Exemplar paragraphs on computer games in functional / discursive essays, written by top-level KS3 class, and also used by a lower-ability GCSE class as 'What a Good One Looks Like' for English Language revision.
A lesson presentation and a set of research questions on the Heaney poem 'The Summer of Lost Rachel', one of the poems on the new CCEA AS English Literature specification.
An introductory lesson (for short periods) or a lesson starter (for long periods), discussing the concept of dreams in relation to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
To practise or assess KS3 key Communication skill Reading, a lesson presentation that can be completed in class time, or printed as a handout for homework, with comprehension questions (and mark scheme) on the story of Daedalus and Icarus (taken from The New Windmill Book of Greek Myths, Geraldine McCaughrean, 1997).
KS3 novel - randomly allocate a character from the novel to each pupil (or also works in pairs, depending on ability), then get them to use this worksheet to develop deeper understanding of character. A nice follow-up extension is to work this into a Speaking and Listening class presentation for Key Skill Communication assessment.
A lesson each for 3 of the 12 Robert Frost poems in the new English Literature AS specification for CCEA: 'Birches', 'Desert Places', and 'Going for Water'.
A study map on each of the possible AS1 examination question themes of Journeys ('Postscript' by Heaney and 'Acquainted with the Night' by Frost), and Landscapes ('Desert Places' by Frost and 'Bogland' by Heaney) on the new CCEA English Literature specification. These should be annotated by pupils with analysis and quotations after studying each of the poems.
A detailed handout on the context and content of Obama's 2008 presidential victory speech, for the study of language techniques and spoken language / inspirational speeches.
Also included is a hexagon activity, which my GCSE pupils always love - in groups, pupils must debate and defend their reasoning behind matching up and making shapes with the hexagons, displaying different levels of Bloom's taxonomy with regard to which hexagons touch which others.
I hope the hexagons haven't moved in the documents; some text boxes might need enlarging if Word changes the font. Print out the hexagons and laminate, and enjoy pupils' presentations to the class of their final patterns!
Two study maps on the possible AS1 examination question theme of Rural Life or Work, relevant to the new CCEA English Literature Poetry 1900-Present specification (Frost and Heaney anthology).
A study map on the possible CCEA AS1 English Literature examination question theme of Nature, which can be used as a presentation on the board to guide discussion, or adapted as a revision resource to be annotated by pupils. The theme is considered in relation to the poems Postscript' by Seamus Heaney, and 'Gathering Leaves' and 'Going for Water' by Robert Frost.
A 31-page resource containing 14 poem comparison (AO4) grids for the Frost & Heaney anthology, including notes on situation of speaker (AO1), tone and poetic methods (AO2), and context (AO3) for the new CCEA English Literature specification. The grid format can be employed as a basis for first lessons on each of the poems, and should be used to gather quotations and write analysis. Alternatively, pupils may use the resource independently in order to plan an essay framework for practice exam questions. These are also extremely useful at the end of the course for revision purposes, where pupils use the class notes that they have made whilst studying AS1 to complete the grids from memory, as effective exam preparation.
Four handouts, prepared for KS5 study of Heaney's translation of Sophocles' Antigone, The Burial at Thebes, detailing Classical Theatre and Drama, as well as Greek gods and tyrants.
A sample comparing poems revision grid ('The Field of Waterloo' and 'Foxes among the Lambs'), a list of every past-paper question since 2012, and an exemplar essay on 'Attack' and 'In Westminster Abbey' with accompanying revision tasks.
Everything needed to teach Creative Writing at KS3: a whole unit in a presentation; a peer evaluation grid; a lesson on similes and metaphors; as well as numerous pupil examples of poetry and prose.
Three Role Play activities based upon curriculum texts (Of Mice and Men, An Inspector Calls, and Macbeth) and an exam-board approved Group Discussion activity, with a comprehensive set of pupils' research notes on the specified topic.
A detailed handout on the context of Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech, for the study of language techniques and spoken language / inspirational speeches.
Also included is a hexagon activity, which my GCSE pupils always love - in groups, pupils must debate and defend their reasoning behind matching up and making shapes with the hexagons, displaying different levels of Bloom's taxonomy with regard to which hexagons touch which others.
Some shapes and text boxes might need adjusting in other versions of Word. Print out the hexagons and laminate, and enjoy pupils' presentations to the class of their final patterns!
A selection of resources for a first lesson on spoken language/speeches, using Wordles and active learning - visual, audio, and movement. Lesson objective: Understand that different types of speech can be made, and identify key indicators of purpose, audience, and context.
Print and laminate the Wordles and display them around the room, numbering them clearly, then work your way through the 6 presentations for the whole lesson. I have had fantastic results using this for GCSE level English Language.
If the videos fail to play (they are quite big files, exported from my original Keynote into PowerPoint!), then search YouTube for the speeches: when studying the spoken word - and especially in an introductory lesson like this - it is important that pupils listen to language, and don't just read transcriptions of it. They must gain experience of pace, tone, volume, and pauses in order to analyse effective use of spoken language. (I've also made a PowerPoint of 'Just Wordles' in case the embedded videos cause problems, and you could have another window open on YouTube with the videos open in different tabs, and then just swap between the presentation and the browser - I had to do this once when the school's IT systems were playing up!)
As an English teacher, I also kept these up in my classroom afterwards as inspirational posters.
A lesson series on motivational/inspirational speeches, comparing a sports speech and Bush's 9/11 address, including fully annotated pdfs and an assessment question.