Welcome. My resources include CPD self-study units for teachers as well as whole units of work specifically designed for the English classroom. Whole units come with detailed teacher notes, teaching PPTs and all student resources. I hope you enjoy using them as much as I have. Questions are very welcome and I can be contacted at roseandmay2@virginmedia.com.
Best wishes, Sam
Welcome. My resources include CPD self-study units for teachers as well as whole units of work specifically designed for the English classroom. Whole units come with detailed teacher notes, teaching PPTs and all student resources. I hope you enjoy using them as much as I have. Questions are very welcome and I can be contacted at roseandmay2@virginmedia.com.
Best wishes, Sam
This student-friendly guide is designed to support students in developing their skills in preparation for the Cambridge First Language English IGCSE Paper 2 Section B: Composition exam. It is intended for use at home and includes lots of interactive and practical tasks to help them embed the key skills required at this level. It was written with my own mid to high ability IGCSE group in mind. It includes a work booklet as well as accompanying resources in Word and PDF formats including planning frames, narrative extracts and creative writing tasks for exam practice. It will be invaluable for teachers who wish to set revision tasks for their classes or for parents who wish to support with exam preparation.
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Cambridge IGCSE English Language: Imaginative Writing Unit
This unit of work is designed with a particular focus on Component 2 or 3 Imaginative writing. It explores descriptive and narrative writing within the context of gothic fiction, and includes a superbly presented 104 slide teaching PPT plus all 19 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes.
Cambridge IGCSE English Language: Speaking and Listening Unit
This unit prepares students for their Cambridge IGCSE Speaking and Listening test (individual talk and conversation) on a specific topic agreed with their teacher. It guides students through the whole process by looking at aspects of effective talks such as openings, rhetorical devices, endings, use of cue cards to structure a talk and responding to questions. A 40 slide PPT is included as well as all eight resources in both word and pdf formats and a detailed set of teacher’s notes.
This unit prepares students for their Cambridge IGCSE Speaking and Listening test (individual talk and conversation) on a specific topic agreed with their teacher. It guides students through the whole process by looking at aspects of effective talks such as openings, rhetorical devices, endings, use of cue cards to structure a talk and responding to questions. Strategies include exploring good examples of talks as well opportunities to try out a variety of techniques to help make their own talks lively and engaging . A 40 slide PPT is included as well as all eight resources in both word and pdf formats and a set of teacher’s notes.
**More Cambridge IGCSE resources
Cambridge l IGCSE English Language: Imaginative Writing Unit
This unit of work is designed with a particular focus on Component 2 or 3 Imaginative writing. It explores descriptive and narrative writing within the context of gothic fiction, and includes a superbly presented 104 slide teaching PPT plus all 19 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes.
High School English: Travel Writing Unit
This highly engaging unit of work on travel writing is designed to teach reading and writing skills in the context of travel literature and to help build some of the key skills required when studying non-fiction texts. It moves from reading to writing and is based on the study of a number of short travel extracts from wonderful writers such as Paul Theroux, Jonathan Raban and Dervla Murphy. It is aimed at Grades 7-8 and would work equally well with Grade 9 groups. Outcomes include analytical as well as creative writing. All eleven student resources including key texts are included as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and a beautifully presented 42 slide teaching PPT.
This unit is designed to teach key reading and writing skills in the context of travel literature and to help build some of the key skills required when studying non-fiction texts. It moves from reading to writing and is based on the study of a number of short travel extracts from writers such as Paul Theroux, Jonathan Raban and Dervla Murphy. Outcomes include analytical as well as creative writing. All ten resources including key texts are included as are a set of detailed teacher’s notes and a nicely presented 42 slide PPT.
Learning outcomes (from Junior Cycle Specification) addressed in this unit include:
Reading
3. Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts.
8. Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words, the use and effect of simple figurative language, vocabulary and language patterns, and images, as appropriate to the text.
11. Identify and comment on features of English at word and sentence level using appropriate terminology, showing how such features contribute to overall effect.
Writing
Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing activities and be able to plan, draft, re-draft, and edit their own writing as appropriate.
Discuss their own and other students’ written work constructively and with clear purpose.
Write for a variety of purposes, for example imagine, explore, engage, amuse, narrate, inform, explain.
Respond imaginatively in writing to their texts showing a critical appreciation of language, style and content, choice of words, language patterns, tone, images.
I hope you enjoy teaching the unit as much as I did.
This self-study unit offers support and guidance in teaching the creative writing component of entry level courses in an interesting and engaging way. It will help ensure your programmes of study and lessons are well-pitched, relevant and motivating and develop the key skills necessary for success at entry level. Suggested approaches can be easily differentiated for entry level 1 and 2 students making it ideal preparation for planning an entry level course and schemes of learning. It is generic and relevant to all main exam boards who offer this qualification.
This self-study unit offers support and guidance in teaching the non-fiction writing component of these courses in an interesting and engaging way, helping teachers ensure their programmes of study and lessons are well-pitched, relevant and motivating and develop the key skills necessary for success at entry level. Suggested approaches are practical and can be easily differentiated for entry level 1 and 2 students making it ideal preparation for planning an entry level course and schemes of learning. It is generic and relevant to all main exam boards who offer this qualification.
Developing Literacy is a clearly a key element of a TAs role. In this unit you will explore how best to support pupils with reading. As we live and work in an environment in which the printed text is so important, the skill of reading is vital in helping pupils to make progress and ensure they don’t fall behind their peers. This unit aims to provide lots of practical strategies which TAs can use in the classroom or during intervention work with individual or small groups of students to help them become more experienced readers and ultimately more independent learners.
Speaking and listening activities in the classroom are an important part of the learning process, helping to develop key communication skills required not only at school but also by colleges and employers. In the classroom, this will involve pupils participating in whole-class discussion, group work (with perhaps three or four pupils working together), paired work and in making individual presentations to the class. By promoting inclusion, teaching assistants can have a major impact on the success of these activities and a pupil’s learning outcomes. In this unit you will explore a range of activities which help you consider how best to support the teacher in explicitly teaching about spoken language and developing a pupils’ critical thinking skills and confidence as participants. This resource has also been published by Pearsons as a mobile CPD app.
This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for the Junior Cycle exam with particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative writing, looking at excellent and varied models of texts and identifying successful features before moving to students composing their own creative responses. The 63 slide teaching PPT is included in PDF format as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested teaching approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit as much as I did.
This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for the Junior Certificate exam with particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. I have written it with my own lower attaining class in mind. It supports students in developing some of the key skills required to write their own engaging pieces such as writing effective openings, writing dialogue, varying sentences, creating characters and planning responses. It supports and leads them towards a creative writing task (either narrative or descriptive) which they complete at the end of the unit. The 75 slide teaching PPT is included in PDF format as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes with suggested teaching approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I have also included extra creative writing tasks based on images. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.
Junior Cycle English Learning Outcomes include:
Writing
Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing activities and be able to plan, draft, re-draft, and edit their own writing as appropriate.
Write for a variety of purposes, for example to imagine, explore, engage, narrate.
Engage with and learn from models of oral and written language use to enrich their own written work.
Use and apply their knowledge of language structures, for example sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar, to make their writing a richer experience for themselves and the reader.
AQA Functional Skills in English: Level 1 Unit - LEISURE
This engaging and fully resourced unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for tackling the AQA Functional Skills Level 1 English exam paper. It is built around the topic of Leisure and includes two sections:
Reading section – exploration of three related non-fiction texts including a website and leaflet
Writing section – culminates in an assessed piece of work in which students complete a piece of review writing.
This includes a well-presented 49 slide teaching PPT (editable PPT format) as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all 12 resources in both word and pdf formats. Tasks and texts are relevant and engaging and ideal preparation for the Level 1 exam.
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AQA Functional Skills in English: Level 1 - Complete Course
AQA Functional Skills in English: Level 1 Unit - Climate Change Crisis
AQA Functional Skills in English: Level 1 Unit - Taking the Next Step
AQA Functional Skills in English: Speaking and Listening Unit
Edexcel Functional Skills in English: Level 2 Unit - LEISURE
This highly engaging and fully resourced unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for tacking the Edexcel Functional Skills Level 2 English exam paper. It is built around the topic of Leisure.
There are two sections:
Reading section – exploration of three different non-fiction texts
Writing section – culminates in an assessed piece of work
This includes a well-presented 49 slide teaching PPT (editable PPT format) as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all 9 resources in both word and pdf formats. Tasks and texts are relevant and engaging and ideal preparation for the Level 2 exam.
**More Edexcel IGCSE Functional Skills Resources
Edexcel Functional Skills in English: Level 2 Complete Course
Edexcel Functional Skills in English: Level 2 Unit -Climate Change Crisis
Edexcel Functional Skills in English: Level 2 Unit - Taking the Next Step
Edexcel Functional Skills English Level 1 and 2: Speaking and Listening Unit
English Teaching Poetry Unit: Ted Hughes 'The Jaguar’
This highly engaging unit is designed to introduce and explore Ted Hughes’ poem ‘The Jaguar’ as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. It includes a very nicely presented 41 slide teaching PPT as well as all 15 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how to deliver the unit. Outcomes include an analytical PETAL paragraph which can be extended into a longer essay using the structure provided and a comparative essay as an extension activity. Please note that all resources are in both Word and pdf formats with the teaching Powerpoint in PPT and pdf formats.
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William Blake’s ‘London’
Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’
Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’
Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’
English Teaching Poetry Unit: Ted Hughes 'Hawk Roosting’
This highly engaging unit is designed to introduce and explore Ted Hughes’ poem ‘Hawk Roosting’ as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. It includes a very nicely presented 40 slide teaching PPT as well as all 15 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how you can deliver the unit. Outcomes include an analytical PETAL paragraph which could be extended into a longer essay using the structure provided and a comparative essay as an optional extension activity. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all resources are in pdf format.
You may also like the following poetry units:
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William Blake’s ‘London’
Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’
Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’
Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’
This engaging and fully resourced unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for tacking the AQA Functional Skills Level 2 English exam paper. It is built around the topic of the climate crisis.
There are two sections:
Reading section – exploration of three different non-fiction texts including a letter, web pages and a blog.
Writing section – focus on writing a speech and a blog and culminates in an assessed piece of work.
This includes a 61 slide teaching PPT as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all 13 resources in both word and pdf formats. Tasks and texts are relevant and engaging and ideal preparation for the Level 2 exam.
This is a collection of resources for colleagues teaching the AQA Step Up to English course. Both teaching units come with well-presented teaching PPTs and all student resources.
Creative Writing Unit
This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help Step Up to English students prepare for the AQA Component 2 writing section with a particular focus on narrative writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying narrative extracts, looking at models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses in the style of the writing assessment.
Grammar and Punctuation Starters
This resource was designed as a series of starters for my Step Up to English group. It focuses on sentences structure and punctuation and provides opportunities for students to apply new skills. It takes a visual approach to teaching simple, compound and complex sentences and provides texts and writing activities which help provide a context rather than the more traditional method of writing out individual sentences. As well as sentence structure, it covers punctuation including use of commas and punctuating direct speech.
I have also added a set of Step Up creative writing tasks and a CPD unit on how to teach creative writing for Entry Level English.
Please check current list of NEAs with AQA and note that information, guidance, support and resources are available from AQA.
More Step Up to English Resources
Complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes and can be found at:
RoseandMay’s TES English Classroom Resources
New individual units:
AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit
AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit
New Complete Course
AQA Step Up to English: Complete Course (Leisure, Crime and Style Units)
This practice unit of work will familiarize students with the style of assessment questions on the AQA assessment papers. It is designed to prepare pupils for the style of questions on the Gold award but I have also included reference to the Silver award tasks if, like me, you have students who are doing both within the same class. It should last around 4-5 weeks depending on the number of English lessons you have. I have not broken it down into individual lessons as all classes are different and some will need longer on some activities than others. It is designed in a way that classes can build confidence in tackling the Step Up style of questions.
Please check current list of NEAs with AQA and note that information, guidance, support and resources are available from AQA. Please note that ‘Leisure’ is intended solely as a practice unit and this topic is not a current NEA.
This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed for Entry Level 3 students who are required to complete a piece of narrative writing for Unit 5 English through Prose. It supports them in actively exploring and enjoying narrative extracts, looking at models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses in the style of the writing assessment. A well presented 71 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested approaches and all thirteen classroom resources
Key Stage 3 English: Improving Grammar and Punctuation - Starter Lessons
This resource was designed as a series of starter activities to be taught across a half-term. It is a flexible resource for students who require input on improving sentences. It focuses on sentences structure and punctuation and provides opportunities for students to apply new skills. It takes a visual approach to teaching simple, compound and complex sentences and provides texts and writing activities which help provide a context rather than the more traditional method of writing out individual sentences. As well as sentence structure, it covers punctuation including use of commas and punctuating direct speech. It perfectly complements teaching of narrative or descriptive writing as many of the examples and tasks are fiction based. Included are 13 starters on a 68 slide teaching PPT plus all ten resources in both word and pdf formats as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes. I hope you enjoy using these starters and that they help your students to improve their grammar and punctuation.
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English Key Stage 3 Creative Writing Unit for Years 7-8
This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help students write creatively with a particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative texts, looking at excellent and varied models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses.A very nicely presented 83 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested approaches and all thirteen classroom resources.**
Key Stage 3 English: Narrative Writing Digital Planning Frames
This resource includes three narrative writing planning frames/ graphic organisers in pdf and a pdf format which allows students to type in their responses. I have also included a resource with ten narrative writing tasks for student s to choose from. They are ideal for setting a narrative task to be completed at home.
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English Key Stage 3 Creative Writing Unit for Years 7-8
This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help students write creatively with a particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative texts, looking at excellent and varied models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses.A very nicely presented 83 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested approaches and all thirteen classroom resources.
