Three resources (example essay, checklist and seven slide PowerPoint) for one revision lesson and homework where students revise the poems through a discussion of the visual starter activity, then use a reverse planning activity and checklist to help them focus on the content and structure of a comparative poetry exam essay for the new AQA English Literature Paper 2 GCSE exam (Section B). Students use this newly gained knowledge and understanding to write their own timed essay at home (or in the following lesson). There is a choice of essay titles for differentiation by choice. The main reverse planning activity ensures students read the example essay (comparing ‘Tissue’ and ‘Ozymandias’) carefully; see how relevant context can be integrated into an essay; understand how students can ensure they include relevant comparisons as well as detailed analysis of a range of methods and precise, integrated quotations. Moreover, the activity helps students focus on the importance of a well-structured essay to help gain higher marks. The checklist helps remind students of the key features necessary to gain marks in AO1, AO2 and AO3. Students then reflect on how the lesson activities have helped them before choosing their essay title. This lesson was created for a mixed ability Year 11 class starting to revise for their GCSE exams. It led to the production of some excellent timed student essays.

5 charts (to be enlarged to A3) with proven success for revising the 15 poems from the new English Lit poetry anthology: Power and Conflict (AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2). Some details are already included to get students started - including some relevant context - and to support less able students. You could remove some of the information for more able groups. The poems are grouped together so students can see clearer links between each group of three poems. The first two charts (effects of conflict) were prepared to help my mixed ability Year 10 class revise the poems we had covered ready for end of year exams. The remaining three charts (power poems) were created for Year 11 revision. The class these charts were originally created for achieved outstanding results in their poetry comparison essays in their GCSE English Lit in 2018. Each time I have used these charts, I have divided the class into groups, allocating poems for students to teach to the rest of the class. Not only do students learn their allocated poems better having to teach them again to others, but after feedback they have explored links between the poems with more confidence because the students know and understand the poems and methods used in more detail. As an extra challenge (if a group complete their allocated poems quickly), they have to discuss and add elements of conflict in the power poems and power in the conflict poems. I also photocopy these single sided so students can display them at home for revision.

An outstanding lesson on I Love Me Mudder for Year 7 during Black History Month. Includes a range of engaging activities, differentiation tasks, a pre-lesson research worksheet (could be used in class or for homework) and guided self assessment. Tried and tested with great success in the classroom for the last three years.

Introductory lesson to A Streetcar Named Desire. This lesson forms lesson 1 of my SOW for the new Edexcel English Literature AS/A Level spec. However, it would also work for the new AQA spec. Three resources: 21 slide PowerPoint, homework sheet and comprehensive lesson plan. There are differentiation by task opportunities for the homework task - setting students more challenging topics to research and then present to the class. The background information sheet is not included as this was taken from a free Teachit resource. Details on how to find this on the Teachit website are included in the lesson plan. This introductory lesson has proved hugely successful both times I have taught it. Students were really engaged and gained much more from watching the 1951 film in the following lessons than previous students had.

Cloze activities on Chapters 1-10 and Chapter 15 of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I first created these to help a low ability class and used them as starters or mini plenaries. Learning support also used these cloze exercises to help absent pupils catch up or remind pupils what they had read in class. Chapters 8 and 9 are combined in one cloze exercise. The rest are on individual chapters.

An outstanding lesson exploring the use of generic conventions (AO2) in Wuthering Heights. This lesson, containing 5 resources including a comprehensive lesson plan and 13 slide PowerPoint, is part of my SOW for the new Edexcel English Literature A Level spec - teaching Wuthering Heights as one of the two coursework texts. However, the lesson can easily be used for the new AQA spec. Extension tasks and independent study task included as well as opportunities for differentiation by group/task. In a mixed ability class, students all made progress during the lesson (clearly demonstrated to the students and lesson observers in the mini plenary and plenary). Plus the subsequent essay also revealed much improved understanding and analysis skills for AO2. Lessons 1-12 of my Wuthering Heights SOW have also been uploaded to TES Resources as two separate bundles.

6 resources covering 3-4 lessons (lesson 7 could be split into two separate lessons) preparing students for the new AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 1 exam (Section B - the 19th century novel). These are lessons 6-8 of the successful SOW I created for my current Year 10 class and focus on key aspects of Chapters 3-8 of Great Expectations Volume One. Moreover, they really helped students develop understanding of the novel, Dickens' techniques and key analysis skills needed for AO1 and AO2. Resources include: 3 detailed PowerPoints (lesson 6 = 9 slides; lesson 7 = 15 slides; lesson 8 = 9 slides); a starter worksheet for lesson 7; extracts from Chapter 8 and lesson plans giving extra information and assessment objective/skills focuses. All lessons include extension tasks for the more able. There is also some scaffolding to help students plus a homework task offering differentiation by choice. Please note that the themes handout for lesson 7 is not included as this is a Teachit resource. It can be obtained as a free PDF from Teachit once you register with them.

8 resources for 3 lessons helping pupils prepare for the AQA KS3 assessments (reading). Tasks are based on the Paper 1 format, although the source is non-fiction rather than fiction (local news article) as I had just completed a non-fiction SOW with the class. Lessons 1 and 2 take pupils through the main tasks, with whole class modelling of the longer answers to support all pupils. Pupils then individually complete a task at a time in timed conditions. This also helped focus pupils on how long to spend on tasks with different marks. Peer assessment is used for the shorter tasks to cut down teacher marking time. There is a mark scheme (again based on the AQA KS3 assessments) which can be matched to APP levels or school flightpath skills. For lesson 3, I gave pupils copies of example answers to focus on key skills in the mark scheme and to support their DIRT. This lesson has differentiation by task to enable more able pupils the challenge of answering a language and structure task without teacher guidance - so building resilience in addition to analysis skills. During lessons 1 and 2 there are also extension tasks (and skills reminders) for the more able, plus modelling examples to support all pupils. Most activities are self-explanatory, but I have included some additional details and ideas for teachers below some slides. I have also included a sheet of all the questions that could be issued to pupils - although I only used the PowerPoints with my class. These resources were produced for a mixed ability Year 7 class (APP level range from 3 to 6) and it proved highly successful in focusing pupils on comprehension and PEE analysis of language and structure. Moreover, confidence has been increased in their ability to succeed in the forthcoming end of year exams. The lessons could easily be adapted for set ability groups.

An eight slide resource covering key aspects/quotes of Macbeth Act 3, Scenes 2-4. The lesson includes a variety of tasks including whole class reading, pair/small group reading, watching and discussing a clip of Act 3, Scene 4 and answering written questions to check understanding. The learning focus is RAF3 (interpretations supported by relevant, brief evidence and to encourage students to link ideas/quotes from different scenes). Extension tasks are included to challenge more able pupils. This is a lesson from the SOW I created for a Year 9 set 2 class.

Two resources (15 slide PowerPoint and essay task) preparing pupils for a timed essay on Dickens' A Christmas Carol for the new AQA GCSE English Literature spec. A range of tasks included with extension tasks to challenge the more able and help them access the higher tiers of the AOs. This lesson was created for a set 2 Year 10 class, but could easily be adapted for different ability groupings.

Eight resources covering three lessons: two preparing students for a timed GCSE Lit exam style essay and one where students write the essay. Resources: three PowerPoints (one for each lesson: 16 slides, 7 slides and 1 slide); two example extracts with essay question (based on format from the new AQA GCSE English Literature specimen Paper 1 exam paper); example essay response to one of the example questions; the same example essay response to one of the example questions with key aspects of AOs high-lighted; sheet with the relevant AOs and level descriptors. The lessons go over key success criteria from the AOs including some useful details on what could gain marks for AO3 (context). Also included is a checklist of success criteria, for example: WLA (word level analysis); subject terminology; effect on the reader. I displayed this on the board whilst my pupils wrote their timed essay. Extension tasks included in purple for differentiation. Link to new AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 1 specimen mark scheme also included. Lessons and resources specifically created as a pre-mock activity for my Year 10 class once we had finished studying the novel.

Three resources, including a 15 slide PowerPoint, for a lesson exploring Lady Macbeth's language in Act 1, Scene 5 and the use of dramatic irony in Act 1, Scene 6. The lesson was created for a Year 9 set 2 class, but could easily be adapted for different abilities or a KS4 class. Extension tasks are included and pupils peer assess their PEA work for RAF5 (explain and comment on a writer's use of language). A research homework - with extension task - is also included. The lesson proved to be hugely successful with my current and previous Year 9 classes.

A 21 slide resource covering Macbeth Act 5, Scenes 2, 3 and 4. After reading Scene 2, pupils discuss questions (extension task included). After reading Scenes 3 and 4, test pupil knowledge and understanding through a quiz based on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' When I used this with my Year 9 set 2 class, I paused the quiz at the end of the Scene 3 questions to read Scene 4. You could, however, read both scenes before starting the quiz. I also used named lolly sticks to ensure random pupils were chosen to answer questions. For the final question I had the answers stuck round the classroom and asked pupils to stand next to the one they agreed with. I then chose more able pupils to explain their choices. It is an active learning lesson which worked very well with my class.

Two resources (10 slide PowerPoint and key quotes chart) for a revision lesson on ‘Great Expectations’ preparing Year 11 students for Paper 1 of the new AQA English Literature GCSE. The lesson covers revision of the novel’s main themes; how themes are revealed through characters, events and settings; relevant context and key quotations from across the novel through a range of active learning tasks. Differentiation by choice and extension tasks are included. The key quotes chart (which I enlarged to A3 and printed single sided to encourage students to display at home) includes pictures for each quotation to aid visual learners. I have included some extra details and teaching options in the notes sections below some slides. The homework task is to complete the rest of the chart at home to consolidate and develop each student’s knowledge and understanding from the lesson and prior learning. The lesson was created for a mixed ability Year 11 class. All the activities were well received and helped students write high mark timed essays following my second revision lesson (available separately on TES Resources).

Four resources for a lesson exploring how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are presented in Act 1, Scene 7. Resources help pupils understand Macbeth's arguments in his opening soliloquy and how Lady Macbeth persuades him to change his mind. Extension tasks included to challenge the more able and a modelling example is completed on the worksheet. To help pupils focus on the meaning of the dialogue, rather than just reading the scene aloud in pairs, I laminated pictures of tartan trousers and pupils held the trousers when their character held the power in the dialogue. The lesson was created for a Year 9 set 2 class, but could easily be adapted for different abilities or even a KS4 class.

Tried and tested essay planning sheet for AQA GCSE ‘Macbeth’ essays. This resource reminds students they need to explore both the printed extract and show their knowledge and understanding of other scenes in the play. It is perfect for planning those early essays and for revision planning. My students found it especially useful for reminding them of areas of context they could include. I enlarge it to A3 for classroom planning (leaving space to add more ideas after whole class feedback), but leave it as A4 if homework planning. It has also proved to be an invaluable resource for private tutoring and can be simply tweaked for other set GCSE plays or novels.

Seven resources for an outstanding rated observed lesson on Frankenstein for the new AQA GCSE 1-9 spec. Lesson created for a top set Year 10 class exploring the methods Shelley uses to create tension and drama in Chapter 23 (AO2 focus). Details on lesson plan re objectives, timings, differentiation, creative and independent learning. Plus some extra info on the notes sections under some slides. I laminated the starter picture and AO2 criteria so I could use them again. I hope some or all of the ideas are useful and save my fellow English teachers some valuable time for prep, marking, family time or much needed sleep!

A lesson for the new AQA English Language AS/A Level using an Argos Barbie advert to bring together genderlect theories students have learned and apply them to an example for analysis. Lesson leads to students writing a practice AS / A Level English Language Paper 2 essay on language and gender. Example essay question included on the final slide. Annotated modelling example to get students started, addressing different linguistic methods, is also included on the PowerPoint.

Three lessons and a copy of the poem. Created for part of a Year 8 ballads scheme of work. Extension tasks are included. Although the lessons show progress through my school's adapted APP levels, each could easily be adapted. The first lesson focuses on reading the poem and understanding the poet's choice of viewpoint and possible effect on the reader. The two following lessons focus on writing skills -specifically correct use of the semi-colon.