This is a simple and straightforward comprehension exercise based on a short excerpt from George Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier” in which he describes Sheffield. There are ten questions, four of which invite a more developed response. This could be used for cover, for homework or home learning, to structure a guided reading activity or as a pre-reading activity to identify any gaps in knowledge and understanding prior to using the text to explore the methods whereby a writer can communicate a viewpoint.

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 multiple-choice quiz with 14 questions used to support the teaching of “A Christmas Carol” by giving students a bit of context in terms of Victorian poverty. Answers are provided. This could be used as a starter activity, as (originally planned) as homework or to structure a guided reading activity with less confident learners - some questions lend themselves to further discussion of ‘how’ and ‘why’ the writer’s methods work as they do.

A straightforward lesson exploring Sassoon’s poem, “The Kiss” with questioning used to discuss the effect of the personification of bullet and bayonet. There are 8 close reading and response questions on slide 15. These could be used to structure a discussion or set for independent work. The lesson culminates with a task asking the students to draw inferences about the nature of the speaker in the poem, writing in role as a senior officer. Planned for year 9 but could be suitable to explore unseen poetry at KS4.

This is a straightforward quiz on Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (answers provided). There are 20 questions, all multiple-choice. This could be used as a starter, homework or revision activity. Alternatively, it could be used prior to teaching to identify gaps in students’ knowledge and understanding so that subsequent teaching can be more sharply focused.

Created for students to build confidence in reading texts written prior to 1914, this is an account from Henry Mayhew’s “London Labour and the London Poor” of an interview with a child working as a mudlark. Useful alongside the study of “A Christmas Carol” as another insight into poverty in the 19th century. There are 11 multiple-choice questions here (answers provided). The questions are intended to be straightforward but the Word document is easily editable for you to add or remove questions or change the level of difficulty to suit your own class. This could be used as a homework or a pre-reading activity so that students are already familiar with the text before you use it in class. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading activity. Some questions lend themselves to being developed in order to deepen understanding.

This is a simple and straightforward activity based on a letter of 4th February 1917 written by Wilfred Owen to his mother, Susan. The letter has been slightly abridged. There are 12 multiple-choice questions (answers provided). The first question is basic information retrieval. Subsequent questions ask pupils to identify methods and draw inferences. Some questions can act as springboards for deeper questioning. This could be set for a homework or used as a pre-teaching activity to identify gaps in pupil knowledge and understanding.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity that could be used for homework or cover. Alternatively, it could be used as a pre-reading activity to identify any gaps in knowledge or understanding before the characters of Oliver or Mrs Sowerberry are explored in greater detail. There’s a vocabulary task and then seven comprehension questions. The Word document is editable so if you wish to add challenge you can remove the glossary at the end of the passage.

16 questions on the Queen Mab speech. Could be used as a pre-reading activity to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding so that subsequent teaching can be more sharply focused. Could be set as homework to embed learning. Word document so editable. Answers provided.

Planned for KS3 (11-14) as part of a project on stretch and challenge, this lesson uses Edith Nesbit’s “The Grey Folk”. The aim of the lesson is to use close reading to support an evaluation of the poem. There are 10 slides, which include questioning. The settler activity encourages a close look at the poem’s title, asking pupils to think about the connotations of the colour, how the colour establishes mood - and why, the impact of the definite article and the effect of the plural. There is then a close focus on the setting and the use of personification in the first verse. Thereafter the focus changes to the writer’s use of the metaphor with ‘the green fields of yesterday’ and pupils are asked to consider the effect of the contrast of grey and green. The final zoom in is on the repetition of the modal verb in the final verse - “they will not”. After this, pupils are asked to draw their learning together, recording at least five ideas that support the idea that this poem is about ghosts. They are then asked to think, pair and share to come up with an answer to the question - if this poem is not about ghosts, what might it be about? Finally, pupils are asked to explain to what extent they agree with the statement that this is NOT a poem about ghosts. If the writing is to be undertaken in class, this will go across more than an hour’s teaching time. Alternatively, the questioning and note taking can be done in class and the written response set for homework

This is a comprehension activity that could be used in class or at home. There are ten questions, some closed and some more open-ended and developed. This could be set as homework or a cover activity. Alternatively, it could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This task uses a short extract from Ann Radcliffe’s “The Mysteries of Udolpho”. There are 12 multiple-choice questions that could be used for homework, as an extended starter prior to a deeper focus on the text or to structure a guided reading activity. Answers are provided. Useful as part of a unit on gothic horror.

This is a multiple-choice quiz with 15 questions. Answers are provided. Useful for revision or embedding of technical vocabulary. Could be used as a starter prior to more detailed analysis of the poem.

Here, you will find 18 exam-style questions using the format and wording of the AQA English Literature GCSE exam, paper 1. The extracts used are shorter than the students will meet in the exam - slightly shorter in some cases and much shorter in others. Created for revision sessions but useful for homework, classwork or remote learning.

This is a straightforward powerpoint focusing on two short pre-twentieth century extracts. One is from “My Struggle with a Tiger” by Charles Jamrach and the other is from a story by Conan Doyle. This was planned for a less confident GCSE class but could also be used at KS3. It focuses on analysis - talking about the effect of the writer’s language choices on the reader. The last four slides are printables of the extracts.

This uses Emily Dickinson’s beautiful poem about resilience. I created this as a revision task for year 11 but it could be used at KS3. There are 11 questions that could work for cover, for homework or to structure a discussion or guided reading session. Suggested responses are provided but these are not definitive!

This short and simple activity could be used for cover or set as homework. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session. The excerpt is Oberon’s short speech about the part of the enchanted wood where Titania sleeps. There are thirteen questions requiring some simple analysis - and the final question could be used as an extension task - asking the pupils to evaluate a simple statement. Suggested answers are provided

This is a simple comprehension activity drawing pupils’ attention to the effect of language and structure. Created as a homework task but could also be used for cover or to structure a guided reading activity. Suggested responses are provided to make this more useful for someone who’s not a subject specialist.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using a recount (from 1883) of an unusual street performer. Made to support students in developing their skills of reading pre 20th century non-fiction, this might come in handy as preparation for AQA English Language paper 2, particularly if you pair it with a more modern text about street performers. Suggested answers are provided.

This is a very straightforward powerpoint using John Drinkwater’s public domain poem, “Moonlit Apples”. The powerpoint takes the students through a range of questions about the effect of methods used in the poem and concludes with an exam-style question.