I teach English Lit and Lang at IGCSE and IB Level. Resources here are mainly for these courses but I often upload KS3 resources too. Currently I am working on the new Songs of Ourselves for 2026. Drop me a line on: underthevolcanoagain@gmail.com for one-to-one tuition.
I teach English Lit and Lang at IGCSE and IB Level. Resources here are mainly for these courses but I often upload KS3 resources too. Currently I am working on the new Songs of Ourselves for 2026. Drop me a line on: underthevolcanoagain@gmail.com for one-to-one tuition.
In this PowerPoint presentation you will find: 20 questions to help students annotate and understand the poem, pre-reading activities related to the theme of commodification, a brief introduction to Marxism, an example of how the brand Oreo used the Gay Pride flag to help sell its product and brand itself, about the author (very brief), and finally an example analytical paragraph used for modelling, answering the question: How does Peter Porter, in his poem A Consumer’s Report, convey his views on the commodification of life?
This PowerPoint can be bought individually or as part of a bundle at a discount.
In this 26-slide PowerPoint you will find a thought-provoking starter, matching poetry technique task, in-depth discussion task, creative writing exercise (using the key vocabulary from the poem), an artwork imagery task, homework questions, line by line questions, deep line by line annotations/analysis, essay question and plan, and a model paragraph (colour-coded). This could take anything between one and three hours of teaching, depending on the cohort.
This is a 20 slide PowerPoint including: about the author, context, line by line comprehension and thought-provoking questions, a quiz pairwork activity, an A grade analytical model paragraph, analysis activity, and a plenary.
In this 27-slide PowerPoint, you will find: thought-provoking starter, quick thematic overview, each stanza accompanied by relevant picture, line-by-line questions (with answers), PDF to complete the questions at home as flipped learning if required, clear essay plan with activities, a fun storytelling activity that has students research a folktale (optional extra if you have time), line-by-line technique annotations. Plenty of activities to really explore the poem in detail.
In this simple 9 slide PowerPoint, you will find: thematic questions about heroes and feminist struggles, line by line questions, detailed summary of the poem with a gap-fill task, a drama activity where students act the event in the poem out, and a writing activity where students write a letter from the great-great-grandmother in the poem to the author. Finally, students peer assess their writing based on spelling, punctuation, grammar, paragraphing, and tone. It is a fairly easy-to-understand poem that students will benefit from exploring using these different pedagogical platforms.
In this PowerPoint you will find: thematic discussion questions, a quiz about Percy Shelley, the ‘story’ of the poem explained, a mindmapping task on Ramesses II, the author’s message, line by line questions, a gap fill about extended metaphor, a brief overview of the framed narrative form, and an annotated model response with essay writing prompts and instructions. All in all, students should have a good grasp of the poem after studying this, and teachers will not have any planning apart from possibly printing any slides they might want students to stick into their books. Any feedback is always much appreciated.
The PowerPoint includes: mindmapping the title, comprehension questions for every line, a variety of activities, line by line analysis, contextual information, rhyme scheme, essay questions, criteria, and an example colour-coded paragraph. Also, I have included a link to my YouTube analysis and a 1000 word essay. It is very thorough and detailed, easy to follow, and with logical animations. It will take between two and three hours to cover fully.
In this 23-slide PowerPoint, you will find: starter, thought-provoking h/w questions (with answers as annotations), research the author task, vocabulary challenges (with answers), line-by-line analysis, structural questions (with answers), drama task, essay question and essay plan. A thoroughly detailed series of lessons that will most likely take 2 to 3 hours if you complete all activities. This PowerPoint can be used in class, for homework, or for revision.
A detailed PowerPoint that provides: prereading activities, about the author, annotations, comprehension questions, line by line technical/language analysis, and three essay questions to challenge students. I have also written an example essay, which is also included. Students like the fun activity which involves them comparing the poem to the opening scene of David Lynch’s movie, Blue Velvet. I hope you like it. Here is a link to my supplementary YouTube video too: https://youtu.be/vTm92Pokmc0
This is an analysis of an extract of the Kamala Harris VP Nomination Speech (follow the link to the full video below). It provides students with an annotated copy of the original text transcript, and an intro and thesis, something they often have trouble formulating. Also included are some past papers, model paragraphing, and essay plans. I hope these resources are useful in preparing for this year’s IB Paper 1 - they could be used either in class, online, or for revision.
In this PowerPoint you will find: three readings of the poem, the poem’s backstory, questions on form/technique/ambiguity, a technique/quote matching activity, a line by line commentary, a final fun task where students perform the poem dramatically in small groups as others rate them on a simple performance rubric. It is informative but also quite fun and you can skip activities as you wish. I hope it is useful and any feedback would be much appreciated.
18 questions for students to show their understanding of the plot. This could also be used as an intro to the text and students could work on computers to find the answers. I have also included an answer sheet for quick marking.
In this 20-slide PowerPoint, you will find: intriguing starter for students to share opinions on the theme of marriage, a biography of the author with a quiz at the end (with answers), first impressions task, vocabulary challenge, homework task, line-by-line questions, line-by-line analysis, essay question, essay plan, model introduction, model analytical paragraph (colour-coded for clarity, prompts for further analysis paragraphs with quotes identified for each one. This resource will take about 2 hours to complete plus homework and students will gain confidence in understanding and unpacking the poem.
In this 18-slide PowerPoint, you will find: short video task with a biography of Alexander Pope with comprehension questions, list of key themes, tricky vocabulary explained, interpretative questions, homework PDF, line-by-line questions, line-by-line analysis, linking structure to content ideas, essay question, and an essay plan. It should probably take 2 to 3 hours to complete, maybe longer if the discussion is rich. It works better as a PP.
This is for anyone teaching the new IB course (2020-2026). It offers students some questions to ask themselves when revising for their Paper 1 Lang/Lit exam. It could be used as a classroom activity when examining a text, or as revision.
In this PowerPoint presentation, you will find: line by line questions, analysis of rhyme scheme and tense shifts, a comparison task where students interpret the opening page of The Stranger by Albert Camus to discuss the poem’s theme of “the irrationality of grief”, and a media based activity where students have to create a YouTube video of the poem using still images. It should be quite an interesting and fun series of tasks for students to develop a good understanding of the poem.
UPDATED VERSION - PLEASE REDOWNLOAD Jeff Wayne intro! In this 15 slide PowerPoint, you will find a fun starter with images connected to the novel, a gap-fill about the life of HG Wells (with answers), a matching activity about Victorian England, Industrial Revolution, Imperialism, Science, and Political Change (also with answers), and some documentary viewing questions that could either be done during class or for homework (answers also provided). This is all you need to help your students get started with the background to the novel; it works well as a set of pre-reading activities. The full SoW can be bought as part of a bundle. I have made the SoW with the IGCSE first exams 2024 in mind, but it can be used generically too. I hope it is useful for your students. Please check out my other resources!
In this 18-slide PowerPoint, you will find an initial vocabulary activity based on some of the tricky words in Book 2, Chapter 1, then some straightforward discussion questions to facilitate active reading, followed by a fun activity where students design their own technological alien and write a 200-word profile for it. Included is a gap fill activity to check understanding of Book 2, Chapter 2, followed by a “discussion” with HG Wells regarding the themes of reason/belief. This final activity should really get to the heart of the book and with the right teacher guidance there will hopefully be a rich discussion. All three chapters are also concisely summarised.
12-slide PP covering three chapters. A range of activities for these chapters and some model responses analysing the language and themes. Matching tasks and summaries galore. Please see shop for full bundle.
