This engaging and interesting lesson aims to improve students’ knowledge of the main themes (Dreams and Loneliness) in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. It also aims to build their skills in retrieving information from texts, understanding the writer’s ideas and opinions, and making precise and confident interpretations about texts. 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 and loneliness are, and how we each experience them; - Defining themes and understanding how writers use them; - Understanding how and why themes are used in other famous texts; - Retrieving evidence from the text to demonstrate where the characters experience dreams and loneliness; - Analysing how the themes are used to help get across John Steinbeck’s ideas about 1930s America; - Evaluating each others’ analytical attempts. The resource includes a comprehensive and visually engaging PowerPoint presentation, a worksheet for recording the retrieved quotations, a helpful template for the main task, and a lesson plan/ teacher guidance sheet. 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 enables students to make clear and precise interpretations regarding Shakespeare’s use of dramatic devices in The Merchant of Venice. In particular, students read and understand several extracts from the play, before identifying and then analysing the effect of the dramatic devices that Shakespeare employs throughout. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Defining and exemplifying a variety of dramatic techniques; Reading and comprehending a number of key events from the play, identifying the dramatic devices utilised; Analysing Shakespeare’s use of dramatic devices through considering context and the effect on the audience; Creating their own dramatic device-filled playscripts, and evaluating their partner’s attempts; Self assessing their learning through the lesson; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Dramatic devices cards for the card-sorting activity; Analysis worksheets - different degrees of difficulty (asides, dramatic irony, dramatic tension & soliloquy); A model example of a completed analysis worksheet; Comprehensive lesson plan. Resources are provided in PDF (to maintain formatting), Word (so that they are easily editable) and also in zipfiles. The lesson contains opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make clear and precise interpretations regarding the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. In particular, students read and understand Act one scene one of the play, interpreting how Antonio and Bassanio’s relationship is introduced, before tracking how their friendship develops over the course of the play. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Considering the key components of strong friendships; Reading Act One Scene One and comprehending how Antonio and Bassanio’s friendship is introduced; Tracking how their friendship develops over the play, using apt textual evidence; Considering multiple interpretations of Antonio and Bassanio’s relationship; Applying their understanding of Antonio and Bassanio’s relationship to create an original composition; Self assessing their learning attempts; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Antonio and Bassanio development worksheet; Extract - Act One Scene One Character profile template Comprehensive lesson plan. Resources are provided in PDF (to maintain formatting), Word (so that they are easily editable) and also in zipfiles. The lesson contains opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make clear, detailed and well-informed interpretations of Shylock from The Merchant of Venice. In particular, students develop their contextual understanding of how Jews were perceived in Shakespeare’s time, make precise interpretations about his character using evidence from the play and link their findings to their understanding of social and historical context. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Knowledge harvesting their understanding of the Judaism and the treatment of Jews throughout history; Researching and sharing how Jews were perceived in Shakespeare’s era; Reading selected quotations from the play and interpreting what these reveal about Shylock’s character; Plotting Shylock’s development over the course of the play; Linking their knowledge of Shylock’s character to their understanding of historical context; Understanding Shakespeare’s intentions/messages in presenting Shylock in the manner that he did; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Shylock character development graph; Jigsaw pieces for the group jigsaw activity; Essay template Comprehensive 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 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 8 and year 13 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

These creative writing structure strips are designed to help children with formulating their own informal letters. They are tried and tested in the classroom - they are loved by teachers and students, and have helped to enable some incredible compositions! Each strip contains key information about how to construct the content of the letter, alongside differentiated language targets that should run throughout. These structure strips were initially designed for KS2/KS3 children. Provided in both PDF (to prevent formatting issues between computers) and Word (to allow for easy editing). Each A4 page contains 4 structure strips. Hope that they prove useful for you too. Please also take a look at the full ‘Informal Letter Writing’ lesson, which a range of interesting activities and explanations to aid the children in creating imaginative and appropriate informal letters for audience and purpose -thank you!

Based on the popular game show ‘Pointless’, this resource is perfect for use as a whole lesson resource, enrichment option, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. (I’ve also added a blank template so that you can make your own games from scratch). Containing almost 30 slides of sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build or revisit knowledge of characters, plot, and themes in ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Round 1. The characters in Romeo and Juliet Round 2. Quotations from the play Round 3. Settings, themes, and objects Round 4. Who appears in Act 1 Scene 1? The nature of this game ensures that the resource can challenge students of all levels.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Louis Sachar's 'Holes.' It contains comprehensive sections on: - Context; - Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); - Main Characters; - Themes; - Sachar's Language Devices; - The Sub-Plot of Kissin' Kate Barlow. 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 interesting and highly-stimulating lesson enables students to make important inferences and interpretations regarding ‘the beast’ that is referred to by the boys on the island throughout William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies. In particular, students form opinions of what the beast may represent, based upon key evidence throughout the text. 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: - Establish, sketch, evidence, and share their initial interpretations of the beast; - Collaborate with others to form rational and substantiated opinions; - Read and understand Chapters Six and Seven of the play, with a particular focus upon how Golding utilises the beast to depict other concepts and notions; - Analyse key quotations which refer to the beast in relation to each of the characters; - Give appropriate and sustained interpretations and inferences regarding altering views towards Golding’s use of the beast; -Peer assess each other’s learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - Detailed worksheet; - A scaffolded essay template; - Links to the extracts of the text needed for the lesson (Chapters Six and Seven in this case); - 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 resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Louis Sachar’s ‘Holes.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the upper KS2 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework. Children love learning from these resources, whilst they are also of great use to teachers, as 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: - ‘An Interview with Stanley Yelnats’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ - ‘Sachar’s Description’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Explain meanings of words that they know and ask the meaning of new words. Link the meaning of new words to words that they already know;’ - ‘Yellow-Spotted Lizards!’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;’ - ‘Figurative Language in Holes’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, to create an impact on the reader.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is 21 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 engaging and informative lesson enables students to understand the character of the Warden from Louis Sachar’s ‘Holes’, making insightful comments about her character based upon her actions, and backing these ideas up with reference to evidence from the text. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Reading and understanding the selected extracts to determine the key traits of The Warden’s character at different points in the text; - Noticing trends in Warden’s character throughout the text, observing how she develops from her introduction in the text to later on in the story; - Analysing Sachar’s use of language and description in describing the Warden; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; - Creating their own villainous Warden, using an engaging template. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Selected extract- Chapter 14; - Development of The Warden worksheet (Word and PDF) - Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses; - Create your own villain template - Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, 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 interesting and highly-stimulating lesson enables students to gain a clear understanding of the language choices utilised by William Golding’s throughout Chapters 4 and 5 of Lord of the Flies, with particular reference to the advanced figurative language employed in the descriptive sections of the text. Students also learn to analyse the effects of key language choices, with reference to Golding’s key intentions throughout the novel. 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, identify, and exemplify different types of language devices; - Explain the effects of different language devices on meanings and different audiences; - Read and understand Chapters Four and Five of the play, with a particular focus upon how Golding utilises language devices to demonstrate the changing feelings and mindsets of the boys on the island; - Analyse key quotations which utilise effective descriptive devices; - Analyse the effectiveness of Golding’s language devices; -Peer assess each other’s learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - Detailed worksheets, with answer sheets where necessary; - Links to the extracts of the text needed for the lesson (Chapters Four and Five in this case); - Card sort cards; - 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 detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies.' It contains comprehensive sections on: - Context; - Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); - Main Characters; - Themes; - Golding's Language Devices; - Features of Form. 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 engaging and informative lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of the context of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Some of the primary areas of the historical context that are explored are William Shakespeare himself, life at the end of the Elizabethan era, and the life and times of Julius Caesar (and the parallels between the Roman and Elizabethan periods). Through the comprehensive slideshow, learners are guided on the following learning journey: Understanding who William Shakespeare was, and remembering key details about his life; Identifying words and phrases that he coined that are still in use today; Understanding the events and prevailing ideas in existence at the end of Elizabeth I’s reign; Taking part in a quiz about the some of the basic key events and ideas of the time; Researching the key events of Julius Caesar’s life (particularly the parts pertinent to the play, e.g. his assassination, his acquaintances, etc.); Utilising speaking and listening skills in order to communicate gathered knowledge, and obtain knowledge from others. Evaluating the learning in the lesson. The lesson includes a colourful and detailed PowerPoint presentation, and the well-structured research template - 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 engaging and informative lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of the portrayal of women in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The lesson places a particular focus upon the perceived role and characteristics of women in the late 1700s, and compares this to the manner in which they are presented in the text. By the end of the lesson, students demonstrate an ability to argue whether they think Shelley’s portrayal of women challenges or recycles existing ideas of women living at the time. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Understanding the social and historical context of life for women in the late 1700s;’ - Making links between contextual understanding and what is noted from the text; - Reading and understanding key extracts from chapters 8, 22, and 23 - extracts that provide exposure to the female characters in the text; - Inferring, and interpreting the key events of the extracts, and considering the impression that is given of women by Shelley; - Arguing whether they feel that Shelley recycles or challenges the role of women at the time, using a purpose-made essay template; - 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); - Inferring and interpreting worksheet (and a teacher answer sheet); - Extracts from Chapters 8, 22, and 23; - The role of women worksheet; - 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.