I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
A Walking talking mock that uses the AQA examiner feedback from summer 2023 to guide students through a process of planning and then writing answers/essays in response to the Jekyll and Hyde question.
Power point (40 slides) and student work booklet included.
This resource focuses on helping students to:
plan their response
consider the text chronologically
embed context rather than bolt it on at the end
consider how themes can be context rather than just Historical events
create thesis statements
consider the text as a construct
Exam questions used in this resource: sympathy for Jekyll#
Model answers included.
A Walking talking mock that uses the AQA examiner feedback from summer 2023 to guide students through a process of planning and then writing answers/essays in response to Romeo and Juliet.
Power point (42 slides) and student work booklet included.
This resource focuses on helping students to:
plan their response
consider the text chronologically
embed context rather than bolt it on at the end
consider how themes can be context rather than just Historical events
create thesis statements
consider the texts as constructs
Exam question used in this resource: relationships between older and younger characters
Model answers included.
A Walking talking mock that uses the AQA examiner feedback from summer 2023 to guide students through a process of planning and then writing answers/essays to the ‘An Inspector Calls’ question.
Power point (40 slides) and student work booklet included.
This resource focuses on helping students to:
plan their response
consider the text chronologically
embed context rather than bolt it on at the end
consider how themes can be context rather than just Historical events
create thesis statements
consider the texts as a construct
Exam questions used in this resource: Selfishness & Sheila as a character who learns lessons
Model answers included.
Resources to support the development of the following questioning and higher order thinking skills and strategies:
- Blooms taxonomy
- Socratic questioning
- No hands
- Pause time
- Secret 7
- Big question
Ideal for leading departmental or whole school training on questioning strategies.
Resources included:
- CPD power point presentation on questioning strategies with tasks for staff to complete to get them thinking about their existing practice and how they could develop this
- Socratic questioning prompt sheet to support student development of their questioning of each other within lessons
- Links to Ofsted expectations
- Departmental audit template
A presentation used for staff CPD around strategies for increasing the ratio. Active engagement versus thinking. The presentation is rooted in educational research from Doug Lemov and Tom Sherrington.
The presentation:
sets out expectations of all students in our classrooms
explains the ratio spectrum with examples of actions that would place students in varying positions on the ratio graph
emphasises the importance of ‘no opt out’ with strategies for ensuring this
explores the concept of active observation and how it an be used to increase the ratio
explores how the ratio can be increased through writing, questioning and discussion simultaneously - in detail
considers the difference between formative and summative writing
incorporates a section where the CPD leader models a process for increasing the ratio through writing, questioning and discussion using the teachers as students - participants consider the question “What makes a good lesson?”
Three differentiated (by colour) lessons to support the teaching of the skills for English language question 2 on the new specification (9-1) paper 1.
Students read extracts taken from fiction and develop skills in analysis the author's language.
The resource uses an extract from 'I'm, the king of the castle' and 'Lullaby' Extracts included.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- develop inference of language
- identify word classes and language techniques
- use sample answers
- use mark schemes
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
With a limited number of sample assessments available - I have created my own.
They have been made to look like the real papers and are worded in the same way too.
This bundle contains 11 papers.
A differentiated (by colour) lesson to support the teaching of comparison between Storm on the island and extract from the Prelude.
Differentiation:
purple - lower
blue = middle
yellow - higher
A student booklet and teacher power point that takes students through how to answer and revise for the ‘An Inspector Calls’ AQA literature question.
Model answers included and guidance on how to plan and then structure an academic introduction and essay.
Guidance is differentiated for character questions and theme questions.
Opportunities for students to write their own answers with and without scaffolds.
The resource uses two different exam questions.
With only a limited number of practice assessment materials for the new specification language paper 2, I have created a paper that is structured in the exact same way as the real thing.
The question uses a text about Cheryl Cole's marriage and a 19th century diary extract about marriage. (Both sources are included)
Writing task also included.
Perfect for mock exam.
A student booklet and teacher power point that takes students through how to answer and revise for the Romeo and Juliet AQA literature question.
Model answers included and guidance on how to structure an academic introduction.
Opportunities for students to write their own answers with and without scaffolds.
The resource uses two different exam questions.
Carousel activities which allow students to revise the context of Elizabethan England and practice analysing extracts from the play as well as referring to the play as a whole.
Differentiated to allow students to structure an exam response which culminates in an exam practice question.
Two exam questions also included in the structure of the 9-1 literature examination.
Extracts taken from:
Act 1 scene 5
Act 2 scene 2
Act 2 scene 3
Act 4 scene 3
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue - middle ability
yellow = higher ability
Fully differentiated resources to support the teaching of the new specification AQA langauge paper 2 skills at KS3.
Opportunitites to:
- draw explicit and implicit information
- syntheise differences
- analyse langauge
- compare the perspectives of writers
- peer and self assess
All extracts included with some sample responses and writing frames.
Extracts taken from:
- articles about the musicians Stormzy and Paul McCartney
- Martin Luther King
and many more including extracts provided by AQA for KS3
Perfect for year 7 and year 8 and also for low ability KS4 students
With only a very limited number of sample assessment materials published for the new specification I have made 4 exam questions for Romeo and Juliet that are perfect for mock exams.
Each question has been created in the format of the real exam questions and includes an extract which students start by analysing before moving from extract to whole. Number of marks available are stated, as are the bullet points that guide student responses.
The questions:
1. Presentation of the Friar
2. Theme of conflict
3. Presentation of Romeo
4. Presentation of Juliet
Comment back for Media studies teachers in an excel file.
The comments cover the following areas:
- Pupil effort
- Pupil homework
- Pupil classwork
- Pupil targets for improvement
Resources to support the revision of 'An Inspector Calls' for new specification GCSE
Includes:
- sample responses
- step by step guide to structuring an analytical paragraph
- sample exam question
- carousel opportunity to expose students to a range of possible questions for them to discuss and annotate
- general revision of plot, character and context
A handy pack of documents and proformas for a head of department.
Included:
Deep dive documents that will be useful for inspection including work scrutiny and learning walk templates as well as Middle leader ofsted questions
- Lesson observation / learning walk document in line with latest Ofsted
Work scrutiny / pupil voice document in line with new Ofsted
An example English department vision which takes into account pupils’ reading, writing and speaking & listening
- Department report templates
- Department detention letter templates
- Departmental moderation and standardisation templates
- English department presentation policy template
- Questions to prepare of Ofsted inspection
- A template for assessing the English department against the Ofsted ‘Good’ criteria
Resources to support the development of Accelerated Reader programme and DEAR sessions which are dedicated to reading. (DEAR) In my school students read for 20 minutes daily.
Resource bundle includes:
- a presentation for staff on Accelerated reader including purpose and benefits - including educational research regarding the importance of reading
- a presentation for students on Accelerated reader and DEAR
- templates for book and library passes
- example book marks
- an example student planner page to log reading
- a presentation on reading engagement strategies
Fully differentiated resources to support the teaching of chapter 9 to chapter 17 of 'The Edge' by Alan Gibbons,
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
resources provide opportunities for:
- peer and self assessment
- exploration and analysis of dramatic irony
- writing police reports
- analysing the creation of tension
- character and theme exploration and analysis
- analysing perspective
- narrative writing