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.

This is a short comprehension activity using an excerpt from Kipling’s “The Mark of the Beast” in which Fleete turns into a werewolf. There are 7 questions. Suggested answers are provided. This could be used as a cover activity or set for homework to support a unit on gothic horror. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is a very straightforward powerpoint using John Drinkwater’s public domain poem, “Moonlit Apples”. The powerpoint takes the students through a range of questions about the effect of methods used in the poem and concludes with an exam-style question.

This is a walkthrough of Tennyson’s “The Eagle”, asking the questions that candidates will need to ask of themselves during the exam. The powerpoint asks them to focus on various methods including anthropomorphism, rhyme, rhythm and contrast. The final slide is an exam-style question. As the poem is so short, it could be useful for building confidence when tackling an unseen poetry question.

Created as a cover activity for a mixed-ability year 7 class as part of a unit on origin stories, myths and legends, this uses a public domain text about Zeus unleashing the great flood on humanity (pairs well with the story of Noah’s Ark). There are ten questions focused on retrieval, inference and some basic analysis. Could be used as a cover activity, set for homework or the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session. Suggested answers are provided.

This is a simple and straightforward multiple-choice quiz using a charming poem (public domain) with a focus on onomatopoeia as well as some questions to test inference, comprehension and recognition of personification. Answers are provided. Useful as a homework or as a starter.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using an excerpt from the story of “Bluebeard” by Charles Perrault. Useful for cover or for guided reading. Could be an addition to a unit on fairy tales.

This is a simple comprehension activity drawing pupils’ attention to the effect of language and structure. Created as a homework task but could also be used for cover or to structure a guided reading activity. Suggested responses are provided to make this more useful for someone who’s not a subject specialist.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using an excerpt from James Baldwin’s “Old Greek Stories” (public domain). There are ten questions. This could be used as a homework task, a reading assessment or for cover. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session. Suggested answers are provided. Originally created for a year 7 class but might also be useful at KS2.

This 9-slide powerpoint has the aim: link ideas about the moon to characters in the play. Pupils are invited to think about how the moon is used to deepen the characters of the fairies. The lesson invites discussion and the sharing of ideas, to be recorded in a Venn diagram which is then used as the basis of a more formal written response.

This lesson uses questioning to elicit students’ knowledge of methods used by the writers and understanding of some of their effects. Students are asked to annotate their copies of the poems in the questioning phase of the lesson so that they can then use their notes to spend 40 minutes working independently on both sections of an exam-style question. The two poems used are by John Clare and Walter de la Mare, both called “Winter” (and both in the public domain so no issues with copyright).

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using a recount (from 1883) of an unusual street performer. Made to support students in developing their skills of reading pre 20th century non-fiction, this might come in handy as preparation for AQA English Language paper 2, particularly if you pair it with a more modern text about street performers. Suggested answers are provided.

This is a powerpoint that I have used to take my class through the whole of “A Christmas Carol”. There are 99 slides in total.

This activity uses the description from “Oliver Twist” in which Oliver accompanies Mr Sowerberry to a district of extreme poverty in order to collect a corpse. Accompanying the extract are 12 questions designed to practise and test comprehension. This could be used in class, as a cover activity, to structure a guided reading session or as homework. Useful as part of a unit of work on Charles Dickens. Could be used to add some contextual understanding to the study of “A Christmas Carol” at key stage four.

This is a short powerpoint created for an after-school revision session. It uses an excerpt from a short story by Saki (in the public domain). The last two slides are printables. The first couple of slides are animated to allow questioning. Slide 3 is an opportunity for some shared modelling. Slide 5 is an opportunity to discuss the selection of evidence. Slide 7 is a teacher-created model or demonstration, after which students can be asked to work independently on evidence that they have selected.

This task uses two short extracts, one from Barnardo and one from Dickens. Both describe homeless children living rough in markets. There are 14 questions, two requiring knowledge of “A Christmas Carol” (but this is an editable document so these questions can easily be removed if your students have not studied the text). This task is a good springboard for AQA GCSE English Language paper 2, question 4 - beginning to hone the reading skills which will be tested on that paper.

There are 7 questions here on Thomas Hood’s poetic grumble, “November”. It’s a lyric poem centering on the gloom of a November day in London. Written in 1844. Suggested answers are provided, although these are not definitive. This could be used to structure a guided reading activity. Children could work in pairs or groups and work through the questions, discussing answers. Alternatively, this could be used as a homework activity, for home learning, or for cover.

The text used is abridged from John Steinbeck’s war correspondent reports. This is an account of an attack on a cinema in London, 1943. It is a harrowing account of children’s deaths and injuries and you will be able to decide whether it’s suitable for use with your class. There are ten questions with suggested answers provided. The answers are merely indicative - some students will come up with different, though equally valid, responses. This could be used for cover, set as homework or allocated for home study. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is a classroom display. There are three paragraphs of writing with certain features picked out in colour. The second document is the colour-coded annotations, naming the methods used and (very briefly) commenting on their effect. In my classroom, the writing is printed out on A3 paper and the annotations are cut out in strips and stapled around the writing. It’s a Word document so editable.

This is a short and straightforward activity giving students an opportunity to practise and develop the skills of writing an analytical essay about an unseen poem. The poem is “Autumn” by Walter De La Mare. The first slide of the ppt has a copy of the poem and the essay question. The second slide gives students a suggested pattern for tackling the task, the idea being that they should go through each of the steps in every paragraph of their response. The third slide can be used for self/peer assessment and developing the response further.