This interesting and highly stimulating lesson enables students to demonstrate a developed and sustained understanding of the effect of figurative language in popular music texts. In particular, students learn to explore the meanings behind similes and metaphors across songs from a range of genres, considering the effect upon the whole text and the intended audience. As one would expect, Students love learning about similes and metaphors through popular music, and this lesson can really help to open students’ eyes to how language can be crafted for effect. This has numerous benefits in later poetry and descriptive writing lessons. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards differentiated learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: - Define and identify similes and metaphors; - Explain the similarities and differences between songs and poetry; - Observe and listen to several examples of similes and metaphors in popular music examples; - Understand and analyse the effect of similes and metaphors upon meanings and the reader; - Apply their knowledge of why similes and metaphors are used to a range of contexts and musical genres; - Collaborate and present their key findings about similes and metaphors in songs to their classmates; - Self-assess their learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - Link to an online compilation video of similes and metaphors in popular music; - 3 x lyrics analysis worksheets of varying difficulties (Katy Perry, Train, and Florence and the Machine - all clean) - A detailed lesson plan, complete with what the teacher and students should aim to achieve at each stage of the lesson. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of a non-fiction information text about tsunamis. The resource pack includes the extract and all of the activities for the session, which the class are guided through via a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation. This is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The session is best suited for children in years 4-6, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This engaging and informative lesson helps students to understand and analyse how the character of Steve Leonard is introduced and developed throughout Darren Shan’s ‘Cirque Du Freak.’ In addition to considering how Shan uses foreshadowing in his introduction, students plot how Steve’s character develops as the events of the plot take place. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Reading and comprehending the opening chapters, understanding how Steve’s character is initially presented to the reader; - Defining the key term ‘foreshadowing’, and considering how this technique has been used by Shan in his introduction of Steve; - Tracking the changes in Steve’s character throughout the text; - Analysing the characterisation of Steve throughout the text, utilising textual evidence to back up ideas; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Extracts from ‘Cirque Du Freak’ - Chapters 1-2; - Analysing Steve’s Character Essay Template; - Character Development Graph Template; - Detailed Lesson Plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 7 and 8 classes, however colleagues have used them for between years 4 and 9 with minimal adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of S.E. Hinton’s ‘The Outsiders.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS3 expectations within the National Curriculum framework. Children have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Hinton’s Description’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Know how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, present meaning.’ ‘Darry Curtis and Cherry Valance Character Profiles’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Study setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these.’ ‘Context: 1960s American Popular Culture’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Know the purpose, audience and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension.’ ‘Vocabulary Inspector’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Learn new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is 23 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Stephen Kelman’s ‘Pigeon English.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in exam revision, comprehension tasks, or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the KS4 expectations within the National Curriculum framework - this makes the tasks suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that students gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: 'Context: Modern Britain - to aid students with ‘Drawing on knowledge of the purpose, audience and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation;’ ‘Kelman’s Description’ - to aid students with ‘Analysing a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact;’ ‘X-Fire’ and ‘Lydia’ Profiles - to aid students with ‘Seeking evidence in the text to support a point of view, including justifying inferences with evidence;’ ‘Editing the Text’ - to aid students with ‘Making an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is around 30 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills whilst developing their understanding of kennings poems. The pack includes 4 original kennings poems (about the Moon, rivers, rocks and the internet). Please note that these kennings employ the correct meaning of a ‘compound (often figurative) in place of a more concrete single-word noun’ - therefore not necessarily two words per line. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s VIPERS skills: vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval, sequencing and summarising. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The extract needed is provided in both PDF and Word format. The session is best suited for children across KS2, I have previously used the resources with years 3, 4, and 5.

This engaging and interesting lesson aims to improve students’ knowledge of the social, historical, and cultural context of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. It also aims to build their skills in creating clear and specific links between the text and it’s context, focusing on a specific extract from the novel. The lesson uses a range of tasks, that require students to use their visual and interactive skills. It follows this learning journey: - Understanding what dreams are and how they differ for each of us; - Defining the American Dream, The Wall Street Crash and The Great Depression; - Creating a timeline which visually depicts the other influential events of the time; - Reading and reflecting on an extract from the text; - Analysing the links between texts and contexts, from a success criteria; - Evaluating each others’ analytical attempts. All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation. You can choose to buy this resource alone, or as part of the ‘Of Mice and Men - All Lessons and Scheme’ bundle, which contains seven full lessons, resources, teachers notes, and PowerPoint presentations, plus a Pointless Of Mice and Men game, for just £5!

This engaging and informative lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of Act 3 Scene 2 of William Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar.’ This is the scene in which Mark Antony gives his speech against the conspirators responsible for Caesar’s assassination. Through the comprehensive slideshow, learners are guided on the following learning journey: -Researching and understanding the historical context of Mark Antony’s life; -Reading and comprehending Act 3 Scene 2, and answering a range of comprehension questions to check their understanding; -Participating in discussions about how persuasive devices are used to convince the people of Rome to turn against the conspirators; -Identifying and analysing the persuasive devices used by Shakespeare for effect, including rhetorical questions, repetition, lists of three, etc. -Demonstrating their understanding of the scene through a recall quiz. The lesson includes a colourful and detailed PowerPoint presentation, a research template for introductory task, and a copy of the necessary extract from the play - all provided in both Word (to allow editing) and PDF (to protect formatting) versions. All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation.

This lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of plot and characterisation in Mary Shelley’s gothic horror novel ‘Frankenstein,’ through critical engagement with the monster’s justification for murder. The lesson places a particular focus upon the hardship and suffering experienced by the monster, in addition to the discrimination and loneliness that he experiences. The lesson concludes with students completing a highly-informed argumentative piece, detailing whether they feel the monster was justified or not. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Recalling and understanding who, when, and why the monster kills individuals throughout the text; - Reading and understanding key extracts from the text, which include third-person narration from the monster discussing his actions; - Comprehending the key elements of plot development and character, through interpreting and inferring the key meanings in extracts; - Listing opposite sides of an argument in regarding the monster’s justification, in order to build a stronger case; - Using the features of writing to argue in order to contend whether the monster was justified in his actions or not; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and substantial; (including an animated Frankenstein’s monster to guide them through the lesson); - Comprehension worksheet (and a teacher answer sheet); - Extracts from Chapters 16 and 24; - Card-sorting resources for the introduction task; - Writing to Argue Help-sheet; - Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses; - Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. This was originally taught to middle-ability year 9/10 groups, but can easily be differentiated for groups of different ages and abilities. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of William Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in exam revision, comprehension tasks, or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the KS4 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework - this makes the tasks suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the play ensuring that students gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Context: Shakespearean Times’ - to aid students with ‘Drawing on knowledge of the purpose, audience and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation;’ ‘Shakespeare’s Description’ - to aid students with ‘Analysing a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact;’ ‘Prospero’ and ‘Miranda’ character profiles- to aid students with ‘Seeking evidence in the text to support a point of view, including justifying inferences with evidence;’ ‘Editing the Play’ - to aid students with ‘Making an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is around 30 pages in length!) I’ve also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Caleb Femi’s poem ‘Thirteen.’ Teachers have found the activities particularly useful throughout teaching, or for exam revision or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the key English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. It is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Suzanne Collins' 'The Hunger Games.' Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS3 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework. Children have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: - 'Links to the Historical Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur' - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Know the purpose, audience and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension.' - 'Collins' Description' - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Know how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, present meaning.' - 'President Snow' and 'Peeta Mellark' - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Study setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these.' - 'Vocabulary Inspector' - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Learn new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries.' Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is over 20 pages in length!) I've also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for teachers, parents and Year 4 children covering the National Curriculum expectations for vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation. It contains comprehensive sections on: -Overview of Year 4 Expectations; -Punctuation: direct speech, apostrophes for plural possession, commas after fronted adverbials; -Grammar & Vocabulary: Word Level: plural and possessive -s, Standard English verb inflections; -Sentence Level: fronted adverbials, modified noun phrases; -Text Level: using paragraphs, using a variety of nouns and pronouns; -Key Terminology. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for teachers, parents and Year 3 children covering the National Curriculum expectations for vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation. It contains comprehensive sections on: -Overview of Year 3 Expectations; -Punctuation: direct speech, including inverted commas and other rules. -Grammar & Vocabulary: Word Level: prefixes, understanding word families, and the use of the articles ‘a’ or ‘an’; -Sentence Level: using conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions to show time, place and effect; -Text Level: using paragraphs, headings and sub-headings, and writing in the perfect present tense; -Key Terminology. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Thomas Hardy’s love/relationships poem 'Neutral Tones.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Line-by-Line Analysis; Poetic Devices/ Language Devices; Themes; Form/Structure; Poems for Comparison; The Poet’s Influences. Key words and ideas are underlined for easy reference. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Sylvia Plath’s poem ‘Morning Song.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful throughout teaching, or for exam revision or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the key English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. It is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’