As part of the Global Perspectives IGCSE, students need to undertake a piece of individual research of at least 750 words, accompanied by a practical solution (e.g. film, T-shirts, posters, charity campaign…) that encourages community involvement and cross-cultural evaluation. For some students, particularly EAL/ESL pupils or those with processing/executive function disorders, this can be a daunting task, so a planning sheet is essential (even for those with good planning skills - as many 14-16-year-olds will never have attempted a task of this magnitude). The planning sheet forces students to identify a topic area and refine this into a specific question before writing down their main ideas and considering problems and possible solutions from multiple perspectives (local, global…).

Mini 'tutorial' on past participles with examples. Good for use as background info with students of English as a foreign language (age 11+) as well as with native speakers.

This general worksheet helps students to analyse stage directions from any play, considering character, lighting, sounds, and other elements.

This worksheet helps students (especially EAL/ESL students) to identify knowledge claims (which they should have already been introduced to in a prior lesson), especially using elements of grammar with which they are familiar. They are then encouraged to think critically about whether or not certain ideas about climate change may be true, and why. The final italic line should be cut off with scissors and only given to students towards the end of the lesson (as extension or plenary) to encourage them to consider how the sources of information can affect their answers. This activity is particularly appropriate for students studying Global Perspectives, Theory of Knowledge, or Critical Thinking.

This information sheet can be used by secondary students of all ages who need guidance on how to write a feature article. It encourages the use of statistics, illustrations and vox pops for the more mathematically and artistically minded English and media students.

This cartoon can be used by English, media and politics students (A Level, IB, (I)GCSE) to understand context, audience, purpose and style.

The text file is taken from the Financial Times and talks about climate change in Tibet. Students should read this in advance and come to class with a list of vocabulary questions, which could be worked through in groups for speediness if there are many questions. If there are only a few questions, this could be done as a class. The comprehension questions help to gauge student understanding of the content and begin to assess their critical thinking skills. This exercise can be used for students aged 14-18 in subjects such as Geography and Global Perspectives.

The attached questions about obesity can be used in social studies, PSHE and Global Perspectives lessons to explore the themes of the human body, health and disease. The questions encourage students to consider how society influences how we see overweight people, to identify the differences between underweight/healthy/overweight/obese/morbidly obese, to question whether someone can be healthy and overweight, to explain why we need fat in our bodies, and to research hereditary disorders such as Prader-Willi and Cushing's syndromes. All tasks could be completed by all students, or you could divide students into groups and give each group a different question which they then research/consider more thoroughly.

Students comparatively evaluate fast foods from different popular outlets based on calories, saturated fat, size (grams), appearance, taste, price and value. The task enables numeracy and literacy integration within social studies-style subjects (including Global Perspectives and PSHE) by asking them to create bar graphs and write commentaries based on their findings, which can then be used for display.

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 information sheet contextualises Ibsen's origins and family relationships as well as the theatrical movements by which his drama abides (naturalism/realism). The sheet also encourages students to link these to his plays.

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 column by Dave Barry can be used by secondary English students to understand cultural context, as well as how humour is created and used in writing. It can also be used by French classes for a tongue-in-cheek insight into French culture. The comprehension questions are as follows: How far does Dave Barry exaggerate? Is some of what he says true? Explain your answer. Give an example of how Dave Barry uses language in a humorous way. EXTENSION: What technique(s) does he use and why? Dave Barry also makes fun of Americans. How?

This text can be used to help A-Level, IB and (I)GCSE students analyse context, audience, purpose and style. Particularly valuable is the subtext that it doesn't just inform but also advertises/persuades.

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.

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

This text can be used by secondary students of all ages to understand how humour is created and used in writing. Comprehension questions are included. This is designed for use by English students, but could also be used in French classes for some tongue-in-cheek insight into French culture.

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)?

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.

These comprehension questions were designed for use by MA-HA (I)GCSE students reading Edith Wharton’s short story “The Moving Finger”. These questions could be completed all in one go after reading the whole story (perhaps as homework) or could be completed after reading each part (maybe as a class activity). The questions encourage students to consider how characters are developed and evolve, as well as their overall significance to the story, using evidence from the text to support their ideas. As such these could also be used as stimuli for essays or presentations (as opposed to short answers). The final question could be done as an extension activity in writing and/or the quotation given to all students as a starter or plenary activity.