A fully-fleshed resource, which has activities designed for analysis of two extracts from The Woman in Black. There is an activity which looks at Ann Radcliffe’s definitions of horror and terror. Included is an extended writing question and writing frame. I have also added a creative writing task with a model response, plus a re-drafted model which could be used to illustrate the importance of making conscious choices as an author. I use the resource with very able year 8 classes, but it would be suitable for key stage 3 and 4 students alike. 15 slides in length and enough material for up to two lessons. Lesson has been updated with working links (September 2019).

A presentation which gets students to re-write classic fairy tales with a twist. Very visual and comes complete with planning grids. Suitable for KS2 and early KS3.

A bright and visual presentation on Wordsworth's Excerpt From The Prelude. It contains printable slides to annotate in groups with focused questions. Also included are tasks which require students to make predictions before reading the poem and there is information on the context. Middle to high ability students would suit this presentation. Please note, the Eduqas excerpt is different from the AQA excerpt. This resource is designed for the Eduqas GCSE specification.

2-3 lessons worth of content on Significant Cigarettes, an excerpt from Rose Tremain’s 2007 novel The Road Home, which appears in the Edexcel IGCSE Anthology. These lessons were used to help produce the poetry and prose coursework. Students wrote on the theme of ‘identity’ in three texts. There is a wide range of activities, including guided annotation, discussion questions, analysis and practice paragraph writing. The PowerPoint is 15 slides in length, so there should be plenty for you to pick and choose from. The excerpt is not supplied with the lesson.

A simple introduction to verb and adverb word classes including straightfoward definitions, colourful and animated examples, and a range of tasks designed to get students not only to recognise these word classes but to use them successfully in their own writing. The lesson would be suitable for students of late primary age (perhaps years 4, 5, 6) or early secondary (year 7), depending upon their needs and abilities.

A lesson designed for the extract from 127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston from the Edexcel IGCSE anthology for English Language specification A. The lesson includes two starter activities, a pair of engaging embedded YouTube videos relating to the text, a simple task for annotating the text, an example question 4 from a past-paper with an exemplar response, and a writing frame utilising the PETAL acronym to support students in writing an exam-style response for question 4. This lesson was used with a year 9 class approaching their GCSE years and could easily be used or adapted for use with years 10 and 11 for initial teaching of the text.

A word document booklet, which can be printed or sent to students, containing extracts from six different texts, followed by 8-10 comprehension questions. Each set of questions is followed by a creative writing extension task themed around the extracts. The extracts have been sourced from the following texts: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee ‘Supersports High’ - an article from The Times (12.8.2012) Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier The resource may be suitable for students in years 6-8 depending upon their reading ability.

A full lesson designed to lead students through the extract from Adichie’s TED talk ‘The Danger of a Single Story’ found in the Edexcel IGCSE Literature and Language anthology. The lesson is recommended for students in years 10 and 11. The resource includes a choice of two starter activities, a linked video of the original TED talk (check the notes section for recommended times to watch with your class), a group discussion activity with prompt cards, a table with key quotations and devices for students to complete with analysis, and a PETAL writing frame to support students in writing an exam-style response.

A full lesson designed to guide students through the poem ‘Prayer Before Birth’ by Louis MacNeice, which is found in the Edexcel IGCSE Literature specification. The lesson is aimed at students in years 10 and 11. The resource is visually attractive and includes: a choice of starter activity; summary and background on the poem; an embedded YouTube video of a reading of the poem; 7 slides with key lines from the poem and guided questions to help students analyse the poem (these could be used for group work or guided analysis); a short summary of the features of form and structure; an additional task directing students to examine the theme of nature vs industrialisation.

The lesson takes students through some key aspects of context, including some of the language of the letter Keats wrote to Fanny Brawne which sheds light on the themes of this sonnet. There are slides containing comprehension questions designed to get students talking about Keats’s use of the sonnet form and comprehension questions which engage with the main imagery of the poem. The final part of the lesson provides questions to prompt comparisons with other poems by Keats.

A simple lesson to help students get to grips with the meaning and effects of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116. First, a modern translation of the poem is provided so that students can access its meaning, along with definitions for key words. Then, there is an example of how one of the key lines in the poem could be ‘exploded’ , followed by a task instructing students to ‘explode’ a line from the poem themselves. Several exemplars with images are also provided to help students on their way. Finally, there is a PETAL writing frame to support students in responding to the question: How does Shakespeare present love in Sonnet 116?

A full lesson designed to lead students through the poem Half-Past Two by U. A. Fanthorpe which appears on the Edexcel IGCSE Literature specification. The visually-pleasing resource includes: a choice of starter activity; an ‘exploding’ quotations activity with detailed exemplar; guided language analysis with questions on key lines; a PETAL paragraph writing frame to support students in writing a response to an exam-style question.

A full lesson designed to guide students through the poem ‘Piano’ by D. H. Lawrence, which appears on the Edexcel IGCSE Literature specification. The resource includes: a starter activity; contextual information; detailed questions on language analysis to cover the whole short poem; information on the main features of form and structure.

A full lesson on the poem Remember by Christina Rossetti, which appears on the Edexcel IGCSE Literature specification. However, the content of the resource is applicable to any course of study at GCSE level which includes this poem. The resource includes: a starter activity where key techniques in the poem are matched to definitions; an embedded YouTube video of a reading of the poem; a short summary of the poem; guided, step-by-step language analysis through key questions; summary of the main features of form and structure; an exemplar response to an exam-style question (students can then have a go at writing a response themselves).

The presentation introduces the idea of the double or 'doppelganger' through various famous examples in literature, film and comics. This transitions into discussion on Ofglen as a double for Offred, before looking at how other characters can also be considered doubles. The final task directs students towards Janine's appearances in the novel and there are discussion questions to help them begin analysing her character.

A full lesson covering (lots of) context, form and structure, tone and pace, language and interpretations of the poem.

A lesson which goes into some detail on the themes and ideas (as well as form, language and structure) of Keats’s Ode on a Grecian Urn. Tasks are largely discussion based and look at the poet’s ideas of negative capability, his themes of gender and his manipulation of the ode form.

A full lesson centred around an extract from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games with activities designed to get students to analyse how the author creates a sense of setting using a backstory and proper nouns. Students then have the opportunity to create their own backstory for a dystopia they have imagined. The resource was created as the fourth installment in a scheme of work, but could be used for a one-off lesson too. It is aimed at high-ability students in Year 7 but would work well for students in years 5, 6 or 8 dependent upon ability.

A simple planning resource and essay question for The Handmaid's Tale