This 40-slide lesson explores the context and background of Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’. Designed as both an introduction to the play and a revision resource for students to use when recapping the play’s context, this is a comprehensive and detailed exploration of Shakespeare’s sources and influences, as well as the play’s key themes, ideas and critical debates. Students are also equipped with important and precise vocabulary for analysing the play with sophistication. Among other key ideas, students are introduced to elements of tragedy, Jacobean ideas of kingship, Shakespearean staging and stagecraft, Christianity vs. Paganism, and the play’s preoccupation with absurdity and meaninglessness. The anonymous ‘King Leir’ is referenced along with other points about the play’s textual history, and contemporary debates around succession and the unification of Britain are discussed in detail. Images from various productions of ‘King Lear’ are included for discussion, and questions for students are included throughout the resource. The file is included here both as a PDF and PowerPoint. The latter file will not retain precise font choices and formatting.

This 20-slide PowerPoint is an introductory lesson on the context of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, aimed primarily at A level students (particularly those studying the genre of comedy). The lesson contains information on Shakespeare, Commedia dell’Arte, Elizabethan acting, Illyria in context, religious satire, and more. Questions and tasks are featured for students, including a potential homework task. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 25-slide lesson serves as the perfect introduction to William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’, establishing the key context and background to the novel. The lesson includes exploration of the novel’s key themes and ideas, Golding’s life and his own comments about the text, the historical background of the Cold War and Atomic Age, as well as key terms and vocabulary to unpick the novel’s ideas. Questions, discussion-points and tasks are included for students. At the end of the lesson is an extended task that could work either in class or as a homework activity. The lesson is ideal for GCSE or KS3 study of the novel. PowerPoint is saved as PDF.

This 26-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to the context and comedy of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. The lesson features information on Wilde’s life and literary career and on Victorian contexts of gender, sexuality, and morality. The genre of comedy is considered in detail, and the key themes, characters, and conventions of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ are outlined. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This lesson would work particularly well for those teaching Wilde on AQA’s Aspects of Comedy paper for English Literature A level, but is still useful for those exploring the play for other courses. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This is a perfect stand-alone lesson aimed at KS3 or KS4 for thinking about how language is used every day in advertising. Have you ever thought about how many adverts you read in a day? What are the most powerful words in advertising? Are you aware of when and how advertising tries to entice you? This lesson uses a wide range of adverts to demonstrate the different techniques used by advertisers. At the end of the lesson, students are tasked with creating their own advert/brand. PowerPoint saved as PDF. 23 slides in total.

This resource includes a 32-slide lesson designed to introduce Greek Myths and Legends to students, accompanied by a short story in which the key Greek Gods are established. The lesson aims to introduce the conventions of Greek myths and the most significant characters of the legends. Storytelling and myth-making are explored, as is the influence of Greek mythos on our own modern culture. Students then read the story of ‘Zeus and His Mighty Company’, considering the characterisation of the Greek Gods. Tasks, discussion points, and questions are included for students. A research task ends the lesson either as a class-based or homework activity. The lesson works as an introduction to any unit of work on Greek mythology, or could feature as part of a larger unit on storytelling, heroes, or legends. This lesson is ideal for KS3 or upper-KS2. PowerPoint and Word Doc. story saved as PDF.

This 32-slide lesson on Wilfred Owen’s harrowing portrait of the First World War, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, contains a detailed and comprehensive exploration of the poem. The lesson includes context on the war, propaganda, and Owen himself, as well as analysis and questions on each stanza of the poem, including structure and form. Questions and tasks are included, with a final essay question for students (and two exemplar paragraphs) at the end. A copy of the poem is included too. This lesson is ideal for KS3 (particularly HA) and GCSE students, but could be easily adapted. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores Stave One of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider Dickens’ characterisation of Scrooge - his attitude to charity, romance, and Christmas - and to think about how Marley’s Ghost triggers Scrooge’s metamorphosis of misanthropist to philanthropist. Scrooge’s relationship with Fred and Bob Cratchit (his character foils) is analysed. We also think about symbols of cold and darkness, and link this all to Dickens’ message in this allegorical novella. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. An essay question on Scrooge is featured, supported by tips for students and an exemplar introduction and differentiated analytical paragraphs. Also included is a worksheet for students to analyse the language used by Dickens to describe Scrooge in Stave One. This is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE or at KS3. PowerPoint and Word doc. saved as PDFs.

This 15-slide lesson explores Chapter 1 of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. In this comprehensive lesson, students consider how Orwell plants the seeds of revolution on the farm via Old Major’s rhetorical skill. The allegorical function of the novella is also closely studied, as pupils learn about who/what Old Major and Mr. Jones represent. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The lesson is ideal for KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 15-slide lesson explores Chapter 6 of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. In this comprehensive lesson, students consider how the pigs begin to violate the Seven Commandments (sleeping in beds and trading with humans) and how Squealer is able to justify these transgressions through manipulative rhetoric. The use of Snowball as a scapegoat is explored, alongside how and why Orwell emphasises Boxer’s significance to the farm’s ‘success’. The allegorical function of the novella is also closely studied, as pupils learn about the slippery relationships between Stalin and the US, UK, and Germany. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The lesson is ideal for KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores Stave Three of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider how Dickens presents the Ghost of Christmas Present and how Scrooge is affected by what he is shown, including the Cratchit family, Fred’s party, and how Christmas is celebrated by even poor and isolated communities. The lesson explores Dickens’ use of children as symbols - notably Ignorance and Want - and how this might link to the context of the Industrial Revolution. We think about how this all relates to Dickens’ authorial message. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE or at KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This resource includes two comprehensive lessons for analysing William Blake’s ‘Holy Thursday’ poems from the Songs of ‘Innocence’ and ‘Experience’. The first 28-slide lesson covers ‘Holy Thursday’ from ‘Innocence’. The second 32-slide lesson covers ‘Holy Thursday’ from ‘Experience’. Both lessons include detailed explorations of the poems’ language, context, imagery, structure, and ideas, especially in relation to Blake as a protest writer and critic of institutionalised systems of power. We think about Blake’s role as a Dissenter from the Church of England, and his use of recurring symbols (such as children) throughout the ‘Songs’. The image of Ascension Day in the ‘Holy Thursday’ poems is analysed, reading the poems as Blake’s critique of ecclesiastical hypocrisy and his attempt to understand the extent of the poverty to which he bore witness. Crucially, both lessons work in tandem to read both versions of the poem alongside one another, exploring Blake’s collective message through ‘Innocence’ and ‘Experience’. Blake’s singular poetic voice and ironic tone are also deconstructed, and we consider how the poems relate to 18th century children’s literature. Questions, tasks, and discussion points are featured throughout. Both lessons end with comparative essay questions. These lessons are ideal for those studying Blake as a ‘protest writer’ with AQA at A level, but could easily be used for any KS5 study of the ‘Songs’. *This resource is new and updated in March 2021. PowerPoints are saved as PDFs.

This 31-slide lesson explores the context behind Tennessee Williams’ classic play, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. Designed to introduce students to key ideas essential to understanding the play’s historical and literary background, this lesson features discussions around key vocabulary, themes and techniques relevant to Williams’ theatrical vision. Students think critically about stagecraft and theatrical technique before learning about expressionism and the Deep South of the early 20th century (including an exploration of what is meant by a ‘Southern Belle’). There are further discussions of tragedy, the American Dream, post-war masculinity, homophobia, and psychiatry of the 1940s. The play’s key themes are outlined before students are given some examples of sophisticated vocabulary to enable precise analysis of the play. Questions, images and discussion points are included throughout the lesson. A research task is included at the end. This lesson is saved both as a PDF (to retain original design) and editable PowerPoint.

This 30-slide lesson is a detailed introduction to the context of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. The lesson includes notes on Stevenson’s life; his relationship with Edinburgh and London; Deacon Brodie; science and industrialisation; theories of evolution, Degeneration and Cesare Lombroso; Victorian rationality; the Victorian class system; and contemporary gender dynamics. It also features tips on top-grade vocabulary for students to use when analysing the text. Questions and discussion points are included throughout, and the lesson ends with a research task that could be used as a homework activity. This lesson is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE, but could be used with KS3 too. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This resource includes a booklet containing 10 extracts from 10 works of dystopian fiction by 10 different authors. The booklet contains imaginative and thought-provoking explorations of dystopian worlds - and each is ripe for analysis. Authors featured include Suzanne Collins, E.M. Forster and George Orwell. Also included is a PowerPoint with a brief introductory lesson to the dystopian genre. This explains the key features of dystopian literature and introduces the key vocabulary associated with the genre. This is perfect for a KS3 module or unit of work on dystopian fiction. It works well in conjunction with creative writing tasks. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 27-slide lesson explores the second chapter (‘Search for Mr. Hyde’) of Stevenson’s ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. To accompany the class reading or recapping of Chapter Twe of the novella, this lesson provides analytical discussion of and questions on how Stevenson introduces and develops the mystery of Hyde. Characters, setting, and key themes are analysed, with particular focus on Stevenson’s language and atmosphere, and Utterson’s curiosity. Tasks and discussion points are included for students, and an extract from the chapter is included for students to conduct linguistic analysis. This lesson is ideal for GCSE analysis of the text (eg. AQA), but could work for high-attaining KS3 groups too. PowerPoint and Word Doc. saved as PDFs.

This resource includes an extract from and questions on Louis Sachar’s ‘Holes’, based on AQA’s English Language GCSE Paper 1. The bundle includes the extract from the novel and a PowerPoint with questions and tips for how to answer three questions. Two exemplar paragraphs are given in response to Question 2 (analysing the writer’s use of language). The focus is on the first three questions of Paper 1 in the exam. This resource is perfect for introducing students to the exam specifications. It works well for a LA set or SEND GCSE group. It is also suited KS3 groups, if your school chooses to get students used to the exam early.

This 35-slide lesson explores the character of King Duncan in Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. Analysing the role of Duncan alongside the Divine Right of Kings and Great Chain of Being, as well as James I’s personal ideas of Kingship, this lesson deconstructs how Shakespeare uses Duncan to represent an idealised and legitimate image of the monarchy in the wake of the Gunpowder Plot. Students are encouraged to consider Duncan’s characterisation as Macbeth’s foil, how Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to heighten the tragedy of Duncan’s death, and how Duncan links to the play’s key themes. High-grade vocabulary is featured too. Questions, discussion points and tasks are included for students, and the lesson ends with an essay question based on an extract from the play. This lesson is ideal for those studying ‘Macbeth’ for GCSE. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 32-slide lesson explores Vernon Scannell’s poem ‘Nettles’. The lesson provides detailed study of the poem and includes: biographical information on Scannell, analysis of the poem’s use of language and linguistic/poetic techniques (including extended metaphor), analysis of the poem’s structure, form & rhyme, as well as questions, discussion points, and tasks for students to complete. The final task at the end of the lesson is a piece of creative writing in which students write their own poem. This lesson could be used for KS3 or GCSE pupils. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 33-slide lesson explores Sylvia Plath’s poem ‘You’re’. The lesson provides detailed analysis of the poem and includes: biographical information about Plath, analysis of the poem’s use of language and poetic techniques, analysis of the poem’s structure, form & rhyme, as well as questions, discussion points, and tasks for students to complete. The final task at the end of the lesson is a piece of creative writing in which students write their own poem. This lesson is ideal for KS3 pupils, but could be used for GCSE too. PowerPoint saved as PDF.