This advertisement was kindly supplied to me by Save The Children Supporter Care. It can be used to help A-Level, IB, and (I)GCSE students analyse advertisements through the lenses of context, audience, purpose and style.

These Christmas ads can be stuck to the wall so that your students can react to them in relation to context, audience, purpose and style. If laminated on first printing they can be used for years to come. Students can annotate using Post-It notes. If you are in a rush, then just print them and have students write on them directly. Colour printing is highly recommended. These posters are mainly of use to A-Level/IB students, but could also be used for (I)GCSE language and media courses. Note: one of the posters is appropriate for 16+ only.

This 16-lesson (4-week) unit explores a variety of poetry from the 1500s to the present day. It examines several aspects of poetry, including specialist structures, rhythm, rhyme and meter, as well as techniques common to several types of literature, including personification, alliteration, and onomatopoeia. An effort is made in the unit to encourage text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text connections in the pupils' readings. Contextual information about the lives of the poets studied is introduced as and when it is relevant, as opposed to systematically. Pupils consider the links between style, context, content and purpose. Their studies of poetry culminate in the production of a piece of official coursework – an essay addressing a key theme across several poems studied. The unit was designed for students studying the Cambridge IGCSE in World Literature, but could easily adapted for (I)GCSE, IB or A-Level students studying the same poems. The poems for which there are lesson plans in this unit are as follows: Futility (Wilfred Owen) The Death Bed (Siegfried Sassoon) First March (Ivor Gurney) Last Sonnet (John Keats) If thou must love me (Elizabeth Barrett Browning) lion heart (Amanda Chong) I years had been from home (Emily Dickinson) Homecoming (Lenrie Peters) The Border-Builder (Carol Rumens) Rhyme of the Dead Self (ARD Fairburn) The Caged Skylark (Gerard Manley Hopkins) Song (George Szirtes) The Road (Nancy Cato)

Many of these resources were made by Penguin to support work on The Great Gatsby. They are also referred to in my lesson plan pack, available for download on TES. There is also a file containing ideas for teaching The Great Gatsby, compiled from around the internet. Finally, there is an article about flappers that can be used with your most able students.

This worksheet encourages students to identify key sonnet features (iambic pentameter, volta, syllabic count), give examples of these, and comment on effects.

This 28-lesson (7-week) unit plan explores Shakespeare's classic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, via examination of several of the playwright's specialist structures, including the sonnet form, rhythm, rhyme and meter, as well as techniques common to several types of literature, including antithesis, hyperbole, and juxtaposition. An effort is made in the unit to encourage text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text connections in the pupils' readings. Contextual information is introduced as and when it is relevant, as opposed to systematically. Pupils consider the links between style, context, content and purpose.

This revision sheet lists possible reasons for Blanche's behaviour in scene 1 of A Streetcar Named Desire. Underneath are spaces for students to write in evidence from the scene supporting each point. This could therefore be used not just for revision but also as a scaffold for weaker students&' essay-writing.

This table is designed to be filled in by students to illustrate the moods and atmospheres in the novel, with techniques identified and effects explained, as well as examples given from the text (paraphrase or direct quote). The various columns could be used to differentiate between the abilities of different groups of students, or filled in by all students. The final question on the sheet could be used as extension or plenary. This was designed to be used by students of IGCSE World Literature, who were reading the novel in translation, but it could also be used by native French speakers, or by students of A Level/IB French.

This literary and linguistic techniques matching game could be printed, laminated and cut out so that students can use it kinaesthetically (which is how I used it) or distributed as a worksheet where students just draw lines between the terms and their definitions (but you would need to mix up the definitions in the document first!). It was designed for IGCSE students but could be used throughout secondary depending on your students’ abilities. It includes literary devices such as flashbacks, as well as linguistic devices such as complex sentences. Great as a starter or plenary activity, or for revision.

These comprehension questions were designed to support student learning when studying the Rumens poem “The Border-Builder”. They could be completed in class (in groups or alone), or set as homework. They are aimed at MA-HA (I)GCSE students and come with an optional extra credit assignment for extension purposes. Multiple copies of the questions are printed on one page to aid printing, photocopying and distribution.

This resource consists of anonymised quotations from real sixth-form student essays about Bao Ninh’s language use in the opening pages of “The Sorrow of War”. By asking students to identify what is good about them and what could be improved, it is possible to not only develop their justifications/opinions of these aspects of the novel itself, but also to allow students to critique the quality of the analysis. This helps to develop metacognitive and essay-writing skills as well as knowledge of the text. As such, it can be used with students who have no experience of the novel, as well as with students who are studying the novel directly. It would make a great starter/plenary activity, especially in the context of revision of the novel or essay-writing classes.

This grid is intended to encourage sixth-formers studying the novel “The Sorrow of War” to consider the reliability of both its author (Bao Ninh) and protagonist (Kien), as well as areas where the two intersect. This is also a chance to develop their abilities in terms of supporting their ideas with evidence from the text. Aimed at MA-HA students. Examples could be filled in by the teacher (maybe one per box) along with possible sentence stems for explanation to support lower-ability students. The resource could also be adapted for use with any other text that has an unreliable narrator and/or author.

This quotes quiz was created for students revising Bao Ninh’s novel “The Sorrow of War” for their final exams. No answers are provided as the emphasis is on the quality of student analysis. Techniques-wise it tests student knowledge of literary and linguistic devices including personification, simile and metaphor, and alliteration. Aimed at MA-HA sixth-formers.

The statements and questions in this grid about Bao Ninh’s novel “The Sorrow of War” were provided by real sixth-form students, with development in the brackets being provided by me. The third column in the chart is left blank so that your students can fill in their own responses to the ideas. It may be prudent to print this on A3 paper so that students have sufficient space to write, and/or upload a copy to your school’s VLE so that students can download and type directly onto a digital copy. Excellent for revision.

This worksheet/activity is great for revision, and can be filled out as students encounter characters upon first reading/throughout their initial reading of the play, or completed retrospectively. It has been filled in with the names of characters from Brian Friel’s play “Translations” but could be easily adapted/used for other plays. Students are encouraged to make notes on multiple features including the characters’ attitudes, impact on them as readers, and how the characters speak. I usually print one copy of this out on A4 and then blow it up to A3 size to give students more space to write. It can also be uploaded to your school’s VLE so that students can download extra copies if they need it (or if they prefer to type onto a digital copy).

This worksheet/activity is designed for MA-HA A Level/IB English A students. It provides the references made in the play to characters from classical literature/mythology, in the order in which they are mentioned in the play, so is a great resource for revision. Students can work in class or at home to locate the quotation where the character is mentioned (if they put act/scene numbers this helps their essay-writing/referencing skills generally). Students are then encouraged to explain the significance of this being included (this column in the chart could be an extension task for those of higher ability, or all students could be asked to do it). Prompts are included to help students with the explanation/aid differentation.

This weblog pack consists of a compilation of blog entries which appeared online on a variety of websites after certain Enid Blyton books were reissued with changes to characters' names (e.g. Jo-> Joe) and actions (Dame Slap apparently only snaps now). The blog pack can be issued in its entirety to each child or it can be divided up and individual blog entries given to students according to their level of English (the entries vary in length and complexity). The blog entries also present a variety of viewpoints. A great way to discuss language change with secondary students of all ages alongside other topics such as revisionism. Possible questions for students include: Why are people so demonstrably upset by the changes? Is their protest reasonable (why/why not)? Is it right to change parts of an author’s work once it has been published (why/why not)?

The questions in this file are replicated multiple times to ease printing, photocopying and distribution. They deal with affirmations made by Barabas and Ferneze in this scene and require students to justify their answers with evidence from Act 5 scene 1, as well as from elsewhere in the play where appropriate. Students could be given one or both questions either to respond to with short answers or to expand/develop into an essay.

This list of questions is intended for students studying Christopher Marlowe’s play “The Jew of Malta”. The questions can be given to students before or after watching the Grandfather Films production of the play, with the understanding either way that they make notes throughout their viewing of the film. The questions include topics such as possible cuts that could be made, the chronology of the film, and the casting. The questions could therefore be used by students of English, Drama, or Film Studies. There are three copies of the questions per page, for ease of printing, photocopying and distribution.

These comprehension questions were designed for MA-HA (I)GCSE students studying Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “If Thou Must Love Me”. They could be used in groups or alone in class, or as homework. They would also be good as a revision activity or if you need cover work. The questions could also be split up and used in class using a carousel format. Extension questions are included, especially regarding the poem’s form, and contextual knowledge surrounding the poet’s husband, Robert Browning. Two copies of the questions are included per sheet of paper to ease printing, photocopying and distribution.