This is a multiple-choice quiz with 21 questions, planned for flipped learning so set for homework before the poem was explored - in greater depth - in class. Alternatively, the quiz could be used for a consolidation homework after the teaching of the poem. You might wish to use the quiz to structure a more guided reading session of the poem as some of the questions lend themselves to further questioning and exploration. Answers are provided.

Planned for a year 8 class, this lesson looks at Dickens’s viewpoint on slums and the methods that he uses to communicate this viewpoint. The lesson begins with a discussion about a modern slum, an introduction to the idea that vocabulary gives an indication about viewpoint and questioning intended to ensure that all pupils have a secure understanding of viewpoint before they begin to look at the extract. The extract used is from “Oliver Twist” as Oliver and his employer (‘owner’), Mr Sowerberry, go into the slums to collect the corpse of a woman. The lesson uses several hinge questions to check crucial points of understanding. Wherever a question is used, the answer is given on the subsequent slide, just for clarity. For some reason, the ppt preview does not appear in the correct order. I will try to get TES to rectify this.

This lesson can be taught in two ways depending on the students’ level of confidence and the amount of scaffolding required. The resource used is Vachel Lindsay’s “The Spider and the Ghost of the Fly” which is an extended metaphor exploring the end of a relationship. More confident students can approach the task more or less straight away (after a warm-up which asks them to explore the title and furnishes some initial ideas). The task and poem are on slide 3 which is a printable but could be displayed on the screen if you’re trying to cut down on photocopying ! The idea is that students will approach the task fairly cold and then the subsequent 7 slides can be used to support an improved response, ensuring that the response is as thorough as possible. Less confident students (for whom this was planned) can work through all of the slides so that they have a wealth of ideas on which to draw before attempting their own response.

Created for a year 11 class to try to build on their skills of analysis of unseen poetry this uses a deceptively simple poem by Whitman and guides the students through the process of analysis. With this lesson I am trying to encourage them to write about structural features for a poem that doesn’t necessarily have a wealth of language. The teaching strategies include close questioning on the title (something I find my students tend to ignore in their analysis though it is often a fruitful area for exploration), a whole-class reading of the poem (changing voice with punctuation to encourage students to notice that the whole poem is a single sentence and how the punctuation is used for emphasis), some paired discussion, spotting and beginning to explore the features and then modelling of the first paragraph of the response. The mark scheme is used to plot what’s required in the response.

A very matter of fact comprehension exercise based on an excerpt from chapter 19 of “Frankenstein” in which Victor ‘hides out’ on Orkney in order to create a bride for his creature. There is a focus on inference and the characterisation (in terms of thoughts and feelings) of Victor Frankenstein as he narrates this part of his story.

A basic comprehension activity on “Snow” by Walter de la Mare. There are ten questions focusing on the writer’s methods and their effect. Originally created as a homework. Could also be used as a cover activity, for exclusion work or for distance learning.

A simple and straightforward comprehension activity on Walt Whitman’s poem, “The World Below the Brine”. Questions focus on language, structure, viewpoint and ideas. There are 11 questions in total. Could be used for homework or set as cover. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading activity or prompt class discussion.

I created this powerpoint as part of a home learning pack for a year 7 class but it could be adapted for classroom use. It uses Lewis Carroll’s acrostic poem spelling out the name of Alice Liddell, his muse. The powerpoint has 9 teaching slides (the tenth is merely a title slide). The start of the learning asks the pupils to do some research and find answers to these questions: Who wrote “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”? What is an acrostic poem? Write down an example of an acrostic poem. What is a muse? Slide 3 has some context about Carroll and the afternoon that gave rise to the story of Wonderland. Slides 4, 5, 6 and 7 use questioning to look at extracts from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” with a focus on dreaming and the attitude of Alice’s older sister towards Alice, reality and growing up. Slides 8 and 9 explore the poem. Slide 10 asks the pupils to write their own acrostic poem about someone (real or fictional) who’s important in their life.

This is a multiple-choice quiz (answers provided) on Christina Rossetti’s love poem, “A Birthday”. The quiz could be set for homework to consolidate students’ understanding of the poem after it’s been taught. Alternatively, it could be used as a pre-reading activity to identify any confusion or misconception so that subsequent teaching can be more precisely focused. The quiz could be used to structure a guided reading session or to open up the poem for a wider discussion.

This is a comprehension activity using a deleted segment from H.G.Wells’ “The Time Machine”, (cut from the novella but later published on its own as a short story). There are ten questions, focused on the reading skills that will be tested in the GCSE English Language exam: inference, analysis and evaluation (as well as a couple of questions on vocabulary). Could be used in class to support the development of these key skills or used as a homework or a cover activity.

This powerpoint was used very early in my teaching of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to year 7. The overall aim is to establish whether Puck is a typical or an atypical fairy. The lesson begins with a focus on the meaning of ‘typical’, after which the pupils are asked to work together to create an acrostic poem using ideas about typical fairies. After that, the pupils are asked to work independently to write a cinquain about a typical fairy. The lesson then shifts to focus on a prose description of the fairy wood (from a re-telling of the play’s story) and the pupils are asked to identify aspects that are typical of fairies and aspects that are atypical, explaining their choices. This skill is then developed with a focus on Puck’s conversation with the fairy in which he outlines his role as Oberon’s jester. First of all, the extract is read and there is a quiz to aid understanding. Once any misconceptions have been identified and addressed through peer marking of the quiz, the pupils are asked to complete a grid explaining which aspects of Puck’s character are typical of a fairy and which aspects are atypical. Also provided is a multiple-choice quiz for homework, the intention of which is to embed and consolidate some of the learning from the lesson.

This is a simple and straightforward comprehension exercise based on a short excerpt from George Orwell’s “The Road to Wigan Pier” in which he describes Sheffield. There are ten questions, four of which invite a more developed response. This could be used for cover, for homework or home learning, to structure a guided reading activity or as a pre-reading activity to identify any gaps in knowledge and understanding prior to using the text to explore the methods whereby a writer can communicate a viewpoint.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using an excerpt from George Gissing’s letter in which he airs his views about bank holidays. There are 12 questions, answering which will ensure that the student thinks about Gissing’s viewpoint and the effects of the methods used to express this viewpoint. Could be used for homework or set as cover. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading or a revision session. Straightforward enough to be set for home learning.

This is a short, simple and (hopefully) straightforward powerpoint created for revision of AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 Question 4. It’s planned to fit a 35 minute revision session and, consequently, does not require a full answer to question 4 - the intention is that the students will focus on one point of comparison which could either be written independently for greater challenge or completed as a whole-class model. It uses very short segments from two writers, one contemporary and one writing in 1882. The entire texts are not provided and the lesson is intended to revise the skill of analysis and comparison so, for my class, it was better to use short segments. If you wish to look at more of the Gissing text, it is readily available online and easy to find. There are 14 slides in total.

A straightforward lesson exploring Sassoon’s poem, “The Kiss” with questioning used to discuss the effect of the personification of bullet and bayonet. There are 8 close reading and response questions on slide 15. These could be used to structure a discussion or set for independent work. The lesson culminates with a task asking the students to draw inferences about the nature of the speaker in the poem, writing in role as a senior officer. Planned for year 9 but could be suitable to explore unseen poetry at KS4.

Created for students to build confidence in reading texts written prior to 1914, this is an account from Henry Mayhew’s “London Labour and the London Poor” of an interview with a child working as a mudlark. Useful alongside the study of “A Christmas Carol” as another insight into poverty in the 19th century. There are 11 multiple-choice questions here (answers provided). The questions are intended to be straightforward but the Word document is easily editable for you to add or remove questions or change the level of difficulty to suit your own class. This could be used as a homework or a pre-reading activity so that students are already familiar with the text before you use it in class. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading activity. Some questions lend themselves to being developed in order to deepen understanding.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity that could be used for homework or cover. Alternatively, it could be used as a pre-reading activity to identify any gaps in knowledge or understanding before the characters of Oliver or Mrs Sowerberry are explored in greater detail. There’s a vocabulary task and then seven comprehension questions. The Word document is editable so if you wish to add challenge you can remove the glossary at the end of the passage.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity that uses only one paragraph from “The Canterville Ghost” in which the Otis family approach Canterville Chase and there is a discernible change of mood. There are 14 questions that could be used for homework, as a cover activity or to structure a guided reading session. Works for remote learning. Suggested answers are provided although some questions will elicit a range of responses, of course.

This is a comprehension activity that could be used in class or at home. There are ten questions, some closed and some more open-ended and developed. This could be set as homework or a cover activity. Alternatively, it could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This task uses a short extract from Ann Radcliffe’s “The Mysteries of Udolpho”. There are 12 multiple-choice questions that could be used for homework, as an extended starter prior to a deeper focus on the text or to structure a guided reading activity. Answers are provided. Useful as part of a unit on gothic horror.