Created for a year 9 class, this is a lesson on Wordsworth’s “Upon Westminster Bridge” which asks the students to identify the viewpoint expressed in the poem and then explore features of language and structure that help to convey that viewpoint. Also attached here is a multiple-choice quiz that I originally created as a homework to be used after the lesson in order to consolidate the learning.

Created for a more able year 8 class, this is a lesson on the description of Gradgrind from the start of “Hard Times”. The aim is to link Dickens’s use of language and structural features to his viewpoint. The lesson is scaffolded so that there is a grid for the pupils to complete explaining what they can infer about Gradgrind from the language used to describe him (there’s also a little bit on the Victorians’ belief that character could be gauged from facial features). After having completed the grid, the pupils then look at the longer excerpt and work more independently on an extended answer - though they can use the structure of their response in the grid to plan and guide that answer.

Created for a year 7 class as part of a unit of work on “Treasure Island”, this lesson invites the children to explore Masefield’s poem, “Sea Fever”, identifying the speaker’s attitude towards the sea and focusing on the use of personification and other language features. The lesson uses hinge questions at key points, requiring all children to feed back with one from a choice of answers. In my classroom we use our arms to make letter shapes; you could use mini-whiteboards. At the end of the lesson, the children are asked to produce a written response focusing on Masefield’s use of personification and two other language features of their choice, explaining what’s revealed about the speaker’s attitude towards the sea (and here you could introduce or embed the idea of viewpoint). There is a separate homework available for this lesson which is a series of multiple-choice questions about the poem.

Created for a mixed ability year nine class, this powerpoint takes the pupils through the poem, initially with a focus on Owen’s redrafting - what is the effect of ‘doomed youth’ rather than the initial ‘dead youth’. Throughout the lesson the pupils are asked to consider the effect of Owen’s language choices. There is a multiple-choice question focusing on the simile ‘who die as cattle’. In our classroom, we respond by using our arms to make the letters, YMCA-style. The question could as easily be answered using mini whiteboards. The lesson takes the pupils through a model paragraph of response focusing on the effect of the ‘as cattle’ simile; they’re then asked to produce a further three paragraphs working independently. Useful as a reading assessment or as part of a unit of work on war poetry. The intention is that this lesson begins to embed the skills on which the pupils will be tested at GCSE.

Planned for year 9 with a focus on building and polishing skills in the run up to GCSE, this lesson uses Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “An Obstacle”. Pupils are led through questions with a tiny bit of relevant context (Gilman’s gender and the year of the poem). There’s a slide focused on the use of the indefinite article in the title and what might be inferred from this. The first two verses of the poem are explored via questioning which asks the pupils to focus on a couple of features in each verse. In the run-up to the pupils’ written response, there is an ‘I do’ slide providing a model and a ‘We do’ slide providing sentence openers for discussion and completion. After this, the intention is that the pupils should work independently to write their response. This could also be used with year 10 to build their confidence and skills in responding to unseen poetry.

The aim of this lesson is for the children to explain a writer’s viewpoint and to write effectively to describe. The text used is “The Spell of the Yukon” by Robert W.Service. The lesson begins with an image of a prospector and there are questions to prompt some really basic knowledge of the context and then to prompt the building of a word bank. The focus then changes to the poem itself. There are four slides taking the pupils through the first verse and the effect of its verbs, simile and metaphor. The pupils are then asked to explain the speaker’s viewpoint - as expressed in the last two lines of the first verse - in their own words. The pupils are then asked to read the whole poem with a focus on the writer’s viewpoint and how it’s communicated. One slide provides an opportunity for a recap on abstract nouns - as Service uses plenty in the poem. Finally, there is a writing activity which takes the pupils back to the original image and asks them to write a description inspired by that image, using a simile, a metaphor and an abstract noun in each paragraph of their writing.

A workmanlike comprehension activity based on the excerpt from chapter 23 in which Victor discovers that Elizabeth has been strangled and tries to shoot the creature. There are ten questions focusing on comprehension, inference, methods and their effect. Useful for homework, for cover or even for structuring a guided discussion of the text.

A walkthrough of Thomas Hardy’s “Neutral Tones” intended to be a first teaching of the poem for candidates preparing for their GCSE English Literature exam. When it comes to looking at Hardy’s use of oxymorons with “tedious riddles” and “grin of bitterness”, the ppt makes reference to some of Shakespeare’s methods in “Romeo and Juliet”. This is because this class is also studying the play so the references are intended to support a bit of recall. The final slide sets a homework - there is a multiple-choice quiz also available on TES (though listed separately).

Powerpoint presentation looking at emotive language and linking the use of emotive language to Priestley’s intentions. Students are asked to write using emotive language with picture prompts that echo Priestley's attitudes. Students are then asked to explore Priestley's use of emotive language, linking it to his message in the play.

This lesson uses Margaret Postgate Cole’s “The Falling Leaves”. The lesson was originally planned as cover. There is a short powerpoint (only 9 slides and one of those slides is a printable) accompanied by a worksheet which has a copy of the poem together with six questions, two of which are on the poem’s structure and its effect; the others focus on Cole’s use of simile and its effect. The main focus of the lesson is on the use of simile. Once the analysis of the poem is done, the pupils are then asked to create their own similes to go alongside an image of a WW1 soldier in a trench. Having done this, they are asked to use their similes along with four of Cole’s words to produce a piece of creative writing, either in poetry or in prose.

Useful to structure a guided reading activity, to set as homework or to use as cover, this is a comprehension activity based on a single paragraph from Dickens’s “The Uncommercial Traveller” in which he recounts the appeal of a churchyard he nicknames St Ghastly Grim and describes an evening that he visited it in a thunderstorm. There are ten comprehension questions.

This is an exam practice task created for “Romeo and Juliet”. It differs from the ‘real thing’ in that the extract used is longer than students are likely to find in their exam - and there are prompts for the 3 assessment objectives down the right hand side of the paper, though these could be very easily deleted.

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.

Emily Dickenson’s “Summer Shower” with 11 questions intended to encourage close reading and some simple analysis. Planned for year 7 as part of a unit on poetry but also suitable at the top end of KS2. Could be used as a homework activity or for cover - the questions could also be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is an old-school comprehension activity focusing on the excerpt from “Great Expectations” in which Mrs Joe is introduced. Created for a year 8 class who needed a cover lesson in the middle of a Dickens SOW, this has 17 questions and could be used as intended - for cover - but also for homework or even to structure a guided reading activity. If you find this useful then I would be very grateful if you could take the time to leave a review.

The extract used is the description of Jonathan Harker’s journey towards Dracula’s castle. There are 12 questions focusing mainly on the writer’s methods and their effect. Useful for homework or as a cover activity. Could also be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is a comprehension activity - structured for increasing difficulty - with the tasks and questions divided into four sections: vocabulary, information retrieval, inference and explanation of methods. Useful for cover or for homework. Useful for a focused study of this particular section of Stoker’s novel.

A short and bog-standard revision powerpoint on “When We Two Parted”, from the AQA GCSE English Literature Love and Relationships poetry cluster. There is a slide offering some brief information about context and then one slide per verse, each slide offering five notes. Created for my year 11 class to support their revision. If you find this useful, it would be great if you could take the time to leave a review.

This is Belloc’s cautionary tale of Jim who was eaten by a lion and there are 16 multiple-choice questions focusing on vocabulary with some basic comprehension. Originally set for h/w but could be used as a pre-reading activity to identify and address any misconceptions prior to some more work on the poem.

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.