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I'm an English teacher in a Scottish high school. I teach all years and mark both National 5 and Higher papers for the SQA.

I'm an English teacher in a Scottish high school. I teach all years and mark both National 5 and Higher papers for the SQA.
S3 S4 Dulce et decorum est, Wilfred Owen Poetry unit, National 5 essay
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S3 S4 Dulce et decorum est, Wilfred Owen Poetry unit, National 5 essay

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This unit introduces the WW1 background and focuses on the poem “Dulce et decourum est”. Tasks include: Basic poetic technique revision Basic war background A propaganda poster tasks Analysis of symbolism used in Kasabian’s music video “Empire” Introduction to the poem (analysis not included) Critical essay on theme of war
'Jojo Rabbit' Media Unit, S2 S3 S4 National 5 Essay, Character
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'Jojo Rabbit' Media Unit, S2 S3 S4 National 5 Essay, Character

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This is a complete unit on ‘Jojo Rabbit’, using the Scottish curriculum. It looks at different media techniques such as camera angles and sound and has a variety of individual and group tasks on the film. The final outcome is a critical essay (in the style of a potential National 5 essay) on Interesting Character.
Once Critical Essay on Character S1 S2
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Once Critical Essay on Character S1 S2

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This is a critical essay using the PEAR structure (easily adapted) to answer on how Felix changes as a character. It includes page suggestions for quotes and takes pupils through each step of writing an essay. I’ve also included a differentiated worksheet for anyone struggling.
Zombie Apocalypse Creative Writing S1 S2 S3 BGE English, Imaginative story
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Zombie Apocalypse Creative Writing S1 S2 S3 BGE English, Imaginative story

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This is a unit on creating a zombie apocalypse story. It looks at some chapters from the book “The Enemy” (chapter printouts included) and considers tension, hook openings, character, plot and setting, as well as an essay plan (for those who need it) and extension tasks. Suitable for BGE- no video clips included are particularly bloody or gory.
'Jaws' National 5 English Media Essay, focus on beach scene
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'Jaws' National 5 English Media Essay, focus on beach scene

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This is a guideline for a National 5 essay on the beach shark attack in Jaws. This guides you through 4 main techniques- character, sound (diegetic and non-diegetic) and camera angles. This can be used to produce a very quick National 5 essay. You wouldn’t even need to watch the whole film with a class. I’ve included the analysis of each of these, an essay paragraph plan and activity board. This is very teacher-lead- my class were a repeat N5 and needed a lot of support.
Bookclub/ Literacy Group Ideas
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Bookclub/ Literacy Group Ideas

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This powerpoint includes lots of different ideas for your bookclub. I ran this for several years and although we had the usual bookclub tasks- discussion of favourite books, author visits, staff members visiting to discuss books etc, I also needed a couple of filler ideas for when we didn’t have something going on. We never had the money to purchase groups sets for the club, and if I’m honest, a lot of the children who came voluntarily to the lunchtime club tended to really just want a safe space, so tasks had to be inclusive and non threatening. These are ideas I have used throughout the year - some word games, some imaginative writing, some discussions. Hopefully it’ll help your bookclub get started too!
Mary Moon and the Stars National 5 Critical Essay, Janice Galloway
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Mary Moon and the Stars National 5 Critical Essay, Janice Galloway

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This is a powerpoint with notes on the Janice Galloway short story ‘Mary Moon and the Stars’. It includes a how to guide on critical essays on an Interesting Character, and the Theme of Neglect. There is also a quote guide. I have also included a powerpoint about common mistakes my class were making- summarising the story, no techniques- so use this if your class are similar!
'Death of Marilyn Monroe'  poem Edwin Morgan, critical essay N5
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'Death of Marilyn Monroe' poem Edwin Morgan, critical essay N5

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This unit introduces the class to the poem ‘The Death of Marilyn Monroe’ by Edwin Morgan. It introduces Marilyn’s history and the corruption of Hollywood and comments on the structure of the poem. Then it takes the class through the writing of a critical essay on a Memorable Event. There are a couple of tasks and some video clips. **Important: **this does not include the annotation of the poem- there are other powerpoints by others for that available. This is focused on how to write a National 5 essay.
Frankenstein drama play & Gothic Creative Writing
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Frankenstein drama play & Gothic Creative Writing

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This is my lower school unit of work for the play Frankenstein, using guided reading of the play with the end result being a critical essay. The Gothic writing takes you through the elements of the Gothic genre and the final outcome is an imaginative spooky story. These pair nicely together.
Frankenstein Philip Pullman Drama Play Unit
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Frankenstein Philip Pullman Drama Play Unit

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This is a unit of work for the play Frankenstein by Philip Pullman/ Mary Shelley. This includes some guided questions for each Act, group discussion tasks, Understanding questions, a task to design a set, a storyboard and the final outcome is a critical essay on Sympathy. This could be used with S1-S3. I’ve included the SchoolTube link to the play starring Benedict Cumberbatch but I wouldn’t recommend watching the entire play- parts are not appropriate for lower school. I suggest you watch ahead and decide which are suitable.
RUAE skills for S3 and N5/Higher
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RUAE skills for S3 and N5/Higher

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These lessons focus on breaking down the RUAE skills into formula for National 5 and Higher. To keep learning consistent, I have used the same formulas and created easier S3 lessons so as to prepare them for National 5. The N5/H resource also includes print outs for a wall display in your class.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban S2/ S3 unit of work
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban S2/ S3 unit of work

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This is a lower/ mixed ablility unit that I made initially for S3, but could be used for a S2, or perhaps a N4 S4. This has several starters, fun and interesting tasks as well as a focus on RUAE skills - In Your Own Words, Word Choice, Sentence Structure, Imagery. We look at Theme and Characterisation as well. I’ve included group tasks of a Tarsia puzzle, a Hot Seating task, a Homework research task and the final outcome is a critical essay on the theme of good versus evil.
The Great Gatsby, Setting Ch1-3 Critical Essay, & Character Including Quote Sheet for entire novel!
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The Great Gatsby, Setting Ch1-3 Critical Essay, & Character Including Quote Sheet for entire novel!

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This is a setting essay on the early chapters of Gatsby. It’s my experience when tackling a novel that I like to get pupils to tackle an essay quite early on rather than wait until the finishing the novel- it makes me feel more secure. Setting is a popular Higher question and these paragraphs can easily be tweaked into other questions- character, theme etc. The powerpoint takes the class through different settings with hints of analysis that can be used. It encourages pupils to find their own quotes and gives PEAR paragraph examples. I’ve also included a Key Quote booklet for help, and a list of popular previous essay questions that work for Gatsby. After this, I’ve added a Character question on Complex character whom you feel sympathy for- and detailed slides to help my class who were struggling. This is for when you have finished the whole novel.