for each of the poems in the Literature P&C anthology, inviting pupils to explore a quotation in terms of a close analysis of the poet’s choice of methods, the contexts of the poem and its links to other poems.
I hope that you find them useful. Please leave a review.
If you like these, there are sets for A Christmas Carol, Macbeth and An Inspector Calls - all FREE at my shop here on TES.
Resource cover image courtesy of Mervyn Chan, at Unsplash.
The new GCSE English Language and Literature Assessment Objectives 'boiled down' to 5 CORE Reading Skills and then those core skills are traced through a hierarchy of competence, using phrases common to new AQA Language and Literature mark schemes (highlighted in bold on the progression maps), linked to the new numerical grades 9 to 1, using the FFT 'refined' model.
They can be used across both Key Stages 3 and 4 to assess skills progression and to ensure consistency in application of assessment criteria across members of your department.
If you find them of use, check out the Planning for Progression in Writing: New 9 to 1 Skills progression map also uploaded to TES.
I hope they are of some use to you.
Using a journal entry penned by Howard Carter documenting his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen and an excerpt from Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle where he describes the Fuegians, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is different perspectives of discoveries.
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.
UPDATE: If you do not use SMART interactive whiteboards, to view the SMART Notebook slides simply download the SMART Notebook Express viewer, FREE online. It is a piece of software published by SMART Technologies and is completely safe to use.
(express.smarttech.com)
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 nine of these highly differentiated papers for Paper 2A now and all are available FREE at my 'shop' with accompanying SMART Notebook resources, too.
Please help yourself and leave me a review!
Matt :)
Designed to be used alongside study of the play, the 25 slides are used as a recall starter, providing opportunity for regular low-stakes quizzing and retrieval of knowledge of the play. The slides are editable and assess knowledge cumulatively, Act by Act so by the end of the play they should have a secure knowledge of key quotations, stagecraft, characters and contexts.
I hope they are useful. Please leave a review.
Thanks.
A variety of starter activity puzzles: crosswords, anagrams, word searches with hidden messages to accompany the teaching and learning of Orwell's novel, a set text for the new AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2: Modern Texts examination.
Hope they are of use to you.
Using an extract from Conan-Doyle's non-fiction, "The Edge of the Unknown" and an article taken from the Discovery Channel online newsdesk, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is belief in ghosts.
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.
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.
SMART Notebook slides are also included for whole-class interactive teaching of the resource.
Matt :)
NEW AQA English Language Paper 1: 'REGENERATION' by Pat Barker, 1993
UPDATED: APRIL 2017 to include a Q3 key terminology matching starter activity, a model Q3 response and a new Q4 slide.
In this dramatic extract, a soldier named Prior is in hospital suffering from shell-shock. Under hypnosis he revisits the event which resulted in his inability to speak.
I have created a 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.
I hope this is of some use.
NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of practice Paper 1s AND 2s to my 'shop', ALL FREE of charge. Please help yourself - just leave a review. Thank you!
Thanks :)
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.
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 :)
A set of 15 resources, made available in PPT and SMART Notebook formats.
Each resource offers students a variety of tasks on an individual poem, encouraging them to ‘think hard’ about the poem, its form, structure, language and themes.
These resources have been designed for classroom use, or can be set as homeworks, or used as exam preparation tasks.
Hope they are useful. Please leave a review.
Matt :)
New AQA Language practice exam Paper 1A: Reading 20th C fiction texts: 'THE ROAD', by Cormac McCarthy, 2006.
In this engaging extract, taken from the middle of the novel, a father and his son – half-starved – discover an underground bunker filled with tinned foods and water.
UPDATED: APRIL 2017 - a series of REVISED SMART Notebook slides to accompany the practice exam paper, so that you can teach this extract and Qs 1 to 4 interactively, supplying also a Q3 key terminology matching starter activity, Q2 and Q3 mark schemes, a model response to Q3 where the focus is on structure and using key subject terminology appropriately and a new Q4 slide.
I hope this is of some use to you.
NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of practice Paper 1s AND 2s to my 'shop', ALL FREE of charge. Please help yourself - just leave a review. Thank you!
Thanks :)
A highly differentiated resource to support students whose literacy is a barrier to accessing the new GCSE English Language exam papers.
I have adhered to the question format of Qs 1 to 3 of the exam paper but have simplified some of the original text vocabulary and sentencing, while also scaffolding the responses to enable less able students to practise the skills demanded by the new AQA English Language Paper 1A: Reading exam.
To accompany the pupil workbook, I have produced a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole class interactive teaching of the resource.
Q1 - the same
Q2 - cloze exercise
Q3a - sequence the statements to show understanding of narrative events
Q3b - cloze exercise to show comprehension of narrative events, using specialist terminology
NOTE: I have uploaded loads of these differentiated practice papers, as well as differentiated Language Paper 2s, all available FREE at my 'shop'. Also, loads of 'actual' specimen papers!
Help yourself and please leave a review.
A practice exam paper for the new AQA Language Paper 1A: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing, using an extract from Nigel Hinton's novel, 'BUDDY', published in 1982.
Also included is a series of SMART notebook slides to teach Q by Q in class, which can be unlocked and adapted for other Paper 1A practice exam papers I have uploaded to the TES site, all available free of charge.
This extract was originally designed for use with pupils at Key Stage 3, introducing the format of the new GCSE exam Qs with a more accessible text.
In the extract, a young boy named Buddy and his two friends, Julius and Charmian, decide to visit a house on their street where a murder has taken place.
The text and the format of the exam Qs 1 to 4 follows that of AQA's approved specimen papers.
NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of practice 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.
A highly differentiated resource to support students whose literacy is a barrier to accessing the new GCSE English Language exam papers.
I have adhered to the question format of Qs 1 to 3 of the exam paper but have scaffolded the responses to enable less able students to practise the skills demanded by the new AQA English Language Paper 1A: Reading exam.
To accompany the pupil workbook, I have produced a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole class interactive teaching of the resource.
Q1 - the same
Q2 - cloze exercise
Q3a - sequence the statements to show understanding of narrative events
Q3b - cloze exercise to show comprehension of narrative events, using specialist terminology
I have uploaded lots of these differentiated practice papers, as well as differentiated Language Paper 2s, all available FREE at my 'shop'. Also, loads of 'actual' specimen papers!
Help yourself and please leave a review.
Matt :)