Do you have students who shrug at inspiration and puff their cheeks at imagination? Use this great tool for slow writing to get them thinking about not just what to write, but how to write it. Currently with 54 different sentence types, print these back-to-back (flipping the page on the short edge), then guillotine the cards, eh voila! Shuffle the cards and get writing. Each card comes with an explanation and at least one example to help guide your students in their writing: Example: the chiasmus sentence A repetition (in reverse order) or words, phrases or ideas already expressed (balanced clauses reverse each other). Readers don’t need to write but writers do need to read. Never let a fool kiss you or a kiss fool you.

In language analysis we compute (work out) meaning and inference based upon the abstraction of what we read and the application of contexts. We bind concepts and substitute connotations to develop reasoned and logical answers regarding the writer’s purpose and a reader response. Lambda has been the result of 18 months investigation into the appropriate pedagogy of developing students' critical analysis. This pack includes my research, student documents, introductory presentation and a template for application with worked examples.

Reign your students in with this random slow writing sentence type generator. There are now 60 randomly generateable sentences, and you can add your own if you wish. On the RndSel worksheet, double-click the cell A1 but just press [Enter] to re-randomise. Copy and paste out what you need Updated: 18/04/18.

Here are 16 Paper 1s that I've created for use over multiple reading age ranges. All include: Extract, Paper 1 Questions 1 to 4. Some include: Model answers.

Speed up your Language Paper feedback. I use this for all year groups (from 7 to 11) - yes, you heard that right: we're expected to test even year 7 at GCSE level. This makes me more efficient and more effective in determining marks. Take all the stress out of marking mock papers with your classes, with this comprehensive excel spreadsheet and MailMerge word documents. Works for Paper 1 and 2. This is based upon the mark scheme and provides a breakdown of a student's current strengths and weaknesses Spreadsheet for inputting student marks question by question. Two separate Mailmerge Documents to provide targeted feedback. 1) Student Worksheet: a) input Student names, b) input P1Q1 and P2Q1, c) set threshold value for expected age range target 2) P1Q2, Q3, Q4 & P2Q2, Q3 and Q4 and P1Q5 & P2Q5 (Technical Accuracy): a) input the levels (1-4) for each skills descriptor, b) where you feel this provides an incorrect mark, provide your own in column B 3) P1Q5 & P2Q5 (Content And Organisation): a) input the levels (1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b) for each skills descriptor, b) where you feel this provides an incorrect mark, provide your own in column B 4) Save and close 5) Load either of the Mailmerge documents, begin Word Mailmerge and select the appropriate worksheet from the spreadsheet for either Paper 1 or Paper 2 6) Print double-sided targeted feedback for each student

This my original data entry and feedback attempt. Now superseded... Take all the stress out of marking mock papers with your classes, with this comprehensive excel spreadsheet and MailMerge word documents. Works for Paper 1 and 2 (just save the spreadsheet with a different name). This is based upon the mark scheme and provides a breakdown of a student's current strengths and weaknesses (Q2-4 feedback is based upon the RACERS analysis mneumonic - see my other resources - particularly the Differentiation Cards) Insert Student names on the [Students] worksheet Add Q1 Marks on the [Marks] worksheet Add Q2-4 Marks on their respective worksheets and (and this is important) add a 1 in the relevant column for each marking aspect. Add Q5 Marks on the [05] worksheet for both Content and Organisation and Technical Accuracy and (and this is important) add a 1 in the relevant column for each marking aspect. To print everything for every student, use the [Student Print] worksheet and change the number in cell [A4]. To MailMerge, load the relevant word document and import the relevant worksheet, ie [MailMerge05]. When you print (and this is important), you can print all even pages with 4 pages on a single A4 (to save on pages).

I've been struggling to get my students to analyse with any effectiveness, so I'm currently trying (with some success-) the a visual approach - as an example from Journey's End (see the picture), Stanhope is talking negatively about Raleigh (talking him down). Using an interactive whiteboard, I can model answers on the word document really easily, and have been doubling up by getting the students to identify their keywords (underlining / circling) and then defining the word classes / linguistic device of those keywords, before moving onto analysis. There are instructions on the first page of the document. Most importantly, getting the students to replicate the model (red, downward arrow for negative and green, upward arrow for positive) will help them visualise what can often be a complex cognitive construction.

Here are the issues we face: Reading for pleasure at the age of 15 is a strong factor in determining future social mobility. Indeed, it has been revealed as the most important indicator of the future success of the child. - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2013 Books in the home 'boost children's education' (Sunday Telegraph 21 May 2010 ); Reading as teenager gets you a better job (Daily Mirror, 08 Apr 2011 ); Reading for pleasure 'boosts pupils' results in maths' (Times Online, 26 Mar 2010). So, here's a scheme for whole school literacy... designed around making links between texts to provide both progression and access to multiple genres and writing types (in a single reading route). There are 15 reading routes (see Map.pdf). Students choose what they wish to read and use the Reading Logs to record their adventure (see Logs.pdf). There are two parts to the logs, i) an entire route, and ii) a log for each book read. Teachers or a nominated lead should interview students upon completion of the first few chapters (for low abilities), or the entire book, as authentication. I have included Reading-Prompts.pdf and Reading-and-Extension-Questions.pdf for students who have difficulty engaging, comprehending and reflecting on their reading. There is also Iceberg-Thinking.pdf for asking students questions about the texts they've read. These three documents were adapted by me from others work and are available for free elsewhere in my shop. I have freely bundled them here as extra useful resources to support your scheme. Certificates (Certificates.pdf) should then be printed as A5 and inserted into a cheap clipframe for presentation to the student as a mark of their achievement.

The Interactive Grammar App is a classroom and lecture resource designed to aid the learning of grammar from secondary to degree level, by providing the ability to reveal or hide the breakdown of sentence construction on a number of levels. It uses Excel and simple mouse clicks to hide or reveal the info. Buy the app and its 167 sentences here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/interactive-grammar-app-11334721

The Interactive Grammar App is a classroom and lecture resource designed to aid the learning of grammar from secondary to degree level, by providing the ability to reveal or hide the breakdown of sentence construction on a number of levels. It uses a simple Excel front end and mouse clicks to hide or reveal the functions and forms of each word class or phrase. 167 different sentences to use. To check out the userguide for free, download here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/interactive-grammar-app-userguide-only-11334727.

Created for my finals, this two-page infographic is a great way to summarise the order,features, themes and story types of each of the Canterbury Tales. A clear revision guide helping to expand student awareness - can be used as a display or knowledge organiser

I don't argue or negotiate with my students over the importance of English as a subject. I direct them to my "Break the ICE" posters which set out the reasons for them: Inference Communication Empathy All three skills are necessary for us to be fully functioning members of society. Further, they are intrinsic to a student's development in English.

Forget AFOREST PIE, it's random, ill-thought out, difficult to memorise and doesn't cater for all that it's meant to: don't put the onus on your students to remember Rhetorical Questions and Repetition or Anecdotes and Alliteration. So, try FAIRER APOSTLE instead for persuasive techniques. Along with a poetic devices knowledge organiser, a TAP (text-type, audience and purpose) knowledge organiser, and both a FAIRER APOSTLE and a SOAPMAPS worksheet (Similes, Onomatopoeia, Adjectives, Personification, Metaphors, Adverbs, Pathetic Fallacy, Senses). Use as knowledge organisers or poster displays

A handy set of worksheets for use with poetry analysis. Breaking down aspects into constituent parts for defining examples and inferring meaning.

Students, particularly those with low literacy or suffering from dyslexia, require strategies for reading. These prompts, logs, and question sheets are designed to draw out greater depth of comprehension.

Developed from my need to provide a helpdesk for my students, Differentiation Cards allow your hti / ebi to direct a particular student to a specific part of their analytical writing where they have an issue or weakness. Rather than you needing to dedicate time to one particular student, you can direct them to the differentiation card they need to reflect on to improve their work (automatic differentiation)... as you work your students towards self-actualisation. Now, my students have a clearer sense of what they should be achieving and I am no longer fire-fighting a forest of hands, but able to attend to the more needy. Further, Card 13 allows students to self mark or peer mark against a clear rubric. Cards 1a Structure SPaG 1b 2a Understand the question Decode the question 2b 3a Respond to the question Thinking of a personal response 3b 4a Critically analyse the text Critical Thinking - Description 4b 5a Critical Thinking - Analysis Critical Thinking - Evaluation 5b 6a RACERS - Restate Sentence Starters (RACERS) 6b 7a RACERS - Answer Sentence Starters (RACERS) 7b 8a RACERS - Cite Sentence Starters (RACERS) 8b 9a RACERS - Explain Sentence Starters (RACERS) 9b 10a RACERS - React Sentence Starters (RACERS) 10b 11a RACERS - Signify Sentence Starters (RACERS) 11b 12a RACERS - Relate Sentence Starters (RACERS) 12b 13a Reflection / Feedback 13b 14a Planning / Composing Reviewing / Improving 14b 15a Self-editing (part 1) Self-editing (part 2) 15b These are designed to printed double-sided. I have provided a title card to be stuck on a container, and then two versions of the cards themselves, to be slotted inside. I have used the "back2back colour print" version so that I can print on coloured card and ensure that none of the colours blend into each other, but are clearly distinct. I printed 10 copies of each, laminated and cut them to size so that they can be reused. Further, I have linked them to the RACERS mnemonic (see my other resources) for deep analysis development.

The mnemonic Restate / Relate Answer Cite Explain React Signify Rationale Racers represents an acronym designed to assist students in analysing texts with depth. I have tried PEE, PEEA, PEEL, and most recently AIDRWL, but found either a perpetual lack of insight or utter confusion. I have therefore continued to look for a suitable mnemonic that might be memorable and assist students in the delivery of their responses. I believe I have found that in Tantillo’s Racer (adapted here for my purposes). Adapted from Tantillo, S. (2014), Literacy and the Common Core. San Fransciso, Jossey-Bass (p.154)

Get your students thinking more critically as they decode the background behind a text with this display / prompt sheet. Print and laminate.

AQA's 2016 English Language exam requires a deep understanding of structure, You might wish to use this template with any text, either fiction or not. As a point of reference, a great way to introduce students to notions of structure is to use the template on the opening to the James Bond film Spectre (Day of the Dead).

Wanting to stretch your students through creative tasks? Impose restrictions on the approach they take. Use a single die to determine perspective, tense, genre and the narrator's tone.