Get SET to teach secondary English with Sian's English Toolkit.
These resources are based on my experience teaching secondary English for thirteen years. During this time I gained experience teaching language and literature to all ability levels within the age range 11-18. I also have extensive experience of writing schemes of learning as I was a department lead for ten of those years.
Get SET to teach secondary English with Sian's English Toolkit.
These resources are based on my experience teaching secondary English for thirteen years. During this time I gained experience teaching language and literature to all ability levels within the age range 11-18. I also have extensive experience of writing schemes of learning as I was a department lead for ten of those years.
Inference Worksheets 3 - A Christmas Carol & The Wizard of Oz
These worksheets support learners in developing the skills of reading for meaning and making inferences. The teacher guide at the start helps you navigate through a series of activities that support learners in understanding a text. Each text will take approximately an hour to complete. These work particularly well with groups of 3-6 learners but can also be used 1-1 and with larger groups.
These activities help learners to practise:
making connections with current knowledge
visualising
questioning
word meaning
explaining subtext
empathy
prioritising
summarising
The two texts in this pack are extracts from The Wizard of Oz and A Christmas Carol.
Also available in my shop are:
Inference Worksheets 1: Peter Pan & The Wind in the Willows
Inference Worksheets 2: Treasure Island & The Secret Garden
A bundle offer including all six extracts
Inference Worksheets
These worksheets support learners in developing the skills of reading for meaning and making inferences. The teacher guide at the start helps you navigate through a series of activities that support learners in understanding a text. Each text will take approximately an hour to complete. These work particularly well with groups of 3-6 learners but can also be used 1-1 and with larger groups.
These activities help learners to practise:
making connections with current knowledge
visualising
questioning
word meaning
explaining subtext
empathy
prioritising
summarising
The eight texts included in this bundle are extracts from:
The Wind in the Willows
Peter Pan
Treasure Island
The Secret Garden
The Wizard of Oz
A Christmas Carol
Inference Worksheets 4 - Alice in Wonderland / What Katy Did
These worksheets support learners in developing the skills of reading for meaning and making inferences. The teacher guide at the start helps you navigate through a series of activities that support learners in understanding a text. Each text will take approximately an hour to complete. These work particularly well with groups of 3-6 learners but can also be used 1-1 and with larger groups.
These activities help learners to practise:
making connections with current knowledge
visualising
questioning
word meaning
explaining subtext
empathy
prioritising
summarising
The two texts in this pack are extracts from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and What Katy Did.
Also available in my shop are:
Inference Worksheets 1: Peter Pan & The Wind in the Willows
Inference Worksheets 2: Treasure Island & The Secret Garden
Inference Worksheets 3: A Christmas Carol & The Wizard of Oz
A bundle offer including Inference Worksheets 1-3
GCSE English Language Reading Skills (WJEC)
This card sort contains the success criteria for the main reading skills that feature in the GCSE English Language Unit 2 & 3 exam papers. This is for the WJEC - Wales - specification. A colour-coded version is also included to support with self-/peer-/teacher assessment.
The reading skills included are:
identifying information
interpreting information
true/false
sequencing
summarising
explain how
explain cause & effect
word definitions
synthesis
comparison
This is a useful revision activity in the build-up to exams. It is also a useful progress tracker throughout the course to ensure that learners retain the success criteria.
Reading Skills War of the Worlds is a resource aimed towards KS3 learners in Wales. Answers are included.
The questions are based upon the style of those that learners will see in the National Reading Test (now called Personalised Assessments). The resource has been used successfully with a Year 9 group, and a more able Year 8 group. Using this resource will leave teachers able to use the old paper tests for internal assessment purposes.
Questions encourage learners to practise:
extracting information
reading for meaning
inference
word definitions
sequencing
true/false
At the end of the resource there is an area to encourage learners to reflect on their own learning and identify skills areas in need of improvement.
GCSE English Language Bundle (WJEC) provides different materials to support learners in revising for their Unit 2 and Unit 3 exams.
This bundle includes four resources:
an overall revision pack, including key materials for reading and writing
a card sort to support the revision of reading skills and their success criteria
a resource containing four Unit 3 writing tasks to plan, including modelled planning
general tips and tricks to support pupils in attaining SPG marks in the written sections of the exams
As a bonus, there is also a booklet to support individuals with IRP planning.
These resources have particularly supported C/D borderline learners.
GCSE English Language Writing Planning (WJEC) is a resource to support learners with preparation for the writing section of Unit 3. It is particularly useful as a revision activity for learners at the C-D borderline.
There are four separate writing tasks included in this resource, three sheets per task.
Sheet 1 - a blank worksheet with the writing task at the top for learners to fill in
Sheet 2 - scaffolding with general advice on planning
Sheet 3 - an exemplar essay plan for the task
There are two ‘persuade’ tasks and two ‘argue’ tasks. The genres covered include:
article
speech
formal letter
If you find this resource useful, you may want to look at the other GCSE English Language (WJEC) resources in my shop:
Revision Pack - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/gcse-english-language-exam-revision-pack-wjec-12969501
Writing Support for C/D Borderline Learners - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/gcse-english-language-writing-tips-and-tricks-wjec-12969667
Reading Skills Card Sort - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/gcse-english-language-reading-skills-wjec-12979433
Individual Presentation Preparation Booklet - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/gcse-english-language-irp-booklet-wjec-12970177
‘King Lear Revision PowerPoint’ provides a range of activities to help learners target the following areas:
narrative recall
characters and relationships
themes
quotation
language/terminology
This has been trialled successfully with an A2 group completing the WJEC GCE English Literature Unit 4 exam.
Activities include:
answering key questions
filling in blank spaces in key quotations
identifying types of language that can be discussed in whole text question responses
matching terminology to definitions
linking quotations to characters and/or themes
This has been uploaded as an editable PowerPoint so that it can be modified/edited/added to for the needs of the learners in your settings.
This ‘Heroes’ by Robert Cormier unit of work and PowerPoint is tailored towards teaching GCSE English Literature Unit 2 (WJEC). It has been trialled successfully in a classroom with learners with A*-D targets.
The unit of work contains tasks that deal with different sections of the novel, and encourage learners to think about character, theme and language analysis. The structure of the unit accounts for time spent on each section, main learning activities, key vocabulary and the corresponding PowerPoint task. (There is also a suggested whole text question activity at the end).
The editable PowerPoint includes 17 main activities that encourage learners to analyse different sections of the text. This is sold as an editable resource so that you can amend as needed for your classes, and so that you can incorporate appropriate exam practice as and when it is needed.
(Page references are for the Penguin edition).
You may also find these resources useful:
Narrative summary:https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/heroes-by-robert-cormier-narrative-overview-12970174
Essay structures: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/heroes-robert-cormier-essay-structures-12973423
A range of ‘An Inspector Calls’ tasks is also available if that is the second text you are studying with your learners in preparation for Unit 2.
King Lear annotated extracts. These worksheets are designed to help GCE English Literature students practise extract analysis/annotation in preparation for analysing a specific extract in the exam. There are differentiated resources per extract depending on pupils’ ability and the learning intention of the lesson. Each extract has a specific question attached to it. The duration of the worksheet will depend on the learning intention of the lesson, but would take approximately 15-25 minutes to annotate and go through as a class as a revision activity.
There are three versions of each sheet:
blank extract and the question for use as an individual assessment
differentiated highlighted version to guide less confident students towards important quotations
highlighted and annotated version as a teacher guide, a good example of annotation to display to pupils/for self-assessment, or a revision handout to give to pupils
There are five annotated extracts, one from each act.
Act 1 - Lear banishes Cordelia
Act 2 - Lear’s knights are taken away from him by Goneril and Regan
Act 3 - Lear facing the storm
Act 4 - Lear reawakens after being rescued by Cordelia
Act 5 - Edgar enters to challenge Edmund to a duel
If you have found these useful, take a look at the revision materials that accompany the text, also available in my shop:
Revision PowerPoint: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13013430
Revision materials: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12969963
Critical Approaches: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12970159
English Anagrams 1-3, includes three different anagrams worksheets and the answer sheets. These worksheets are designed to help KS3 pupils develop their language skills (such as the alphabet) and extend their vocabulary. The anagrams on each worksheet have a common theme and are listed in alphabetical order. Each sheet will take 10-20 minutes to complete, depending on the age/ability of the class.
In these tasks, pupils will unscramble the letters to identify the words. Once they have unscrambled a few, they will be able to identify the common theme. They will also be required to apply their knowledge of the alphabet and elements of language to help them unscramble less familiar words. An answer key for staff is included for all three worksheets.
There is also a bundle available containing English Anagrams 1-6:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12934233
English Anagrams 4-6, includes three different anagrams worksheets and the answer sheets. These worksheets are designed to help KS3 pupils develop their language skills (such as the alphabet) and extend their vocabulary. The anagrams on each worksheet have a common theme and are listed in alphabetical order. Each sheet will take 10-20 minutes to complete, depending on the age/ability of the class.
In these tasks, pupils will unscramble the letters to identify the words. Once they have unscrambled a few, they will be able to identify the common theme. They will also be required to apply their knowledge of the alphabet and elements of language to help them unscramble less familiar words. An answer key for staff is included for all three worksheets.
There is also a bundle available containing English Anagrams 1-6:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12934233
King Lear A-Level Revision Bundle contains four resources to support learners in revising for their exam. This resource is targeted towards WJEC GCE English Literature Unit 4.
It contains:
Revision PowerPoint that focuses on key characters, events, themes, quotes and terminology
A thorough narrative overview and quote pack, organised by character and theme
Five annotated extracts linked to example exam questions (also includes blank and highlighted versions, depending on the needs of the learners)
A pack of quotes from critics to support learners with AO5
The Merchant’s Tale (Chaucer) annotated extracts. These worksheets are designed to help GCE English Literature students practise extract analysis/annotation in preparation for analysing a specific extract in the exam. There are differentiated resources per extract depending on pupils’ ability and the learning intention of the lesson. Each extract has a specific question attached to it. The duration of the worksheet will depend on the learning intention of the lesson, but would take approximately 15-25 minutes to annotate and go through as a class as a revision activity.
There are three versions of each sheet:
blank extract and the question for use as an individual assessment
differentiated highlighted version to guide less confident students towards important quotations
highlighted and annotated version as a teacher guide, a good example of annotation to display to pupils/for self-assessment, or a revision handout to give to pupils
There are five annotated extracts:
33-54: presentation of January
318-341: presentation of marriage
611-638: presentation of January
948-972: presentation of January
1108-1133: presentation of January and May
If you haven’t seen it already, there’s also a free annotated extract available - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13030820
Sport Events Literacy Activities Bundle contains a series of literacy activities for Euro 2024, the Olympics 2024 and the Paralympics 2024.
These editable PowerPoints each contain 20 literacy-based activities. These make perfect starter activities or form time tasks. Slides have a simple colour scheme so that they can be printed at a lower cost if hard copies are needed.
As well as being enjoyable and competitive, these activities will encourage learners to apply their knowledge of the alphabet, vowels, consonants and languages.
Activities include:
placing words into alphabetical order
matching terms to different languages
anagrams
identifying missing vowels/consonants
word grids
creating their own words
World Oceans Day Literacy Activities
This editable PowerPoint contains 20 literacy-based activities for World Oceans Day. These make perfect starter activities or form time tasks. Slides have a simple colour scheme so that they can be printed at a lower cost if hard copies are needed.
As well as being enjoyable and competitive, these activities will encourage learners to apply their knowledge of the alphabet, vowels, consonants and languages.
Activities include:
placing words into alphabetical order
matching terms to different languages
anagrams
identifying missing vowels/consonants
word grids
creating their own words
King Lear A-Level Quote Revision Game
This resource is targeted towards A-Level students in need of key quotes revision. It is a great way to get students revising whilst making it feel like a game.
There are 32 cards included, each containing a quote, act and character. A student will read the quote on their card, and students must identify whether the character on their card said this quote. They must also identify whether the character said it in the act specified on their card.
Full instructions are included in the resource, as are all of the answers on a separate teacher sheet.
There are also suggestions for differentiation, including making the game more or less challenging, as needed.
If you found this resource helpful, you may also like:
King Lear Exemplar Annotated Extracts - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/king-lear-a-level-extract-analysis-13018351
King Lear Revision Bundle - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/king-lear-a-level-revision-bundle-13019013
Halloween Wordsearch | Aimed at KS3/11-14 Year Olds
This Halloween wordsearch contains 36 seasonal words to find. Once they have been found, there are instructions for how to colour-code the remaining spaces to reveal a Halloween-related image.
This resource includes:
the list of words and instructions for the whole activity
the word grid
a completed example of the wordsearch, including the colouring of the image
This worksheet could be used in the following ways:
as a quiet, individual activity during a lesson or form time
as a paired/group activity to include a competitive element
as a ‘reward’ task before the holidays or for completing all other work
You may also be interested in this Halloween literacy activity pack, which contains 10 seasonal tasks: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/halloween-word-games-and-activities-pack-13107470
The Olympics 2024 Literacy Activities
This editable PowerPoint contains 20 literacy-based activities based on the Olympics 2024. These make perfect starter activities or form time tasks. Slides have a simple colour scheme so that they can be printed at a lower cost if hard copies are needed.
As well as being enjoyable and competitive, these activities will encourage learners to apply their knowledge of the alphabet, vowels, consonants and languages.
Activities include:
placing words into alphabetical order
matching terms to different languages
anagrams
identifying missing vowels/consonants
word grids
creating their own words
You can also find a series of literacy activities relating to the Paralympics 2024: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13039163
‘Heroes’ revision activities includes ten different worksheets for learners to complete after reading the novel. Some encourage learners to think critically about the text, whilst others test their recall of key events, characters and quotes. The time taken for each activity will vary, depending upon the level of confidence. Times are likely to vary between 5-20 minutes. Worksheets could be given as individual resources or used to produce a revision booklet for learners. Answer keys are provided for all tasks, where needed.
Activities require:
sequencing of key events
sequencing of key quotes
linking quotes to characters
thinking critically of characters and their personality traits
considering essay structures for the exam (WJEC)
£2.50 for the resource means that each activity costs only 25p!
If you find this resource useful, you may be interested in other Heroes resources available in my shop:
Essay structures - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/heroes-robert-cormier-essay-structures-12973423
Narrative Overview - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/heroes-by-robert-cormier-narrative-overview-12970174