This engaging and informative lesson enables students to understand the character of the Warden from Louis Sachar’s ‘Holes’, making insightful comments about her character based upon her actions, and backing these ideas up with reference to evidence from the text. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Reading and understanding the selected extracts to determine the key traits of The Warden’s character at different points in the text; - Noticing trends in Warden’s character throughout the text, observing how she develops from her introduction in the text to later on in the story; - Analysing Sachar’s use of language and description in describing the Warden; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; - Creating their own villainous Warden, using an engaging template. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Selected extract- Chapter 14; - Development of The Warden worksheet (Word and PDF) - Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses; - Create your own villain template - Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 7 and 8 classes, 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 whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills through reading a short non-fiction text about the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s VIPERS skills: vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, sequencing and summarising. 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 extract needed is provided as a PDF and a link to a web-based version is also included on the first slide. The session is best suited for children in years 3-4, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older age groups.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of A Salesman.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Scene by Scene Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Miller’s Dramatic Devices; The Features of Tragedy. 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 purposeful lesson is the fifth in a series of lessons in which children develop an in-depth understanding of Ancient Greece. There is a particular focus on the achievements of the Ancient Greeks and how these have influenced the world. In this lesson, children learn all about Greek culture and religion. Specifically, they: -Learn and recall key facts about Ancient Greek craftsmanship, theatre, philosophy, discovery and architecture; -Explain what the Greeks believed about various Gods and Goddesses, and how they honoured them; -Describe the key responsibilities, powers and traits of a God or Goddess. The learning is guided by a clear and colourful PowerPoint presentation, which guides students through the following step-by-step journey: -Knowledge recall of history skills and prior facts about the Ancient Greeks; -Understanding of the concept of ‘culture’; -Exploring clues from a range of sources to find out more about the key areas of Ancient Greek culture: craftsmanship, theatre, philosophy, discovery and architecture; -Watching an engaging, age-appropriate video to learn about the main Gods, their roles and what the Greeks believed about them; -Using clear guidance to research a God of their choice and complete a character profile about them; -Understanding how the Greeks’ religious beliefs influenced their achievements; -Self-reflecting on the extent to which they feel they have met the learning objective. Included is the comprehensive PowerPoint presentation (26 slides), which contains all of the information needed to teach the lesson, the sources for the investigation activity, and the template for the character profile (provided in both Word and PDF). In the past, I have used this lesson with children in lower KS2 (years 3 and 4), however this was an advanced class and these resources could easily be used with upper KS2. The key learning is aligned with KS2 curriculum expectations for history. All images are licensed for commercial use.

This engaging and interesting lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of one of the key characters in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Macduff. In particular, they learn to make insightful interpretations about the character, and are enabled to to infer and deduce Macduff’s key characteristics from his involvement at particular moments in the play, in addition to considering how Shakespeare deploys Macduff as a fitting hero to face Macbeth’s tyranny. The lesson utilises a range of tasks, that require students to be visual and interactive learners. It follows this learning journey: Inferring key information about the character of Macduff from events in the text; Identifying and ordering the key events in the text in which Macduff is involved; Understanding his role in the downfall of Macbeth; Understanding his character in relation to historical context, considering Shakespeare’s intentions through the character; Analysing Shakespeare’s development of Macduff as a key character throughout the text; 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 card sorting sequencing activity, detailing Macduff’s numerous actions throughout the play; A Macbeth vs Macduff worksheet, to enable students to understand Macduff’s heroic characteristics; A template to help scaffold the main task, complete with P.E.E instructions; A comprehensive teacher guidance form/lesson plan to assist delivery. All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation.

In this engaging and comprehensive lesson, students are introduced to the fourth pillar of Islam - Sawm, the act of fasting during the period of Ramadan. Children learn through collating their collective prior knowledge, learning key facts, watching an interesting video (hyperlinked) and demonstrating their understanding through various tasks, including designing their own Iftar plate. They also consider their own personal spirituality, discussing concepts such as self-discipline and control. The lesson is tried and tested, and is easy for teachers and students to follow. It contains a comprehensive 17-slide Powerpoint which offers a step-by-step guide throughout the lesson. The template is also provided for the Iftar task (in both Word and PDF). Challenge activities are provided in order to enrich learning for higher-attaining learners. In the past, I have used this lesson with children in upper Key Stage 2 (years 5 and 6). The key learning is aligned with regional expectations for RE, and also the content prescribed by most diocese regions. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide.

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising knowledge relating to the The Great Fire of London. It contains comprehensive sections on: The Great Fire of London Overview; Map and description of the Affected Areas; Key People; The Great Fire of London Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. 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 most suitable for students in upper KS2 and KS3.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising J.K Rowling's 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.' It contains comprehensive sections on: - Context; - Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); - Main Characters; - Themes; - Rowling's Language Devices; - Features of Fantasy Novels. 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).

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘The Butterfly Lion.’ 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 Years 3 to 5, but it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Eva Ibbotson’s ‘The Abominables.’ 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 KS2. I originally used this with Year 4-5 children, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of John Keats’ romantic poem ‘In Autumn.’ 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 informative lesson enables students to make insightful and developed interpretations of Dickens’ use of language in describing ‘The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’ in A Christmas Carol. In particular, they explore how the descriptive language used to describe the appearance, mannerisms, and movements aid the haunting portrayal of the ghost. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Reading and understanding the key plot elements of stave 4 - in which The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come appears; - Identifying and exemplifying the key language features used by Dickens in describing the ghost, including its appearance, actions, and mannerisms; - Analysing the extent to which the language used creates a haunting and imposing image of the ghost; - Peer assessing each other's learning attempts. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Extract - Stave 4 of A Christmas Carol; - Dickens' Language: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come Worksheet (and completed answer sheet for teachers); - 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 mixed 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 interesting and engaging lesson enables students to know what reviews are and why people read them, understand the features that make effective reviews, and write their own interesting and appropriate reviews. In particular, students learn to use a range of appropriate features in writing their own reviews, including facts and opinions, jargon, connectives, and statistics. There are easily enough resources here for 2-3 lessons on this topic. Over the course of their learning journey, students: - Define and exemplify what reviews are; - Understand why people read reviews; - Understand and categorise the different techniques used by reviewers; - Identify the features of reviews in model examples; - Analyse the effect of techniques in reviews upon the reader; - Use a wide-range of techniques in writing their own reviews; - Peer and self assess each other's review attempts. The resources include: -Visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint; -A colourful and helpful 'Writing Reviews' Help-Sheet; -Pointless Jargon Game; -Techniques cards for defining the key key features of reviews; -Connectives worksheet; -Blank book review template and film review template; -A model example (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone); -Helpful and comprehensive step-by-step lesson plan. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final page of the slide.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of a non-fiction information text about the Ancient Greek Olympics. 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. This 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 3-5, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Lord Byron’s power and conflict poem 'The Destruction of Sennacherib.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Line-by-Line Analysis; Poetic Devices/ Language Devices; Themes; Form/Structure; Poems for Comparison; The Poet’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 whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of the opening chapter of Lisa Thompson’s ‘Owen and the Soldier.’ 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 Years 3 to 4, but it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.