NEW AQA Paper 1A for LESS ABLE STUDENTS: The Monkey's Paw (1902)

Designed for less able students at Key Stage 3 or 4, this is a practice exam paper for the NEW AQA English Language Paper 1A: Reading 20th C Fiction texts. I have adapted an extract taken from WW Jacobs' classic ghost story, "The Monkey's Paw" (1902), simplifying some of the vocabulary and sentencing to make the text a little more accessible for students whose reading age might be lower than their chronological age.

I have also produced SMART Notebook slides for whole-class interactive teaching of the workbook, Q by Q.

The format of the paper is as follows:

Q1 - the same
Q2 - cloze exercise focusing on how the writer uses language to create suspense for the reader
Q3a - sequence a series of statements to show understanding of narrative events / structure
Q3b - cloze activity, modelling Q3 response, for pupils to complete.

I know that the new GCSE paper is untiered and students will not be given this level of support in the exam. However, this resource is intended to provide an appropriate point of access and opportunities for students whose literacy is a barrier to learning to practise the reading response skills demanded by this exam - and to support the teachers who have to deliver it!

I hope that it is of some use to you.

I have produced other resources like this one using extracts from Frankenstein, War of the Worlds, Skellig, A Christmas Carol, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Hobbit, The Sniper, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Pearl, The MAchine Gunners, Buddy, Dracula and Z for Zachariah.

I've also uploaded loads of typical specimen new AQA 9 to 1 Language Paper 1 and 2s to my shop, all available free of charge.

Please leave a review and help yourself!

Matt :)