UPDATED: August 19th, 2017 A booklet designed for use with the new AQA English Literature Paper 1: Shakespeare examination. The booklet comprises social, historical and cultural contexts information, a number of detailed character analyses, including: * Macbeth * Lady Macbeth * Banquo * The Weird Sisters and a variety of AQA-style Literature practice exam questions, with some prompts and a suggested essay structure writing frame to stimulate student response for study / revision beyond the classroom. The extract length and exam paper question format adhere to the model provided by AQA in the only official specimen exam paper they have thus far published. I hope it is of some use to you and your students. Matt :)

A set of ten editable PPT slides for use with revision or consolidation of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. Each slide features a quotation integral to one of the play’s main themes or characters and each contain four tasks: identifying writer’s methods; linking the quotation to the play’s social, cultural or historical contexts, contrast (or connect) to elsewhere in the play; and synthesise details in the quotation for more sophisticated textual analysis. Feel free to tweak them, or add your own. There is a set for A Christmas Carol, too, if you like the format! Hope they are useful.

A set of ten editable PPT slides for use with revision or consolidation of Priestley’s play, “An Inspector Calls.” Each slide features a quotation integral to one of the play’s main themes or characters and each contain four tasks: identifying a writer’s methods; linking the quotation to the play’s social, cultural or historical contexts, contrast (or connect) to elsewhere in the play; and synthesising details in the quotation for more sophisticated textual analysis. Feel free to tweak them, or add your own. There are sets for Macbeth and A Christmas Carol, too, if you like the format! Hope they are useful.

A set of ten editable PPT slides for use with revision or consolidation of Dickens’ novella, “A Christmas Carol.” Each slide features a quotation integral to one of the novella’s main themes or characters and each contain four tasks: identifying a writer’s methods; linking the quotation to the novella’s social, cultural or historical contexts, contrast (or connect) to elsewhere in the novella; and synthesising details taken from the quotation for more sophisticated textual analysis. Feel free to tweak them, or add your own. There are sets for Macbeth and An Inspector Calls, too, if you like the format! Hope they are useful.

The new GCSE English Language and Literature Assessment Objectives 'boiled down' to 5 CORE Reading Skills and then those core skills are traced through a hierarchy of competence, using phrases common to new AQA Language and Literature mark schemes (highlighted in bold on the progression maps), linked to the new numerical grades 9 to 1, using the FFT 'refined' model. They can be used across both Key Stages 3 and 4 to assess skills progression and to ensure consistency in application of assessment criteria across members of your department. If you find them of use, check out the Planning for Progression in Writing: New 9 to 1 Skills progression map also uploaded to TES. I hope they are of some use to you.

A practice exam paper for the new AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2A: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives, using two non-fiction texts based on the same theme or topic: here, it is AIR POLLUTION in LONDON across the centuries. Extracts used here are a journal entry from a Frenchwoman writing about smog in London in 1839 and a newspaper article about air pollution in London, published by The Independent newspaper in January 2015. The 4 exam questions adhere to the format of those published by AQA in their specimen exam papers. NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of Practice exam papers for Paper 1 and Paper 2. They are all FREE so help yourself - just leave a review! Thanks. I hope it is of some use to you. Matt :)

A practice exam paper for AQA English Language Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives. The theme of this paper is VIEWPOINTS towards IMPRISONMENT across the centuries and in two different countries, and the two non-fiction extracts used are a 19th C letter written by Oscar Wilde to the editor of an English national newspaper, complaining about the treatment of children in Victorian English prisons and a 20th C newspaper article describing America's latest maximum security prison, Florence Prison. Section B writing task (linked by theme to the topic of the texts in Section A) is also included. The 5 exam questions adhere to the format of those used by AQA on their published specimen paper. NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of Practice Paper 1 and 2 Language exam papers to my 'shop' and ALL are available FREE of charge, so help yourself - just leave a review. Thanks! I hope this is of some use to you. Matt :)

A practice exam paper for the new AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives, using two non-fiction texts based on the same theme or topic. Extracts used here are a 19th C eyewitness account written in the form of a letter by Charles Dickens to a friend, as a fortunate survivor of a terrible rail disaster, in 1865 in which many people were injured and killed with a 21st C newspaper interview with the parents of a woman killed in the 1999 Paddington rail disaster - so the different perspectives here are of someone directly involved in a rail accident and a rail victim's parents struggling to come to terms with their loss 15 years after the rail tragedy. Section B: Writing task (linked by theme to the topic of the texts in Section A) is also included. The 5 exam questions adhere to the format of those published by AQA in their specimen exam papers. NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of practice Paper 1 AND 2 Language exam papers to my 'shop' and they are ALL FREE of charge so help yourself - just leave a review. Thanks! I hope it is of some use to you. Matt :)

A variety of starter activity puzzles: crosswords, anagrams, word searches with hidden messages to accompany the teaching and learning of Orwell's novel, a set text for the new AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2: Modern Texts examination. Hope they are of use to you.

A revision booklet to support study of A Christmas Carol for the new AQA English Literature GCSE, The booklet contains: * a graphic timeline of events * thumbnail character profiles (taken from BBC Bitesize) * a series of extracts with accompanying exam Qs in the style of that produced by AQA in their published specimen paper Hope it is of some use. Matt :)

A practice exam paper for the new AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives, using two non-fiction texts based on the same theme or topic: here, it is the theme of CHILD LABOUR across the centuries and in different cultures. Extracts used here are Lord Shaftesbury's Parliamentary speech in 1842 about the working conditions of children in British coal mines and a newspaper article from 2014 regarding child labour in India. Section B: Writing task (linked by theme to the topic of the texts in Section A) is also included. The 5 exam questions adhere to the format of those published by AQA in their specimen exam papers. (NOTE: I have, on occasion, tweaked the vocabulary or sentencing of Shaftesbury's parliamentary speech ever so slightly, simply to make it more accessible for classroom use.) NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of Practice exam papers for Paper 1 and Paper 2. They are all FREE at my 'shop' so please help yourself - just leave a review! Thanks. I hope it is of some use to you. Matt :)

A practice exam paper for the new AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives, using two non-fiction texts based on the same theme or topic, here being: NURSING - THEN AND NOW! Extracts used here are Florence Nightingale's 19th C account of nursing wounded soldiers following the Battle of Balaklava during the Crimean War and a 21st C article taken from Nursing Times about the findings of a survey of NHS nurses regarding pay and conditions. Section B: Writing task (linked by topic to the theme of the texts used in Section A) is also included. The 5 exam questions adhere to the format of those published by AQA in their specimen exam papers. NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of practice exam Papers 1 AND 2 to my 'shop', ALL FREE of charge. Help yourself - just leave a review! Thank you. I hope this is of some use to you. Matt :)

Made using copyright free images from www.unsplash.com and the free software package Adobe Spark, here are thirteen key quotation display posters for use in your classroom. When printed, the posters are approx 40cm x 40cm and the images are high resolution - perfect for display. They also only take a couple of minutes to make each one! Have a go!

15 x PPT slides, each containing 5 Qs encouraging students to recall previously learned knowledge of the text. Based on the latest educational research which suggests that spaced retrieval of previously learned material leads to better transfer of knowledge to long term memory. Hope they’re useful. Please leave a review. Matt

A scheme of work, comprising 18 (hour long) lessons - each of which is a series of SMART Notebook slides for interactive, whole-class teaching and learning, containing: * learning objectives / outcomes * starter activity - anagrams of key words / crossword puzzle / wordsearch * electronic versions of the pupil resources / hand-outs / excerpts * context-based tasks focusing on language analysis, using essay based steers such as: "How does Orwell make this such a (dramatic/shocking/memorable etc.) moment in the novel?" * plenary activity Some of the content coverage includes: * allegory / fable * satire * persuasive rhetoric - language analysis * Newspaper article of the Battle of the Cowshed * irony - exploring the poem about Napoleon in Chapter 8 * developing of language analysis skills, with close reference to 4 dramatic or shocking moments Each lesson and any accompanying resources/worksheets are organised into 18 sub-folders, lesson by lesson, for your convenience. Hope it's of some use to you. Matt :)

A practice exam paper for the new AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives, using two non-fiction texts based on the same theme or topic: here, it is CAPITAL PUNISHMENT in different centuries and in different countries. Extracts used here are a 19th C eyewitness account of a visit to the prison gallows which featured in The Daily Telegraph, 30th November 1881 and an American online newspaper article in defence of the death penalty, published in 2014. The authors display contrasting viewpoints to the topic. Section B: Writing task (linked by theme to the texts used in Section A) is also included. The 5 exam questions adhere to the format of those published by AQA in their specimen exam papers. NOTE: I've uploaded LOADS of Paper 1 and 2 Language exam papers FREE of charge, available at my 'shop'. Help yourself but please leave a review - thanks! I hope it is of some use to you. Matt :)

A practice exam paper for the new AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2A: Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives, linked by the theme of 'Titanic Tragedy', using a survivor's autobiographical account of the disaster and a 21st century informative web page written by teens for teens. The format of the exam Qs follows that published by AQA in the approved specimen materials. Please note: I have produced only Qs 1 to 3 (there are 4 Qs on the exam paper) as these resources were originally designed for use by pupils at Key Stage 3, introducing the format and the skills tested by the new GCSE. (One of the texts in the GCSE exams will be 19th C but as this paper was designed to introduce the format and the skills tested, both texts here are from the 20th and 21st C, exploring different viewpoints of the same event.) I have uploaded LOADS of practice Paper 1s AND 2s to my 'shop', ALL FREE of charge. Please help yourself - just leave a review. Thanks! I hope it is of some use to you.

This is a set of 16 x weekly SPaG review PPT slides. Each slide comprises 6 common error SPaG review tasks. The template was designed and shared by Chris Curtis (@Xris32 over on Twitter!) Hope it’s useful. NOTE: Just don’t sell it or you’ll be cursed!

This resource comprises 16 posters, created using Adobe Spark, each containing key terminology for exploring narrative structure with precision and sophistication. Each poster contains a graphic, the term and a definition. There are 16 in total, and the folder also contains a Word document for students as a glossary, with terms, definitions and examples from various, popular GCSE Literature texts. I turned my classroom wall display into a Freytag's Pyramid and affixed the first 7 to it. The others are structural features for reference by students in class. Enjoy!

Designed to be used alongside study of the play, the 25 slides are used as a recall starter, providing opportunity for regular low-stakes quizzing and retrieval of knowledge of the play. The slides are editable and assess knowledge cumulatively, Act by Act so by the end of the play they should have a secure knowledge of key quotations, stagecraft, characters and contexts. I hope they are useful. Please leave a review. Thanks.