Hero image

J. D. Gardner's Shop

Average Rating4.15
(based on 22 reviews)

I teach English at an academically successful school in Berkshire. I only publish resources that I have personally used in the classroom and always aim for maximum visual and interactive impact.

73Uploads

31k+Views

11k+Downloads

I teach English at an academically successful school in Berkshire. I only publish resources that I have personally used in the classroom and always aim for maximum visual and interactive impact.
Frankenstein: The early chapters
jdgardnerjdgardner

Frankenstein: The early chapters

(0)
A KS5 scheme of work (or a KS4 scheme for the more able). It covers the introductions, the Romantic genre, Walton's narrative, the first part of Victor's narrative, Byron and the Oedipus complex. The scheme is resourced with links to external websites such as the British Library and comes supplied with articles for which I claim no intellectual credit. Students can access the QR codes and hyperlinks which are given from time to time with an ipad or mobile phone.
La Belle Dame sans Merci by John Keats
jdgardnerjdgardner

La Belle Dame sans Merci by John Keats

(0)
A full lesson on Keats’s La Belle Dame covering context, form and structure, interpretations and the central theme of the poem. The resource should enable the poem to be taught effectively in a single lesson.
Ode on Indolence by John Keats
jdgardnerjdgardner

Ode on Indolence by John Keats

(0)
A lesson which focuses on the language Keats uses to present the three figures (Love, Ambition and Poesy), as well as drawing connections and distinctions between this poem and the other great odes. There is little discussion of context here, save for the initial clarification of the epigraph as my students’ knowledge of Keats’s life is already strong.
On First Looking into Chapman's Homer by John Keats
jdgardnerjdgardner

On First Looking into Chapman's Homer by John Keats

(0)
This lesson takes students through the Petrarchan sonnet form and Keats’s use of it, key context surrounding the poem and discussion / language analysis questions which focus students on its main interpretations. The language analysis task can be enacted in groups or as individual / paired comprehension. I have also included some information on Apollo and his relevance to Keats, as well as information on ‘The Camelion Poet’.
Reading Comprehension
jdgardnerjdgardner

Reading Comprehension

(0)
A word document booklet, which can be printed or sent to students, containing extracts from six different texts, followed by 8-10 comprehension questions. Each set of questions is followed by a creative writing extension task themed around the extracts. The extracts have been sourced from the following texts: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee ‘Supersports High’ - an article from The Times (12.8.2012) Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier The resource may be suitable for students in years 6-8 depending upon their reading ability.
Dystopian Writing - Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases
jdgardnerjdgardner

Dystopian Writing - Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases

(0)
The second in a sequence of lessons on dystopian fiction which builds upon grammatical skills for writing. The resource works as a stand-alone lesson too. The lesson introduces students to adverbs and adverbial phrases through the blurb of Gone by Michael Grant, getting them to identify the different types of adverbial in the text before asking them to write their own blurb or story opening in the dystopian genre. This lesson was designed for Year 7 but could work for students in years 5, 6 or 8 dependent upon ability.
Adjectives
jdgardnerjdgardner

Adjectives

(0)
A simple, highly-visual introduction to adjectives with a range of explanations and tasks for students to complete. There is also information and tasks on adjectival phrases and postmodification. The resource would make a good introductory lesson to this word class for primary age students (perhaps years 4, 5, 6) or early secondary age students who need a reminder (year 7).
Dystopian Writing - the genre and writing openings
jdgardnerjdgardner

Dystopian Writing - the genre and writing openings

(0)
Lesson 3 in the scheme of work on writing in the dystopian genre. The lesson could be used as a one-off resource but is designed to build on students’ prior knowledge of noun phrases, non-finite clauses and adverbials. The resource asks students to think about the conventions of the genre and then asks them to write their own story openings. An original exemplar story opening is included to discuss / annotate with the class, which showcases the techniques practised in the previous two lessons. The lesson has been designed for use with high-ability year 7s, but would equally be suitable for students in years 5, 6 or 8, dependent upon ability.
The Great Modern Poets - Robert Frost
jdgardnerjdgardner

The Great Modern Poets - Robert Frost

(0)
This is a 35-slide series of lessons for the Edexcel English Literature A level course on the poetry anthology ‘The Great Modern Poets’. The resource introduces modernism briefly and then contains individual lessons for the six poems of Robert Frost’s in the anthology: The Runaway Mending Wall Stopping by woods Mowing The Road Not Taken Out, out- Engaging YouTube videos are linked, there are a variety of discussion questions about language, form and structure and key context is provided. I have also drawn on online web articles (contained within) as a stepping-off point for discussion - mainly from the Poetry Foundation website, which I found very useful in teaching this scheme. Links to the original articles are included. Note that for ‘Out, out -’, there is only a one-slide brief for a student presentation, rather than the more in-depth, discussion-based material provided for other poems.
Dystopian Writing - Introduction
jdgardnerjdgardner

Dystopian Writing - Introduction

(0)
An introductory lesson aimed at Year 7 students on dystopian writing. The resource could be used with students in 5, 6 or 8 too, dependent upon ability. The lesson begins by deconstructing the etymology of the words ‘utopia’ and ‘dystopia’ and is then made up of a series of tasks on identifying, analysing and using nouns and noun phrases in relation to an extract from The Beach by Alex Garland. At the end of the scheme, students will use their learning to write a part of a dystopian story. Two separate starter activities are included in case you would like to spread the material across two lessons. There should be enough material to do so. Other lessons in the sequence will follow as they are completed.
Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
jdgardnerjdgardner

Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

(0)
A wide-ranging lesson which introduces the sonnet form through creative writing and comprehension questions about Barrett Browning’s use of it. I really liked the well-known resource ‘What’s a sonnet miss?’ (a poem about how sonnets are written), but found it too inaccurate. So, I have written and included my own sonnet about sonnets called ‘What’s a sonnet sir?’. Also included are comprehension questions which focus students on language and context, as well as a simple outline for an essay on the topic of the poet’s presentation of love. I found this an engaging and accessible way to introduce the Eduqas GCSE poetry anthology to my year 9 students. However, the lesson would work for any syllabus with Sonnet 43 on it.
Dystopian Writing - creating backstory
jdgardnerjdgardner

Dystopian Writing - creating backstory

(0)
A full lesson centred around an extract from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games with activities designed to get students to analyse how the author creates a sense of setting using a backstory and proper nouns. Students then have the opportunity to create their own backstory for a dystopia they have imagined. The resource was created as the fourth installment in a scheme of work, but could be used for a one-off lesson too. It is aimed at high-ability students in Year 7 but would work well for students in years 5, 6 or 8 dependent upon ability.
Dystopian Writing - Persuasive Language
jdgardnerjdgardner

Dystopian Writing - Persuasive Language

(0)
Intended as the fifth in a creative writing scheme of work on dystopian writing. However, this lesson will work independently. The resource is centred around an extract from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick as an example of how students could write a persuasive advert for their own automaton - either humanoid or animal. I have included an additional starter activity as the material may take more than one lesson to cover. The resource was designed for high ability year 7 students, but could work for students in years 5, 6 or 8, dependent upon ability.
Exposure by Wilfred Owen
jdgardnerjdgardner

Exposure by Wilfred Owen

(0)
Up to two lessons’ worth of content on Wilfred Owen’s poem Exposure. This was created and delivered to a middle-ability Year 8 class and provides a number of engaging activities including: Storyboarding Descriptive writing Language analysis (focusing on the presentation of nature, not war) Diary entry imaginative writing AI generated imagery has been used in this lesson, making it very visually pleasing.
Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan
jdgardnerjdgardner

Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan

(0)
A lesson sequence on the excerpt ‘Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan’ from the Edexcel IGCSE anthology. There may be two lessons worth of material here, focused on having students identify and annotate the key features of language and structure. Then, then class are divided in two and provided with tables to complete, which focus them on analysing either the presentation of the people or the place, for question 4 of Paper 1. The resource may be better used with higher ability students, as the majority of the work is student focused, relying on their thoughts and analyses and those of their partner/group. Two AI-generated images have been used for decoration.
If- by Rudyard Kipling
jdgardnerjdgardner

If- by Rudyard Kipling

(0)
A lesson on Kipling’s ‘If-’, which engages students with the poem’s main themes and ideas, and features of language and structure. It contains some background on the poem, information on stoicism (which seems to underpin many of the poem’s ideals), guided annotation, information on form and structure, and an exam-style question with writing frame. The lesson was designed for use with high ability students, studying the Edexcel IGCSE in Literature. The cover image was created using AI and does not reflect the appearance of the the slides in the resource. The image has been uploaded in case you would like to use it.
To Sleep by John Keats
jdgardnerjdgardner

To Sleep by John Keats

(0)
A full lesson on Keats’s To Sleep, covering context in detail, form and structure, tone, imagery, themes and interpretations.
To Autumn by John Keats
jdgardnerjdgardner

To Autumn by John Keats

(0)
A presentation which considers some advanced aspects of the context, form and structure of John Keats’s To Autumn. It then provides discussion / comprehension questions for the language in each stanza. The resource is suited for more able GCSE learners (i.e. those following the Eduqas specification) and A level Literature students who have selected Keats as their pre-1900s poet.
Ode on Melancholy by John Keats
jdgardnerjdgardner

Ode on Melancholy by John Keats

(0)
A lesson which focuses mainly on building students discussion of AO2 (language analysis) through group work. Therefore, I have included no context and only a little reference to structure. My students seemed to really enjoy the lesson. The cover image and another image in the resource were created using AI.