This FREE activity focuses on Lois Lowry’s novel “The Giver” addresses a central issue of the novel: the importance of colour. The activity includes various discussion questions and activities that students can either perform in an experimental setting in class or as a while-reading homework assignment at home. Enjoy, and feel free to leave feedback!

This FREE PowerPoint presentation presents and focuses on introducing Stanley Milgram’s (in)famous experiment to test “the banality of evil” and adherence / obedience to authority figures. The PowerPoint clearly and succinctly presents the experiment in the context of the many unthinkable and atrocious war crimes committed by Nazis during and before World War II. The PowerPoint can be taught in the context of any novel or unit that looks at the issue, but I mostly use it in connection with “The Wave” by Morton Rhue / Todd Strasser.

This FREE print-and-use lesson worksheet is part of my teaching unit for Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It focuses specifically on Act 1, Scene 1 of the play. The worksheet includes: Comprehension Questions for Act 1, Scene 1 of Macbeth Shakespeare in Context: Informative text about witches & James I and the context of composition. This is crucial to fully appreciate the dramatic effect & significance of Shakespeare’s choice of using witches in the play. The information text is accompanied by relevant questions to link it to the play. Drama Activity: This is an activity that encourages engaging with the text on stage; it outlines various ways for students to act out and the scene, and to think critically about how the scene may have been performed on stage. Act 3 Close Reading Activity (focuses on 3.5.1-36, with all the imagery of light and darkness - a crucial dichotomy and thematic trope and motif that runs through the play) MODEL ANSWERS for all the questions + activities as well as a teacher’s guide and further in-depth analysis and commentary of the relevant aspects of Act 1, Scene 1 of Macbeth PS: This worksheet, as indeed all of my Macbeth handouts and activities are specifically designed to be read at IGCSE level or in preparation for the IGCSE English Literature exams. But they can be used independent of these exams and the IGCSE curriculum, too, of course! Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

This FREE ready-to-teach handout focuses on close reading and analysis of the final Chapters of “The Wave” by Morton Rhue / Todd Strasser (Chapters 15-17). The worksheet is structured around 4 carefully selected extracts, each accompanied by close reading questions that facilitate a higher-order engagement with the central issues of the novel. Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

This is a set of print-and-use worksheets, activities, handouts and presentation-mode PDFs for J. R. R. Tolkien’s iconic fantasy children’s novel The Hobbit, and more specifically for Chapter 8 - Flies and Spiders. This comprehensive teaching unit includes the following: Comprehension & Close Reading Questions for Chapter 8 - Flies and Spiders. Read & Response Journal Questions for Chapter 8. Creative Writing / Drama Activity: This chapter can be linked to the theme of prejudices and the ancient feuds between the wood-elves and the dwarves. This creative writing/drama activity (can be used as either type of activity) enables an engaged, critical discussion of a central theme of the novel. TEACHER’S GUIDE + MODEL ANSWERS for the comprehension & close reading questions as well as slides for teaching the lesson. I’ve also included a DETAILED SUMMARY & ANALYSIS of Chapter 8 as further guidance for teachers, especially useful for those teaching The Hobbit for the first time, or in a homeschooling, DISTANCE LEARNING setting. NB: I’ve included a range of different (and differentiated) activities so that you can choose what best suits your class of students, and depending on how much in-depth analysis you would like to go into for each chapter. I usually read The Hobbit with Grade 7 students, but this unit of work can naturally be used with Grade 6 or Grade 8 students as well! Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

This advanced handout guides students through the process of writing an essay about William Golding’s iconic and Nobel-prize winning novel Lord of the Flies. Specifically, the handout teaches students how to write a well-structured, thorough and insightful character analysis. The handout can be used at any point in your study of the novel, but I recommend that you let your students read at least half (up to Chapter 6: Beast from Air) or to the end before you let them attempt the essay. Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

This advanced, ready-to-teach handout is part of my worksheets, handouts and activities for Morton Rhue’s novel The Wave. It is designed to help students analyse and take a closer look at one of the central concerns of the novel: the power of language, propaganda, and how it can be abused to manipulate groups and individuals. The handout includes: Introduction to the topic (the power of language) within the context of the novel. Activities - based on excerpts from Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf (as a primary source) and what one of the worst dictators of all time has written about the power of propaganda - to show students various persuasive techniques and propaganda techniques. Follow-on questions for The Wave so that students can connect the cross-curricular historical analysis of the primary source with the novel (this is best donejust after Ben Ross introduces the The Wave experiment) A teacher’s notes section is included, with a lecture-type guide to the activity, that you can use either as a follow-up or to help you get to grips with the complexities of the issues and to teach the unit with optimal preparation. Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

This is a ready-to-teach worksheet / handout and pre-reading activity for “The Wave” by Morton Rhue / Todd Strasser. The handout includes: A set of carefully selected quotations designed as pair work or group work, accompanied by questions to facilitate a critical discussion of the central issues addressed. Many of the central concerns of the novel can be discussed in a thought-provoking, memorable manner. The quotes can also be used to gauge prior knowledge of the historical context of the novel (e.g. Nazi Germany, Hitler’s rise to power, World War II, propaganda, the Holocaust etc.) Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

This activity ties concepts of governance (democracy and military dictatorship) to William Golding's Nobel Prize-winning novel 'Lord of the Flies'. The activity lets students compare and contrast the two governing styles as potentially enforced by either Ralph or Jack on the island. I have had considerable success with this activity as I have taught this novel several times. And there is a lot the students can learn from this activity as a whole. It is best to teach this lesson once the students have read at least half the novel, especially after Jack and Ralph form two different groups due to different leadership styles.

An informative handout to introduce Wilfred Owen and a unit of analysis for his famous war poem ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’. You can buy this handout as part of the IGCSE Poetry May 2018 / May 2019 bundle, here: IGCSE Poetry May 2018 / 2019 Bundle The handout includes the following: biography of Wilfred Owen and accounts of what he had to endure during the Great War. annotated text of the poem ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ (includes glossary of key terms explained in the context of the poem) as well as some additional information about why Wilfred wrote his ‘Anthem’. comprehension, close reading and analysis questions holistic, ‘food for thought’ questions to elicit an essay-style response. Check out also my other World War I poetry worksheets and handouts:

This is a handout that guides through the analysis and close-reading of IGCSE poetry tested on the IGCSE English Literature exams. This handout covers the following poem: 'Drummer Hodge' - by Thomas Hardy The handout includes: - an introduction with biographical and contextual information about the author - the poem text with a glossary of key vocabulary - comprehension and close-reading questions, with a focus on analysing the poem's structure, language and use of poetic devices, and main ideas or themes. - an answer key with detailed responses to the close reading and analysis questions. Enjoy!

This is an activity that helps students to visualize the metaphors, similes, personifications, and wonderful imagery of Macbeth’s soliloquies, especially in Act 1 Scene 5 (Lady Macbeth’s two short soliloquies) and Act 1, Scene 7 (Macbeth’s first soliloquy: “If it were done, when 'tis done …” by guiding students through the storyboarding process to how a film might show these soliloquies. This is a great way to show visual learners the imagery and the power behind Shakespeare’s language, and to bring soliloquies to life in the classroom. The handout is extensive and includes: introduction and definition of soliloquies comprehension activities to introduce each soliloquy to the students and to ensure understanding before they start the storyboard activity. storyboard activity with the texts of the soliloquies split into meaningful groups, ideal for group work or pair work, storyboarding template. It makes sense to print the storyboard template onto A3-sized paper so that students have enough room to draw their storyboard onto it. Enjoy!

The title, Of Mice and Men, is an allusion to a line in a poem called “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns. This no-prep print-and-use pre-reading activity includes: A copy of the poem in its original Scots Modern English translation Comprehension, analysis & discussion questions Connections to the novel and the title in particular. Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

This handout focuses on the ‘real-life’ ‘The Wave’ teacher Ron Jones, whose classroom experiment inspired Morton Rhue’s novel ‘The Wave’. The handout includes an article and interview with Jones, who looks back at the experiment and the aftermath of it all, including Morton Rhue’s novel fictionalisation. The worksheet includes: An edited version of the original article by the San Francisco Chronicle Comprehension questions and activities that accompany the article and allow for pair-work or group-work approach to teaching the real-life, historical context of the novel.

This handout contains a slew of well-chosen essay and discussion questions for “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, designed as a post-reading activity or to enable an essay-style assessment of the entire novel once you have completed its study in class. Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

This handout and worksheet provides two pre-reading activities to begin your study of William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies with your students. The handout objectives include: Imagine certain scenarios linked to the novel. Explore complex questions of ethics and morality. Work in a group to make difficult / impossible decisions. There are two different activities, which can be completed by a class consecutively, or, if you wish, separately. Edition of the novel used: Lord of the Flies (William Golding), Faber and Faber Educational Edition. Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

An informative handout to introduce Rupert Brooke and a unit of analysis for his famous war poem ‘The Soldier’. The handout includes the following: a short biography of Rupert Brooke, the poet annotated text of the poem ‘The Soldier’ (includes a glossary of key terms explained in the context of the poem) comprehension, close reading, and analysis questions holistic, ‘food for thought’ question to elicit an essay-style response.

This unit of work focuses on Chapter 1 of William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies; as a comprehensive unit for Chapter 1, it includes the following: 1. Comprehension, Close Reading & Discussion Questions for Chapter 1 of the novel. 2. Analyzing Setting - The Island - this activity provides an opportunity for students to practice close reading skills and to explore the setting of the novel; it caters for visual learners (students are asked to use the provided passage from Ch. 1 to draw a map of the island - bird’s eye view, etc. 3. Setting & Symbolism - The Island as Microcosm of Human Nature & Civilisation - This guided activity forces students to dig deeper into the symbolic significance of the island as a setting for the novel, especially in the backdrop of the context in which Lord of the Flies was written - World War II, nuclear war, the Cold War, etc. 4. Teacher’s Guide + Answer Key - this provides a detailed answer key for all the activities as well as a teacher’s guide for Chapter 1 of the novel - including a summary and an analysis of Chapter 1. This is designed for teachers who are new to the novel, or veterans who wish to gain fresh insights, as well as for students working independently in a home-schooling setting or in a distance learning environment. Edition of the novel used:* Lord of the Flies* (William Golding), Faber and Faber Educational Edition. Hoping you find everything you’re looking for, please leave feedback!

This advanced activity is designed to help students understand W. B. Yeats’ iconic yet rather difficult poem “The Second Coming”, with a particular focus on how it is linked to Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. The activity includes: 1. Context of Composition: An introduction to the context shared by both Achebe’s novel and Yeats’ poem. This includes information about how Achebe was inspired by the poem in the choice of both the epigraph at the beginning of the novel and in his choice of title. 2. Annotated Poem text: (“The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats) with annotations for difficult concepts, vocabulary, and terminology required to understand the poem. 3. Yeats’ Vision: A diagram and labeled, explaining how “The Second Coming” envisions Yeats’s cyclical, dual gyres of history (as outlined in his book Vision). 4. Comprehension, Close Reading & Analysis Questions for the poem 5. Food for thought and essay questions for additional in-depth reflection and to ensure higher-order thinking and writing skills are also catered to. 6. Analyzing Okonkwo’s Character: The Tragic Hero: This PowerPoint presentation (included here as a PDF to ensure cross-platform compatibility) provides a no-prep guide through teaching Yeats’ poem, and connecting it to an analysis of Okonkwo’s character as a classical tragic hero. The PPT includes: It introduces the poem “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats, Achebe’s source of inspiration for the title of the novel. The presentation includes a glossary of difficult terms for the poem and places it in the context of the novel, to facilitate a deeper understanding of the overall purpose of the novel as well as the wonderful poem by Yeats itself. Comprehension and close-reading questions accompany the poem. Linked to “The Second Coming” and its central message, the presentation introduces the concept of the tragic hero in literature and enables a detailed analysis of how Okonkwo (the novel’s protagonist) is, ultimately, a tragic hero. The PowerPoint includes a final form of assessment that you can optionally use to wrap up the unit about Okonkwo as a tragic hero. NB: I’ve opted for a minimalistic, no-fuss design to allow you to focus on the content rather than the flashy (but ultimately pointless) functions of a PowerPoint. I hope this allows you to seamlessly include the lesson into your study of the novel. 7. Teacher’s Guide + Answer Key - this provides a detailed answer key with model answers for all the activities - designed for teachers who are new to the novel, or veterans who wish to gain fresh insights. Perfect for independent study and distance learning. IMPORTANT! Rate this product & get one product for free: If you provide a rating & feedback for this product, contact me by email to receive one product (except a bundle) sent to you free of charge! Feedback is always appreciated! Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

This is an advanced worksheeet, ready-to-print and teach handout that facilitates a guided reading and provides while-reading questions for teaching the novel “The Wave” by Morton Rhue / Todd Strasser. The reading log includes: Comprehension, close reading & analysis questions for each chapter. Particular focus on close reading, analysis of language and its effects, including historical context links, analysis of structure, themes and pupose. Since most available reading logs and while-reading activities do not go into enough analytical depth and detail, I put together my own reading log that tries to dig a little deeper and forces the students to engage in higher order thinking and analysis skills. Enjoy, and please leave feedback!