I love creating resources and spend far too much time doing it. Currently teaching mostly A-level English Literature, but there are a range of free and paid resources for all ages. I believe in challenging students with a range of ambitious material, but also believe that this needs to be underpinned by explicit direction on HOW students can develop their ideas in written form. Write better... think better... think better...write better... and so on.
I love creating resources and spend far too much time doing it. Currently teaching mostly A-level English Literature, but there are a range of free and paid resources for all ages. I believe in challenging students with a range of ambitious material, but also believe that this needs to be underpinned by explicit direction on HOW students can develop their ideas in written form. Write better... think better... think better...write better... and so on.
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.
Range of stuff- probably more useful for the teacher in the first instance- on The Taming of the Shrew. Taught as comparative text with The Importance of Being Earnest with a focus on gender.
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.
I used this with Year 7 but could be used/adapted with year 8 or 9 too dependent on ability. \nStudents consider what writing 'from life&' is, then do a short reading activity on the extract from &';Cider with Rosie'. Then they use this an inspiration for their own creative writing - a short talking activity included to prompt discussion and ideas, plus some writing in class and reflection. \n\nWorks well - could be a stand alone or padded out to form a couple of lessons.
A set of short extracts on the topic of feminism from a wide variety of sources (e.g. Mary Wollstonecraft, Helene Cixous, Naomi Woolf, Lady Gaga...)Suggestions for use included inside. Creates an interesting discussion/ thinking points before starting the study of a female writer (in this case, it was Sylvia Plath)
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’.'
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.
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.
Taught as part of lit heritage controlled assessment for AQA as comparison with Macbeth (full details in powerpoint- just remove if not relevant!). Students had read the text independently. We began by discussing whether good and evil can be linear then read the article about the Zimbardo experiment to challenge further. Powerpoint provides intro to novel then the critics activity gets them to start thinking about interpretations. Really stretching but fruitful activity. Obviously this is very focused on my CA task but would work generally if teaching LOF as exam text.
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.
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.
A lesson plan and a few resources for a pre-exam revision lesson which also teaches essay skills. Helps students think about what's worth including in an essay and build analysis skills.\n\nYou can cut up the essay in an envelope sheet so it's more kinaesthetic but you could just use as is.
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.
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.
Some revision activities, quizzes, exemplar essay to help revise Hamlet...
Designed for OCR A-level English Literature but transferable, especially the big revision quiz and the mini quizzes (some designed using Socrative)
Designed for OCR English Literature A-level where it is taught as a comparative Gothic text I am comparing with The Bloody Chamber. Easily editable scheme of work proforma also attached.
PowerPoint also include lesson by lesson approach, which includes some exam questions as well as passage based questions on extracts from other Gothic texts. Some additional teacher notes included but I also direct you to my FREE revision guide on this text.
Edition used: 1831, Penguin Classics 1992 edition with intro by Maurice Hindle
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.
I really recommend teaching this wonderful text - currently on OCR AS English Literature spec, I taught it for a comparative coursework task instead (comparing with The God of Small Things). Students loved it... yes lots of swearing but all in context, and you will see I made the swearing into a learning activity about language prestige!
Includes scheme of work, lesson PowerPoints and resources. More importantly, all my teacher notes are also included with the slides.
Also, really recommend purchasing David Ian Rabey's critical guide to Jez Butterworth, published 2015.