I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
18 fully differentiated lessons that use the theme of family holidays to analyse and compare non-fiction texts. (All texts included) Lessons are numbered for ease of use.
Differentiation by colour:
purple = low ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = high ability
These resource re ideal for KS3 or KS4 in preparation for tackling non-fiction texts at GCSE. They are meticulously planned and ready to go. Download and use.
Texts:
- Butlins promotional video
- Practical caravan article
- Information leaflet - Holidays matter
- Extract from PGL - Family adventures
- Guardian online article
- Centerparcs blog
Resources provide opportunities to:
- Analyse language
- Analyse graphological features
- Analyse perspective
- Analyse audience and purpose
- Compare texts
2 fully differentiated (by colour) lessons to support the teaching of 19th century extracts taken from Jane Eyre and Nicholas Nickleby. The focus of these lessons is school life and students will consider the presentation of school in the 19th century and compare this to school life in the 21st century. Opportunities to compare the two 19th century texts.
Extracts are taken from the AQA new specification 9-1, 19th century texts booklet and is included in this resource pack.
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
Resources to support the introduction of poetic techniques
Students will gain an understanding of a wide variety of poetic terms, study examples and create their own
Students will analyse the use of personification
The lessons culminates in students applying poetic techniques to their writing.
Resources to support the teaching of slang and dialect poetry using Half Caste and This is thi six oclock news
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
Opportunity for students to:
- explore the form
- explore language
- explore effects created
- create their own slang and dialect poetry
Fully differentiated resources to support the teaching of The Edge by Alan Gibbons
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
resource provide opportunities for:
- self and peer assessment
- context exploration
- language analysis
- narrative writing
- agony aunt article writing
- police report writing
- exploration of idioms and dramatic irony
- exploration of bullying and racism
Differentiated resources to support the teaching of 'Pig Heart Boy.' Lessons are numbered for ease of use.
Ideal for year 7 or year 8
Resources provide opportunities for students to:
- explore and research context - Xenotransplantation
- explore themes such as perseverance, friendship, optimism, forgiveness,
- explore and analyse characters and themes
- write persuasively
- develop speaking and listening skills
- develop sympathy and empathy skills
Resources to support the teaching of the history of language with focus on Chaucer and the Canterbury tales.
Canterbury tales included:
- Pardoner
- Knight
- Nun's priest
- Miller
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore context
- explore narrative structure
- tackle old English
- explore dialect and the development of English language
A handy pack of documents and proformas for a head of department.
Included:
Deep dive documents that will be useful for inspection including work scrutiny and learning walk templates as well as Middle leader ofsted questions
- Lesson observation / learning walk document in line with latest Ofsted
Work scrutiny / pupil voice document in line with new Ofsted
An example English department vision which takes into account pupils’ reading, writing and speaking & listening
- Department report templates
- Department detention letter templates
- Departmental moderation and standardisation templates
- English department presentation policy template
- Questions to prepare of Ofsted inspection
- A template for assessing the English department against the Ofsted ‘Good’ criteria
A resource to support students in the comparison of Ozymandias to one other poem from the power and conflict collection
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
Resource provides opportunities for:
- exploration of the mark scheme
- identifying points of comparison between Ozymandias and other poems
- self/peer assessment
- guiding students through an effective analytical paragraph structure
A resource to support students in the comparison of The Emigree to one other poem from the power and conflict collection
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
Resource provides opportunities for:
- exploration of the mark scheme
- identifying points of comparison between The Emigree and other poems
- self/peer assessment
- guiding students through an effective analytical paragraph structure
Fully differentiated (by colour) resource to support the teaching of comparison of 'The send off' by Wilfred Owen.
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
With very few sample assessment materials provided by the exam boards I have created my own.
They have been made to look exactly like the assessments that students will sit n the real 9-1 examinations and are phrased in the same ways too.
This paper uses The Emigree as the printed poem.
The student responses can then be marked using the relevant mark scheme for Power and conflict poetry.
3 lessons to support the revision of the reading section of the new specification English language paper 1 for AQA.
Using a sample paper (included) the resources:
- guide students through how to tackle each question
- provide suggested timings
- provide sample answers
- provide tips and strategies for planning a response
- show the questions annotated to ensure students stick to the focus of the task
- provide opportunities to self/peer assess against the mark scheme criteria
Fully differentiated lessons to support the teaching of 'The Class Game.'
2 lessons that include pupil talk tasks, assessment, outcomes and cover:
- context of the poem
- language analysis
- form and structure exploration
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow - higher ability
20 full differentiated (by colour) and meticulously planned lessons to support the teaching of reading and writing skills. These lessons are ready to go.
Ideal for transition from KS2 to KS3, for year 6, year 7 or year 8 classes.
Within these lessons students are exposed to a wide range of fiction, non fiction and literary non fiction texts and will use these as a stimulus for creating their own texts.
These lessons allow students to develop skills for accessing the new English language and English literature 9-1 specifications.
Students will explore the following texts/extracts:
- Article on bats
- Extract from the Twits & BFG - Roald Dahl
- Extract from Frankenstein
- Extract from A Christmas Carol
- Extracts from autobiographies
- Extract from Bill Bryson - travel writing (non-fiction literary)
- Extract from Bleak house
- The Lion the witch and the wardrobe
- blogs
- poetry - Sister Maude, Mother any distance
- articles about Friendship
Students will develop the following skills in preparation for accessing new 9-1 GCSE
- Synthesis
- Comparison
- Language. structure, form analysis
- Theme exploration
- Analytical writing
- Imaginative writing - narrative and descriptive
- Transactional writing
Assessment opportunities and homework tasks also included
Fully differentiated resources to teach Act 4 scene 1 of A Midsummer Night's dream. Focus on the creation of imagery within the scene.
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
Blue - middle ability
yellow = higher ability
A speaking and listening (role play and drama) resource is also included.
Over 10 lessons worth of resources to support the teaching of spoken language. All lessons are meticulously planned and fully differentiated by colour. These lessons are ready to go and are numbered for ease of use.
Ideal for use in KS3 given the removal of this component as part of GCSE.
Differentiation:
purple - lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
These resources allow students to identify and analyse the following spoken language techniques:
- face threatening acts
- jargon
- accent and dialect
- formal and informal talk
- Adjacency pairs
- back channel features
- Fillers and hedges
- Holding the floor
- turn taking
- overlapping speech
- standard English
- spontaneous speech
Students will explore spoken language taken from the following sources:
- Catharine Tate as Lauren in the UK sitcom
- Jeremy Paxman interview with Russell Brand
- Ali G interview with Tony Benn
- Jonathan Ross interview with Lady Gaga
- Board room conversations taken from the Junior apprentice
- Classroom talk taken from Highgate Wood school
- Transcripts of students talking with teachers
Links provided for YouTube video clips to allow students to observe the spoken language before analysing
Planning sheets, card sort of techniques, homework tasks and analysis writing frames are also included.
3 lessons to support the revision of the reading section of the new specification English language paper 2 for AQA.
Perfect for use as a walking talking mock in class whereby you guide students through how to tackle each question and then allow them the suggested time to complete a response.
Using a sample paper provided by AQA the resources:
- guide students through how to tackle each question
- provide suggested timings
- provide sample answers
- provide tips and strategies for planning a response
- show the questions annotated to ensure students stick to the focus of the task
- provide opportunities to self/peer assess against the mark scheme criteria
Extracts taken from: The village that lost its children and an extract from an essay written in 1967, one year after a devastating landslide in the Welsh village of Aberfan.
A medium term plan (scheme of work) for Of Mice and Men to be taught at KS3.
This medium term plan signposts opportunities to embed skills for the new specification GCSE 9-1 skills.
The scheme lasts 7 weeks and within each week is an assessment. Each week's assessment is either a literature or language paper based assessment.
A six week activity book that could be used independently in class or for homework.
Over the course of the six weeks students will work on strategies for effective writing which culminates in producing a piece of writing to argue in the final week.
Each week’s work begins with a retention quiz.
Students develop confidence in:
Understanding and identifying the GAP
Opening hooks
Language devices for effect
Punctuation
Planning for writing