A series of three lessons looking at chapter 4 of the Woman in Black, with a focus on superstition and Kipps’ position as a rational protagonist. These lessons start with a focus on superstitions and ask pupils to consider whether they are superstitious and why (always makes for an interesting discussion!). After reading a section of the chapter, pupils are asked to look at the character Mr Jerome, and then closely consider a passage relating to Kipps and his position as a rational protagonist. The lessons end with a consideration of what various characters think of each other. I’ve done this in three lessons with a LA year 9 class; I imagine you could make it work in two lessons if you wanted to pick up the pace.

Two complete lessons on Chapter 2 of The Woman in Black. The focus is on foreshadowing in the chapter, and the lessons encourage plenty of close analysis. The term ‘foreshadowing’ is thoroughly introduced in the first lesson, and pupils are encouraged to see how this is done through the use of pathetic fallacy. In the second lesson, pupils work on close analysis of extracts from the text, and then are asked to write a mini-essay summing up the foreboding in the chapter, with an opportunity for peer review at the end.

A lesson looking at Banquo’s murder and ghost in Act 3 of Macbeth. The lesson starts with some context about Banquo, and goes on to look at Act 3 Scene 4. This lesson focuses on how we can see Macbeth starting to show signs of madness in Act 3, and includes links to three different productions of the scene. There is detailed historical context about the history of Macbeth and how this was relevant to James I- very important for a lot of exam boards! Pupils have the opportunity to see how Macbeth is starting to show signs of madness, and then also consider his relationship with his wife. There is a choice of two tasks at the end looking at his relationship with Lady Macbeth, one looking at a more advanced comparison-style paragraph, and one more simple asking for separate paragraphs- these work particularly well for homework and can be tweaked to suit the ability of pupils.

A series of three lessons on Chapter 1 of The Woman in Black. Focusing on the concept of ghost story, and then moving on to look at close analysis of extracts describing setting. Pupils are engaged by setting the scene, reading a traditional ghost story by firelight (personally I always use the log fire on Netflix to try and recreate this!) and in later lessons analyse two separate extracts in detail. Includes a detailed teacher example of an analytical paragraph, so that progress is scaffolded to support weaker students.

A lesson looking at Act 2 Scenes 1 and 2 of Macbeth, with a focus on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s differing attitudes towards Duncan’s murder. This lesson takes a look at Macbeth’s hallucination, and later asks pupils to search for quotations summing up Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s varying responses to the murder of King Duncan, which are recorded on hands! I’ve always found pupils are really engaged in this lesson as it’s a bit different to the usual quotation-hunting.

Worksheet good for a homework, asking pupils to write a persuasive letter based on events in Chapter 4 of Animal Farm. Task asks pupils to write a letter persuading other farms to take up Animalism. Sheet provides structure and ideas to include, as well as reminders about layout, paragraphing etc.