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Resources for GCSE English Language 9-1. I also publish resources for the BTEC Level 2 in IT course.
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Resources for GCSE English Language 9-1. I also publish resources for the BTEC Level 2 in IT course.
English language arts
Learning Targets Poster
Empower your teaching with this customisable Learning Targets Poster - an adaptable tool for clearly communicating targets and keeping students aligned and engaged!
Created in PowerPoint, just click on the elements to add your targets - or print it off and put them in by hand.
This comes with a Word document - students are introduced to the idea of emerging, consolidated, or established - and can track their own targets.
LEVEL & VOCATIONAL AREA - in this area simply type in something relevant for your institution…
Enjoy!
FREE - British Values "Do Now" for Functional Skills English Reading L1
This has been created to be challenging (but not too hard!) for students approaching their L1 Reading exam and incorporate the skills needed to pass it! It comprises 11 questions based around a short text.
It’s perfect for a lesson starters or end. It should take up to ten minutes for students to answer the questions, with then answer time taking another five. This may sound like a lot of time, but it is focused on getting the students through the exams (not “woolly” in any way, shape or form!) I have found that this time has been well spent and is reflected in both student confidence around the exams and their actual exam performance.
They questions cover two pages (so perfect for quick double-sided copying) plus there is a third page of the correct answers for teachers (you don’t want to be doing the Do Now yourself, do you!?).
This “Do Now” activity is designed for learners doing the Pearson Edexcel exam – but I am sure it can be used for other exam boards too. The texts takes the form of a short article.
The questions consist of:
Multiple choice
Short answers
True/False
This worked very well where I work. I hope you enjoy using it with your students too!
Functional Skills English – 10 Do Now Activities (Relevant to L1 Reading Exam)
These ten beautifully designed “Do Now” activities are designed to get your Functional Skills English lesson off to a great start. They have been written to be challenging (but not too hard!) for students approaching their L1 Reading exam and incorporate the skills needed to pass it! Each one consists of ten (sometimes 11) questions based around a short text.
Download a free sample here - https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-13147971
They are perfect for lesson starters or ends. It should take up to ten minutes for students to answer the questions, with then answer time taking another five. This may sound like a lot of time, but as they are focused on getting the students through the exams (not “woolly” in any way, shape or form!) I have found that this time has been well spent and is reflected in both student confidence around the exams and their actual exam performance.
They cover two pages (so perfect for quick double-sided copying) plus there is a third page of the correct answers for teachers (you don’t want to be doing the Do Now yourself, do you!?).
These “Do Now” activities are designed for learners doing the Pearson Edexcel exam – but I am sure they can be used for other exam boards too. The texts take the form of flyers, short articles and online forums.
The questions consist of:
Multiple choice – identifying the purpose of a text, language features and use of punctuation
Short answers – identifying organisational features and their location in the text, using sub-headings, relacing single words with a synonym, explaining short quotes from the text
True/False – some feature three, others just one – akin to multiple choice but a little more straightforward. A good confidence boost for weaker learners.
As well as covering the skills needed for the exams, the “Do Nows” are designed to allow students to become accustomed to the kind of questions they will get in the exams and how they are written.
In order to engage learners I have made these, where possible, about subjects that engage young people. Also incorporated are “value” based activities, such as British Values, which go some way to incorporate your institution’s (and the governments) policies about subjects that should be covered at school or college. The subjects of the “Do Nows” are as follows:
British Values
Bullying
History of Rap Music
Consent (very PG!)
Cricket
Drug Use
Future of Gaming
Hairdressing Course
Mental Health
Online Safety
The files are uploaded in their original PowerPoint format and as PDFs.
These have gone down very well where I work. I hope you enjoy using them too!
GCSE English Language Paper 1 - "HIGHER TIER"
What if there was a Higher Tier GCSE? Imagine a resource designed to stretch the most capable students, challenging them to excel beyond the standard GCSE English Language curriculum. This is what I like to think I have created here.
Although I don’t think any teachers would want to return to a system of Higher and Foundation levels, almost every year I have students who find previous exams very straightforward – especially in the Reading Section. As such I always keep an eye out for passages that might stretch and challenge the more able students.
Revisiting Billy Budd recently, I came across the passage included, which is where Billy accidentally kills another sailor. It lends itself beautifully to the demands of GCSE English Paper 1 and was, I thought, a more challenging text than usual. This was due both to the advanced vocabulary and imagery it uses as much as the fact it was written in the late 1800s.
This “Higher Tier” paper, centred on this carefully selected (and minutely edited as opposed to the usual AQA butchery!) passage from Billy Budd, pushes students to tackle complex language, nuanced themes, and sophisticated literary techniques. It provides an invaluable opportunity for them to delve deeper into textual analysis and to refine their critical thinking skills. I have used it in my classes and it has stretched the more able students quite satisfactorily.
There is also an extensive mark scheme for the Reading section - so you don’t have to make one up yourself. There isn’t one for the Writing section - it is the same as AQA.
The questions essentially remain unchanged – but Q1 is now “explain” rather than list in order to satisfy “higher tier” requirements of a 4 mark question! However, the nature of the text means that brighter students will find the other questions more challenging than usual.
As such, the Billy Budd “Higher Tier” paper simulates an advanced exam experience, preparing students to face intricate passages with confidence and clarity. It can be used as a part of classroom teaching, revision sessions, or independent study, this unique paper is the ideal tool for students eager to take their understanding of English Language to the next level and aim for the “higher” grades in their exams.
Cover Lesson (x2) for GCSE English Language - "Sharpen Your Skills"
Short Exam-Focused English Activities for GCSE English Language
When is a cover lesson not a cover lesson? When it’s all printed up and ready to go the next time a colleague is off. When it’s beautifully presented and covers a number of the important assessment objectives the students will have to cover in the exams. When it’s cunningly disguised as something that has taken time to prepare and hasn’t been thrown together in a panic. When the students enjoy doing it…!
These two cover lessons are called “Sharpen Your Skills” and take the form of short 8 page booklets that can be taken to class and will need little or no explanation. They each have a variety of tasks (see below) which are low stakes but cover some important elements of the qualification. There is an answer booklet for each, too.
I have used these in my institution with success. Students have reported that they like the variety of tasks involved which keep them busy for an hour. Plus they have enjoyed the subject matter of the tasks and texts involved. Although the evaluation question can be a little challenging, it focuses on skills that can attract high marks in the exams…
In fact, we have students asking for more so they can do them at home!
Sharpen Your Skills 1 comprises of…
A “Do Now” set of five questions
A “Ready Steady Write” – flash writing about being faced by a zombie
A newspaper report about gangs in South London from 1898, with a “List Four Things” question and an evaluation task
A “multiple choice showdown” about various aspects of the text (9 questions)
A “describe the setting” task which asks students to write the second paragraph of a text.
Sharpen Your Skills 2 comprises of…
A “Do Now” set of three questions (one which mirrors P2Q1)
A “Ready Steady Write” – flash writing about education failing young people.
An extract from Octavia Hill’s 1875 “Homes of the London Poor”, with a “List Four Things” question and an evaluation task
A creative writing task with a set of picture prompts which asks students to write about when they or someone the know has shown bravery.
They are both included as Word documents and PDFs.
All images are used under a Creative Commons licence,
Bundle
GCSE English Language - Short Activity Bundle
Encourage your students to write with these great resources.
Plus, buying these together saves you a heap of money!
50 'Word of the Week' Slide Posters for Engaging GCSE English Language Lessons
A beautiful set of slide posters (50 to choose from) which can cover an entire academic year (with some left over). Each word is defined, with synonyms and antonyms – plus example usage. The “Word of the Week” slides are presented to capture students’ attention and enhance engagement. The visual appeal creates a great stimulus for students to explore new vocabulary.
Incorporating a “Word of the Week” into the classroom provides a dynamic way to enrich students’ vocabulary and foster a love for language. By focusing on a single sophisticated word each week, teachers can create a structured environment where students regularly encounter and engage with new terms. This approach not only enhances vocabulary acquisition but also improves comprehension and communication skills.
Where I work, we use these in the classroom – and include them in the weekly email to all teachers. They also go up on our GCSE English team with the challenge to students to use them in sentences and in their work. The slides are also shown in our reception area as part of the revolving slideshow visitors see when they come in. There’s a multitude of uses for these slides.
A “Word of the Week” encourages students to explore words in various contexts, helping them understand nuances and applications. Teachers can introduce the word through diverse activities such as discussions, writing exercises, and creative projects, making the learning process interactive and memorable.
Moreover, this method supports cognitive development by challenging students to use and recognise advanced vocabulary in their everyday conversations and academic work. It also aids in building confidence, as students become more adept at expressing themselves with precision and sophistication.
Overall, a “Word of the Week” fosters an enriching learning environment where vocabulary growth is a continuous and engaging experience, preparing students for academic and real-world success.
All images are used under a Creative Commons license – no copyright issues.
Please note that the first slide – alacrity – also has a pointer to where you can place your institution’s logo.
The words are: alacrity, antagonise, to aspire, avarice, benevolence, capricious, clandestine, collaborative, conscientious, crescendo, dauntless, delectable, delineate, derision, diaphanous, dichotomy, discombobulate, eloquent, ephemeral, epitome, exhilaration, foolhardy, futile, homogeneous, implacable, implicit, indignant, insolence, interrogate, inveterate, invidious, malevolent, myriad, ostracise, ostensibly, paragon, persistence, plethora, precipitous, predilection, procrastinate, radiate, resilient, satiate, solitary, tranquillity, transient, ubiquitous, vociferous, zenith.
Enable your students to create a student-specific P1Q5 skills checklist for GCSE English
With your help, your students will be able to create a checklist of the skills they need to demonstrate in the exam. There is a “worked example” in this resource (written by a real 2024 student) which demonstrates high level skills. Your students discuss read it and come up with their own “rubric” -in their own words.
This can be done without the pressure of them getting things wrong or being marked.
The notes are not an additional student handout – they might be a little too much for all but the most engaged learners. The notes cover all of the elements contained in the marking scheme for GCSE English Language (AQA) Paper 1 Question 5 (i.e. the rubric that articulates specific components and expectations for a piece of creative writing). They have been created so that you know the story and how it is organised, structured and technically accurate inside out.
It’s your cheat sheet in other words!
My own students really enjoyed this activity. It helped a lot of them to understand (and more importantly remember) the skills that they need to demonstrate to the markers for AO5 and AO6.
O5: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts
AO6: Candidates must use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. (This requirement must constitute 20% of the marks for each specification as a whole.)
40 "Do Now" Writing Prompts for GCSE English: Free Writing or Exam Style
This is a beautifully presented set of 40 “Do Now” activities for GCSE English.
I call it “exam paralysis” – when students sit in an exam for five, ten, fifteen minutes or more, apparently doing nothing. They are so unused to writing spontaneously and in time-constrained conditions that they freeze. This not only wastes valuable exam time, it stops them doing as well as they could (in terms of final grade).
I created this set of prompts/activities as a response to this. Free writing increases confidence, generates honesty in writing, develops writing abilities and voice, promotes the process of writing, rather than the outcome – and help overcome writer’s block. It isn’t supposed to be marked, it is simply to help the students allow themselves to write as creatively and as honestly as they can.
However, I realise that this doesn’t suit all the teachers all of the time, so I have also adapted this set of prompts into exam-style exercises, where content, organisation and technical accuracy are taken into account.
The “free writing” set is designed without marking in mind – they are designed simply to develop the ability to write quickly, developing voice and confidence. However, I will pace the room making comments and encouraging the writing process, of course! The “exam style” set would necessarily involve more formal feedback or at least more of an eye on the prize, as it were.
Both sets are editable so the instructions can be tweaked, if needed, to suit your learners.
(Sometimes it’s difficult to activate learning, especially at the beginning of the first session of the day or week. A great way to kickstart a class, assess prior learning and to give the students instant feedback is a “Do Now” activity.)
GCSE English Paper 2 Question 5: Exemplar Letter
This short lesson was devised to help students to learn what the markers are looking for if they are asked to write a letter in GCSE English Paper 2 Question 5 (AQA).
The letter, it must be stressed, is a great example but this would probably not be achievable in the 45 minutes available for this task in the exam. However, it covers all the necessary skills to get 40/40 for the question - or if not that, pretty close to it!
There are a series of short exercises too. These cover the “Content and Organisation” skills, as well as those for “Technical Accuracy”. Students are encouraged to discuss the assessment objectives associated with these skills.
Describe the Setting – “Do Now” Picture Prompts for GCSE English
What happens after the opening lines of a story? Often, the writer will shift focus to describe the setting. This set of ten picture prompts (for GCSE English but could be used at any level) gives students a visual nudge.
Their job is to create a setting description which could be used as a second paragraph in a story. However, they must also incorporate some important elements that would help them to grab marks in an exam.
This helps students to think about the structure of a whole text – often in GCSE English paper 1 (AQA) the second paragraph is descriptive so that candidates can answer the “language question” in the exam. More than that, of course, the description of the setting helps to bring the text alive with a little “world building”.
This set of ten picture prompts could be used for a complete lesson, but the idea behind them was to use as starters – a “do now” activity. As only a single paragraph is demanded, this could be done in ten minutes or so, with time for some of the learners to read their out loud. Alternatively, could make a great activity on a VLE.
In class these could be shown on a smartboard one by one, or you could do a mix and match, so the students get given a random picture to describe. It’s up to you – this set of picture prompts is versatile enough for you to think of a number of ways in which to use it!
Files included are Powerpoint and a PDF version.
Bundle
2 Structure Quizzes for GCSE English
Two quizzes based on structure.
Quiz 1
This quiz is based on a very short story of just 386 words called “The Unbroken Bond”. It is followed by 19 multiple choice questions and 3 order questions. For those who finish early there is an extension task at the end. This resource was originally created as there don’t seem to be many “structure” resources out there that are good quality and teach the learners anything except the terminology! I believe this quiz provoked some thought about how to respond to the question in an exam scenario.
This is ideal for a cover lesson, too, as it produces no marking, as long as the answers are given out once the quiz is complete (learners can mark their own or can exchange their papers with others).
I would advise reading the story out loud at the start to ensure that all the learners have read it and do not (as is sometimes the case) attempt the “pot luck”” strategy of answering the question.
The story is very PG. It focuses on a dog whose “boy” has gone missing and his frantic search for his friend. It is resolved when “boy” returns, simply having been to school for the day. It is based on the June 2023 P1Q5 – “Write a story about a human meeting an animal”. As such, it can also be used as an exemplar for that question.
There is also a comprehensive answer booklet with explanations so that the teacher who is doing the lesson can respond to learner questions about why the right answer was… the right answer!
The order questions are a student responses (done in the PEE manner). Learners have to put them in the right order. The point and evidence are presented in the first sentence. The two explanatory sentences can be separated in terms of order because the final point has a linking word or phrase indicating summation is in process.
Although this quiz is “low stakes” in nature, it covers a large amount of subject terminology which can be discussed at the time when the answers are given. The aim is to embed this terminology as well as exposing students to ways in which it could be incorporated into their own attempts at P1Q3.
The text is also provided separately as there are always learners who ask for this so they do not have to keep flicking back and forth.
PDF and Word formats for the documents are included.
This quiz would easily be adaptable into an online version if you wanted to do the quiz as homework, The questions and answers could be quickly copied and pasted into MS Forms or a Moodle interface – and the explanations given in the answer booklet could also be used to enable online automated feedback.
Quiz 2
This quiz is based on a very short story of just 458 words called “The Dream of Billy Williams”. It is followed by 19 multiple choice questions and 3 order questions. For those who finish early there is an extension task at the end. This resource was originally created as there don’t seem to be many “structure” resources out there that are good quality and teach the learners anything except the terminology! I believe this quiz provoked some thought about how to respond to the question in an exam scenario.
This is ideal for a cover lesson, too, as it produces no marking, as long as the answers are given out once the quiz is complete (learners can mark their own or can exchange their papers with others).
I would advise reading the story out loud at the start to ensure that all the learners have read it and do not (as is sometimes the case) attempt the “pot luck”” strategy of answering the question.
The story is set during the First World War and focuses on a soldier, Billy Williams who can sleep through anything - but unfortunately this does not ultimately save him. The description of his death is not “blood and guts” but focuses on his obliteration by a shell. The story uses all the skills to get a very high grade for Paper 1 Question 5. As such, it can also be used as an exemplar for that question, too.
There is also a comprehensive answer booklet with explanations so that the teacher who is doing the lesson can respond to learner questions about why the right answer was… the right answer!
The order questions are a student responses (done in the PEE manner). Learners have to put them in the right order. The point and evidence are presented in the first sentence. The two explanatory sentences can be separated in terms of order because the final point has a linking word or phrase indicating summation is in process.
Although this quiz is “low stakes” in nature, it covers a large amount of subject terminology which can be discussed at the time when the answers are given. The aim is to embed this terminology as well as exposing students to ways in which it could be incorporated into their own attempts at P1Q3.
The text is also provided separately as there are always learners who ask for this so they do not have to keep flicking back and forth.
PDF and Word formats for the documents are included.
This quiz would easily be adaptable into an online version if you wanted to do the quiz as homework, The questions and answers could be quickly copied and pasted into MS Forms or a Moodle interface – and the explanations given in the answer booklet could also be used to enable online automated feedback.
Enjoy!
Structure Quiz for GCSE English - "The Dream of Billy Williams"
This quiz is based on a very short story of just 458 words called “The Dream of Billy Williams”. It is followed by 19 multiple choice questions and 3 order questions. For those who finish early there is an extension task at the end. This resource was originally created as there don’t seem to be many “structure” resources out there that are good quality and teach the learners anything except the terminology! I believe this quiz provoked some thought about how to respond to the question in an exam scenario.
This is ideal for a cover lesson, too, as it produces no marking, as long as the answers are given out once the quiz is complete (learners can mark their own or can exchange their papers with others).
I would advise reading the story out loud at the start to ensure that all the learners have read it and do not (as is sometimes the case) attempt the “pot luck”” strategy of answering the question.
The story is set during the First World War and focuses on a soldier, Billy Williams who can sleep through anything - but unfortunately this does not ultimately save him. The description of his death is not “blood and guts” but focuses on his obliteration by a shell. The story uses all the skills to get a very high grade for Paper 1 Question 5. As such, it can also be used as an exemplar for that question, too.
There is also a comprehensive answer booklet with explanations so that the teacher who is doing the lesson can respond to learner questions about why the right answer was… the right answer!
The order questions are a student responses (done in the PEE manner). Learners have to put them in the right order. The point and evidence are presented in the first sentence. The two explanatory sentences can be separated in terms of order because the final point has a linking word or phrase indicating summation is in process.
Although this quiz is “low stakes” in nature, it covers a large amount of subject terminology which can be discussed at the time when the answers are given. The aim is to embed this terminology as well as exposing students to ways in which it could be incorporated into their own attempts at P1Q3.
The text is also provided separately as there are always learners who ask for this so they do not have to keep flicking back and forth.
PDF and Word formats for the documents are included.
This quiz would easily be adaptable into an online version if you wanted to do the quiz as homework, The questions and answers could be quickly copied and pasted into MS Forms or a Moodle interface – and the explanations given in the answer booklet could also be used to enable online automated feedback.
Enjoy!
Structure Quiz for GCSE English - "The Unbroken Bond"
This quiz is based on a very short story of just 386 words called “The Unbroken Bond”. It is followed by 19 multiple choice questions and 3 order questions. For those who finish early there is an extension task at the end. This resource was originally created as there don’t seem to be many “structure” resources out there that are good quality and teach the learners anything except the terminology! I believe this quiz provoked some thought about how to respond to the question in an exam scenario.
This is ideal for a cover lesson, too, as it produces no marking, as long as the answers are given out once the quiz is complete (learners can mark their own or can exchange their papers with others).
I would advise reading the story out loud at the start to ensure that all the learners have read it and do not (as is sometimes the case) attempt the “pot luck”” strategy of answering the question.
The story is very PG. It focuses on a dog whose “boy” has gone missing and his frantic search for his friend. It is resolved when “boy” returns, simply having been to school for the day. It is based on the June 2023 P1Q5 – “Write a story about a human meeting an animal”. As such, it can also be used as an exemplar for that question.
There is also a comprehensive answer booklet with explanations so that the teacher who is doing the lesson can respond to learner questions about why the right answer was… the right answer!
The order questions are a student responses (done in the PEE manner). Learners have to put them in the right order. The point and evidence are presented in the first sentence. The two explanatory sentences can be separated in terms of order because the final point has a linking word or phrase indicating summation is in process.
Although this quiz is “low stakes” in nature, it covers a large amount of subject terminology which can be discussed at the time when the answers are given. The aim is to embed this terminology as well as exposing students to ways in which it could be incorporated into their own attempts at P1Q3.
The text is also provided separately as there are always learners who ask for this so they do not have to keep flicking back and forth.
PDF and Word formats for the documents are included.
This quiz would easily be adaptable into an online version if you wanted to do the quiz as homework, The questions and answers could be quickly copied and pasted into MS Forms or a Moodle interface – and the explanations given in the answer booklet could also be used to enable online automated feedback.
Enjoy!
GCSE English Language (AQA) Grade Boundaries Spreadsheet: June 17- Jun 24
A spreadsheet containing all the grade boundaries for all English Language 8700 exams – 13 in all at present. It also includes the TAG years (just in case people think they are missing papers from those years!).
Importantly, the spreadsheet shows the text or subject of the texts for each year – so no more opening files to check that it’s one paper or another anymore. It also shows a quick view of the marks needed for a grade 4 on each paper plus the difference between a grade 3 and 4.
So if you want to see how many marks achieved a 5 in 2017 and compare it to 2022 (and so on!) then this is the spreadsheet for you. It’s also a very quick way to find the year a certain paper was published and used.
I have tried to use colour effectively on the spreadsheet so you can differentiate between a June and a November paper, plus have used conditional formatting for the information about Grade 3 and 4 which appears on the right hand side of the spreadsheet.
Have fun!
The spreadsheet isn’t locked so you can adapt this to your heart’s content.
10 “Do Now” worksheets for GCSE English Language (1-10)
This is a beautifully presented set of 10 “Do Now” activities for GCSE English.
Sometimes it’s difficult to activate learning, especially at the beginning of the first session of the week. A great way to kickstart a class, assess prior learning and to give the students instant feedback is a “Do Now” activity. Over and done in ten minutes or less, I often use them at the beginning of a class to signal to students that it is time to learn – and what better way is there than to get them actively thinking? These worksheets really get them into the “English Zone” as it were.
The stakes are low, but having used these with my own learners, I know that the engagement is high! Each worksheet has a number of very quick activities on it (between three and six) which can be done in around five minutes. For variation, each worksheet has a different “mix and match” of activities. This means the students will not know what is coming in their next “Do Now” and this will hopefully keep them on their toes and interested!
These activities comprise:
Spot’n’Spell – learners read a short passage and correct TWO spelling mistakes
One Word Drafting – learners are asked to improve a sentence with just one word (sometimes an adverb, sometimes any word)
Spot the adjectives – learners must underline the adjectives in a very short passage
Fill the gaps – learners read a paragraph of classic literature and fill in gaps
Suggestion Box – learners are asked to write what a word suggests in a sentence (can be about character, place and so on)
Unjumble – learners asked to separate the adjectives from the adverbs
The Great British Idiom – learners given an image that shows a famous idiom and are asked to put it into a sentence
What Am I? – learners given a definition of a structural or linguistic device and asked to write the answer
That is the Question – Learners given a description of an exam question and asked to give Paper, Question and Mark (eg Question 2, Paper 1, 8 marks)
Punctuate Me! – Learners gives four sentences and asked which one is punctuated correctly
Time to Shine – Learners asked about exam timing for certain questions
Language or Structure? – Learners asked to separate language and structural devices
True or False – Learners asked to say whether a statement is true or false
Word Star – learners asked to match up words with their definitions
I “like” it – learners asked to improve a sentence by adding a simile
Strong Links – learners asked to place an adverbial phrase into a short text to create a stronger link between sentences
Be Direct – leaners asked to reword a sentence, using direct address
List Four Things – learners given a short text and asked to list four things about one of its elements
Order! Order! – learners asked to put four sentences of an exam response into the correct order
S
The worksheets are in colour but print off fine in black and white. They are designed to engage the students with individual designs and graphical “Easter Eggs”.
GCSE English - "CORE TEXTS"
All of the extracts in this document are free from copyright restrictions. This is either because of when they were written (and so now fall out of copyright statutes), have no copyright restrictions and/or were originally published under a Creative Commons license.
They have been carefully collated to ensure that a wide range of voices can be heard by students studying towards their GCSE English. We have not overlooked famous authors by any means but a pivotal reason for putting these core texts together was to counter the inherent Eurocentricity of past and current curricula.
Although there are no associated tasks included here (they are on the VLE) we are happy to make these texts available to anyone who cares to read them. They were chosen for their engaging content and so even if you do not use these as specific tasks, we hope that you will find them collectively an enjoyable and thought-provoking read. If you love to dip in and out of literature, you have come to the right place!
When substantial additions are made (this is an ongoing project) we will update the document available online.
Bundle
GCSE English Language 9-1 Picture-Prompted Scaffolded Story Writing - 2 PACKS
This are editable resources but PDFs are also included.
I really enjoyed creating these and they have gone down very well with my students.
Ever tried to teach story writing and been met with a sea of faces staring back blankly? However, when the terminal exam promises the distinct possibility of a story writing task (Paper 1 Question 5) then students must be prepared for this eventuality.
This is one way to encourage students to write good stories which are suitable for GCSE English.
These sets of prompts are designed to introduce students to descriptive writing in a number of ways…
The resources are designed as TWO 60-90 minute classes and focus on a FULL RESPONSE for a story featuring a different structural feature for each paragraph.
If you want to use exercise books, there are ‘instruction only’ sets here too.
Each paragraph the students must write is accompanied by a number of prompts - both picture-based and written. The prompts indicate what they should write. There is also plenty of time for sharing and class discussions between each paragraph.
GCSE English Language 9-1 Picture-Prompted Scaffolded Story Writing - Whole Text Exercise #2
This is an editable resource but a PDF is included too.
I really enjoyed creating this and it has gone down very well with my students.
Ever tried to teach story writing and been met with a sea of faces staring back blankly? However, when the terminal exam promises the distinct possibility of a story writing task (Paper 1 Question 5) then students must be prepared for this eventuality.
This is one way to encourage students to write good stories which are suitable for GCSE English.
This set of prompts is designed to introduce students to descriptive writing in a number of ways…
The resource is designed as a 60-90 minute class and it focuses on a FULL RESPONSE for a story featuring a different structural feature for each paragraph.
If you want to use exercise books, there is an ‘instruction only’ set here too.
Each paragraph the students must write is accompanied by a number of prompts - both picture-based and written. The prompts indicate what they should write. There is also plenty of time for sharing and class discussions between each paragraph.
So, the first (major) prompts, for example, are:
The opening - a picture of a young woman leaning out of the window of a train’s door. Students are asked to write about her, including time and place for their first paragraph.
Shift of focus - a picture of he railway station where she is starting her journey. The story shifts to a description of the platform.
…and so on. The story is then further developed with pictures - a “power paragaraph” (one sentence), a shift to describe her thoughts and feelings, a flashforward where she anticipates her future, a shift to a description of the countryside outside the train as it whizzes by and then a climax where she discovers she has lost her train ticket!
It’s a very simple st
The prompts then progress, enabling the students to create a complete response which includes all of the skills descriptors for Paper 1 Question 5. Your students should end up with a piece containing a minimum of 8 paragraphs of varying language with structural features and language devices used throughout. There is also an extension task which asks the students to create a word-processed second draft for homework.
This lesson could also be used as a ‘snap’ creative writing session or a cover class. In fact it’s a highly adaptable (and editable!) resource which you can turn to many things.
There is also a ‘five senses’ prompt on the lesson handout, to encourage students to use one or more of these in their writing.
These exercises cover the following Assessment Objectives:
AO5: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts
AO6: Candidates must use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.
GCSE English Language 9-1 Picture-Prompted Scaffolded Story Writing - Whole Text Exercise
This is an editable resource but a PDF is included too.
I really enjoyed creating this and it has gone down very well with my students.
Ever tried to teach story writing and been met with a sea of faces staring back blankly? However, when the terminal exam promises the distinct possibility of a story writing task (Paper 1 Question 5) then students must be prepared for this eventuality.
This is one way to encourage students to write good stories which are suitable for GCSE English.
This set of prompts is designed to introduce students to descriptive writing in a number of ways…
The resource is designed as a 60-90 minute class and it focuses on a FULL RESPONSE for a story featuring a different structural feature for each paragraph.
If you want to use exercise books, there is an ‘instruction only’ set here too.
Each paragraph the students must write is accompanied by a number of prompts - both picture-based and written. The prompts indicate what they should write. There is also plenty of time for sharing and class discussions between each paragraph.
So, the first (major) prompts, for example, are:
The opening - a picture of a moody looking teenage boy in a cafe. Students are asked to write about him, including time and place for their first paragraph.
Shift of focus - a picture of a marketplace on a high street. The story shifts to the busy street outside the cafe, busy with people.
…and so on. The story is then further developed with pictures - a “power paragaraph” (one sentence), a shift to describe the interior of the cafe, a flashback when the teenager remembers his ex, a shift to a climax when his ex enters the cafe and finally a cliffhanger.
The prompts then progress, enabling the students to create a complete response which includes all of the skills descriptors for Paper 1 Question 5. Your students should end up with a piece containing a minimum of 7 paragraphs of varying language with structural features and language devices used throughout. There is also an extension task which asks the students to create a word-processed second draft for homework.
This lesson could also be used as a ‘snap’ creative writing session or a cover class. In fact it’s a highly adaptable (and editable!) resource which you can turn to many things.
There is also a ‘five senses’ prompt on the lesson handout, to encourage students to use one or more of these in their writing.
These exercises cover the following Assessment Objectives:
AO5: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts
AO6: Candidates must use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.