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 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
Over 10 lessons worth of resources to support the teaching of spoken language. All lessons are meticulously planned and fully differentiated by colour. These lessons are ready to go and are numbered for ease of use.
Ideal for use in KS3 given the removal of this component as part of GCSE.
Differentiation:
purple - lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
These resources allow students to identify and analyse the following spoken language techniques:
- face threatening acts
- jargon
- accent and dialect
- formal and informal talk
- Adjacency pairs
- back channel features
- Fillers and hedges
- Holding the floor
- turn taking
- overlapping speech
- standard English
- spontaneous speech
Students will explore spoken language taken from the following sources:
- Catharine Tate as Lauren in the UK sitcom
- Jeremy Paxman interview with Russell Brand
- Ali G interview with Tony Benn
- Jonathan Ross interview with Lady Gaga
- Board room conversations taken from the Junior apprentice
- Classroom talk taken from Highgate Wood school
- Transcripts of students talking with teachers
Links provided for YouTube video clips to allow students to observe the spoken language before analysing
Planning sheets, card sort of techniques, homework tasks and analysis writing frames are also included.
These documents outline what makes a student a HAP, MAP or LAP now that curriculum levels have been removed.
HAP = High achieving pupil
MAP = Middle achieving pupil
LAP = low achieving pupil
The documents outline the skills required (in both theory and practical) for each student in year 9 through to year 11 to be categorised as a HAP, MAP or LAP in Media studies. The skills are bullet pointed to allow ease of use for all department members.
These documents would be ideal for teachers to use when assessing student progress in specific components of their Media studies, particularly in KS3 (year9.) Once used, the student work can then be compared to their target in order to track progress.
Over 14 lessons to support the teaching of Skellig.
Opportunities for students to:
- analysis writer's methods
- analyse the creation of tension
- develop speaking and listening skills
- explore symbolism
- create diary entries
- make links to other literature including the schoolboy by William Blake
- explore the effect on the reader
- explore characters and themes
Resources to support the teaching of Romeo and Juliet act 1 scene 5 with a focus on comparing Shakespeare's original with Luhrmann's modern 1996 interpretation.
Lessons are fully differentiated by colour and numbered for ease of use.
These resources provide opportunities to:
- Compare interpretations of act 1 scene 5
- Analyse language, form and structure of two interpretations
- Analyse dramatic irony
- Practice structuring exam responses
- Explore context
- Explore how different audience may interpret the scene
These fully differentiated (by colour) resources support the teaching of the entire novel 'Two weeks with the Queen.' Medium term plan also included along with homework tasks and assessment opportunities.
Over 25 lessons ready to go! Download and teach.
The medium term plan signposts opportunities to develop language and literature skills for 9-1 GCSE.
Differentiation:
Purple = low ability
Blue = middle ability
Yellow = higher ability
These lessons are ready to go - download and teach straight away.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- Read for pleasure
- Analyse language and structure
- Analyse pathetic fallacy
- Analyse character and theme
- Writing opportunities including persuasive writing, diary entry,news reports, writing to advise, formal letter writing, leaflet writing
- Develop literacy skills including sentence forms, direct speech
- Analyse non fiction texts
- Build skills for the new 9-1 GCSE English language and literature specifications
Power point resources to support the teaching of the following poems on the theme of conflict:
1. The Class Game
2. Parades End
3. Belfast Confetti
4. Our Sharpeville
5. Exposure
6. Catrin
7. Half Caste
These resources are useful for preparing students for unseen poetry or as part of key stage 3 schemes of work. or as part of the teaching of conflict poetry clusters.
All resources are fully differentiated by colour. (Purple = low ability, blue = mid ability, yellow = higher ability)
There are 2 to 3 power point presentations per poem which cover context, language, form and structure and contain assessment opportunities.
This is bundle one. There is 1 other bundle which covers the poems listed below. (15 poems in total)
1. Your Dad did what
2. Cousin Kate
3. Hitcher
4. The Drum
5. Conscientious Objector
6. Invasion
7. August 6 1945
9. Oh what is that sound
A comprehensive selection of resources to support the teaching of Simon Armitage poetry. Power points on the following poems:
1. Kid
2. Father thought it bloody queer
3. Homecoming
4. Hitcher
5. Mother, any distance
6. November
7. Remains
8. Harmonium
Resources include annotations, language analysis and a range of engaging activities for students of varying abilities. Also includes assessment opportunities and contextual information.
A six week activity book that could be used independently in class or for homework.
Over the course of the six weeks students will work on strategies for effective writing which culminates in producing a piece of writing to argue in the final week.
Each week’s work begins with a retention quiz.
Students develop confidence in:
Understanding and identifying the GAP
Opening hooks
Language devices for effect
Punctuation
Planning for writing
This knowledge book has been created so that students work through it in lessons rather than using an exercise book for all activities. Exercise books are then just used for extended writing.
All key knowledge for Macbeth has been pre-determined and this booklet provides that knowledge alongside purposeful activities and tasks for each scene of the play. When complete - students then have a perfect revision guide to use as part of their exam preparation.
Included in this knowledge book:
32+ lessons covering every scene
a ‘do now’ knowledge retention activity in every lesson
a powerpoint with all knowledge quiz answers
a big and small question to guide learning and discussion
key knowledge including key terminology
embedded contextual links as part of ‘extended reading’
an appendix containing scaffolded activities
activities that also help students to work on the skills required for the language papers
opportunity for students to develop narrative and transactional writing
opportunity to develop language paper 1 and 2 skills
Also useful for students to use as a revision booklet ahead of GCSE examinations.
Rather than differentiation, many schools are thinking more in terms of scaffolding in the current climate.
The attached documents include:
a ppt used for CPD
a guidance document containing a range of strategies that can be used to scaffold work for children.
A lesson that encourages students to think deeply when exploring Churchill’s speech.
Students work towards answering the question: How does Churchill attempt to motivate the British people?
Two lessons using an extract from Jurassic Park that are ideal for remote teaching as there is a power point for each lesson and a document that students can complete. Easy to copy and paste into Teams or google classrooms.
The first lesson explores inference and the second focuses on analysis.
Students explore extracts taken from Anne Frank’s dairy and explore the language she uses to express her feelings. Focus is applied to forming deeper interpretations.
Reading is also provided around the Holocaust which leads into an imaginative writing speech task based on this.
Do now quizzes also included.
These resources (four lessons) guide students how to tackle each of the questions on language paper 1.
The extract is taken from ‘The Mist in the mirror.’
Included is a ppt to guide students through the expectations of each question including model answers that would achieve at least a grade 5 and planning strategies for each question.
Worksheets are also included which can be uploaded to an online learning platform for students to complete. Worksheets are very user friendly to minimise student difficulty.
Two lessons, used for remote learning but can be used in class, that serve as an introduction to ballads.
Students read ‘Homeless Jack’ and explore the conventions of ballads.
In lesson 2 students write their own ballad about ‘Too tall Paul’ after reading an extract from an article about Britian’s tallest man.
A series of lessons attached that explore ‘Simon Lee: The Old Hunstman.’
Lessons include:
inference skills
comparing perspectives with model answers
do now activities
exploration of moral and links to the corona virus pandemic and random acts of kindness
article writing
A CPD journal template.
The idea behind this is to front load a term/half term with the relevant reading that will be the basis for CPD to allow staff to read and engage ahead of a CPD session.
The reading included is based around the school priorities and ensures that CPD is research based.
Space is provided for staff to reflect on each CPD session and prioritise their actions.
This resource was created as a Walking talking mock to guide students through how to tackle key questions from the AQA language papers.
This resource deals with
Paper 1 Q4 and 5
Paper 2 Q2,4 and 5
The booklet provides all key knowledge and models as well as space for students to plan and answer questions themselves.
The power point guides the WTM.
A booklet of lessons to support the teaching of act 1 of Macbeth.
Each lesson has a big and small question, provides key terms to support scene exploration and contains a knowledge retention quiz that also tests student knowledge of Power and conflict poetry and A Christmas Carol.
A range of activities are included to support students with modelled responses.