Have fun exploring ideas about animal cruelty with Benjamin Zephaniah’s hilarious poem “Talking Turkeys”. This folder contains a cloze exercise on the poem to engage students directly with the text with follow-up comprehension questions. There are then three more powerpoint options for further exploration. Students can either create a leaflet to persuade people to give up turkey and eat something else at Christmas. Or if you are looking for a Christmas themed activity, students can use the poem as inspiration for their own Christmas poem. And don’t forget to watch Mr Zephaniah in action on Youtube, performing said poem in a bright pink shell suit. Not to be missed!

Ten multiple choice questions on famous authors and their work. Answers included. Lesson concludes with students considering their own favourite authors and creating a poster to promote them. Great activity to celebrate World Book Day.

Teach your students how to collate information from two sources into a structured report with recommendations. This fourteen slide Powerpoint introduces the purpose of reports and then guides students through how to write a report for their headteacher on the suitability of two applicants for the position of English teacher at their school. The Word worksheet with the teacher applications is included.

Do you ever feel frustrated that your students have simply stopped using capital letters? This twenty-seven slide powerpoint reviews the rules in a fun and interactive way, then explains the difference between use of capital letters for common nouns and proper nouns. There are copious amounts of exercises to correct, which can be done on the board as a class or can be printed off for homework. If you want to embed the use of capital letters, this is the lesson for you. To complete all activities would take over one hour.

This Powerpoint uses Bernard Levin’s fantastic poem “On Quoting Shakespeare” to illustrate to students the huge influence that Shakespeare had on the English language. The slideshow introduces how many words Shakespeare was responsible for creating; a brief biography of Levin and then the poem split up over 30 slides so that it can be read/performed to the class in a fun way. Students are then asked to explore what some of the idioms that he created mean. The zipped folder includes a worksheet with the idioms split up to be cut up and given to students and a copy of the poem itself.

Students explore John Agard’s use of irony in this clever poem. They are then supported to write a parody of the poem, rejecting any stereotypes of themselves. A multiple choice quiz worksheet is used as a starter to get students interested in the themes and ideas.

Full scheme of work on the graphic novel by Alan Grant and Cam Kennedy. Eight lessons in total aimed at lower ability students with accompanying worksheets. Worksheets focus predominantly on cloze exercise summaries of the chapters, so that students remember the plot. Each lesson contains a powerpoint also.

Learn to spell irregular words ending in -f or -fe that can take -s or -es in a fun way with this powerpoint and worksheet. The rule is explained on the powerpoint and then students are given a look/cover/spell/check worksheet to learn the spellings ready for a test. The powerpoint contains eighteen spellings with graphics for clues, which will help and second language speakers in your class. A further worksheet can be used to consolidate the activity in class or for homework. All answers provided, so students can mark their own work.

Did you know that sixty percent of words in English have their roots in Greek and Latin? This fun quiz will not only help your students to fully appreciate the huge influence of these languages, it will also make mathematics more meaningful for them. Students are given several clues to fifteen Latin and Greek number prefixes. No longer will they state, "It's all Greek to me." All answers provided.

Using the poem “Nettles” by Vernon Scannell, students analyse the effect of the extended metaphor of military imagery to describe the nettles before engaging with the theme of the poem. In the second lesson, students learn how to create extended metaphors themselves with an example comparing school to a prison. Students are given several choices and lots of support to then choose a vehicle for their own extended metaphor. Folder includes: A worksheet to identify meanings of military imagery words before reading. Copy of poem. 25 slide powerpoint.

Encourage your students to use a wider variety of sentences by teaching them how to begin sentences with the present participle, “ing” form of the verb. This powerpoint contains a clear explanation, ten sentences to re-write with answers and five fictional products to for students to sell using this type of sentence. In the final activity students choose their own product or company to promote using this sentence type. It can be used as two separate lessons of thirty minutes or a lesson of an hour, factoring in feedback from students.

Foster a love of reading in your students by using this thirty-two slide powerpoint on the life and career of Jacqueline Wilson to inspire your students to research an author of their own choosing. The project can either be print-based or Powerpoint-based, as in the example, if you have access to ICT resources. There are two accompanying worksheets to support the project with lots of ideas for potential authors and how to structure the project. The project could be done at school or set for homework.

Support students to write a persuasive speech on the subject of school uniform by analysing an extract from Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech”. Students then apply Mr King’s language techniques to a speech either for or against school uniform. Students never tire of this eternal subject. A twenty-two slide powerpoint guides them through planning and structuring the speech with some ideas for and against the issue. Perfect for teaching GCSE transactional writing.

Using Levi Tafari’s poem “Caribbean Christmas”, students read the poem as a class, then take a verse each to practice and perform. Finally students write their own poem about what Christmas is like in the region where they live. Tafari’s poem is great fun as it includes several “Call and response” verses that students love interacting with. Festive fun for all the class with a multi-cultural element. Don’t be all bah humbug this Christmas. Have some fun with your students! Folder includes powerpoint and hard copy of poem.

Revise how to use the apostrophe of omission with your students with this comprehensive Powerpoint packed full of exercises with answers. Together with the Powerpoint “Apostrophes of Possession” your students will become experts in the use of the apostrophe and not victims of the Apostrophe Protection Society!

Two lessons that cover cliches in the English language. The first lesson looks at how many similes are cliches and invites students to create their own original similes to create a poem about autumn inspired by five different autumnal pictures. The second lesson looks at how many idioms are cliches and uses a worksheet for students to explore the meaning of well-known idioms. Worksheet included.

Don’t you just hate it when students overuse the verb “get” in their writing? With this fun powerpoint, you can encourage your students to abandon this tedious and unimaginative verb. The powerpoint contains several quick-fire activities and the folder includes five worksheets to embed the learning. Great for teaching synonyms and how to vary your vocabulary.

This thirty-two slide Powerpoint explains the historical reason why there are many words from French in the English language. The first activity then asks students to match Old English synonyms to their French equivalents. The second activity gives ten adjectives from French and students have to match the adjective to the definition. The third activity gives ten words for colours from French and asks students to match the description to the colour. Next there are twenty clues to words from French and finally there are eight inventions that have been named after French people that the students have to guess. This will take one hour or two thirty minute lessons. No need for worksheets. All questions and answers on the slides.

Did you know that sixty percent of words in English are derived from Greek and Latin? This thirty-six slide Powerpoint contains clues to at least two words derived from fourteen different Greek roots. Students work independently or in groups to guess the words from the clues. A brief explanation of why there are Greek roots in English is provided at the beginning and the answers are provided at the end. Designed to engage your students as an interactive quiz.

Two lessons using an extract from Bill Bryson’s travelogue “Notes from a Small Island” in which he describes his disappointment at visiting Blackpool. The lesson sequence is as follows: In the first lesson the students attempt the question “How does the writer use language to show disappointment?” in preparation for AQA English Paper One Question 2 on language. A WAGOLL answer is provided demonstrating how the answer should be marked. A mark scheme is provided and students peer assess each other’s work following the model, giving each other a mark and written feedback. The second lesson uses the theme of disappointment as a springboard. Students write a story about disappointment in preparation for Section B: Writing on English Paper One. An example of planning a story with a 3 part story structure is included, as well as a further extract from Bryson on Weston-Super-Mare in which he shows disappointment. 23 slides and two extracts included.