This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising David Almond’s ‘Skellig’. It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Almond’s Language Devices; Almond’s Influences. Key words and ideas are underlined for easy reference. 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 engaging and informative lesson helps students to identify and analyse the descriptive language techniques used by David Almond to describe the derelict garage in Skellig, before creating their own descriptive language techniques to describe an old and run-down setting. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Defining and exemplifying the key descriptive techniques through a group activity; - Reading and comprehending an extract from Skellig, in which Michael's old and run-down garage is described; - Identifying the descriptive techniques within the extract and analysing their effectiveness; - Learning how to create effective and imaginative adjectives, verbs, similes, metaphors, and personification; - Creating their own device-filled descriptions of an old and decrepit place; - Peer assessing each other's learning attempts; Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Word Bank template (pdf and word); - Selected extract - Skellig - Michael's Garage; - 'Create Your Own Personification' worksheet (pdf and word); - Cards for the card-sorting activity; - Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with a year 7 class, however colleagues have used them for between years 4 and 9 with minimal adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising R.J. Palacio’s ‘Wonder.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Section by Section Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Palacio’s Literary Devices; The Narrative Point of View. All key words and ideas are compartmentalised for easy reference. 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). It is suitable for all students, but was originally made for those between years 5-8.

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Sujata Bhatt’s poem 'Search for My Tongue.’ They are perfect for aiding the progress of students learning poetry either in KS3 and KS4 in preparation for poetry/unseen poetry at GCSE, as the tasks draw on English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies - it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. The booklet is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to understand the role that Via Pullman plays in R.J. Palacio’s ‘Wonder.’ In particular, students consider how Via fits the role of the ‘Helper’ in the novel, whilst also managing to traverse her own issues and difficulties. After reading and analysing how Via meets each of the features of the ‘Helper’ role, students consider Palacio’s intentions for including a character like Via, before designing their own appropriate and imaginative Helpers for the novel. There is easily enough content for at least 2 lessons here, following a step-by-step learning journey. Children learn through: -Comprehending how each of the characters in ‘Wonder’ corresponds to Vladimir Propp’s character types, including Via as ‘The Helper’; -Comprehending further details about Via’s character, through close reading and understanding of identified extracts in Wonder; -Analysing how Via meets the role of the Helper in the text, whilst also considering J.P Palacio’s intentions in her characterisation of Via; -Creating their own additional ‘Helper’ characters for the text, using their imaginations, and the understanding of character type that they have gathered over the course of the lesson; -Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Via as the Helper worksheet Character profile template; Comprehensive lesson plan. All resources are provided in Word (for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure formatting remains fixed between different computers). Word documents are in the zip file. There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with a year 6 class, however colleagues have used them for between years 5 and 8 with only minor adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Simon Armitage’s love and relationships poem ‘Mother, Any Distance.’ Teachers have found the activities particularly useful throughout teaching, or for exam revision or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the key English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. It is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

This engaging and detailed lesson aids students’ ability to understand and explain the structural style of limericks, understand the topics and content used in limericks, and create their own interesting and appropriate limericks. Students follow a clear and logical learning journey, in which they: -Define and identify the key structural features of limericks; -Read limericks, answering questions about the content and use of language and structure; -Hone their rhyming skills through a fun and interactive game; -Create a success criteria for effective limerick writing (a ready-made success criteria is included) -Write their own limericks, using the techniques that they have learnt; -Peer/self-assess their learning attempts. There are enough resources here for two lessons, including: -Visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint; -Two interesting, imaginative, and well-presented worksheets; -Detailed success criteria; -Step-by-step lesson plan. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final page of the slide.

This interesting and engaging lesson enables students to understand the key structural, language and content features of Haiku poems, and to utilise these features accurately and imaginatively in their own Haikus. Students follow a clear and logical learning journey, in which they: -Define and identify the key structural and language features of Haikus; -Understand the origins and purposes of this form of poetry; -Read Haikus, answering questions about the content and use of language and structure; -Compare and contrast Haikus, evaluating their effectiveness; -Plan and create their own Haikus, using a guiding helpsheet and the knowledge/skills that they have accrued over the lesson; -Peer/self-assess their learning attempts. Resources are eye-catching and purposeful, including: -Visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint; -An interesting, imaginative, and well-presented worksheet (in Word and PDF); - A useful Haiku helpsheet (also in Word and PDF); -Step-by-step lesson plan. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final page of the slide.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to understand the role that the theme of ‘appearances’ plays in R.J. Palacio’s Wonder. In particular, students consider how appearances impact upon our lives on a daily basis, learn more about TCS (the condition affecting the protagonist - Auggie), and link what they find out to information in the novel. They then communicate their own ideas on the subject of judging people based on appearances. There is easily enough content for 2-3 lessons here, following a step-by-step learning journey. Children learn through: -Comprehending how appearances influence our lives - touching on the ideas of representations and stereotyping; -Learning about Treacher Collins Syndrome, through a short engaging video, and distilling key information; -Hot-seating, demonstrating empathy for characters whose appearance is ‘different’; -Linking what they have learnt to what is read in the opening pages of Wonder; -Communicating their ideas about judging people based on their appearances, as a part of a well-structured debate; -Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Research template; Writing to Argue helpsheet; Comprehensive lesson plan. All resources are provided in Word (for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure formatting remains fixed between different computers). Word documents are in the zip file. There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with a year 6 class, however colleagues have used them for between years 5 and 8 with only minor adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Sign of Four.' Teachers have found them particularly useful in exam revision, comprehension tasks, or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the KS4 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework - this makes the tasks suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers 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 students gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: - 'Context: 19th Century London' - to aid students with 'Drawing on knowledge of the purpose, audience and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation;' - 'Doyle's Description' - to aid students with 'Analysing a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact;' - 'Mary Morstan' - to aid students with 'Seeking evidence in the text to support a point of view, including justifying inferences with evidence;' - 'Editing the Text' - to aid students with 'Making an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.' Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is around 30 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 fun and informative helps students to gain a deeper understanding of the main character in Roald Dahl’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox:’ Mr Fox himself! Students use their skills of inference and deduction in order to establish key information about Mr Fox’s character, likes, dislikes, and mannerisms. They then create a character profile using the information that they have gathered! The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: -Considering how Roald Dahl was influenced by real-life foxes in his characterisation; - Reading and understanding extracts from the opening of Fantastic Mr Fox, in which Mr Fox's character traits are revealed; - Inferring and deducing key features about Mr Fox from across the text; - Creating a character profile for Mr Fox, utilising knowledge that they have gathered from over the course of the lesson; - Self assessing their own learning attempts. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Text Detectives Worksheet (and answer sheet); - Selected extracts - Fantastic Mr Fox; - Character Profile Template (Word and PDF); - Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with a mixed-ability year 3 class, however colleagues have used them for between years 1 and 8 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of Owen Sheers' key messages about war in the poem ‘Mametz Wood.’ By the end of the lesson, students demonstrate their knowledge of the text analytically, through assured, appropriate, and sustained interpretations of the content, language, and structure. Students learn through a logical and step-by-step learning journey, including: -Understanding the context of the poem and the horrific events that took place in the battle; -Understanding key information about Owen Sheers' life; -Reading and interpreting the poem; -Interpreting the poem, with a particular emphasis upon the language and structural features; -Finding and analysing the language features used throughout the poem, and considering how these link to the poet's message; -Writing an extended analysis piece based upon how Sheers gets across his message about war; -Peer assessing each other's learning attempts. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and substantial; (including hyperlinks to informative and engaging videos) - Copy of poem; - Language devices worksheet - 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 9/10 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 clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for year 5-6 children when writing recounts. 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 mystery stories at upper KS2. It contains distinct sections covering: -Recounts Overview; -Content: Settings, Characters, and Plot; -Language: Descriptive Devices, Dialogue, Conjunctions, Punctuation Checklist and Word Mat; -Structure - Titles, Planning Techniques 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).

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for year 1/2 children when writing recounts. 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 mystery stories at KS1. It contains distinct sections covering: -Recounts Overview; -Content: Settings, Characters, and Plot; -Language: Descriptive Devices, Dialogue, Conjunctions, Punctuation Checklist and Word Mat; -Structure - Titles, Planning Techniques and other tips; -Key Vocabulary The content is fully aligned with the age-related expectations for KS1 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).

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for year 5/6 children when writing playscripts. 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 playscripts at upper KS2. It contains distinct sections covering: -Playscripts Overview; -Structure: Character Lists, Stage Directions, Dialogue, Narrative Structure; -Language: Specific Vocabulary Choices, Conjunctions, Punctuation Checklist and Word Mat; -Content: Dramatic Genres and Dramatic Devices; -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 clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for lower KS2 children when writing traditional tales. 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 traditional tales at lower KS2. It contains distinct sections covering: -An Overview of Traditional Tales; -Content: Myths, Legends, Fairy Tales and Fables; -Language: Descriptive Devices, Sentence Openers, Dialogue, Conjunctions, Punctuation Checklist and Word Mat; -Structure - Titles, Structure Mountains and other tips; -Key Vocabulary The content is fully aligned with the age-related expectations for lower 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 clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for Year 5/6 children when writing traditional tales. 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 traditional tales at upper KS2. It contains distinct sections covering: -An Overview of Traditional Tales; -Content: Myths, Legends, Fairy Tales and Fables; -Language: Descriptive Devices, Sentence Openers, Dialogue, Conjunctions, Punctuation Checklist and Word Mat; -Structure - Titles, 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 clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for year 3/4 children when writing playscripts. 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 playscripts at lower KS2. It contains distinct sections covering: -Playscripts Overview; -Structure: Character Lists, Stage Directions, Dialogue, Narrative Structure; -Language: Specific Vocabulary Choices, Conjunctions, Punctuation Checklist and Word Mat; -Content: Dramatic Genres and Dramatic Devices; -Key Vocabulary The content is fully aligned with the age-related expectations for lower 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 whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Emma Carroll’s ‘Frost Hollow Hall.’ The resource pack includes the extract and all of the activities for the session, which the class are guided through via a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation. 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 Year 5 and 6, but it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.