This is a complete mock exam for paper 1 of the WJEC GCSE English exam. The extract is taken from To Kill a Mockingbird. The resource uses the formal layout of the exam with extract as separate. There are two videos which you may wish to use as warm up with your students. One is the blu-ray trailer for the movie and second is a break down of the story by Thug Notes. Please note that Thug Notes does contain some mild use of language and adult themes, as I work with 16+ and adults, this is fine for me to use but you may wish to use the trailer or an alternative. Be advised that TES preview does distort the view of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

We all know that creating or finding new and interesting mock papers is time consuming and difficult. This is why I have created this complete mock exam for paper 1 of the AQA GCSE 8700 spec to help. I find that when presented with a mock paper many of my students, and probably yours too, switch off and become disengaged …which can lead to them not giving the mock their best effort. To help combat this the extract for this mock is taken from The Life of Pi, but the questions are still very much based on how they would be in the real exam, and is presented in a way so you can either print off the slide and run the full mock or cut the session into bite sized timed/ teacher led chunks. There are also some warm up activities to help get your class started and to get them interested in the text which you can use or disregard depending on the level of the class . These include a few small groups task starters and a selection of 2 videos, the trailer and a Thug Notes breakdown - you can choose which one best suits your needs / age of your students. Please keep in mind that Thug Notes does contain mild use of language and adult themes, it is also 10 mins long. The session is created for you to use in any way you wish to help your students achieve. Please be advised that Tes previews distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This is a quick workshop designed to be used as recap/revision for when the exam draws near. It can be used as a full lesson and it can but altered to suit any exam board. This session looks at high and low level language features which can be used in the creative writing task of paper 1 of the WJEC GCSE English exam board. It is a quick paced lesson which uses Donald Trump, images of an eccentric looking man and a John Oliver Clip to help inspire the students. Be advised that the John Oliver clip does use swear words and may be unsuitable for some learners. However as I work with 16+ and adults, this clip works very well in getting teaching metaphors and similes. The main task is to complete a descriptive writing task and a peer marking assessment. You may wish to cut this out or use an alternative. Please be aware that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This is a complete mock exam for paper 1 of the AQA GCSE 8700 spec. The extract is taken from The Colour Purple. The lesson comes with a few small groups task starters and a selection of 2 videos - you can choose which one best suits your needs, keep in mind that Thug Notes does contain mild use of language and adult themes. As I teach in FE this is resource is fine to use however you can use the trailer or an alternative if you choose to. The session is created for you to use in any way you wish. You may want to sit a formal practice in which you can print off this powerpoint and be used as a paper document. This book contains theme of racism and sexism and so you can adapt this to underpin theme of equality and diversity. Be advised that Tes previews distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This is a lesson designed around the Flat Earth Theory for preparation for question 4 from paper 2 of the AQA GCSE English exam. This lesson compares two articles from two different writers about this topic. It is designed to help students understand what the question is asking them to do , which is why the sources are not from two different eras, and helps students to break down the way articles are written and how to structure an answer. This lesson comes with a video and support material including an answer scaffold. It is a quick paced lesson with plenty of group, paired activities ending with an independent writing task, starter, plenary, self and peer assessments. This can be adapted to suit your or your students needs. Please be aware that TES preview can distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a 30 page presentation full of starter / small activities designed to broaden imagination and develop creative writing skills. I personally like to start the academic year with these as a way to promote a fun and lively image to GCSE English and engage learners with the course early on. I find that these types of fun, group activities help break down any negative barriers students may have to English and helps to build confidence in disengaged learners. These activities are mostly group / paired activities which can be boiled down to individual tasks. These tasks can be achieved by learners of all levels and are very useful in helping students tackle the creative writing sections of the GCSE exam. Hope it helps

This is a full informal mock of paper 1 for the AQA GCSE English Language exam based on an extract from To Kill a Mockingbird. It comes with a full powerpoint with a video starter from Thug Notes. Be advised that Thug Notes does contain some adult themes and low level adult language. As I teach 16 + this is fine as a resource but if this is not the case for your class you can stick to the trailer or use an alternative. This powerpoint can be printed off or converted to a more formal paper version of a mock if you wish to use it in that way. Please keep in mind the TES previews can at time distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

As the exam dates creep closer, we enter mock exam season. I found that as the exam is still quite new it was difficult to find a wide range of practice papers to use which the students hadn’t already sat. Therefore I have created a full mock of paper 2, with reading and writing sections, based around the topic child labour which is a topic which may crop up in the live exam. This resource comes with a full powerpoint which can be used as an informal mock or altered into something more formal looking if desired. I like to make my mock exams as friendly as possible as many of my students do not enjoy mocks or have anxiety regarding exams. Having the mock on powerpoint helps to put my students at ease whilst also building their confidence in exam conditions. Another benefit to having my mocks on powerpoints is so I can break down the questions to my weaker/ more challenging students or run bite sized mocks, whilst for my higher achieving students I can use the powerpoint to help students practice their timings for exam questions. I’m also required to run workshops and hold drop in sessions outside of regular class time for which these mock paper powerpoints are very useful. The texts featured in this resource are a speech to parliament in 1840’s regarding the conditions of child labour and a 2018 article from The Guardian about human trafficked children. Please be aware that the TES preview can at times distort the look of a resource and this is not a true reflection which is why I have included screenshots of the powerpoint to help you get an idea of what it contains. Hope it helps.

This is a mini workshop session which focuses on how to use sentence structures for effect for the creative writing section of paper 1 of the WJEC GCSE English exam. This lesson is designed for revision sessions as the exam draws close but can be developed further or used with another exam board. This session uses Donald Trump for inspiration in how to use interesting sentences to describe. It also recaps high and low level language features. It is a fast paced session with paired activities and a main writing task taken from a practice paper. It ends with a self assessment plenary. Be advised that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This session is a quick paced, fun, interactive session with group and paired activities, handouts include match up tasks, planning tasks, read and obtain tasks and helpful handouts. This is an introductory lesson to writing using PURPOSE, AUDIENCE, FORM, TONE (PAFT) . It is focused for the Edexcel GCSE English Language paper as many of the questions of this paper are multi layered / skilled and ask for layers of understanding from the student in ways that other exam boards don’t. It comes with a “writing gibberish” starter and takes the student through various stages which can help them improve their own writing, get into the habit of planning but also touches upon being able to analyse writing, therefore bridging over both the reading and writing section of the exam. This session is aimed quite low as it is an introduction but does offer elements of stretch and challenge for more able students. It comes with helpful handouts for low ability learners and tackles some more high level concepts such as tone. There is enough material in this resource to be adapted into two sessions if needs be but is also adaptable to include more if necessary. Please be aware that the TES preview does sometimes distort the way the resource looks and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps

This is a short lesson about study / revision skills to help students plan and prepare for up coming exams and independent study. It comes with some tips and suggestions about how to best prepare and plan your time, advice on rest breaks, avoiding procrastination and a short video. This is useful to use in tutorials, booster sessions or workshops. Feel free to adjust to suit your needs and classes. Please note that the TES preview distorts the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This lesson is centered around the tragic story of Sophie Lancaster, who was murdered in 2007 for being a Goth. I have used this story over the last 10 years with all my classes as it helps to address prejudice and build tolerance. This session uses the Story of Sophie to introduce question 7B to students. It does this by breaking question 7B into two and only looking at the writers views and perceptions part of the question rather than the comparison part, as I have found in my experience that diving straight into comparing two texts tends to stress and confuse students. This session has enough material to cover 3 hours but has optional tasks and can be altered to suit you or your classes needs, session time and sensitivity levels. It comes with 10 worksheets, a video and full powerpoint with starters, team tasks, individual tasks, plenary, question 7B breakdown, group discussion and homework which focuses on section B of Paper 2. I have found that over the years that this lesson is diverse. It has been used in tutorials outside of the English department and by youth workers when delivering their sessions. I usually invite support workers and youth workers when delivering this session to help support any students for who this may bring up memories or for them or to help students overcome any of their own prejudices. Because of this sessions holistic and cross college appeal it was a big hit with managers and Ofsted. Hope it helps.

I used this session recently in a ungraded observation and was praised for my use of modern material in order engage students and embed English language skills but also with my collaboration with youth workers on this session. Many students don’t realise that much of what they watch on TV or in the cinema has it’s roots in a book or written form (such as a comic) . I find that by using materials the students are familiar with catches their attention and helps to quickly engage students in the session, it allows me to teach them the necessary skills they will need for the live exam. The main aim of this session is to explores structural features for paper 1 , question 4 of the AQA GCSE English exam by looking at an extract of Margret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale. We use the acronym ROW of CLONES to help students work through a piece of text and identify key structural features. Students work in groups and pairs to break down and examine the extract, they explore ideas of culture and individuality whilst also looking at the ways the Margret Atwood uses structural features to communicate atmosphere and repression to her audience. The lesson ends with a practice question, peer marking and a small self assessment plenary. This lesson is quick paced, engaging, exciting and underpins deeper issues such as human rights and human rights violations. This lesson helps to expose students to events that have and are taking place around the globe, encouraging awareness and tolerance - a key part of British Values. I collaborated with youth workers on this sessions and invited them to attend and help support group / paired activities and group discussions as they can bring another dimension to this topic, therefore encouraging cross school or college participation in English and encouraging a holistic approach to education. The lesson comes with the full extract, powerpoint of the entire lesson, worksheets and two videos, one exploring human rights and the other is the trailer for The Handmaids Tale. I teach in a 16-19 college where lessons came in 3 hour blocks therefore there is enough material for 3 hours in this resource, but it can be altered into smaller sessions depending on your timetable. Please note that TES previews an at times distort the look of the resource but this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

I have decided to share his resource because it was a great success with my students and managers, who turned from a personal resource to a departmental resource. This came about because I decided to try and encourage my students to read more, as they don’t read anything that isn’t on Facebook or Snapchat, by creating this 28 page booklet filled with extracts from Literature to give to them at the start of the year. This worked very well as the extracts are all at different lengths and difficulty and also features extracts from modern literature such as Harry Potter and older texts such as Wuthering Heights. I found that this helped my students become more familiar with the texts they may get in the live exam, therefore preparing them from day 1. This is a great resource to have on the students tables or around the classroom for the students to look at at their leisure or to refer to in your classes, which is something both Ofsted and my department managers praised. I also gave a few copies to have in the college library which helped to extend the English / GCSE section and helped to engage a wider college interest in supporting English. From a teachers point of view, this booklet is very useful for helping you cut down on your planning time as you have a bank of sources which you can use either as the core of your session or as an extension, starter or homework tasks. This booklet was also extremely helpful for revision purposes and drop in workshops as we got closer to the big day. The booklet contains extracts from many works of fiction which have been turned into movies or TV shows to help engage your class. Extracts include The Hunger Games, The Help, The Handmaids Tale, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984. It also has older texts such as Frankenstein, an extract from the original manuscript by Solomon Northup which inspired the movie “12 Years a Slave”. Many of the extracts can be used to embed other topics such as equality / diversity / race and bullying in to your sessions whilst also underpinning British Values. Extracts range from 2-3 pages in length to short paragraphs and script format to help you both stretch and challenge but also support the weaker students and build confidence. I hope you find this as useful as I did. Please keep in mind that TES previews can at times distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection, which is why I have included some screenshots to help you get an idea of what this booklet contains. Hope it helps.

This is a quick paced and fun filled session with team games and activities. The main focus is on using language to persuade but underpins widening vocabulary and descriptive use. This session comes with the full lesson from start to finish on powerpoint and a 6 page worksheet pack. The lesson starts with fun team games such as Stop the Bus and Guess the Animal ( need to supply your own list of animals). The lesson the steers towards looking at endangered animals and looks at what we can do to help in our everyday lives. This session does assume that students are aware of DAFOREST and POSHIMP language features and leads towards the final task which is geared wards paper 2 questions 3 and 5 of the exam paper. There is enough material to fill a 3 hour session in this pack. Please note that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This session can be used as a mock exam or as a progress assessment on Edexcels Paper 1. It comes with a full powerpoint in which each of the reading questions is answered and explained alongside a peer marking activity. It is designed to be student centered and supportive rather than frightening and off putting- as we know students do not always like mock exams. There is a 4 page helpful handout to support students with the questions and a paper copy of the assessment. Starters include a paired activity recapping / giving a summary of the exam paper and a break down of each question along with a short clip from the movie. I have engineered this session to be completed individually but it can also be used as a team / workshop session in where students work together through each question and help each other learn. Please keep in mind that TES previews can distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a quick paced lesson which breaks down question 4 from paper 1 of the Edexcel paper and examines an extract from George Orwells, 1984. It works on the idea that the students are familiar with language and structural features. This session comes with a support scaffold, the whole lesson on powerpoint, the trailer to the movie and the extract and helps the students to break down the question and understand what is being asked of them, as this question is traditionally the tricky question and can confuse students as to how to best answer it. The sessions ends with an example question as it would appear in the exam, an example answer and gives the students an opportunity to piece an answer together themselves. Please keep in mind that TES preview often distorts the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

As October is Black History month I have created a GCSE English Language session centered around the book “12 Years a Slave”. This session focuses on paper 1 question 2 of the AQA exam paper which looks at language. This is a whole lesson which comes with a full powerpoint with all worksheets and videos included. The sessions is a quick paced, team based session with plenty of activities to encourage independent thought and sharing of ideas to help stretch and challenge but also support. The lesson comes with starter and a small self assessment plenary, it breaks down the key points of the question and the final task is a practice exam question which the students have been working all lesson towards and should feel confident in answering. This is a great lesson to embellish with issues of modern day slavery if desired or, as in my case when delivering hot topics as these, invite youth workers or councilors to your session as they can provide an extra dimension to the session and support any students who may have encountered racism. Please be aware that TES previews often distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

Many of my students enjoy getting embroiled in a debate about the Royals and so I try to embed this interest within my lessons. This is a 6 page resource based around a recent article on the BBC news website about Meghan Markle. The aim of the resource is to try and bridge the gap between Level 2 Functional Skills and GCSE English Language by making low level structural features (such as short sentences / paragraphs, inclusion of tweets, purpose of online text) a point of the resource. The resource comes with a link to the online article, which includes a short video of the event, a copy of the article itself and a series of question sheets which have been scaffolded into levels and abilities to cater to the mixed levels I often see in FS classes. These question sheets start with simple read and obtain style questions and work their way up to questions which focus on structural features and ask for some analysis. The way in which you want to distribute these questions is left in your hands. You may want all students to try all the questions or leave the difficulty level up to the student and let them choose the level questions they want to tackle and use the rest as extension tasks. The topic of this resource allows for embellishment to your lesson if you feel the students will take to it, you can include a group discussion on the topic of Royals or what merits as news worthy in todays day and age. However you want to use this resource in your class is up to you. Hope it helps. Please keep in mind that the TES preview can distort the look of a resource and this is not a true reflection.