This lesson aims to provide an introduction to homophones, common examples and their uses in sentences and spelling tips. Lesson aim and objectives: Aim: To introduce students to homophones and how to use them in context. Objectives: Define what a homophone is. List examples of common homophones and write own sentences. Correct sentences using homophones. Initially I like to ask students if any body has any prior knowledge of homophones, before showing the definitions on the first slide of the presentation. Discussion about how homophones can change the meanings of sentences, using comedic illustrations. Some common mistakes that may be familiar with students; their there they’re, too two to, where were we’re. Dependant on ability level it could be useful to ask students to correctly use each of the nine homophones by writing sentences, however some groups may not need this practise. Shows the correct use of each. Short quiz using images of common homophone pairs, example: Board and bored. The images make the quiz more fun. Students can complete this individually, in pairs or as a group activity. Answers displayed on slide. Some tips for helping students remember homophone pairs and the correct usage. A second, more difficult quiz again using images, which works well if students work together in pairs. Dependant on ability you may need to provide clues or allow students to use dictionaries. Worksheet where students chose the correct homophones to use in a sentence. Again, dictionaries may be useful. Or the attached ‘homophone bank’ which has the definitions of each homophone pair can be used as a ‘help sheet’. The aim of the homophone bank is that students can add new homophone pairs to it as the come across them.

This lesson and accompanying resources act as a good introduction to English spelling. The PowerPoint goes through what to expect from the lesson, I followed the structure below: 1. How do you feel about spelling? I usually make notes on the blank PowerPoint page the different connotations 'spelling' has for students 2. Common spelling myths- students given a list of common spelling myths as discussion points, students asked if they think the provided statements are true or false. This usually sparks a good discussion with my groups. The PowerPoint slides which follow show which statements are true/false and also gives an in-depth explanation of each. 3. The PowerPoint contains a 10 minute video about the history of the English language (produced by The Open University- available on YouTube) with an accompanying booklet I have designed myself. 4. The booklet guides learners through the different stages of the development of the English language and the different international influences. There are dictionary activities and sentence writing activities throughout. 5. The final activity is a sorting activity where students sort the different words into the correct categories of Viking origin, French origin, Anglo Saxon and Arabic origin.

This is the second lesson I deliver on ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ allowing learners to have further practice and further consolidate their knowledge on the topic. The presentation also acts as a lesson plan and can be followed throughout the whole session. Included files: Presentation: begins with lesson warm up- verb alphabet, count nouns and uncount nouns in more detail, article rules with count/uncount, practice activity/gap fill, revisiting the infographic from previous class, measuring words/quantifiers, introduction to different types of nouns with noun sorting activity and final writing task Inserting measuring words activity- separate handout Articles and measuring words writing activity Article assessment with multiple choice quiz and writing activity- can be used to check understanding of the topic

A presentation with direct teaching of the first 9 language features, these are the 9 features needed for Level 1 (as specified by Pearson Edexcel literature) so this can be adapted to suit a L1 class. They also make up the first 9 that L2 students need, a second presentation is available with the remaining language features needed at L2. I usually use this as the first week on this topic. (Second L2 session also available) Each one is explained in detail and leaves room for discussion, there are examples throughout, recap questions, a link to a word wall revision quiz and a final task for consolidation.

This lesson is aimed at second language learners taking L1 and L2 functional skills English qualifications. The presentation also acts as a lesson plan and can be followed in stages, my lessons are approximately 2 hours long so this could be spread over 2 shorter sessions if needed. All activities mentioned, which have separate sheets are included. Presentation- starts with an introduction to articles in English and goes through different rules, activities, opportunities to use the skills discussed etc Funny news story without any articles, learners encouraged to read it aloud to see how strange it sounds, before working on where the articles need to be inserted A more serious news article without articles, learners encouraged to use the infographic/flowchart included on the presentation to help them answer Brief introduction to count and uncountable nouns, with a noun sorting activity (I normally go into types of nouns in more detail in the following session, also providing further practice with articles and more consolidation- I will also upload this second session)

Four worksheets with different topics for students to write their personal views and opinions on. These are great as a warm up to get students thinking and to start a class debate or discussion. (The topics chosen can be sensitive) 1. Knife crime in schools- should mandatory knife-related first aid be taught in schools? 2. Life skills in schools- are life skills such as cooking, budgeting, laundry etc. more important than maths equations and English grammar? 3. Social media? Is social media ruining our lives and our personal relationships? 4. Dogs and their owners- should dog owners be prosecuted when their dog attacks another person?