Power-points, resources and activities for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night and Taming of the Shrew.

A single lesson introducing students to the structure of the GCSE Language papers, and then genre based activities that familiarise them with conventions.

Great for a high ability class, these 4-5 lessons look at an extract from Treasure Island and build skills in: - Language analysis - Identifying language techniques - Creative writing - Peer and self marking. A good introduction if you're starting to look at 19th century texts with younger groups. Enjoy!

2 lessons for a higher ability class. These quick paced lessons are highly structured so that students must complete a certain amount of activities in the lesson, and tick off their achievements as they go. Language analysis is the focus, with an extract from Jekyll and Hyde. The two lessons cover: - Comprehension - Analysis of authorial methods - Model paragraph - Extended critical writing - Analysis of sentence forms A homework activity is also included. Print the first 3 slides for activity sheets.

I taught this lesson as for a unit on how to write historical fiction, however you can adapt this resource for any creative writing unit. Focus of the lesson: Developing depth in characterisation Understanding the scales of characterisation to create interesting characters Worksheets included in PP Differentiated extension tasks with student voice and choice at the end Note that students will need either their own computers or some device to conduct a bit of research and to complete the Jigsaw activity (three videos to watch). Right click the videos on the photos on the PP to access them (the links are embedded).

Suitable for higher ability classes, these 3-4 lessons cover: - An introduction to the short story form - Recap of form, language and structure - An analysis of the short story “The Flowers” by Alice Walker - Creative writing - Self and peer marking activities Enjoy :)

Suitable for teaching as a one off, or as part of the GCSE "Power and Conflict" poetry cluster. Skills covered: themes and ideas (with a look at literary criticism examining tribal conflict and the psychological landscape in Heaney's poetry); language forms, structure and features; and context.

3/4 lessons for if you're starting to teach the GCSE Language Paper 2: Viewpoints and Perspectives, or as a general introduction to non-fiction. Find included: - Introduction to non-fiction and persuasive language devices - Structure of a film review (I've chosen "All Quiet on the Western Front" as it coincides with my class's adjacent war unit, but you can supplement this for any film) - Analysis of a film review - Comprehension, analysis and summary exam skills. Enjoy

For the GCSE literature paper 2. Whether you’re introducing this topic for the first time or revising it, this student-led project (spanning 4-5 lessons) covers the comprehension, analysis, and critical writing skills required for tackling this question in the paper. Can also be used as a general resource for teaching poetry skills. Poems are a combination of Romantic, modernist and contemporary, and there are lots of scaffolded activities that guide students through the process of unpacking themes and ideas, annotating, analysing language, structure, and form, and writing extended responses.

An awesome lesson for boys in year 9 or 10, language analysis skills are made fun through a lesson designed like a video game. Each activity is a "mission", and students have to complete all three in either single, two player or combat mode (individually, in pairs, or in competition). Included: - All activities - Video resources (right click the image on slide 4 for hyperlink to video) - Extract from Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One". - Formative progress check (using playstation symbols- how cool is that?) - Creative writing activity Very proud and excited for this lesson, so please enjoy!

We’re rolling out a new topic this year for year 9 which I’m super excited about: Crime & Punishment. The purpose of the topic is to introduce students to the crime genre, explore both fiction and non-fiction texts, and begin to respond to GCSE style questions for Language Papers 1 and 2. Find included in this pack: Lesson 1-2: Introduction and expectations (you’re welcome to change this if you like). Conventions of the crime genre, examination of these in two crime extracts. Lesson 3: Archetypes in literature overview and introduction to crime archetypes from “Rue Morgue” extract Lesson 4: Types of detectives Lesson 5: Practising language skills; applying Q1 and Q2 style analysis to “Rue Morgue.” A great starting point for beginning the unit, and I’ll be editing and updating this resource as the term unfolds, so watch this space! Have also included a termly homework grid and all worksheets. For all other worksheets, print the single page of the PP as they appear in the resource.

In my opinion, language paper 2 is the most BORING of all the GCSE. In introducing this unit to my mixed ability year 9 class, I decided to take a more relevant and engaging approach. These 4-5 lessons examine the ideas and issues brought to the fore by the wonderful David Attenborough, in his recent 2019 speech at the premiere of the Our Planet series. Find included: An introduction to the issues of climate change Debate and discussion topics, grounding this topic in contemporary social and global issues Highly structured activities that fascilitate students’ skills for Q1, 2 and 3 of this paper Self marking activities Videos and multimedia resources Transcripts of Attenborough’s speech, and Margaret Thatcher’s 1990 climate speech (for comparison for Q2), with guided annotations. Proud of this- English teachers don’t just teach how to read and write. We teach kids how to THINK and be critical. Enjoy!

Regardless of how many times I’ve taught Macbeth at GCSE, students still seem to struggle to make meaningful connections between text and context, and thus hit their A03 target. Here are four lessons I designed to tackle this problem, going in depth to explore: Lesson 1: Who was King James? How did his paranoia, marriage to Anne of Denmark, taking of the English throne, and self-appointment as witch-hunter influence the shaping of Macbeth? Lesson 2: Protestantism & Catholicism. What are the key differences between the two? How did Luther’s teachings divert from Catholic tradition and lay the groundwork for Henry VIII? Lesson 3: The Chain of Being. How did this reinforce the feudal system? Lesson 4: The Supernatural. How does the setting of Scotland lend itself to supernatural elements? How does the supernatural in Macbeth reinforce the colonial narrative? My set 1 year 10s really engaged with these four lessons. Have also included “required readings” with key terms and questions for discussion that you might choose to set as homework before the lessons (flipped-model style).

Four power-points on Characters, Genre, Setting and Structure as an introduction for creative writing. I designed these resources for my high-ability year 9 class, in preparation for question 5 of the Language Paper 1 for the GCSE.

This unit of work and accompanying series of lessons was designed for a class of Gifted and Talented students in year 8. They were studying fantasy fiction in their general English classes, and withdrawn for 2 separate sessions a week to focus on these extension activities. This unit can be integrated into a fantasy unit or taught separately. Details are as follows: PBL, student-centred model Culminating product is a fantasy narrative fiction Lots of scaffolds, differentiation and stretch and challenge Designed as an introduction to understanding literary theory Built around fostering higher order thinking skills, critical and creative writing, and 21st century skills (collaboration, questioning etc). Research and digital literacy- some lessons require independent research and inquiry. Lessons included focus on the following: Why have people dissed fantasy? Critical readings of Le Guinn and Tolkien Introduction of project and need to knows Process of creation: who was Tolkien and what were his methods? Introduction of complex terminology relating to fantasy world-building Breakdown of critical reading of “On Fairy Stories” and linking to ‘what is the purpose of fantasy?’ How to build a convincing fantasy world How to create unique magic systems What are the ethical considerations of fantasy? Originally, this powerpoint was made using Google Slides, and students all had their own digital copy. This is why some of the interactive “portals” (pictures where students can right-click and will be taken to a separate resource) link elsewhere. I have included the resources in a different form so that you can give these to students in hard copy form instead.

This PP can be taught over a few lessons either during or after a study of "The Hobbit". The purpose of these activities is to build creative writing skills in the fantasy genre. The PP discusses how the genre (with the Hobbit as an example) crafts character, world building, and language and style. Price is set due to my own research spanning various fantasy texts (specifically the character study of pro/antagonists). I delivered this as a talk to year 9 while visiting another school, and later taught it alongside a Hobbit novel study with a year 8 class.

I teach a rowdy but bright year 7 boys class once a week (the classes are split on our timetable between teachers, annoyingly). I decided to do a creative writing module with them, focusing on dystopian literature. Included in this pack are 10 (or more, depending on pace) lessons that: Introduce dystopian fiction and its conventions Analyse extracts from famous dystopias Build creative writing skills Build planning, structuring, drafting and editing skills Activities are varied, with some introductory links to Language Paper 1 skills for the GCSE. Enjoy :)