Having taught English over the last 10 years I have witnessed an increase in pressure put on students to achieve grade C’s and above - now grade 4’s and above. I have also witnessed how this pressure makes lower performing students give up in English, leading to poor attendance and behavior . Other students, who try their best, being made to feel stupid or “thick” (as they put it) because they never seem able to do what is increasingly expected of them. Therefore this is a lesson designed to be inspirational and encouraging, which makes it ideal for the start of the academic year and trying to start your students off on a positive mind set in English. It crosses over into something of a tutorial and is a good way to start off the creative writing unit as the final task is geared towards that particular question in the exam. If you are doing regular target setting and target reviews with your students, it is also a great session to begin that process with and allows you to have a starting point from which you can track. This session encourages students to measure their ideals against their actuals. Which is to look at what it is you want to achieve in the future (grades 4 - 9) but measuring the progress against what you did last week / last term etc and visibly seeing the improvements and progress being made. The idea is to encourage a positive feeling towards English and to develop a healthy approach to achievement and what achievement means. It can be used with any exam board as the creative writing task is across all boards. This lesson comes with a full powerpoint - slides of which can be printed and used as worksheets - and a video which ideally needs to be watched from roughly 3 mins in and ended at about 5 mins in ( exact times can be found in the notes section of the PP) If you don’t want to use the video, the point it makes is reinforced by a group task and so you can use either /or - or both. It is full of group and individual activities which can be done without a world of resources at your finger tips - ideal if you multi site in your job. Please note that TES previews can distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps

This is a team based lesson with quick paced tasks based around an extract from Andy Weir’s “The Martian”. The aim of the lesson is to answer an exam based question on the structural features used in this extract. The lesson comes with 7 worksheets which includes the extract and tasks which range across all abilities and can be used at your discretion. This resource also comes with the trailer (which does include the S word, so feel free to use at your discretion) and the full lesson on powerpoint. This resource is designed to be used in which ever way you feel works for your classes and is adaptable to accommodate your teaching style. The lesson is created for students who are already aware of structural features but again, you can adapt this session to either introduce or reinforce structural features, depending on what you have covered so far. The session comes with a start and short self assessment plenary, there are plenty of team tasks, group and class discussions and some peer assessment. It ends with a individual task which is exam focused. 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 is a quick paced, fun lesson all centered around the theme of monsters in literature. The pack comes with the full lesson on powerpoint and 5 separate worksheets which include an extract from Frankenstein and an ideas board to help students who struggle to come up with ideas. This session focuses on the EDEXCEL exam, paper 1 question 5, it consolidates DAFOREST and POSHIMP acronyms for language features and introduces ROW of CLONES acronym for structural features. The session comes with a fun starter which can be achieved by all levels and progresses in difficulty, team activities, handouts and ideas boards are in place to help those who struggle. The final task is to improve on a piece of writing they completed earlier in the session. A task which is designed to show students their own progression through-out the session / in real time rather than waiting for feedback at the end or in the next session Please keep in mind that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This 5 page questions worksheet is based on the new book by Philomena Cunk -“Cunk on Everything”. Although this is a modern, comedic text, I often find that by using resources from current pop culture helps students to engage with English and helps learning or consolidation of learning take place , it also helps to give a light hearted and fun tone to your classroom however I mostly like to use resources such as these to help show students that what they learn in English is relevant and used in the everyday / real world and not just the classroom. This resource can be used with any exam board but I would suggest that some prior teaching on structural features take place first. The resource focuses primarily on the use of structural features within the extract and uses a range of questioning techniques which allows for differentiation of all levels and can be used in pairs / small groups or as an individual task. It ends with a final exam style question focusing on the structural question within the GCSE exam. You could use this resource as a part of the lesson, homework or as an extension. Please keep in mind that TES preview can distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

I always find that the topic of Donald Trump is a big hit in my classroom but the idea of having to compare two takes on 1 topic isn’t. Many students find this task a daunting one and so I created this lesson to introduce the notion of writing a comparison to my students. The lesson looks at two speeches made by both Obama and Trump, the resource is 10 pages of individual, group activities including watch and retrieve information, targeted and differentiated questioning, group discussion and a final written task. It has been designed for you to deliver in which ever way suits you best. I teach GCSE sessions in 3 hour blocks and so there is enough material in this resource to fill one 3 hour session. This is a resource which can be used with GCSE but also L2 functional skills. It focuses on students being able to explain , provide insight and discuss inference rather than language features but also allows lower ability students to talk about the facts and their opinions. Please keep in mind that the TES preview distorts the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This poster is a really helpful resource to have in your classroom or out on students tables during sessions to help them to remember and use high level language features in their work. The poster breaks down the acronym POSHIMP and uses Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones as a visual memory aid to help reinforce. This is in the format of powerpoint and so is easy to swap / alter or use in other powerpoints. Please keep in mind that the preview can distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This 7 page booklet id designed to help students with the reading component of their Functional Skills exam. The booklet can be used as in class resources, revision or as self study. Based on a article by Friends of the Earth, the booklet focuses on simple and easy ways we can help become more green in our every day routines and underpins purpose of text and audience questions from the exam. The questions in the booklet are a combination of low level, opinion based and exam based questions. They range from multiple choice to more structured answers asking for reasons or quotes to support . The booklet ends with an extension activity which focuses on language and writing elements of the exam and a self assessment plenary. Please keep in mind that the TES preview can at times distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This session uses an extract from The Witcher and is designed to be a fast paced, Fun and engaging, group based session which allows the learners room for self discovery and peer support in order to practice using the skills they have been taught through out the year. This is largely a recap session on Language and Structural features (I have used DAFOREST, POSHIMP and ROW of CLONES but these can be adapted) they have been taught and to prepare them as the exam dates grow close. Designed for paper 1 question 3 of the edexcel exam board but can be adapted to be used with other exam boards. The focus of this session is on the learners to lead the lesson rather than the teacher to feed knowledge and is great as a recap/ exam prep or workshop lesson. Slides from the presentation can be printed and used as handouts or worksheets, are designed to be used with an IWB with room for annotations during group discussions and feedback tasks and come with comments to help delivery. Please keep in mind that the TES preview can distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a team / group based session designed to not only help students prepare for their L2 FS English writing exam but to also underpin some valuable life skills. There are 7 pages of activities which focus on tone and language when writing to complain, and underpins self awareness and self control. The resources are differentiated so both lower levels and higher achieving students can work together to achieve in this session. The session slowly builds to a final individual task which is to write a formal and tone appropriate letter of complaint, a task similar to one they may find in the exam and can be used as exam preparation or as an introduction to the topic. There are planning scaffolds and word banks to support students in their final writing task. This pack can be edited, broken up into sections and altered to suit you and your student needs. Please keep in mind that the TES preview does at times distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This is a full GCSE English session which has enough materials to cover 3 hours. This session covers the critical thinking question of the English exam and is adaptable to any exam board. This session slowly builds and presents a scaffold towards to this difficult question through a series of team and paired activities and group discussions which underpin and practice P.E.E answers and writing to describe. There is room for students to learn at a even pace and tasks are structured to stretch and challenge higher achieving students. This session comes with 3 video clips and the extract. You can break this session into 2 sessions or adapt to whatever exam board you are teaching on. Please keep in mind that the TES preview often distorts the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This resource is excellent for revision, workshop or homework sessions. In current times, it can also be useful for remote / online sessions. This session breakdowns question 4 of paper 1 in a way that both supports the low ability and stretches the more able students. It is designed to calls on each student to actively use their developed knowledge and prior learning to successfully engage with the session. This session is designed with a variety of short build up tasks, larger revision and recall tasks which lead up to the final analytical, examination writing task. The powerpoint is open and adaptable to be used in whichever was works for you. You can add in timed or paired activities if you plan of delivering this session or you can leave it to be used by the student as homework. Please keep in mind that the TES preview does at time distort the look of the resource and tis is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This fast paced and fun lesson is designed to support a low level or mixed level Functional Skills English class with their writing skills. A great lesson to use at the start of the academic year, this lesson revolves around a article about a 5 year old body builder who made it into the Guinness book of Records and focuses on using direct speech, alliteration, puns and hyperbole to show bias and make writing more interesting. Many tasks are group are pair based to help support lower ability learners, but has some higher ability elements to stretch and challenge stronger learners. Vocabulary focus begins with the starter and is reinforced as you move forward, so students are thinking about language and words from the very start. This resource comes with a full PowerPoint, and 3 worksheets including the article, worksheet and a planning scaffold. TES preview often distorts the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection of the material. Feel free to play with and amend this resource to fit your teaching style and / or needs of your cohort. Hope it helps.

This is a fast paced session, filled with videos, team and individual exercises. It is designed to reinforce prior learning and is best used closer to the summer exam. It is designed to fill 2 - 3 hours of teaching time, which can be broken and modified into two sessions if desired. It covers paper 2 questions 3 and 4 ( writers viewpoints and comparison of two texts). Both texts are modern day texts in order to help illustrate and use the skills learned (language and structure) to answer these questions, although in the actual exam one of the texts will be older. The session is based around the life of Winston Churchill, his highs and lows. The session slowly builds, developing knowledge and information about Churchill, both the good and the bad, and recapping exam skills as it progresses. All tasks are scaffolded to help those with mixed ability classes and challenges students to think analytically and answer the two questions as they would in the exam itself. The resource can be modified to cater for your own cohort or for different exam boards and leaves room for group discussions as extensions or can be cut back if you have short timetabled sessions. I work within FE and this is a session which has worked well with my 16 - 19 students. Please keep in mind that the TES preview can distort the look of the resources and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps

I like to encourage reading in my classes, and one of the ways I like to do that is with a visual display of books which became blockbuster movies to help grab students attention. This resource is my collection of visuals that I use in different ways to create these displays. It includes 14 different movies which includes a range of diversity and genres, contains images of the book and movie cover with still from the movie itself. You can print these, play with the sizes, layouts and be creative as you feel to suit your learning environment, I like to laminate to provide a glossy look and drape a red cloth over the boards in my classroom to create a old school cinema / theater curtain to create some drama. Images include: Eat Prey Love War Horse Divergent The Hobbit Memoirs of a Geisha Atonement The Colour Purple The Help Brighton Rock Feel free to play with and tinker with this resource, these are just image templates to help you get going and create amazing in class displays of your own. Be advised that the TES preview does not always truly reflect the resource. Hope it helps

Great support/guidance booklet for those students who struggle with the PEE / PEA /PQI and structure. Many students particularly struggle with the explain / inference section of this structure. This fun booklet comes with word banks and starter sentences for those who find this structure a challenge. It also comes with examples of high level answers and developed PEE /PEA/PQI answers to stretch and challenge more able students. Great handout to give to students or have casually on their desks to allow them to freely access whenever they need to, promoting independence in their own learning. Feel free to use in which ever works best for you and your learners.

This resource can be used with L2 functional skills classes or with GCSE English classes with enough material to cover up to 2 hours. This resources covers language features and apostrophes in one lesson, underpinning proofreading and writing to describe. This is a quick paced session which involves both group and individual tasks, it has routes for stretch and challenge whilst also giving tasks enough scaffolding to support the weaker students in the class. This session is designed to be developed or split into two separate sessions depending on your classes needs. Please be advised that the TES preview does not always give a true reflection of the resource.

This is a fun and fast paced introduction to Language Features (DAFOREST) for L2 Functional English or GCSE English ( any board). This session is based on activities for groups and pairs, eventually leading to a independent writing task, in which the student must use the language features used to describe one of either two characters. This session includes a fun anagrams “buzzer” game and supporting scaffolds in word banks and starter paragraphs. There are opportunities for stretch and challenge with the introduction into higher level language features which you can stretch as much as your class needs allow. This session is design for a 1.5 hr session but can be developed for longer lessons. Please be aware that TES preview is not always a true reflection of the presentation of the materials. Hope it helps

This is a fast paced, engaging complete lesson designed for Level 1 and Level 2 Functional Skills. The session is based around the theme of your dream house with the aim of the session being to write a formal persuasive letter using DAFOREST language features and considering the audience your writing to. Using team / paired and individual tasks, this session allows the student to engage their imagination and design their ideal, dream house then plan and complete a formal letter inviting Architectural Digest to film a short segment for their online magazine. The session comes with support devices such as word banks, planning scaffolds and sentence starters as well as elements of stretch and challenge. This is an adaptable resource which can be amended to suit the needs of your classes. Be advised that the TES preview is not always a true reflection of the resource. Hope it helps.

This single text resource is designed to help support less ability students prepare for their functional reading exam. Based on the current protests with climate change, this resource basis it’s questions around the edexcel paper. This resource can be altered to suit the needs of your cohort, please keep in mind that the TES preview can distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps

This mini bundle consists of a mini reading activity and writing activity, along with video and video worksheet for L1 English Functional Skills. All resources are based around Greta Thunberg and are designed to be as similar as possible to the layout of the pearson functional skills exam - although they can be altered to accommodate any exam board. The reading paper is based on 1 article about Greta and takes questions as they are presented and worded on the exam. The writing is also presented and worded as it would appear on the exam, so this mini bundle is perfect for any exam prep or to use with lower ability learners. This package also comes with a BBC video and worksheet to accompany it. Please keep in mind that the TES preview can sometimes alter the look of the resources and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps