This is just a fun filler for less able pupils to introduce them to a great bit of Dickens. And it’s free.

Helps Y9 produce a piece of creative writing based on the opening 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan (an old coursework / controlled writing task). You can also use the resource to help prepare Y9 pupils for Q5 paper 1, looking at details on images and helping them to write creatively in response.

This is a right laugh to do with Y9 kids, to stimulate creative writing, writing for a purpose or as an introdution to GCSE Media / Film studies.

Scheme of work for Y7 or Y8 depending on your school. That sounds a bit drab doesn’t it; there’s loads to do and you can add what you want. It’s free.

This is really useful for a disengaged GCSE class, using banned music videos as a starting point for spoken language or a piece of transactional writing. I’ve suggested some really interesting videos (all on Youtube) but I’m 50 now, and not as down with the kids as I used to be, so you’d probably want to augment the unit with some gangsters shooting each other or scantily clad dancers with gold teeth smoking decidedly dodgy looking Vape machines. Or something.

This resource is a sample of a comprehensive scheme- there is a PPT with a worksheet for each chapter.

My favourite author. You’ll need the whole story, which I’m not allowed to sell obviously.

A fun intro to being playful and experimental with poetry.

Based on Seamus Heaney’s ‘Follower’, the lecture tackles the key methods pupils need to identify and comment on in Literature Paper 2

Can be delivered to a whole year group or class by class to absolutely nail the method aspect of paper 1 Lit.

A one size fits all powerpoint to revise the importance of method when analysing Dickens in Q1 AQA English Literature Paper 1

This is a well-crafted, highly visual, lecture for middle to upper ability kids who need to move from band 2 to band 3 - focusing explicitly on Priestley’s dramatic methods and effects on an audience.

Basically these are my resources for the last specifications and before, which is why they are cheap. They will get you sailing towards the new specs for sure, helping the kids to get fully familiar with the basics, including language, themes, context and characters.

A lesson introducing structure in Dystopian Fiction focusing on ‘The Road’ by Cormac McCarthy. Suitable for an able GCSE class or as an introduction to Dystopian Fiction for a top set Y9. Worksheet and Powerpoint.

A fun way of introducing writing to instruct, using the scenario of a Zombie Apocalypse.

A fun one-off, or introduction to Science Fiction, for an able Y7 or mixed ability Y8/9 - the ppt is the springboard for a week’s creative writing and group work, leading to a speaking and listening or presentation. The unit could also be set as a project based half term homework.

Full lesson with PPT allowing middle to high ability pupils to closely analyse the poem in all its fantastic depth. I used this lesson to get myself a job in a prestigious school; the class were very able and super responsive. It’s not didactic, that’s not how I teach, so expect the pupils to get stuck in and give you plenty of feedback. It’s what they think that matters.

Six lessons for a breakdown day, fully resourced. Can be delivered by English, Humanities or Form Tutors - the lessons are designed to be active, fun and have a general Literacy focus across the key areas of English, History and Science.

Tackles the use of Shakespeare’s Method - the serious flaw in pupils’ responses. Can be delivered to a whole year group or class by class, to make sure that this key factor in teaching is sorted.

This is a brilliant little unit for a Y7 or low ability class who need ‘grabbing’. It’s self contained in one ppt, extremely easy to deliver and results in some excellent display work if you choose. You could use it as a starter for Gothic Literature.