I made this as a cover activity for a year 10 class with targets of 3 and 4. Could be used as a recall/revision activity, set as homework or used for cover. There are 10 questions which could also be used as a starting point for a guided reading activity.

This is a worksheet using Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Fame is a Bee” (in the public domain). There are ten questions and then a task for the pupils. This could be used to structure a guided reading or literacy lesson. Alternatively, it could be set for cover or used as a homework to support a unit on poetry or metaphor.

This activity uses an extract from “Carmilla” (public domain text) and there are ten questions which could be used in class, as cover or set as homework. Alternatively, they could be used to structure a guided reading session. Might be of use as part of a unit on gothic literature.

This is a simple and straightforward activity using the opening of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula’s Guest”. There are four, short tasks dealing with vocabulary, information retrieval, inference and analysis. Useful for homework or as home learning. Could be used to structure a guided reading activity. Could be used for flipped learning prior to analysing the next (more gothic) segment of the story in class. Useful for students at KS3 or to embed key sklls and build confidence at KS4.

This straightforward task uses an excerpt from Oscar Wilde’s story “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime” and the questions are divided into sections echoing many of the reading skills that will be tested at GCSE: information retrieval, inference, analysis of language, analysis of structure and evaluation. Useful as a homework or cover activity. Created as part of a unit of home-learning during lockdown.

This straightforward task uses a couple of paragraphs of Charles Dickens’ impressions of travelling in France and there are 20 multiple-choice questions (answers provided) which could be set as homework to form part of a unit on Dickens, used for pre-reading or flipped learning or used to structure a guided reading or catch-up session.

Lesson 2 of a sequence planned for a year 8 class. This lesson focuses on looking closely at evidence to explain characterisation. The lesson is intended to get the pupils to zoom in more closely as the lesson progresses. The focus in the text is the part of the story where Helen Stoner is telling Sherlock Holmes about her family history and introduces information about her stepfather, Dr Roylott. There are prompts (in the form of questions) for the explosion of one quotation; students are then asked to work more independently to explode a second quotation, using the first as a model.

This uses an excerpt from “Dracula” in which the vampire hunters have lain in wait for Dracula who confronts, taunts and escapes them. There are 11 questions focusing on the writer’s methods and their effects with a couple on vocabulary and inference. Useful for homework or for setting as a cover activity. A useful addition to any study of the gothic horror genre. Alternatively, the question could be used for structuring a guided reading activity.

This uses the description from “Dracula” of Dracula’s ship arriving at Whitby in the midst of a terrible storm, steered only by a dead man… There are ten questions, focused mainly on the writer’s methods and their effect. This would be useful as a cover activity or for homework as part of a unit on gothic horror. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

I created this short comprehension activity for my year 7 class to be used alongside their class reader, "Love That Dog". It uses an excerpt from "The Call of the Wild" describing Buck's kidnap. Alongside the extract are ten questions focusing on vocabulary and understanding. This works as a homework but could also be used as a cover activity. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

Created for a year 7 class as a homework to go alongside our class reader of 'Love That Dog', this is a comprehension (close reading and response) activity based on the segment from "The Call of the Wild" in which Buck fights Spitz to become top dog. There are 14 questions in total, focusing on vocabulary, inference and the effects of language. This would be a good cover activity or the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

Created for a higher-ability year 7 class as part of a unit of work on "Treasure Island" and pirates, this lesson plan takes the pupils through "The Ballad of John Silver" by John Masefield. Using images and drama to embed the idea of writing having a mood, the lesson culminates with the pupils selecting one of the verses from the poem and re-writing it in script form (model given on one of the slides), creating the same mood as the original poem.

Planned for a year 10 group all of whom have targets of a grade 5, this ppt leads the students through the presentation of Gerald Croft, up to the exploration of his affair with Daisy Renton. Students are encouraged to think about the method Priestley uses to link Gerald to Mr Birling, one way in which the theme of hypocrisy is explored and the way in which Gerald is used to explore the idea of different attitudes and values across generations.

This lesson uses the excerpt in which Mrs Joe is introduced. Students are asked to work through 3 of Dickens’s methods for characterisation: contrast, symbolism (specifically, the symbol of Mrs Joe’s apron) and the use of a semantic field. Through a mixture of questioning and discussion, pupils are guided through some ideas about the effect of these methods. Thereafter, they are asked to write a response to this question: Explain how Dickens uses contrast, the symbol of the apron and a semantic field to create the character of Mrs Joe. The final slide of the powerpoint is a self-assessment grid.

This is a comprehension activity - structured for increasing difficulty - with the tasks and questions divided into four sections: vocabulary, information retrieval, inference and explanation of methods. Useful for cover or for homework. Useful for a focused study of this particular section of Stoker’s novel.

This is an activity that I created for a year 7 class as part of their home learning. It uses an excerpt from Alice in Wonderland in which Alice meets the Caterpillar and a worried pigeon. There are five tasks, four for reading and one for writing. The reading tasks increase in difficulty and focus on (in turn) information retrieval, inference, analysis and evaluation. The writing task asks the children (hopefully inspired by the extract) to write a short descriptive piece, describing the landscape of a dream. Could be used for cover or set as homework.

I created this powerpoint as part of a home learning pack for a year 7 class but it could be adapted for classroom use. It uses Lewis Carroll’s acrostic poem spelling out the name of Alice Liddell, his muse. The powerpoint has 9 teaching slides (the tenth is merely a title slide). The start of the learning asks the pupils to do some research and find answers to these questions: Who wrote “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”? What is an acrostic poem? Write down an example of an acrostic poem. What is a muse? Slide 3 has some context about Carroll and the afternoon that gave rise to the story of Wonderland. Slides 4, 5, 6 and 7 use questioning to look at extracts from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” with a focus on dreaming and the attitude of Alice’s older sister towards Alice, reality and growing up. Slides 8 and 9 explore the poem. Slide 10 asks the pupils to write their own acrostic poem about someone (real or fictional) who’s important in their life.

This is a straightforward multiple-choice quiz (answers provided) on Sara Teasdale's "There Will Come Soft Rains". There are 14 straightforward questions. Could be set for homework either after having studied the poem or as a pre-reading activity to identify any gaps that need particular focus in the lesson. Could also be used to structure a guided reading activity, in which case you will find that several of the questions invite follow-up questioning.

A straightforward comprehension activity, useful for homework, for cover, for home learning - or the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session. There is a short extract from the Sherlock Holmes story, “The Five Orange Pips” and then there are 11 questions focused, in the main, on analysis and inference.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using an excerpt from George Gissing’s letter in which he airs his views about bank holidays. There are 12 questions, answering which will ensure that the student thinks about Gissing’s viewpoint and the effects of the methods used to express this viewpoint. Could be used for homework or set as cover. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading or a revision session. Straightforward enough to be set for home learning.