This Powerpoint uses Bernard Levin’s fantastic poem “On Quoting Shakespeare” to illustrate to students the huge influence that Shakespeare had on the English language. The slideshow introduces how many words Shakespeare was responsible for creating; a brief biography of Levin and then the poem split up over 30 slides so that it can be read/performed to the class in a fun way. Students are then asked to explore what some of the idioms that he created mean. The zipped folder includes a worksheet with the idioms split up to be cut up and given to students and a copy of the poem itself.

Students find the spelling rule i before e tricky because there are several exceptions. This sixty slide powerpoint introduces the i before e rule and then students are given time to learn the spellings using a look/cover/spell/check sheet. The powerpoint then gives fifteen sentences with key words missing, which students have to spell correctly. There are a further ten clues to words with ie/ei in them. Finally an additional sheet contains 40 words with letters missing for students to consolidate the learning, either at home or in class. By the end of the lesson, they will be masters of the ie spelling rule!

Learn to spell irregular words ending in -f or -fe that can take -s or -es in a fun way with this powerpoint and worksheet. The rule is explained on the powerpoint and then students are given a look/cover/spell/check worksheet to learn the spellings ready for a test. The powerpoint contains eighteen spellings with graphics for clues, which will help and second language speakers in your class. A further worksheet can be used to consolidate the activity in class or for homework. All answers provided, so students can mark their own work.

Foster a love of reading in your students by using this thirty-two slide powerpoint on the life and career of Jacqueline Wilson to inspire your students to research an author of their own choosing. The project can either be print-based or Powerpoint-based, as in the example, if you have access to ICT resources. There are two accompanying worksheets to support the project with lots of ideas for potential authors and how to structure the project. The project could be done at school or set for homework.

Teach your students to become master writers with this powerpoint on creating multi-clause complex sentences. Students are given the elements of a sentence, which they have to incorporate into a grammatical complex sentence. Ten sentences in total build to create an action-packed adventure story that you write together as a class. In the second activity, students analyse how Robert Louis Stevenson uses this type of sentence to describe Long John Silver. Students are then tasked with writing a description of Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes using the same construction. This should cover two separate lessons.

A twenty question quiz on spelling words ending in “ible” or “able”. Students are given some guidelines and a look/cover/spell/check worksheet to learn the spelling before the quiz. All answers provided on the powerpoint, so students can mark their own work. A consolidation worksheet is included to complete at home or in class.

Students learn how to personify their home town in a poem by studying two examples of poems that personify cities. Twenty-five slide powerpoint, plus worksheets with fill in the blanks exercises.

Spanish is spoken widely around the world and many words have passed into English from this language. Have fun with your class guessing the forty words that have enriched English. The powerpoint first gives a clue and then the first letter of the word is given if needed. All answers are provided on the slides. A back-up worksheet is included to consolidate the learning.

Help your students to become better writers with this Powerpoint which explains how to construct complex sentences with embedded subordinate clauses. Students have several supported opportunities to practise the construction and the second section includes ten supported sentences where students have to come up with the embedded clause about X-Men superheroes. Finally, students create three sentences using the construction independently.

Teach your EFL/ESOL students over twenty different nationalities with this twenty-four slide Powerpoint. The first activity is to guess the nationality from the nation. The second is a sentence gap-filling exercise to embed the nationalities your students have just learnt. Using their research skills, students find the next 16 nationalities. A final worksheet embeds all the nationalities learnt. A full lesson on nationalities.

A 350 word ghost story callled “The Lighthouse” is animated on Powerpoint. The teacher reads the ghost story to the class to create a spooky atmosphere. Then students discuss how the writer creates irony and the supernatural atmophere. Finally, in pairs or groups, students write their own ghost story of no more than 350 words. A slide gives ideas for five different ghost stories. Teach your students the power of stories this Halloween or at any time with this perfectly structure, succinct story. A Word copy of the story is also included in the folder.

Simple literacy activities on spelling and sentence structure are contained in this twenty page booklet on the theme of animals. Short poems by Benjamin Zephaniah and Gyles Brandreth and information about electric eels keep students interested with scope for their own research and writing about an animal of their choice. Aimed at students who need to catch up at secondary school or primary school students.

Get your students ready for Halloween with this article packed full of interesting facts about the origin and history of Halloween. Eight comprehension questions follow, mainly based on select and retrieve questions, with mark scheme included. Finally there is a task to design a leaflet for younger students promoting Halloween. Created to engage students with British history and culture, this resource would also be ideal for EAL learners also.

Did you know that sixty percent of English words are derived from Latin and Greek? This Powerpoint contains a range of clues to words in English which are derived from Latin and Greek quantities. Designed so that students can have fun working in groups, all answers are provided. There are twelve roots in total with between two to five clues to words per root, so it will definitely keep your students engaged. Beginning with a short explanation of how Latin and Greek came to be such an influence on English, this activity went down a storm when trialled with year 7 students. Cross-curricular links to both maths and science.

Starter activity on the homophones allowed and aloud. Afer the explanation, students fill in the correct word in ten sentences, followed by answers, so students mark their own work.

Students learn to spell irregular plurals that end in -es with this sixty slide powerpoint. Students decide whether the twenty-five words presented on separate slides end in -s or -es. Cartoon graphics are used as extra clues and to help English as a second language speakers. A further consolidation worksheet is included to embed the learning, which students can fill in at the end of the activity or at home. A fun way to learn irregular plurals.

Do you add -s or -es to the end of words ending in o in the plural? Students are introduced to the spelling rule, then given a worksheet to help them learn the spellings. The powerpoint gives a clue and a graphic and the students have to spell eighteen words ending in o. The graphics will help students for whom English is a second language. All answers provided.

As a follow on from Nouns (Common, proper, abstract), this twenty slide powerpoint teaches students to extend their vocabularies with a range of exercises and quizzes on collective nouns, all with answers provided. The lesson then covers compound nouns, modifying nouns, countable nouns and uncountable nouns. A final cloze exercise summarises the learning. This could be two thirty minute lessons.

This lesson explains simple sentences and then shows students how to identify the main clause and subordinate clause in complex sentences. Students extend some given sentence starters into complex sentences. Then they use the information about Lake Como in Italy to create a piece of exciting and sophisticated travel writing.

Using Levi Tafari’s poem “Caribbean Christmas”, students read the poem as a class, then take a verse each to practice and perform. Finally students write their own poem about what Christmas is like in the region where they live. Tafari’s poem is great fun as it includes several “Call and response” verses that students love interacting with. Festive fun for all the class with a multi-cultural element. Don’t be all bah humbug this Christmas. Have some fun with your students! Folder includes powerpoint and hard copy of poem.