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Zephyr Learning - English and General Literacy Shop

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(based on 16 reviews)

I hold an MA in literature and a CELTA in language, and over the last 20 years I've taught language and literature in the UK and USA as well as ESOL in France and Tanzania. In addition to my work as a teacher, I am the Literacy and Grammar Consultant for Zephyr Learning and Professional Development. These resources have been refined in my own classroom and are the same ones I reference in my CPD sessions for teachers, priced so complete lessons cost the same as a cup of coffee.

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I hold an MA in literature and a CELTA in language, and over the last 20 years I've taught language and literature in the UK and USA as well as ESOL in France and Tanzania. In addition to my work as a teacher, I am the Literacy and Grammar Consultant for Zephyr Learning and Professional Development. These resources have been refined in my own classroom and are the same ones I reference in my CPD sessions for teachers, priced so complete lessons cost the same as a cup of coffee.
A Level Language - Pragmatics (lesson 8)
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A Level Language - Pragmatics (lesson 8)

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Complete lesson designed for students taking A-level English Language as well as A-level English Lang/Lit Combined. Slideshow covers the following: schema, face theory, politeness theory (positive face, negative face, face-threatening acts), the cooperative principle, Grice’s maxims, implicature, deixis (personal, spatial, temporal).
A Level Language - Discourse (lesson 6)
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A Level Language - Discourse (lesson 6)

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Two-part lesson on written and spoken discourse, designed for students taking A-level English Language as well as students taking A-level English Language and Literature combined. The first slideshow (focusing on written discourse) covers: mode genre structure cohesion and referencing (exophoric, endophoric, anaphoric and cataphoric) intertextuality interdiscursivity The second slideshow (focusing on spoken discourse) covers: turn taking adjacency pairs phatic expressions back-channelling false starts fillers repairs ellipsis
A Level English Language terms quiz
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A Level English Language terms quiz

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I created this matching exercise for my students in A-Level Language and also in A-Level Combined Language and Literature, who were confident in applying literary terms to texts but who consistently neglected to apply language terminology in their analyses. We’ve drilled on this a few times now, and I’m starting to see more confident application of these terms. I’ll continue to use this exercise as a starter activity from time to time to keep these terms at the front of their minds.
A Level Language - Phonology (lesson 9)
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A Level Language - Phonology (lesson 9)

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Complete lesson covering aspects of phonology and phonetics for A-level English Language as well as A-level English Language and Literature Combined. Lesson covers the following: Consonants voicing place of articulation manner of articulation glottal stops Vowels monophthongs diphthongs Phonetic transcription using the IPA (with practice exercise) Sound iconicity lexical onomatopoeia non-lexical onomatopoeia alliteration consonance assonance sibilance
Frankenstein A-Level Knowledge Organiser (Lang/Lit Combined)
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Frankenstein A-Level Knowledge Organiser (Lang/Lit Combined)

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Based on the assessment objectives for AQA A Level Language and Literature combined; designed to be printed on two sides of A4. Covers the following: Social and historical context (the Industrial Revolution, Edmund Burke’s theory of the sublime, Rousseau’s theories regarding the nature/nurture debate, the alchemists Cornelius Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Paracelsus) Biographical context of Mary Shelley Literary context (explanations of important allusions and general characteristics of fantasy, science fiction, Romanticism, Gothic fiction and the tragic hero) Themes (the pursuit of knowledge, nature versus nurture, justice and injustice, the importance of family, isolation and companionship, fortune versus fate, personal responsibility) Characters (the roles and functions of Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, the creature, Elizabeth Lavenza, Justine Moritz and Safie) Settings (untamed natural settings versus university cities) Features of lexis, grammar, discourse and pragmatics to consider No coloured ink used, so the resource will print equally well on different colours of paper to suit student needs/preferences.
Speech marks / dialogue / direct speech
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Speech marks / dialogue / direct speech

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(Starter or mini-lesson) Provides a quick revision of the guidelines for punctuating direct speech to encourage students to incorporate quotes/ dialogue in a creative writing task (e.g. English Language Paper 1 Section B). It’s in Powerpoint format; simply copy and paste into your own existing Powerpoint for a ready-to-use starter activity. If you find this useful, please leave a review to spread the word!
Heaney - Blackberry Picking - A Level
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Heaney - Blackberry Picking - A Level

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Two lessons on Seamus Heaney’s ‘Blackberry Picking’ designed for students taking AQA A-level Language and Literature Combined. The first (day one) lesson introduces the poem to students and guides them in conducting a linguistic analysis of the text; the second (day two) lesson invites discussion of their findings and covers important aspects they may have overlooked.
A Level Language - Grammar - Clauses (lesson 4)
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A Level Language - Grammar - Clauses (lesson 4)

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Complete lesson including slide presentation, exercises (with answers provided in the presentation) and knowledge organisers. The lesson covers: simple, compound and complex sentences main clauses subordinate clauses functioning as adverbials relative clauses (defining and non-defining) participle clauses infinitive clauses
A Level Language - Semantics (lesson 7)
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A Level Language - Semantics (lesson 7)

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Complete lesson covering terms and concepts linked to the language level of semantics. Designed for students taking A-level Language as well as A-level Language and Literature Combined. The lesson covers the following: literal language vs. figurative language figures of speech (metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, personification) denotation connotation synonyms and antonyms hypernyms and hyponyms semantic fields semantic change (ameiloration, pejoration, broadening, narrowing and semantic reclamation)
Compound sentences / semi-colons
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Compound sentences / semi-colons

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Fully resourced lesson that teaches students how to use semi-colons to combine simple sentences into compound sentences. It also teaches them about conjunctive/linking adverbs (e.g. ‘however,’ ‘besides,’ ‘likewise,’ ‘consequently,’ ‘instead,’ etc.) and how they can be added immediately after semi-colons to clarify meaning. Resources include printable explanations and practice exercises along with a Powerpoint presentation that can be used to guide students through the lesson (the Powerpoint includes the answers for the exercises on the worksheet).
Adverbs and adverbials
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Adverbs and adverbials

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A fully resourced grammar-for-writing lesson that teaches students what adverbs and adverbials are and then gives them practice with placing adverbials in different places within sentences (i.e. at the front (fronted adverbials), in the middle or at the end). I have found it particularly useful in preparing students for Section B of GCSE English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2. The powerpoint includes a starter, an explanation of adverbs and adverbials (with examples), instructions for the worksheet (with an example), a list of possible answers and a plenary.
Participles & participle clauses
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Participles & participle clauses

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Fully resourced grammar for writing lesson; teaches students what participles are and how they can be used to enhance description and sentence variety, useful on Section B of both English Language Paper 1 and Paper 2. The worksheet consists of sentence combining exercises designed to give students practice in constructing participles and participle clauses. The powerpoint includes a starter activity, an explanation of participles and participle clauses with examples, instructions on how to complete the worksheet with examples, possible answers and a plenary.
Verbs - lesson & worksheet
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Verbs - lesson & worksheet

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Fully resourced lesson. Students learn to identify the main verb in a sentence, no matter whether it is an action verb (a ‘doing word’) or a linking verb (a ‘being word’). The Powerpoint explains action verbs and linking verbs, with examples of each. Afterwards, students practise identifying the verbs in sentences on the exercise sheet (there are 40 sentences in total; you might wish to do only a portion at a time and spread the activity over a few lessons). More able students can be challenged to classify each verb as either an action or linking verb.
Simple and compound sentences bundle
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Simple and compound sentences bundle

4 Resources
Three lessons that teach students how to recognise, punctuate and compose simple and compound sentences. Each lesson includes worksheets with explanations, examples and practice exercises along with Powerpoint presentations that can be used to guide the lesson and display correct answers. Lessons are organised as follows: Lesson 1: how to recognise when a simple sentence is complete and requires a full stop. For the final task students are given an informative article about the Titanic which contains no full stops or sentence-signaling capital letters. They must insert full stops in the correct places. Lesson 2: how coordinating conjunctions can be used to combine simple sentences into compound sentences (and when joining commas should be included). Students are given pairs of simple sentences which they then join with coordinating conjunctions, inserting joining commas as appropriate. Lesson 3: how semi-colons can be used to join simple sentences to form compound sentences. Students practise using semi-colons and linking adverbs to combine simple sentences into compound sentences. I have also added a bonus resource examining simple sentences that do not follow conventional word order (i.e. questions, imperatives and inverted sentences). It includes two pages of explanation and examples followed by an exercise designed to help the teacher assess students’ ability to identify the subject in sentences with unconventional word order.
A Level Language - Language Levels and Sentence Elements (lesson 1)
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A Level Language - Language Levels and Sentence Elements (lesson 1)

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Complete lesson on language levels with slide show, printable exercise sheet (answers included in slide show), and printable notes for teacher and/or students. Designed for use with both A-level English language and A-level English language and literature combined classes. Introduces students to the following language levels: lexis, grammar, discourse, semantics, pragmatics, phonology, graphology. Also explains and provides students with practice in identifying the following sentence elements: subject, copular verb, main verb, subject complement, direct object, indirect object, object complement, adverbial.
British Literary Periods
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British Literary Periods

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A summary of major periods in British Literature from 1485 to the Twentieth Century in six pages, originally created for use with 11th and 12th grade / Sixth Form students but useful for helping all students of British Literature to place and understand works within a historical context.