Part of the SPaG starter series, these two starters consist of an instruction slide, a handout for differentiation and an answer slide. The idea is to keep drip-feeding SPaG reminders by way of starters that are self mark. Here the focus is on prepositions and plurals. In each case as an extension activity students try to formulate a rule which is given with the answers.

‘Practise makes perfect’ is the idea behind this resource: I believe in the ‘drip-feed’ approach because it is important to keep doing something until it becomes second nature. These starters cover all types of reading: poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, modern and 19th century. Essentially students should pick out what they see as key features to write about - you can decide whether their annotations should be formulated into paragraphs as a plenary or homework. The two opening slides on the PP bear repeating a few times to remind students what to do and get a strategy to become second nature. Each quote slide is followed by a ‘possible ideas’ answer slide and supported by a handout of the quote which can be annotated, either as differentiation for slow writers, or generally to speed the process. If speed and cost is an issue, the task can be done as a ‘whole class’ exercise, especially if you have an IWB or a way of annotating the projected text.

Using AQA's 'Love through the Ages' poetry anthology, these resources aim to distinguish as far as one can, between Metaphysical poetry and Cavalier poetry, but also to show how blurred the line between them sometimes is: this is the focus of the first Power Point . The quiz quotes lines of poetry and asks students to decide whether the extract represents Cavalier or Metaphysical poetry to enable them to discuss how to recognise each school. Focus turns to 'The Scrutiny' in the work sheet and then there's a revision sheet that focuses on the AOs to ensure that they are met.

Rather than a series of lessons, this is a 'drop-feed' of tasks to improve older students' writing. The first step is to make them aware of how important accurate expression is. Great ideas are corroded by error-filled writing. The proof reading Power Point looks at two samples of students' writing that need to be improved - on the Word document these are written out to facilitate this process. In each case the next slide presents the corrected sample,so that students can peer mark or check their own. Each sample could be done in a different lesson: I'd recommend that for classes that are easily board by focused work. Likewise the two starters can be spread out. They focus on spelling, particularly the difference between sound and spelling, helping students notice pitfalls like ite/ight/ee/ea as well as the 'c' that sounds like 's'. Awareness leads to focus and on to improvement. That's the aim!

Pollination: Useful for revision with a weaker class, but a great way to challenge a more able one. Students look at photographs of pollinators at work – really look – and try to consider the implications of what they are seeing. This can be done in teams or individually. 4 slides show insect, bird and wind pollination and one has a quote from Darwin as an extra challenge. Then the same pollinators are shown with commentary and some extra information designed to provoke discussion and spark interest. This gives the opportunity for the class to discuss the implications of what they notice. [If this is done as a cover lesson, the non-specialist teacher could draw up a list of questions generated by students to put to the teacher for next lesson]. The lesson ends with a 2 question test as a plenary to sum up what has been learned. To accommodate differentiation there are the extra challenges and additional information for more able students, as well as a fill in grid with some given information for the less able or slow writers. The stunning photos in the Power Point are presented in Word for printing off as A4 or A3 posters for display.

Here’s a starter pack for a successful year ahead. The PP can be adapted to suit, but sets out expectations for the year. Share your class rules with an easily remembered graphic: the hand. Comes with a script and 1st lesson ideas. To fight ignorance, instigate a ‘quote of the month’ that students copy and then explain – whether verbally or written is up to you. Not only does this make them think a bit, model crafted sentences and inspire, but they get to ‘vaguely recognise’ names they should become familiar with. There are two sets of quotes to use on alternate years so that if you teach the same students again you don’t repeat quotes. Finally, for that desperate moment when you need to buy a bit of time, or as a treat after hard work, a ‘word walk’ PP to get them thinking about vocabulary and spelling. Just add a 'word of the week' found by students and your battle against ignorance can begin.

We all know it is no revision at all to tell students to write loads of past papers in timed conditions – only a few would do it. These tasks lend themselves specifically to the revision of essay questions of any topic or content subject [R.E., Biology; English; History; Geography...] and all you have to do by way of preparation is apply the tasks to the specifics of your subject, particularly your exam board and provide some guidance as to where students can find information, whether that’s in the text book, online or reference books. Your exam board’s website should be able to provide you with sample questions, mark schemes and sample answers. Before using these tasks you will need to prepare the material, but chances are you’ll have it to hand anyway as it is what you’d be revising: this resource helps you approach it in a different way and gets the students actively involved in their revision. On the task prompt sheet is a ‘You will need’ list to help you prepare. Slide one has 6 images – choose any icon to click on in a way that engages the class [throw a di, ask a question, choose a quiet student to make the choice]. A hyperlink will take you straight to the relevant slide, where the tasks will come up in steps on your click [adapt the wording of these to suit your specifics if you wish]. At the end of the lesson ‘end show’ to get back to slide 1 for the next lesson. Each task is explained in your ‘recipe for success’ word document and alternatives or ways to differentiate suggested. The central idea is to get students helping each other while you facilitate only when required. And I’ve added a bonus task in recognition of the price rise – you should get at least 8 lessons out of this pack – Enjoy!

This cluster of resources is rooted in two approaches to teaching: A] Flipped Learning – the students first go and find out about their topic. Your task is to bring all the threads together for them in a plenary lesson AND B] ‘Jigsaw’ – where students find out a piece of the whole then share information to get the complete picture. Allow several lessons and a homework session for this task as it involves research and feedback. The PP presents a useful way of introducing the poems, still keeping to the independent approach and providing a lead in to the tasks. On the Word docs are AO cards with links to guide students' search for information. To finish off, give students an idea of your exam board’s requirements for the poetry question, give them a mark scheme and ask them to write a model answer to a typical question using all the information they’ve gathered in their own research and from their classmates. Print out the planning sheet [assessment] on A3 so that students can plan to cover all the AOs in a trial question for each poem.

The first Power Point gives contextual information about the Great Exhibition and a visual impression of the Crystal Palace. The handout consists of two 19th century non-fiction articles: an extract from a letter writer by Charlotte Brontë to her father about her visit to the exhibition and then extracts from Queen Victoria’s diary about her visits. There are simple questions on each passage reflecting the type of question that may be asked at GCSE: retrieval and inference. Then there are questions comparing the texts. Once students have answered the questions, they can self- or peer assess work as the answers are on a Power Point slide that can guide feedback. These extracts can also be used in conjunction with ‘The Diamond Necklace’ by Guy de Maupassant. For a modern writer’s version of the Great Exhibition, you could read Queenie’s description of her visit in Andrea Levey’s Small Island.

Shakespeare Day this year has the added thrill of marking 400 years since the Bard’s death [or 452 since his birth!]. To help you mark the anniversary, here’s a ‘Where’s Will?’ competition with quotes, student fill in sheets and an answer sheet. Set up the competition school wide, departmentally or as a class activity to get students reading quotes and finding where the action is set. The competition is really easy – its merit is exposure – participants have to find the posters, read a quote and be alert to where the action is set. At the very least they’ll have heard of a few more plays. This activity is easy enough for upper primary pupils. That’s just one activity. On the quotes PP you have a template you can send to students and colleagues on which they can write their favourite Shakespeare quotes [even if it is from the play they are currently studying] to display around the school. Primary pupils could display insults they've generated. Each subsequent slide can be printed [on coloured A3?] to make a display for the classroom or to boost the display around the school. Longer term, there is the set of starter quotes that could introduce students to Shakespeare’s language, as a Shakespeare ‘quote of the half-term’, or for 6 lessons in April… the idea is to get students to think about both the literal and figurative meaning of memorable lines, as well as expose them to a wider range of plays. The ‘fill-in’ version allows you to set the whole task as a one off lesson activity or a self-mark homework. For anyone who has missed the lesson, quotes and answers are available as a paper version too. The Teachers' Guide also provides useful links and ideas. Enjoy a super Shakespeare Day!

Buy the lot at a discount price: 10 weeks' worth of homework or starters to nail spelling. These are the 200 words the DfE claims primary pupils should be able to spell in y3/4 and 5/6 – of course older pupils could do with a bit of revision too. They are divided into groups of five spelling words and after five groups there’s a test, But here’s the difference… Being dyslexic myself, I’ve written the words out in a way that makes learning them easier for others with a similar condition – by looking for patterns and words within words – without being a problem to good spellers. Use as a weekly homework, a fill-in starter while you call the register or an occasional filler for a quick worker. At the end of the list there’s a revision opportunity and words to find in a string of letters along with some unscrambling to do. Work is set out for ease of printing/photocopying and teacher’s answers are on the last pages of each set – print or project as suits. A PP gives end of list answers to the strings and unscrambles. Y5&6 have an additional task – words to fill into a script, similar to SATs tests. If you do these with older students, just do remember to remove the ‘year’ label with each test.

5 weeks worth of daily spelling activities and self-mark tests! These are the 100 words the DfE claims primary pupils should be able to spell in 5/6 – of course older pupils could do with a bit of revision too. They are divided into groups of five as 'week 1' etc. with a test at the end of each week. Standard practice, but here’s the difference… Being dyslexic myself, I’ve written the words out in a way that makes learning them easier for others with a similar condition – by looking for patterns and words within words – without being a problem to good spellers. Use as a weekly homework, a fill-in starter while you call the register or an occasional filler for a quick worker. At the end of the list there’s a revision opportunity and words to find in a string of letters along with some unscrambling to do. Some y3-4 words are revisited in the last lists and tests. Tests are also designed to promote proof-reading skills, with 'you be the teacher' adding fun to the process - red pens work wonders here and cut your workload to quick checking , rather than marking. Work is set out for ease of printing/photocopying and teacher’s answers are on the last pages of each set – print or project as suits. A PP gives end of list answers to the strings and unscrambles. Y5&6 have an additional task – words to fill into a script, similar to SATs tests. If you do these with older students, just do remember to remove the ‘year’ label with each test.

These are the 100 words the DfE claims primary pupils should be able to spell in y3/4 – of course older pupils could do with a bit of revision too. They are divided into groups of five and after five groups there’s a test, But here’s the difference… Being dyslexic myself, I’ve written the words out in a way that makes learning them easier for others with a similar condition – by looking for patterns and words within words – without being a problem to good spellers. Use as a weekly homework, a fill-in starter while you call the register or an occasional filler for a quick worker. At the end of the list there’s a revision opportunity and words to find in a string of letters along with some unscrambling to do. Work is set out for ease of printing/photocopying and teacher’s answers are on the last pages of each set (week 1-5)– print or project as suits. A PP gives end of list answers to the strings and unscrambles. If you do these with older students, just do remember to remove the ‘year’ label with each test to avoid embarrassing them. 6 downloads gives you 5 weeks of daily spelling, 5 tests and 2 revision activities, all self-mark and dyslexia friendly!

These are two of my favourite poems and ideal for 'unseen' practise as well as comparing. You can flip learning by giving the worksheet as a homework, then using the Power Point as an aid to discussion, or a self-mark/ peer assessment guide. Close reading, annotation and comparison are all skills taught through this task. And if there's time, the poems stimulate lovely discussions about appreciating and understanding parents, which could also lead to writing... win-win.

Everything you need for exploring the short story 'Subha' by Rabindranath Tagore. [Multiculturalism in the context of Empire has a firm place in 19th century writing ; this is a good place to ensure it's not lost with the new syllabus]. The lesson begins with prediction, requiring students to infer and deduce, then looks at 3 extracts with imagery that suggests things about the character while describing something else. The focus then moves on to how language is used to present the character, while the plenary asks students to consider other ways in which the character is presented. The extracts to be annotated are given on a handout, with key phrases to be noticed in bold. The teacher's note also has links to the text, a reading and information about Rabindranath Tagore, along with the outline of the lesson and possible homework or extension tasks.

In this lesson, explore the power of choosing the right verb. The Power Point provides the lesson from start to finish and the word doc. provides a fill-in opening for weaker students, to get them started. The Lesson provides a definition, an 'odd-one-out' task, some quick physical activity [select someone to demonstrate if the class would be unsettled by a bit of movement], an extract from 'The Recruit' and some writing suggested by photographs. At the heart of it all is 'show don't tell' to move writing up a gear.

Although these poems were both in the old OCR anthology and are easy to find online, they are given again on a handout to to enable the task to be done more easily as a cover or homework. The main worksheet is a fill-in which makes it suitable for all abilities - as extension more able students can work these ideas into a comparative essay. The second worksheet has possible answers in bold and can also be given out to students who have missed the work by way of catch-up help.

The questions on the worksheet are valid prompts for any comparison of poems, but are particularly for the new EDUQAS style of Section C unseen poetry comparison. The first worksheet contains the poems and the questions, which are based of the specimen papers provided by the exam board. This makes an easy to set homework of cover lesson. The second worksheet has key points as possible answers. So the task can be self or peer assessed easily. For other exam boards or general poetry preparation, the 'answers' could be the springboard for an essay comparing the two poems, to help less able students cluster their response.

This is an exciting novel, especially for boys: short enough for reluctant readers to give it a chance and gripping enough for all readers to be engaged. The PP covering chapter 5 begins with a focus on the structure of the novel, introducing the term 'generating circumstance' and then structure at sentence level. Chapter 6 begins with a deceptively simple test: True or False to test recall and a] or b] to test understanding of imagery. The answers are on the Chapter 6 PP to enable peer assessment. For more able students there is an enrichment question on juxtaposition in imagery - expect a PEEL paragraph to the effect that contrasting God and the Devil, stroking and hammering emphasises how evil the man looks - and turns out to be .

241- Keep this resource in store for those times when you’re overloaded and need to let the students do a bit of the work. Begin with homework – 1 or 2 depending on amount and complexity - that don’t require marking. The first task will be the ‘flipped learning’ or revision content you want students to research, the second checks they’ve done it. Although these are designed for revision, set in advance of a new topic and you’ve got students engaged already. These tasks lend themselves to any topic or content subject and all you have to do by way of preparation is apply the tasks to the specifics of your subject and provide some guidance as to where students can find information, whether that’s in the text book, online or reference books. Slide one has 6 images – choose any icon to click on in a way that engages the class [throw a di, ask a question, choose a quiet student to make the choice]. A hyperlink will take you straight to the relevant slide, where the tasks will come up in steps on your click [adapt the wording of these to suit your specifics if you wish]. Once homework is set, ‘end show’ to get back to slide 1 and store for the next session. Each task is explained in your ‘recipe for success’ word document and alternatives or ways to differentiate suggested. The central idea is to get students helping each other while you facilitate only when required.