GCSE English Grade 9-1 Paper 1 Resources

This bundle consists of 3 separate resources

Paper 1 Question 5 Descriptive & Narrative Writing Questions
This pack of picture questions is designed for AQA GCSE English Language 9-1. They simulate Paper 1 Question 5 where students are given a picture and are presented with two options (it’s hard, almost to call them questions!). The tasks can be for a descriptive or a narrative response (although both tasks can be descriptive or narrative and this pack reflects that). I hope that you will be able to use this pack to help you increase the story-telling powers of your learners as well as their descriptive prowess!

The pack gives teachers the opportunity to have a selection of ready-made questions for Paper 1 Question 5. These can be used to ensure that there are always writing tasks at hand. They might be used to stimulate class or small group discussion or can be used as interchangeable exercises to be done during a session. I hope that there is a sufficient variety of images in this pack to pique the interest of even the most reluctant of writers. By giving your learners a choice of task (while the assessment objectives - A05 and A06 remain the same) these sample questions might help to ensure both differentiation and an element of choice.
Structural Features Game
This was created for learners doing GCSE English Language - the new Grade 9-1 Course. It can be used as a revision but more particularly as an introduction to structural features. Paper 1 Question 3 is the structure questions where learners must comment on structure (see example question below from the June 2018 examination). A student response can easily become muddled if they are not confident with the terminology used to do that.

The game is designed to be naturally differentiated - the quality of the responses will depend on the ability of the students but all can participate. Learners are given individual structural features to investigate and must report back on it to the class, including an easy-to-understand definition and hopefully examples of where it is used in one of a variety of forms. If there are no opportunities to use internet enabled devices in class, this could be easily changed to be a homework activity. It is also perfect for a cover class!

Scaffolded Descriptive Writing
This set of prompts is designed to introduce students to descriptive writing in a number of ways…

The resource is designed as a 10-15 minute section of any class and it focuses on an opening paragraph for a description of a picture. Students can build their confidence here before then progressing to longer pieces. It could also be used as a ‘snap’ revision session, a cover class (where more than one is attempted) or as a prompt for a longer response which the students must do once they finish their first paragraph. In fact it’s a highly adaptable (and editable!) resource which you can turn to many things.