This lesson focuses on the somewhat uninspiring topic of sentence openers - including a fun bingo activity and a diamond 9 ranking task - leading into a GCSE-style writing task inspired by an image. Created for year 11 but suitable for KS3 and 4 alike. I hope this helps your students as it has mine! Inspired in part by Edward Munch's painting.

An essay which responds to an extract from Stave 3 in which Scrooge begs for Tiny Tim to be spared. A succinct and concise but effective grade 6 essay to model the skills required for AQA Literature paper 1. One possible activity is that students add in alternative interpretations and make the analysis more tentative. Another is that students highlight where marks for each AO are allocated. This extract really helped my upper and lower band groups to unpick the assessment objectives.

A comprehensive 2 hour revision session for AQA Literature paper 1 - Macbeth and A Christmas Carol.

A lesson designed specifically for the day before the examination to offer students a final insight into the paper. Please note this is AQA Literature paper one - Macbeth and A Christmas Carol.

A mini-mock for GCSE English Literature comprising: Romeo and Juliet A Christmas Carol An Inspector Calls Power and Conflict poetry

A differentiated lesson ready for Ofsted! This lesson uses Porphyria's Lover as a murder mystery using Paul Ginnis' well-known pedagogy. This was graded a 1 when I delivered it to my class...

A lesson where KS3 students can learn the structure and purpose of a formal debate - with a motion they can use to demonstrate the skills.

A powerpoint which introduces the basic plot of the play. Perfect for SEN, EAL, and visual learners. For the benefit of the kind person who rated this as too simple I would like to point out that this was used for a low-literacy group, hence the over simplification, there’s gratitude huh?

A lesson which explores the pass, merit and distinction criteria using Meghan Markle’s UN speech in the first instance, then exploring and comparing student examples.

An analysis grid which enables students to explore Scrooge’s transformation through specific analysis of quotations from stave one and stave five.

A series of homework tasks which aim to support a SOW on autobiography - ideal for transition into year 7. Fully differentiated, students pick one task per week to enrich their classroom learning.

A model response to “Young people today experience too much pressure” written as a speech. Specifically designed to show able students how the assessment objectives can be fulfilled within 4 paragraphs. Works really well with a mark scheme.

A comprehensive overview of the key themes and strategies for AQA A Christmas Carol and An Inpector Calls, including previous question trends and links to examiners’ reports. A one hour session which could be developed to last longer.

A lesson which requires no printing… but asks students to refelct on the key lessons they have learnt from the past 2 years and make them into a speech for school leavers.

Predictions for all 4 questions on the forthcoming TV Game show 2017 paper, based on pre-release. As a former examiner, I have accompanied this with model answers which use bullet points, spider diagrams and tables but still access the highest mark. The only task I have not answered is the practical task, though I have still predicted this.

17 lessons designed to prepare students for the demands of the new GCSE specification. All resourced and fully differentiated. This leads to a Language paper 1 style writing assessment. Ideal to use in term 1 with the new year 7. I have also included some pre-Twentieth Century prose and extracts from contemporary fiction.

Differentiated homework tasks to support students with creative tasks - enough for at least half a term.

A differentiated task sheet with enough homework tasks to promote revision and stretch the most able students for a whole term!

Based on the 2018 pre-release documents, 4 questions and model responses for all except the practical design task. As a Media examiner I have structured the responses to show that students can access the higher grades in mindmaps, tables and bullet points.

A simple transition lesson which focuses on the rules of haiku and enables students to write their own.