A glossary of useful terms for English and English literature. Students to fill in throughout year or a good hmwk task.

Two introductory resources I used for a y12 group about to start studying Austen's 'Persuasion' for c/work/ Pre-reading activity gets them thinking about openings to a selection of Austen novels (so could be used for any Austen novel). We focused on style and applied critical ideas about entry strategies. Then there is a female character adjective match focusing on chapters 1-3. They have to find supporting quote/evidence to justify their ideas.

Two documents - easily adaptable - which allow students to keep track of their improvement, and allow you to assess their oral tasks too. Great for parents' eve and to see whether students actually read anything you write on their work!

Two resources - not really connected! First one is a checklist of conversation techniques (eg turn taking/ adjacency pairs), which you can use to analyze the Lady M and Macbeth scenes pre the murder of Duncan. Gets them thinking about the language of power, as well as the nature of spoken language. Resource two is a decision tree for students to fill in, exploring all the possibilities and consequences facing Macbeth at the end of Act 1.

Copies of the poems, 'pike' by Ted Hughes and 'trout' by Seamus Heaney and a few charts/venns that allow them to compare these two. The powerpoint has pics of a pike - can be used a starter. Once we studied these, they wrote an essay, then a poem describing an animal of their own.

Lesson aim: Develop a methodology for tackling questions on the novel as a whole. Focusing on appearance v reality in Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde, these potential sequence of lessons aims to help students tackling a bigger thematic idea as well as helping them approach bigger essay questions. Designed for AQA GCSE English Literature but would work well for any ... Also includes a layered writing mat, starter activity and worksheet to help plan an essay on the conflict between appearance and reality.

Essay instruction sheet for essay on To Kill A Mockingbird with hints and tips - good half term hmwk or could be prepared in class as an exercise in essay planning. Question is: 'Explore the ways in which Harper Lee presents the development of Scout and Jem in the first section of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’.'

Inspired by the fab tension chart on Teachit for 'An Inspector Calls', I created one for the novel 'Jekyll and Hyde'. Helps students to consider structure/ pace/ ordering of events/ linear v actual etc etc.

Students research the life of Shakespeare and The Globe (see question list) then write an entertaining dramatic monologue in the voice of the Globe... \nInstructions included... produces some lovely work.

A selection of war poetry from Carol Ann Duffy to Wilfred Owen (and accompanying cover sheet). You can shuffle order around, but I have printed into an A5 booklet for students. I used this with Y9 but could be used for GCSE depending on board.

An oldie but goodie - powerpoint talks students through what lonely hearts are, with examples, then provides instructions on how to write their own. Provides some amusing results and I really push mine to write in the style of character and try to apply some of Austen's irony.

Find a quotation activity for chapters 4-6 on the main aspects of the chapters.

A scheme of work for Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, including powerpoints, handouts and some activities. Mostly structured around questions, key quotations and mastery of analysis skills. The document labelled SOW provides overview... Edition used was the standard Faber and Faber and all page references refer to that one.

A full scheme of work for Tennessee Williams' 'A Streetcar Named Desire'... Packed full of activities, critical material, challenging activities and a few essay titles. I taught this for OCR comparative coursework alongside 'A Bell Jar' but, this will fit to any A-level spec. Scheme of work also attached so you can get an idea of whole picture and edit as required... Page references refer to Penguin Modern Classics edition.

A whole range of useful resources to support student writing - mostly A-level but some could work for more able at GCSE: - WHALE analysis; my own approach for getting students to analyse texts in detail by thinking like a whale. Includes modelled example using 'A Streetcar..' and blank template. - Analysis framework for any play; in table format so can be laminated/ cut up and allocated to students/groups, depending on AO but could also be used as is. - Discourse markers - simple list of connecting words - I challenge students to use them whilst writing shorter pieces in class. -Comparative writing frame to help students compare two texts; blank templates and modelled example using The Bell Jar and A Streetcar Named Desire - Information sheets on the approach required for different kinds of A-level writing e.g. critical analysis, interpretive, using secondary critical material - Two writing mats which are totally based on an example of a writer's palette in David Didau's wonderful book, 'The Secret of Literacy- making the implicit, explicit' - a must for all teachers, in my opinion. One focuses on deep language analysis, the other on interpretive writing. I laminate at A3 size and keep copies in classroom at all times - can be used for slow writing activity or to support students during timed writing. - Powerpoint with general activities on classic mistakes students make whilst writing. Use as a starter OR for some directed practice/ mastery after they have written an essay.

Chart to fill in on courage - includes quotes from Martin Luther King jr to start thinking, an overview of courage in the novel and a chart to fill in.

An activity designed to help students prepare to answer the essay question, 'How far and in what ways do you agree with the view that Shelley presents knowledge as dangerous and destructive?' More importantly, the focus here is on getting them to use critical interpretations to help them develop their answers. Worksheets could be used for individuals, groups or pairs... leading to some writing of paragraphs, then the whole essay itself. Powerpoint a full lesson and includes exemplars and modelled approach to using critics - my springboard approach! Excuse my woeful gym metaphor but students seem to find it useful.

An introduction to Renaissance drama for A Level English Literature - my students are studying 'Hamlet' and 'The Duchess of Malfi'. A plastic skull would also be a useful, if not essential, teaching tool ! For the brave/stupid amongst you, get them to throw it to each other as they ask their 'big questions'. Also included a Renaissance drama knowledge planner. Credit also to 'Will' by Christopher Rush and 'Shakespeare's Restless World' by Dr Neil McGregor.

Arundhati Roy's 'The God of Small Things' is a wonderful A-Level novel - I taught as comparative coursework with Jez Butterworth's 'Jerusalem' (scheme of work to follow shortly) but this would work just as well as stand-alone for any aspect of the A-Level spec/course. It includes: - A full scheme of work - PowerPoints and activities lesson by lesson to take you through whole novel - Teacher notes, including really useful critical references I highly recommend purchasing the following for your reference/ school library: Routledge Guides to Literature: The God of Small Things, edited by Alex Tickell Continuum Contemporaries Series: The God of Small Things, edited by Julie Mullaney. All page references refer to Flamingo edition, 1997.

Scenes from Macbeth on a printable handout annotated with questions to make guided reading/ note taking a little easier, particularly at early stages of play. Focus mostly on presentation of character.