Resources made by a Head of English, with a background in TEFL and SEN (thus differentiation for EAL and SEN students is often a feature of lesson plans). I have also examined for AQA for the past six years, IBDP for the past 2, and have taught AQA, Edexcel and CIE specifications.
Resources made by a Head of English, with a background in TEFL and SEN (thus differentiation for EAL and SEN students is often a feature of lesson plans). I have also examined for AQA for the past six years, IBDP for the past 2, and have taught AQA, Edexcel and CIE specifications.
A printable Poetry Anthology for students studying the Edexcel IGCSE in English Literature (4ET1). It includes all the poems, plus glossaries, explanations of key features and contexts, and brief biographies (where relevant). There are also three pages of explanations of key terms for poetry analysis, with examples from the anthology.
A lesson analysing 'Hoping' by Shirley Hughes: allows you to do something Christmassy with your exam classes, while still keeping a focus on the skills that they need for the GCSE LIterature exam (AQA, unseen poetry). Very accessible for Low Ability - remove the scaffolding questions for higher ability classes. Merry Christmas!
This unit is designed for Year 9, to prepare them for study of the AQA Poetry of Conflict cluster at GCSE - though it is a good preparation for the study of poetry at GCSE for any exam board. The unit includes poems by Wilfred Owen (2), Jessie Pope, Alison Fell, Pablo Neruda, Ciaran Carson and John Agard. In addition, there is an extended creative writing task, two discussion lessons using de Bono's hats and an ICT lesson. An overview document contains a lesson by lesson guide, giving suggestions for AFL, differentiation and homework (though lots of all three are already built into the unit). All lessons come with powerpoints and accessible resources. Happy teaching!
A ten (or more) lesson scheme of work on writing to advise, argue and persuade. Originally designed for Year 9, it would also work with high ability Year 8s and low ability Year 10s. An overview document gives a lesson by lesson guide, as well as ideas for further AFL and differentiation (lots of both are already built in to the lessons). All lessons come with powerpoints and resources. It's a very mobile and energetic unit, with speeches and debates, as well as an essay and grammar lessons on passives and phrasal verbs. Texts examined include those by Malala Yousafzai and Wilfred Owen. Happy teaching!
A version of the classic KS3 unit, looking at poems by Linton Kwesi Johnson, Les Murray, Imitiaz Dharker, Yoruba hunters and Nissim Ezekiel (among others). There is also an emphasis on thinking critically about what culture means, plus a drama lesson exploring deaf poetry. In addition to the main 9 lessons, there are 4 additional lessons looking at specific language techniques. A reading assessment and a scheme of work overview, giving a lesson by lesson guide, is included along with resources - power points and printables - for all lessons. Happy teaching!
This short (7 lesson) poetry scheme of work was originally designed for a Year 7 class full of extremely weak readers, many of whom still struggled to blend phonemes. Therefore, this unit focusses very closely on the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and meanings, examining alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia in a fun and accessible way. As such it may well suit KS2 classes. There is a particular focus on Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky, but Macbeth and tongue twisters also make an appearance. Opportunities for spoken and creative writing tasks are included. An overview document gives a lesson by lesson account, while all lessons come with a powerpoint and resources. Happy teaching.
A 24 lesson (plus two recap lessons) scheme of work to prepare KS4 students for the AQA Literature exam. Comes with a Scheme of Work over view document giving a lesson by lesson guide: all lessons fully resourced (including model answers). Includes spoken and creative tasks. The focus is very much on studying the text as a text, rather than teaching the exam technique - though there is some of that.
A complete scheme of work for William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (27 lessons), which I have taught and refined over the past 6 years. Originally meant for Year 9, it works well with low-ability KS4 classes too - I've used it to prepare students for the AQA Literature GCSE. It's a very active scheme of work, with students acting out most of the play, and there are several written pieces alongside two essays. You will also need Jenga and, preferably, the Zeffirelli version on DVD. All lessons come with powerpoints and resources. An end of unit assessment (plus revision guide for students) is included, as is a scheme of work overview document, with a lesson by lesson guide and ideas for differentiation and AFL. Happy teaching!
This is a short but useful unit on Stevenson's short story Markheim, which shares many of the same themes as 'The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', so would work well as either an introduction to the author prior to teaching Jekyll & Hyde, or as an extension for higher ability groups. However, as it was originally taught to an extra-English class, many of the lessons use the Inference format (a form of reading instruction designed to boost the comprehension skills of low ability readers), so the unit could also be used for that purpose.
A complete scheme of work for Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (25 lessons long) aimed at Year 9, intended to provide context and familiarity with Dickens for further study in KS4. The unit contains powerpoints and resources for all lessons, and includes ICT, debates, speaking and listening lessons alongside reading and writing assessments. Many activities are also differentiated by reading ability.
A fantastic and fun introduction to Shakespeare for KS3 - I've used it with both Years 7 and 8. The 19 lessons include a five lesson lead in looking at fairy tales, with an emphasis on thinking critically, followed by a fun exploration of Shakespeare's classic comedy using an abridged script (uploaded separately as a free resource as I don't own it). The unit includes both reading and writing assessments, spoken tasks, fully resourced lessons and differentiated activities.
A complete scheme of work on biography, which uses substantial extracts from the Diary of Anne Frank, as well as poems and other prose extracts. The 19 lessons include both reading and writing assessments, an extended writing project, and a teacher(s) in role lesson that is the most fun I’ve ever had with a class - I still have Year 11 students who come up to me to talk about it from when they were in Year 8. A scheme of work overview document gives you a break down of each lesson, along with ideas for differentiation and AFL. All lessons come with a powerpoint and other resources. Happy teaching!
Note: 1. For copyright reasons, the extracts from Anne Frank are not included. You will need a copy of the text. However, the dates of the relevant extracts are clearly labelled, so you should easily be able to find them in your copy.
2. For some reason Lesson 4 was missing from the zip file, so this is included separately.
A complete scheme of work (13 lessons), including three assessments, for Sarah Crossan's stunning novel-in-verse The Weight of Water. Dealing with common issues for today's teenagers, such as bullying, migration, racism and family break ups, this uplifting tale is always a hit with students. Over the past four years I have used it with Years 8, 9 and 10, and it makes a great introduction to (or consolidsation of) poetic analysis.
The scheme includes speaking and listening tasks, as well as creative writing, media and reading assessments. An overview document gives lesson by lesson instructions, while each lesson comes fully resourced.
A complete scheme of work for Night John, which I have taught (and refined) for the last 6 years. I usually teach it with Year 8, though I have also used it with Year 7 and low ability Year 9 groups.
The scheme is 18 lessons long, and covers all the main reading, writing and speaking objectives. It includes an extended creative writing task, related non-fiction texts, a persuasive speech, an ICT research lesson, a drama lesson and a debate lesson. It's great fun despite the weighty themes, and students always enjoy this unit.
A complete scheme of work for the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which I have taught (and refined) for the past 5 years. I've always done it with Year 9 (it makes a great introduction to Romeo and Juliet in KS4) but could be done with high ability Year 8s as well. It's 25 lessons long, all fully resourced with powerpoints and handouts. An overview document gives lesson by lesson instructions as well as ideas for AFL and differentiation. Homework tasks, a display and three optional drama lessons are also included. Originally designed to help prepare students for the skills needed for the CIE English Language GCSE, I have also used it to prepare students for the skills needed for the AQA Literature GCSE.
