This engaging and interesting lesson enables students to demonstrate a clear and developed understanding of the historical context of Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers. In particular, students learn about the key social and historical events that took place in the UK in the 1970s and 80s (particularly around the play’s setting of Liverpool) and apply this understanding to characters and events in the play. The lesson utilises a range of tasks, that require students to be both independent and collaborative learners. It follows this learning journey: Considering and discussing ideas of class and class systems, both historically and in the present day; Sequencing and understanding the key features of the social and historical context of the UK/Liverpool in the 1970s and 80s; Using independent research to enhance their understanding of deeper contextual meanings; Linking the key events of the play to social and historical context, analysing Russell’s key messages; Taking part in a fun, interactive quiz in order to gauge their learning; Self-evaluating their learning in the lesson. Included in this resource pack are: A well-presented, thorough, and informative, whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; Detailed cards for the sorting/timeline activity, presenting key contextual events; A ‘Researching Context’ template, to help guide students’ research; A template to help scaffold the main task, complete with quotes from the text; A comprehensive teacher guidance form/lesson plan to assist delivery. Resources are provided in both Word (for easy editing)and PDF (to prevent formatting issues between computers). All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation. Please note - the independent research activity (development task) in this resource pack requires students to have access to the internet.

These informative and engaging resources enable students to build the skills needed to interpret and analyse 19th Century non-fiction texts. This will aid students through the new Paper 2 Section A of GCSE English Language - for which they need to become confident readers of 19th, 20th, and 21st Century non-fiction texts. These resources give students a strong foundation of knowledge of features of non-fiction texts in the 19th Century, using newspaper stories from the time based on 'Jack the Ripper' as the predominant examples. There are easily enough resources for at least two lessons within this resource pack. Students learn through the following tasks: - Inferring and deducing contextual knowledge through an interactive starter task; - Understanding the features of London in 1888 through a video introduction; - Building close reading skills through a study of a non-fiction extract about Jack the Ripper; - Answering exam-style questions interpreting and inferring the key meanings in the text; - Using models and templates to write extended analysis responses about the language used in the non-fiction extract; - Peer assessing their partners' learning attempts. The following resources are provided: - Engaging and colourful step-by-step PowerPoint; - Jack the Ripper newspaper extract; - Teacher lesson guidance; - Interpretation worksheet; - Analysis worksheet; - Writing to analyse. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising William Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Scene by Scene Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Dramatic Devices; Features of Comedy. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for upper KS2 children when writing adventure stories. The organiser is also perfect for teachers, parents and English subject leaders - aiding their planning and supporting of children’s knowledge development for this writing text type. The organiser has a particular focus on the content, language and structural features required to write effective adventure stories at upper KS2. It contains distinct sections covering: -Overview: Adventure Narratives; -Content: Settings, Characters, and Quests; -Language: Descriptive Devices, Dialogue, Conjunctions, Punctuation Checklist, Sentence Openers and Sentence Structures, Word Mat; -Structure - Paragraphs, Whole-Text Cohesion, Structure Mountains and other tips; -Key Vocabulary The content is fully aligned with the age-related expectations for upper KS2 children in writing. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of David Walliams’ 'Demon Dentist.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS2 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework. Children love learning from these resources, whilst they are also of great use to teachers, as there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘An Interview with Alfie’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ ‘Walliams’ Description’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Explain meanings of words that they know and ask the meaning of new words. Link the meaning of new words to words that they already know;’ ‘Miss Root’s and Raj’s Character Profiles!’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ 'Figurative Language in ‘Demon Dentist’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, to create an impact on the reader.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is 21 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

These interesting and engaging resources enable students to build their understanding of the context of J.B. Priestley’s play ‘An Inspector Calls.’ In particular, students learn how to make clear and appropriate links between the social and historical context and the play itself. This gives students a really stable knowledge-base from which to make inferences and interpretations about other parts of the play. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards differentiated learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: - Recall the main events that occurred between 1912 and 1945, through an interactive group activity; - Remember some key information about J.B Priestley and his beliefs; - Read and understand the opening of the play; - Make links between the opening of the play and the historical context - both in term of when the play was set, and when it was written; - Analyse how Priestley links historical context to his characters, in order to get his messages across to the audience; -Peer/self-assess learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - A clear and interesting worksheet for the development task; - The opening of the text for students to read and interpret; - Context information cards for the card-sorting game; - A detailed lesson plan, complete with what the teacher and students should aim to achieve at each stage of the lesson. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills through reading Mini Grey’s ‘Toys in Space.’ The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The session is best suited for children in years 1-2, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills through reading the opening to Charlotte Gullian’s ‘The Street Beneath My Feet.’ The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The text is hyperlinked (first slide) for ease of access, and is also provided as a PDF. The session is best suited for children in years 2-4, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to show a detailed and sustained understanding of the conventions of effective ghost stories, through analysis of extracts from Susan Hill’s ‘The Woman in Black.’ They study how individual features of subject matter (such as the setting and the hero) and language (e.g descriptive features) are used to create suspense and tension in the mind of the reader. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Defining the key elements of ghost stories; - Planning a ghost story using the key features; - Identifying the elements of ghost stories within key extracts of The Woman in Black; - Analysing the effectiveness of Hill’s features of ghost stories in The Woman in Black; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Extracts from the blurb and Chapter 1 of The Woman in Black; - Template for creating their own ghost stories; - Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses; - Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. This was originally taught to middle-ability year 10 groups, but can easily be differentiated for groups of different ages and abilities. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make clear, detailed and well-informed interpretations of Act IV Scene I of The Merchant of Venice. In particular, students develop their understanding of the key events/ implications of the scene, identify and analyse the language devices used by Shakespeare within key quotations from the scene, and consider the effect of these choices on Shakespearean audiences. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Engage with an artist’s impression of the courtroom scene, honing their skills of inference and deduction; Reading and comprehending the main events and meanings in the courtroom scene; Identifying and analysing Shakespeare’s use of language through examples of Portia and Shylock lines in the scene; Considering Shakespeare’s intentions and the Shakespearean audiences reactions to the scene; Self assessing their learning through the lesson; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Language devices cards for the card-sorting activity; Key quotations cards; Copy of Act IV Scene I; Shakespeare’s Intentions/ Audience Reactions template; Comprehensive lesson plan. Resources are provided in PDF (to maintain formatting), Word (so that they are easily editable) and also in zipfiles. The lesson contains opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills through reading ‘Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf’ from Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes.’ The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The text is hyperlinked (first slide) for ease of access, and also provided as a PDF. The session is best suited for children in years 2-4, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Roald Dahl’s ‘Danny, the Champion of the World.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS2 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework. Children love learning from these resources, whilst they are also of great use to teachers, as there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: - ‘An Interview with Danny’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ - ‘Dahl’s Description’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Explain meanings of words that they know and ask the meaning of new words. Link the meaning of new words to words that they already know;’ - ‘Description of Mr. Victor Hazell’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ - ‘Figurative Language’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, to create an impact on the reader.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is around 20 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 1 to 2 of Emma Carroll’s 'Secrets of a Sun King.’ In this section of the text, Lil’s grandfather is taken to hospital, and she is both mystified and captivated after opening the package containing the ancient Egyptian jar. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Making predictions; -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Summarising the key events of the chapters. The sessions include a range of retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning. There’s a lot in the session (20 slides in total) so I would recommend breaking into two lessons. The lessons are most suitable for children in key stage 2, (they were originally used for those in years 4 and 5).

This engaging and informative enables students to make precise and detailed interpretations of H.G. Wells’ language choices in describing the Martians in ‘The War of the Worlds.’ Students identify and analyse the effect of Wells’ writing, using their understanding of various language devices, before applying these concepts to their own descriptive writing attempts. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Defining and exemplifying the descriptive writing techniques, through a fun and interactive activity; Identifying the language techniques that Wells uses in his description of the Martians;’ Analysing the effectiveness of Wells’ descriptive writing; Creating their own descriptions of imagined aliens, using Wells’ model example and the techniques that they have gathered over the course of the lesson; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts, using a clear success criteria; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Card sorting cards Selected extracts printed onto one sheet (from Book 1, Chapter 4 and Book 2, Chapter 2). There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. This lesson is suitable for home/ remote learning. All images are licensed for commercial use.

This interesting and highly-stimulating lesson enables students to gain a clear and understanding of the key meanings in the Greek Myth ‘Daedalus and Icarus.’ Through close study of the myth, they learn to interpret and infer the key meanings in a myth, understand the moral viewpoint of a myth, and react to the moral message of a myth with their own thoughts and ideas. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards differentiated learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: - Define the key term ‘hubris’ and apply the notion to other examples; - Read the story ‘Daedarus and Icarus’ and interpret and infer the key meanings; - Identify, explain, and analyse the moral of the story in ‘Daedarus and Icarus;’ - Engage deeply with the myth by challenging and building upon the ideas raised in the myth; - Test their understanding of the story by answering an exam-style comprehension question. -Peer assess each other’s learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - Paper copies and online links to the text; - Interpretation worksheet; - A logically scaffolded essay template; - A detailed lesson plan, complete with what the teacher and students should aim to achieve at each stage of the lesson. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

This detailed and informative lesson enables students to gain a detailed understanding of the features of tragedy evident throughout final act of William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Students learn to demonstrate a developed understanding of key plot meanings and tragedy features such as inevitability, idealism, and vengeance, through analysis of precisely-selected textual evidence. The lesson utilises a range of tasks, that require students to be attentive and interactive learners. It follows this learning journey: - Defining the key features of tragedy; - Remembering and sequencing the key events of the text leading up to Act V - Reading and interpreting Act V, interpreting and inferring the key meanings; - Identifying and analysing the key features of tragedy used throughout the scene; - Considering the effect that these features are intended to evoke; - Peer/self-evaluating the learning in the lesson. Included in this resource pack are: - A well-presented, thorough, and informative, whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - Resources for the reading and interpreting activity - full Act V transcript with space for notes; - A closer analysis worksheet based upon the features of tragedy (with teacher answer sheet); - Features of tragedy definition cards; - A template to help scaffold the main task, complete with P.E.E instructions; - A challenging and thought-provoking worksheet, and an answer sheet for the teacher. All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation.

Based on the popular game show ‘Pointless’, this resource is perfect for use as a starter activity, plenary, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. Containing almost 30 slides of sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build learning of Macbeth: 1. The characters in Macbeth 2. Quotations from the text 3. Settings, themes, and character titles 4. Murders in Macbeth The nature of the game ensures that this resource can challenge students of all levels. NOTE: You can buy this resource alone, or in a bundle of 8 Pointless games, for only £1 more!