A handout guiding pupils through answering exam questions on the extent to which the suitors deserve to die, and on the importance of Telemachus in the Odyssey.
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!
Folowing my lesson on structure, this is lesson five in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: identify the general tone of a speech and be able to identify changes of tone in a presentation, and their purpose.
Three tones are examined: reflective, argumentative, and encouraging. Includes videos of speeches to illustrate points.
A lesson using a CCEA GCSE Literature past-paper unseen poem, 'After the Titanic' by Derek Mahon. Lesson makes use of the 'Home Group/Expert Group' activity, using the attached question sheets.
An activity where pupils identify types of words in a nonsense poem ('Jabberwocky'), then create their own dictionary of nonsense words in order to write their own poem about school.
Folowing my lesson using the Wordles, this is lesson one in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: be aware of the different potential purposes of speeches, and be able to identify the purpose of a variety of presentations.
Three purposes examined are: persuasion, entertainment, and information. Includes videos of speeches to illustrate points.
Folowing my lesson on Introduction/purpose, this is lesson two (or three if the previous took two) in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: to be able to identify the audience of a speech, and comment on the impact that audience would have on the language and delivery of the presentation.
Five audiences are examined. Includes videos of speeches to illustrate points.
Folowing my lesson on audience, this is lesson four in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: be able to identify techniques that are used to create an effective opening and ending to a presentation.
Three elements are examined: introductions, conclusions, and sentence structure. Includes videos of speeches to illustrate points.
A pdf for handout or presentation on formal letters, and a detailed look at play scripts and how to format them, using two exemplars (one of which is from a past pupil).
I have used both of these formats to differentiate GCSE English Language creative writing: for pupils who struggle with story structure, they can write a series of letters, or a letter and a reply, based upon characters they know from novels they've studied. Scriptwriting is excellent for gifted and talented pupils who find short story composition not challenging enough.
Drama pupils will also benefit from the analysis in the scriptwriting section of how setting and stage directions function. This will aid GCSE and A-level pupils compose their own scripts (I adapted this from a course I taught in first-year university).
For KS3 Communication, I used this letter-writing framework for final assessment on novel (so, can be adapted to mark either Reading or Writing as a Key Curriculum Skill).
A whole lesson introducing unseen poetry (in both original Keynote format, and in PowerPoint). Lesson objective: To consider our personal preconceptions about poetry, and then identify and explore the effects of poetic features upon our own individual responses to a poem. I use Simon armitage's poem 'Out of the Blue' and 'Incendiary' by Vernon Scannell. I've had really good feedback on this lesson from both GCSE and A-level pupils, as well as an observation panel when I delivered it as part of a job interview!
Folowing the previous lesson on language, this is the final lesson in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: to be able to understand the meaning of key linguistic terms and identify these devices in a presentation, and their purpose. This provides a comprehensive review of language features, and practice analysis.
Folowing my lesson on tone, this is lesson six in my scheme on speeches and techniques used in the Study of Spoken Language. Lesson objective: to be able to identify techniques used by speakers to effectively engage their audience.
Five techniques are examined: voice, accent, volume, pace, and pauses. Includes videos of speeches to illustrate points.
Two past-pupil GCSE creative writing exemplars and a detailed peer-evaluation grid. Can be used for GCSE, but I've also adapted for KS3 writing (just change the theme in the grid from 'change' to whatever applies to your unit!).
A series of resources in one presentation to teach the narrative theories of Todorov, Propp, and Barthes so that pupils can understand structure in texts. Theories are illustrated with specific examples of writing that embody Todorov's theory of equilibrium, Propp's eight character roles, and Barthes' concept of enigma. Particularly suited to English and English Language GCSE, but I have also used for GCSE Media Studies, and taught this to KS3 classes for Key Skill Communication final assessment in writing.
Using a selection of contemporary poetry, pupils will work on identifying the main poetic techniques used, followed by detailed study and analysis of similes and metaphors, illustrated by exemplar poems.
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.
Comprehensive, relevant and individual contextual detail (AO3) for every one of the 24 poems in the Heaney/Frost anthology for the new CCEA AS1 specification in English Literature.
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'.