Using Anthony Horowitz’s retelling of this myth (copy not provided), there are several activities looking at the different sections of this myth. This is the tale of Perseus and how he slays Medusa. Please see my ‘shop’ for further resources. As an optional starter task, you could create a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of objects related to the Gorgon’s Head myth, for students to use to predict what will happen. I have used toy snakes, pebbles, Halloween eyeballs etc. Students then use inference skills to create an impression of King Polydectes, draw the gorgons using the given extract, list four things they have learned about them (in the style of Language Paper 1 Q1) with answers supplied for easy self assessment. After this, students can research Athena on computers or phones. Students then analyse the writer’s use of language to describe Medusa’s cave using an evidence table which supplies suggested answers for easy assessment. Finally, draw Athena’s shield to include Medusa’s head and play the interactive whiteboard game ‘Gorgon’s Head’ to sum up learning.

AIMED AT LOW TO MIDDLE ABILITY Y9, 10 AND 11, THIS RESOURCE CONTAINS A SHORT SUMMARY OF ALL POWER AND CONFLICT ANTHOLOGY POEMS, WITH KEY IDEAS. EACH SLIDE FOLLOWS THE SAME FORMAT AND IS DESIGNED TO BE AN UNCOMPLICATED REVISION TOOL FOR THE LESS ABLE GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE STUDENT. USEFUL REVISION GUIDE FOR THE ENGLISH LITERATURE EXAM.

Aimed at mid to low ability, this resource contains 4 separate worksheets which challenge students to find the answers in the given extract or extracts. Activities based on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Treasure Island, Buddy and the planet Mercury. Could be used as homework or to support low ability KS4 students prepare for the English Language papers.

Aimed at middle to higher ability students, this resources gives an overview of the sections, timings and some quick tasks to refresh memories before the exam. Based on Section A: An Inspector Calls, Section B: Power and Conflict Poetry and Unseen Poetry comparative question.

Four differentiated lessons looking at the following Victorian themes: Darwin’s theory of evolution, Lombroso’s theories of physiognomy, duality of man, respectability and reputation, Science versus Religion. Analysing a selection of extracts from Jekyll and Hyde with support / stretch and challenge in each lesson. Suitable for Y7 to Y9. Good preparation for KS4 context if Jekyll and Hyde is a text for study at GCSE

Three articles, article-based questions and tasks on the topic of gun crime. Suitable for KS3 or 4. Might engage boys.

This resource contains lessons on The Storm, Piroska, Pitch, The Boy in the Boat, Nature, Mud and Monkey from Chris Priestley’s Tales of Terror from the Black Ship. Some focus on identifying and writing skills such as simile, onomatopoeia, alliteration, metaphor and inference. Aimed at Y7 & 8.

This is the first four lessons aimed at Y7 or 8 for working in pairs or groups to create their own theme park. Lessons 1 and 2 include some engaging activities to consider the idea of themes and look at examples of existing theme parks. They watch clips, name rides and create 3 rides for a blank dinosaur theme park. Lessons 3 and 4 are geared towards them creating their own theme park map after looking at Chessington World of Adventures’ example and answering some questions to illustrate the importance of a clear and informative park map.

A short unit covering Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening. Could be used as a whole class unit of work, or small literacy group. Mixed ability but could be differentiated up or down. Extracts (all provided) from Robinson Crusoe, Life of Pi, Lord of the Flies. Real life survivor account analysed for descriptive writing techniques. Students invent their own survivor scenario and write diary entries and descriptions based on the example extracts and trailers shown in lessons. Opportunity to create class island map and use as stimulus for writing. Some lessons may take slightly longer than an hour so I estimate this unit is between 4 and 6 hours of lessons, depending on the pace.

Two female poems looking at the use of Nature in poetry of WW1 to contrast perspective. Falling Leaves looks at the futility of war and A Girl’s Song looks at how difficult it can be to accept a loved one has died. Both poets deliver these ideas by personifying nature. Starter is a fill in the blanks activity then looking at Cole’s actual language choices. Then, look at A Girl’s Song using a table to infer how natural imagery shows the poets ideas. Plenary is a paragraph comparing their use of nature to show attitudes towards death in war.

A copy of the poem with some questions for students to answer. Teacher copy with answers provided.

FOUR LESSON MINI UNIT. Lessons assume pupils have cold read The Speckled Band first. Copy of story included in resources. Starter asks pupils to watch brief clip on using speech marks in writing and then apply them in the correct places to an example of Holmes’ speech from The Speckled Band. Re-read the extract where Holmes is visited by Helen Stoner. The next tasks asks students to find the clues by finding evidence that matches the given inferences, from the extract. Then, students use a set of clues about an invented character in order to form a set of inferences. They can then describe this visitor, using conversation to include accurate direct speech punctuation (writing frame on slide 7). This lesson focuses on the villainous character of Dr Roylott. Students given short extract and asked to list and explain the connotations of his description. Example given. Then students explode a quotation describing this character, using given prompts, followed by two individually exploded quotations. Then, students to stick a further extract in their books and match the given connotations to the evidence. Read the article on Victorian Women and, using slide 10 and the information from the article, students should explain Dr Roylott’s motive for wanting both step daughters out of the way. Plenary asks students to decide how far Roylott matches up to given set of villainous character traits. Starter asks students to describe Holmes’ living room using a variety of sentence forms (examples given). Introduced to concept of foreshadowing and asked to identify methods in given extract which foreshadows later violence in the story. Followed by a further more detailed extract (could be printed on A3) which students annotate using a series of prompts to think about the signifcance of setting. Plenary asks students to draw the section of Stoke Moran described in the final slide. This lesson focuses on the relevance of symbolism in creating atmosphere - of the gypsies, animals and India. Information posters provided for teachers to put up around the room so that students can collect facts and then interpret them to understand how the symbolism helps create an atmospheric setting in Stoke Moran. Final task is to write a description of the grounds of Stoke Moran, using ideas learned in lesson.

This is a mini unit on Gothic conventions, based on extracts from Frankenstein, Dracula and Jane Eyre. Overall, there are between 6 and 7 hours worth of tasks to introduce students to the concept of Gothic Literature and the conventions within it. Includes Gothic bingo, introduction to conventions (including setting), short extracts for identifying conventions and later symbolism, independent tasks such as planning a Gothic description and identifying author’s word choices. Some creative tasks include drawing their own Gothic castle and their version of the Red Room in Jane Eyre. Link to vampire video with match-up activities and comprehension questions included too. This unit has been resourced from a combination of my Introduction to Literature Through the Ages scheme of work (also available) and additional tasks created separately. Fully resourced - slides at the end conveniently together for ease of printing.

Part Two of the introductory unit: Literature Through the Ages A further 8 lessons with pupil anthology (two separate ones for just core texts and then all texts), CPD booklet and knowledge organiser. Pupils will build on their knowledge from Part One of the unit to cover the following extracts: Daphne & Phoebus - Hesiod The Seven Pomegranate Seeds - Horowitz The Ramayana - retold by Donald A Mackenzie The Odyssey - translated from Homer Adventures of Sir Lancelet - Malory The intention of this unit is to provide students with some knowledge of how stories originated, came to be written down and how some of those same stories have been retold and developed over time, such as Horowitz’s re-telling of a popular Greek myth, in our unit. Students should understand that there does not have to be one single version of a ‘story.’ Some may have originally been made up to explain mysteries about the world and to enable humans to understand their place within it. Stories are constantly evolving and shaped by their social and historical influences. We can see, for example, that the concept of the Underworld has been around for centuries. Students will study the Underworld described in the Renaissance period by Dante, as a way of teaching his readers to live purer lives on Earth, but we can also enjoy its imaginative appearance in Rick Riordan’s modern ‘Percy Jackson’ tales. We can introduce the concept that, historically, the female figure has been presented as temptress and the cause of human suffering, an idea developed in ‘the Serpent’s Deception’ and Homer’s ‘Odyssey’, or later subverted in Le Morte d’Arthur, where the female is weak and in need of a chivalrous male to save her. We can see stories as a reaction to the beliefs and fears of society at the time. Shelley’s Frankenstein can be interpreted as a reaction to society’s distrust of the advancement of scientific experimentation. Running through all these stories is a series of symbols that capture a society’s values, beliefs and fears. Through the identification of symbolism in these stories, such as the snake in Serpent’s Deception, Daphne & Phoebus and Le Morte d’Arthur, it is hoped that our Y7s can learn to become confident in spotting symbols in future stories they read and have the confidence to critically evaluate the significance of them, in relation to their own contextual experience and a knowledge of literature throughout the ages.

Step by step approach to this past question on the supernatural. Students can work through the extract, finding relevant evidence and matching up suggested annotations to gain understanding of the key themes and ideas. Example paragraph response using extract evidence provided so that students can produce their own based on what they have uncovered. To address the second part of the question, students are given an example quotation from the wider play and an example paragraph which uses the reference to respond. Four further key quotations on the supernatural are provided so that students can use them to create their own paragraphs. The quotations can be printed off and used for revision purposes.

AIMED AT KS3, THIS LESSON USES CHOCOLATES TO HELP INSPIRE PUPILS TO CREATE MOUTHWATERING ADJECTIVES AND VERBS. FOCUS IS IMPROVING LANGUAGE CHOICE IN DESCRIPTIVE WRITING. STUDENTS WORK THROUGH ACTIVITIES TO CREATE THEIR OWN BESPOKE BOX OF CHOCOLATES AND THEN DESCRIBE TO ADVERTISE!

THIS RESOURCE AIMS TO BROADEN PUPILS' KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BELIEFS AND TREATMENT OF WITCHES BY FOCUSING ON THE STORY OF THE PENDLE WITCHES. USEFUL INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY FOR STUDYING MACBETH.

This lesson introduces the big Las Vegas hotels and the themes they are based around. After looking at some example, and watching some clips, students are tasked with creating their own and presenting their ideas to persuade the audience that their hotel should be the next one to be built on the strip.