A lesson plan and a few resources for a pre-exam revision lesson which also teaches essay skills. Helps students think about what's worth including in an essay and build analysis skills. You can cut up the essay in an envelope sheet so it's more kinaesthetic but you could just use as is.

Powerpoint contains some contextual overview and objectives, geared to OCR AS spec, prose for exam... but could be adapted to suit other specs. Explains the pre-reading activity and includes discussion of ways of reading. Extracts for students to apply their knowledge to. Can be done if they've read the novel but would work equally well as a pre-reading activity.

Range of stuff- probably more useful for the teacher in the first instance- on The Taming of the Shrew. Taught as comparative text with The Importance of Being Earnest with a focus on gender.

I love, love Ted Hughes and finally, I got to teach 'Birthday Letters' as a coursework text this year. . . very little in the way of teaching resources exists so I've created some. Here's an introductory powerpoint on Hughes and a very comprehensive guide to 'Birthday Letters' - absolutely indebted to Erica Wagner's brilliant book on BL, 'Ariel's Gift...' as well as other miscellaneous activities. I've got to say, I've never taught something that the students have truly LOVED so much. Give it a go...

A lesson plan and resources for a persuasive writing revision lesson - year 10 or 11. Includes fun starter activity and could be developed as to include writing a longer piece. Lots of fun and can be adapted to suit different abilities. The support sheet includes writing prompts. Taught this several times, also with a year 9 high ability. works a treat.

I used this with Year 7 but could be used/adapted with year 8 or 9 too dependent on ability. Students consider what writing 'from life&' is, then do a short reading activity on the extract from &';Cider with Rosie'. Then they use this an inspiration for their own creative writing - a short talking activity included to prompt discussion and ideas, plus some writing in class and reflection. Works well - could be a stand alone or padded out to form a couple of lessons.

A glossary of poetic devices suitable for advanced poetry study e.g. dactyl, pararhyme, diegesis etc. Can be simply given to students or used as a base for making a starter activity e.g. dominoes, bingo, match etc

Understand the ways in which texts target particular individuals or organisations Identify the ways writers use language to try and influence readers you know the routine

A powerpoint that allows you introduce narrative in a critical yet accessible way. Filched from OCR critical anthology, David Lodge, Montgomery et al (who's Al? classic student comment). We then applied some of these ideas to McEwan's 'Enduring Love', but could be used with any prose text where narrative is a significant feature! The final slide contains an extract based activity with leading questions. Think critically, kids!

A scheme of work designed for the OCR AS spec- although 'Wuthering Heights' is off as an exam text from sept 2011, the scheme itself could be adapted for other stuff. There are also resources here that could help!

Focusing on chapters 7 and 8, powerpoint talks through lesson. Focus in gap between Jem and Scout's understanding, but has a focus on narrative perspective/theory in order to challenge the more able.

All these resources build to writing an essay: 'How are Beatrice, Benedick, Claudio and Hero presented to the audience in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, up to Act 2, Scene 1?'. We looked at Elizabethan expectations of gender first, and how characters conform/rebel..then onto analysis. The powerpoint is an activity to get them thinking about individual word choice/close analysis (can print off and turn into a worksheet). The other stuff is to do with planning essay/ gathering ideas etc. There&'s also a scaffolded essay here for weaker students.

I created this activity to be used about halfway through studying 'Best Words' (the now defunct AQA anthology)... however, could be easily adapted and used half way through any study of contemporary or literary heritage poems. The students have to 'answer back' to a poem of their choice in the anthology, showing their understanding of language, style and thematic ideas. The powerpoint/lesson plan explains a lot - and the chart is designed to help students gather ideas. Works really well and usually creates some FANTASTIC poems from the students you wouldn't typically expect.

This resource contains a lesson presentation with the objective: Understand how texts present a viewpoint or attitude about their subject . It is useful for exam prep for an unseen text perhaps or introduction to students writing their own analytical piece. Also contains a fun bingo starter and AA Gill text… enjoy

Encourages students to critically engage with ways of reading 'The Handmaid's Tale' as well as re-familiarising them with general critical positions. It also contains my 'coathanger' method which helps them to use critics' quotes PURPOSEFULLY! Works really well with visual learners who often use the 'coathanger' diagram to plan whole essays. Any questions, please ask.

A fun and engaging lesson to hone descriptive writing skills - I used for year 7 revision but could be adapted to suit other year groups. Works really well and has produced some fab writing.

Two activities linked to Chapter 10 of Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. One is a matching activity for cause and effect. The other is a workbook which breaks down chapter 10 into more manageable chunks. Students could do the whole thing with whole class/teacher-led, or you could split them off into groups and manage feedback...

Hopefully self explanatory: Powerpoint contains overview of William Blake, including quotations for discussion and a focus on his illustrations. Two creative tasks linked to 'Auguries of Innocence' - illustrating a stanza in style of Blake, then writing their own in order to create a modern-day 'Auguries of Innocence'. Second task is on London - comprehension questions to guide reading, then a scaffolded version of the poem for students to adapt to create their own London 2012 poem (or any place they live I suppose!).

Four creative writing activities including prose and poetry - suitable for year 7 and up if dealt with correctly. fun and a bit different - tried and tested in my creative writing groups from year 7 to 13. Perfect for homeschooling.

The teacher document explains how the students should go about this... Developed from a marketing/branding ideas, it gets students (I used it at beginning of GCSE/Y10, although could be used at other significant points!), to consider worries/fears/set targets etc. I used this for the first time this year, and have revisited throughout the year - good results. Let me know what you think.