This is a straightforward comprehension activity that could be used for homework or cover. Alternatively, it could be used as a pre-reading activity to identify any gaps in knowledge or understanding before the characters of Oliver or Mrs Sowerberry are explored in greater detail. There’s a vocabulary task and then seven comprehension questions. The Word document is editable so if you wish to add challenge you can remove the glossary at the end of the passage.

This is a very straightforward activity whereby the students have to match the annotations to the poem. Useful as a homework after you have taught the poem. Alternatively, this could be used as a pre-reading activity so that the basics have already been covered and the subsequent teaching can focus on more depth and subtlety.

16 questions on the Queen Mab speech. Could be used as a pre-reading activity to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding so that subsequent teaching can be more sharply focused. Could be set as homework to embed learning. Word document so editable. Answers provided.

This is a very simple and straightforward quiz on the prologue from “Romeo and Juliet” intended to embed basic understanding. Answers are provided. Could be set as a homework or alternatively used as a starter to identify gaps in knowledge or understanding so that subsequent teaching can be more precisely focused.

This is a short scheme of work on “Romeo and Juliet” - used at my school as a revision scheme, recapping key events, themes and language. The intention is that it can be delivered across ten lessons although obviously the pace will need to be tailored to your students. One of the ten lessons has been set aside for the completion of an exam question.

This is a simple and straightforward activity based on a letter of 4th February 1917 written by Wilfred Owen to his mother, Susan. The letter has been slightly abridged. There are 12 multiple-choice questions (answers provided). The first question is basic information retrieval. Subsequent questions ask pupils to identify methods and draw inferences. Some questions can act as springboards for deeper questioning. This could be set for a homework or used as a pre-teaching activity to identify gaps in pupil knowledge and understanding.

A straightforward lesson exploring Sassoon’s poem, “The Kiss” with questioning used to discuss the effect of the personification of bullet and bayonet. There are 8 close reading and response questions on slide 15. These could be used to structure a discussion or set for independent work. The lesson culminates with a task asking the students to draw inferences about the nature of the speaker in the poem, writing in role as a senior officer. Planned for year 9 but could be suitable to explore unseen poetry at KS4.

This is a simple and straightforward activity that uses Siegfried Sassoon’s “The Kiss”. There are 22 multiple-choice questions. This could be used as homework or a plenary after studying the poem in class. Alternatively, it could be used as a starter or as a pre-reading activity so that subsequent teaching can be more precisely focused. Answers are provided.

This is a straightforward quiz on Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (answers provided). There are 20 questions, all multiple-choice. This could be used as a starter, homework or revision activity. Alternatively, it could be used prior to teaching to identify gaps in students’ knowledge and understanding so that subsequent teaching can be more sharply focused.

This is a short, simple and (hopefully) straightforward powerpoint created for revision of AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 Question 4. It’s planned to fit a 35 minute revision session and, consequently, does not require a full answer to question 4 - the intention is that the students will focus on one point of comparison which could either be written independently for greater challenge or completed as a whole-class model. It uses very short segments from two writers, one contemporary and one writing in 1882. The entire texts are not provided and the lesson is intended to revise the skill of analysis and comparison so, for my class, it was better to use short segments. If you wish to look at more of the Gissing text, it is readily available online and easy to find. There are 14 slides in total.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using an excerpt from George Gissing’s letter in which he airs his views about bank holidays. There are 12 questions, answering which will ensure that the student thinks about Gissing’s viewpoint and the effects of the methods used to express this viewpoint. Could be used for homework or set as cover. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading or a revision session. Straightforward enough to be set for home learning.

A straightforward comprehension activity, useful for homework, for cover, for home learning - or the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session. There is a short extract from the Sherlock Holmes story, “The Five Orange Pips” and then there are 11 questions focused, in the main, on analysis and inference.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using a recount by George Finch and describing extreme weather during an expedition to climb Mount Everest. There are ten questions requiring a focus on analysis of the writer’s methods as well as some inference. The questions could be used as a starting point for a guided reading session and are useful for revision of key reading skills.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity, useful for home learning, for homework, for cover or to structure a guided reading activity (perhaps to assess and support the key reading skills of inference and anaysis). There are ten questions.

This is a multiple-choice quiz with 14 questions used to support the teaching of “A Christmas Carol” by giving students a bit of context in terms of Victorian poverty. Answers are provided. This could be used as a starter activity, as (originally planned) as homework or to structure a guided reading activity with less confident learners - some questions lend themselves to further discussion of ‘how’ and ‘why’ the writer’s methods work as they do.

This is a short and simple activity that could be used as a homework, as a starter activity or for cover. It focuses on some of the reading skills that will be tested on AQA English Language Paper 2 and could be used to build students’ knowledge of the context of “A Christmas Carol”.

This is a 30 slide powerpoint (intended to go across more than an hour!) planned for a year 11 group who are lacking in confidence. The texts used are excerpts from “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” (older texts than would be used in the exam, but not infringing copyright!) and the focus on reading is interspersed with some recall questions focusing on writing as well as a short writing task based on an image. Modelling is used prior to asking students to tackle questions independently. There are two examples of question 1 (information retrieval). Easily editable so that you can remove/add slides to increase the level of challenge for your own class. My intention was to ask students to glue into their books the shorter extracts which is why they appear at the end of the ppt for ease of printing. The longer extract from “Frankenstein” is a separate Word document.

This resource uses a poem called “The Walkers” by Robert William Service. The poem uses strong contrast to explore ideas about wealth and poverty - and gender. As a consequence, this poem would sit neatly alongside the teaching of “An Inspector Calls”. The resource features a multiple-choice quiz with 14 questions (answers provided) which is intended to furnish students with some ideas that they can then use in a response to the question: How does the writer express the two speakers’ ideas about where and why they walk? Suitable for use in class, for homework or as a task for home learning. *Please be aware that the female speaker has been driven to prostitution through poverty and there are references to this in the poem. *

This is a simple and straightforward activity using the opening of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula’s Guest”. There are four, short tasks dealing with vocabulary, information retrieval, inference and analysis. Useful for homework or as home learning. Could be used to structure a guided reading activity. Could be used for flipped learning prior to analysing the next (more gothic) segment of the story in class. Useful for students at KS3 or to embed key sklls and build confidence at KS4.

This is a simple and straightforward resource using an excerpt from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story, “The Terror of Blue John Gap”. There are ten questions, focusing on vocabulary, inference and analysis. This resource could be used for homework or set as cover. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.