English teacher for upper schools with a passion for literature. My resources eschew flashy, clip-art-infested layouts for clean, focused, and advanced worksheets and activities for students and teachers.
English teacher for upper schools with a passion for literature. My resources eschew flashy, clip-art-infested layouts for clean, focused, and advanced worksheets and activities for students and teachers.
This unit of work revolves around Lois Lowry’s wonderful and powerful YAF novel, The Giver. Included is a Read & Response Journal for the ENTIRE novel. A chapter-by-chapter approach offers students a range of comprehension, close reading & discussion questions.
The journal can be used as a while-reading activity to facilitate students engaging with the important issues raised throughout. The questions can be part of reading homework assignments, can be discussed in pairs or groups in class, or used otherwise as writing prompts.
The unit of work includes a detailed TEACHER’S GUIDE that offers:
Summary of Key Chapters & Plot Points
Character Analysis
Commentary about Central Themes & Issues
Critical Commentary of Language & Style, including Narration & Point of View, Allegory, Symbolism, Setting, Context of Composition & Interpretation, Literary Qualities & Controversial Issues
Enjoy, and please leave feedback!
One of my favorite novels to teach, I’ve revisited and revised my Things Fall Apart resources and included a comprehensive range of activities for the entire novel.
Each unit included in this comprehensive bundle focuses on different aspects of this African classic worth teaching (and standards-aligned)
Examples of the activities included in each unit are:
1. Comprehension & Close Reading Questions for each chapter of Things Fall Apart
2. Let’s Get Quizzical! - Quote Hunt Quiz for each chapter (a great way to quickly review comprehension and reading with students, these quote hunt quizzes can be used as a springboard for close reading and other activities.
3. The Novel In Context - These activities focus on various aspects of the novel’s context of composition and interpretation, including the history of Nigeria, colonization, the role of women, Igbo culture, traditions, etc.
4. Analyzing Characters / Themes / Setting / Figurative Devices / Symbols / Conflicts etc. - these are a range of guided close reading activities; each focuses on different literary aspects of the novel, selected as most appropriate for each chapter. A great way to facilitate a closer look at key aspects of this literary masterpiece and to practice key close reading and inference skills.
5. Creative Writing Tasks - a range of creative writing prompts and tasks for each chapter, allows your students to engage with the story, characters, main ideas, etc. of the story in a more personal, creative, and empathetic manner.
7. Making Connections - these activities introduce/focus on the various allusions/connections made to other literary works and texts in Things Fall Apart, including Greek tragedy, the concept of the tragic hero, and W. B. Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” (which inspired Achebe’s title of the novel - Things Fall Apart). These are crucial activities and materials to teach a more in’de
8. Teacher’s Guide (Model Answers + Commentary + Analysis) - Each unit of work (for each chapter) includes a comprehensive teacher’s guide, which itself includes model answers for all the activities as well as a detailed plot summary and analysis of the respective chapter, designed for teachers who are new to the novel, or veterans who wish to gain fresh insights, as well as for students working independently in a home-schooling setting or in a distance learning environment.
9. I’ve also included all my pre-reading and post-reading activities and assessments in this bundle!
Happy teaching! Feedback is always welcome!
This comprehensive bundle includes ready-to-teach NO PREP worksheets, teaching activities, revision guides, and sample exam questions for all 15 poems that need to be taught and included in the preparation for the CIE IGCSE English Literature Exams in 2026-2028. Specifically:
From Songs of Ourselves Volume 1, the following 15 poems:
Aphra Behn, ‘Song: Love Armed’
Sujata Bhatt, ‘A Different History’
William Blake, ‘The Chimney-Sweeper’
Elizabeth Brewster, ‘Where I Come From’
Boey Kim Cheng, ‘Report to Wordsworth’
Gillian Clarke, ‘Lament’
Kevin Halligan, ‘The Cockroach’
Seamus Heaney, ‘Follower’
Liz Lochhead, ‘Storyteller’
Charles Mungoshi, ‘Before the Sun’
Katherine Philips, ‘A Married State’
Alexander Pope, From ‘An Essay on Man’
Carol Rumens, ‘Carpet-weavers, Morocco’
William Shakespeare, ‘Sonnet 18’
Judith Wright, ‘Hunting Snake’
Each unit includes the following:
1) Biography and introduction to the poet
2) Context of Composition, including contextual information, or explanation of additional, relevant terminology, literary concepts, movements, philosophies, etc., where necessary or appropriate.
3) Pre-Reading activity and After-Reading activities to introduce the poem and unit, and/or to review key poetic devices and figurative language relevant to the poem. There is a range of activities to choose from that you can mix and match based on your students’ needs or your planning.
4) The poem text with, line numbers and explanatory notes to facilitate a close-reading, and to explain unusual or difficult vocabulary and concepts. Illustrations and images further help clarify the use of terminology and phrases in the specific context of the poem.
***5) Close-Reading and Analysis Question***s that allow your students to analyse the poem more closely and dig deeper.
6) Additional essay questions (often from past IGCSE papers) and writing tasks to facilitate exam preparation. These questions can also be used for mock exams.
7) Teacher’s Guide and Answers for all activities.
8) Perfect for Distance Learning & Independent Study: As a stand-alone, comprehensive teaching unit with answers and a teaching guide, this is also perfect for distance learning, homeschool or independent study and revision!
BONUS! This bundle also includes the following materials designed to complement teaching and revising for the IGCSE English Literature Exams in 2026-2028:
*Roadmap and Scheme of Work for IGCSE Vol. 2, Part 3 Poetry for Exams in 2025-2027
Figurative Language Flashcards
Creative Writing Activity: Free Verse
Creative Writing Activity: Sonnet
Comparative Analysis Activity
Analysing Poetry - SIFT Method Activity
Shakespeare’s Language - An Extensive Introduction
Poetry Appreciation Week - A Selection of Favourites*
Happy teaching and revising! Please leave feedback!
This comprehensive bundle includes ready-to-teach NO PREP worksheets, teaching activities, revision guides, and sample exam questions for all 15 poems that need to be taught and included in the preparation for the CIE IGCSE English Literature Exams in 2025-2027. Specifically:
From Songs of Ourselves Volume 2, Part 3, the following 15 poems:
Nancy Fotheringham Cato, ‘The Road’
Sarah Jackson, ‘The Instant of My Death’
Arun Kolatkar, ‘The Bus’
Julius Chingono, ‘At the Bus Station’
Imtiaz Dharker, ‘These are the Times We Live in’
Elizabeth Jennings, ‘The Enemies’
Sampurna Chattarji, ‘Boxes’
W H Auden, ‘The Capital’
Arthur Yap, ‘an afternoon nap’
Elizabeth Smither, ‘Plaits’
Elizabeth Daryush, ‘Children of Wealth’
Thomas Love Peacock, ‘Rich and Poor or, Saint and Sinner’
Musaemura Zimunya, ‘A Long Journey’
Stevie Smith, ‘Touch and Go’
George Szirtes, ‘Song’
Each unit includes the following:
Biography and introduction to the poet
Context of Composition, including contextual information, or explanation of additional, relevant terminology, literary concepts, movements, philosophies, etc., where necessary or appropriate.
Pre-reading activity and after-reading activities to introduce the poem and unit, and/or to review key poetic devices and figurative language relevant to the poem.
The poem text with, line numbers and explanatory notes to facilitate a close-reading, and to explain unusual or difficult vocabulary and concepts. Illustrations and images further help clarify the use of terminology and phrases in the specific context of the poem.
Comprehension, Close-Reading and Analysis Questions that allow your students to analyse the poem more closely and dig deeper.
Additional essay questions (often from past IGCSE papers) and writing tasks to facilitate exam preparation. These questions can also be used for mock exams.
Teacher’s Guide and Answers for all activities.
Perfect for Distance Learning & Independent Study: As a stand-alone, comprehensive teaching unit with answers and a teaching guide, this is also perfect for distance learning, homeschool or independent study and revision!
Happy teaching and revising! Please leave feedback!