Hero image

MrGradgrind's Shop

Average Rating3.99
(based on 50 reviews)

Humble English Teacher hoping to cut down on teachers' workload by providing high quality resources (from primary to secondary - mostly English but some other subjects too). Please share and review if you like what you see here.

284Uploads

130k+Views

31k+Downloads

Humble English Teacher hoping to cut down on teachers' workload by providing high quality resources (from primary to secondary - mostly English but some other subjects too). Please share and review if you like what you see here.
The Chimney Sweeper Poems: William Blake (Innocence & Experience)
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

The Chimney Sweeper Poems: William Blake (Innocence & Experience)

(0)
These two lessons are perfect for analysing William Blake’s two ‘Chimney Sweeper’ poems from the 'Songs of Innocence and ‘Experience’. Both lessons contain detailed explorations of language, context, themes and ideas, especially in relation to Blake as a protest writer. Each stanza is deconstructed individually, and questions/tasks are included for students, including comparative and extended essay questions. These lessons are ideal for those A level students who are analysing Blake’s poetry as part of the AQA Political and Social Protest Paper, but easily adaptable for other exam boards too. The lesson on the ‘Chimney Sweeper’ of ‘Innocence’ is 36 slides in length. The lesson on the ‘Chimney Sweeper’ of ‘Experience’ is 26 slides in length. Two PowerPoints (saved as PDF) included.
Unseen Poetry Practice Questions (AQA)
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Unseen Poetry Practice Questions (AQA)

(0)
A booklet featuring 25 poems for students to practise analysing ‘unseen poetry’ for the AQA GCSE Literature exam. Each poem is accompanied by a question emulating the style of AQA’s exam questions. Some poems are coupled together to allow comparative essays, as per the final question of the exam. Poets include Armitage, Blake, Heaney, Larkin, Plath, Sassoon and Whitman.
Nothing's Changed: Tatamkhulu Afrika
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Nothing's Changed: Tatamkhulu Afrika

(0)
This lesson includes three resources designed to teach Tatamkhulu Afrika’s harrowing apartheid poem ‘Nothing’s Changed’. Included is a PowerPoint with some background on Afrika’s life and Apartheid, and questions on the poem; a copy of the poem with contextual notes (as per Section A of the AQA exam); and a top-band exemplar response to a Section A question. This final resource is a detailed and sophisticated essay analysing Afrika’s poem. These resources are perfect for those studying POLITICAL AND SOCIAL PROTEST WRITING at A level with AQA, but could be adapted to teach the poem in a broader context.
Linguistic Techniques Posters (x11)
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Linguistic Techniques Posters (x11)

(0)
11 specially designed posters on linguistic techniques designed to aid students’ learning of key vocabulary. Each poster uses an example to explain each technique. Perfect for your classroom or corridor displays! Features: Simile Metaphor Personification Alliteration Rule of Three Hyperbole Repetition Onomatopoeia Rhetorical Question Imperative Oxymoron
A Christmas Carol: Scrooge as an Outsider Essay (Top Band)
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

A Christmas Carol: Scrooge as an Outsider Essay (Top Band)

(0)
This is a top-band exemplar essay on how Dickens presents Scrooge as an outsider in ‘A Christmas Carol’. Based on a genuine AQA Literature past paper, this essay is perfect for HA pupils to see how to structure a sophisticated and perceptive essay. The extract and exam question are included on the first page.
Macbeth: Supernatural Essay (Top Band)
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Macbeth: Supernatural Essay (Top Band)

(0)
This top-band essay analyses how Shakespeare presents Macbeth and Banquo’s attitudes to the supernatural, based on the (infamous) AQA exam question from 2018. Many students found this question challenging when it appeared in the summer of 2018. This essay is perfect (for HA pupils, in particular) to see how to structure a sophisticated and perceptive essay. The extract and exam question are included on the first page.
Protest Writing 10 Extracts: AQA KS5
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Protest Writing 10 Extracts: AQA KS5

11 Resources
This bundle includes 10 mock extracts for students to practise analysing elements of political and social protest writing according to the AQA A level syllabus. Also included is a double-sided worksheet with key vocabulary/terminology linked to protest writing. These resources are collectively worth £19.70, so this bundle offers a discount of over £10.
Jekyll and Hyde: Chapters 1-10 Complete Lessons
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Jekyll and Hyde: Chapters 1-10 Complete Lessons

(0)
PowerPoints on all 10 chapters of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. These can be used in conjunction with reading the text as a class or for revision purposes. Each PowerPoint contains key quotes, themes, ideas, and questions/activities for students. These PowerPoints will produce at least 10 lessons. Perfect for studying the novella at GCSE.
Twelfth Night: Complete Notes Acts 1-5
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Twelfth Night: Complete Notes Acts 1-5

(0)
This resource contains detailed and academically challenging PowerPoints for all five acts of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. Each PowerPoint goes through an act scene-by-scene, analysing language, theme, character and context, combining scholarly notes from a range of sources. These PowerPoints work well when accompanying the reading of the text in class. Students find them useful for revision of the play too. These five PowerPoints have the potential to cover several weeks of lessons. These resources are aimed at A level students (particularly those studying comedy as a genre), but could be used for the study of the play with any high attaining group.
Of Mice and Men: Complete Lessons
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Of Mice and Men: Complete Lessons

8 Resources
This bundle includes detailed and comprehensive lessons for all six chapters of John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’, as well as an introductory lesson to the novella’s social and historical context. Each lesson includes questions, discussion points, tasks, creative writing prompts, essay questions, and exemplar responses to help students to analyse the text to the high standard. Also included is a crossword on the classic novella as an engaging revision/starter/homework activity for students.
A Christmas Carol: Complete Lessons
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

A Christmas Carol: Complete Lessons

8 Resources
This bundle includes complete resources for Charles Dickens’ timeless classic, ‘A Christmas Carol’. Detailed lessons are included on each of the novella’s five chapters, plus an introductory lesson on the story’s social and historical context. The bundle also includes a fun and engaging crossword activity for students based on the novella, as well as a worksheet for students to use to consolidate their understanding of the text’s key themes.
Othello: Complete Notes
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Othello: Complete Notes

(0)
This bundle of resources is a comprehensive, detailed, and academic exploration of all scenes from Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ to provide the ideal companion for studying the play. Five presentations are included - one for each of the play’s five acts. Each presentation introduces the setting and context for each of the play’s scenes, before providing step-by-step supportive notes for the scenes. These notes not only explain what is happening as the scene progresses, but key dialogue, images, and stage directions are deconstructed with academic scrutiny. Questions are also posed for students at regular intervals to encourage a thematic and holistic understanding of the play. These resources can be used to support class readings of the texts, or made accessible to students at home to facilitate their understanding of each scene. In addition, students have found them extremely useful as revision resources to review in their own time. Act 1 Notes - 54 slides Act 2 Notes - 42 slides Act 3 Notes - 50 slides Act 4 Notes - 40 slides Act 5 Notes - 38 slides These resources are ideal for GCSE or A level study of ‘Othello’. 224 slides in total. PowerPoints saved as PDFs.
Animal Farm: Complete Lessons
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Animal Farm: Complete Lessons

13 Resources
This bundle includes lessons for all 10 chapters of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ as well as a detailed introduction to the novella’s social and historical context. Lessons analyse the novella’s key characters, themes, and ideas, while offering close scrutiny of Orwell’s language. Close attention is paid to the novella’s function as an allegory of the Russian Revolution and subsequent rule of Stalin over the Soviet Union. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students throughout. Extract-based questions are also featured, as well as creative tasks. This bundle also includes a crossword on ‘Animal Farm’, to be completed as an engaging revision/starter/homework task, and a ‘Seven Commandments Tracker’ for students to analyse when and how each commandment is broken as the novella progresses. These lessons are ideal for KS3 or GCSE students (ages 12-16). PowerPoints saved as PDFs. Buyers of this bundle save 65% of the resources’ combined total price.
Love & Relationships: All Poems (AQA GCSE)
MrGradgrindMrGradgrind

Love & Relationships: All Poems (AQA GCSE)

(0)
PowerPoints for teaching all 15 of AQA’s GCSE Love and Relationships Poetry cluster. Presentations include key themes, ideas and questions for students. Designed to supplement your teaching of the poems. 15 PowerPoints included. All designed by Mr_Gradgrind.