This general worksheet helps students to analyse stage directions from any play, considering character, lighting, sounds, and other elements.

This information sheet can be used by secondary students of all ages who need guidance on how to write a feature article. It encourages the use of statistics, illustrations and vox pops for the more mathematically and artistically minded English and media students.

This revision sheet lists possible reasons for Blanche's behaviour in scene 1 of A Streetcar Named Desire. Underneath are spaces for students to write in evidence from the scene supporting each point. This could therefore be used not just for revision but also as a scaffold for weaker students&' essay-writing.

This cartoon can be used by English, media and politics students (A Level, IB, (I)GCSE) to understand context, audience, purpose and style.

These Christmas ads can be stuck to the wall so that your students can react to them in relation to context, audience, purpose and style. If laminated on first printing they can be used for years to come. Students can annotate using Post-It notes. If you are in a rush, then just print them and have students write on them directly. Colour printing is highly recommended. These posters are mainly of use to A-Level/IB students, but could also be used for (I)GCSE language and media courses. Note: one of the posters is appropriate for 16+ only.

This information sheet contextualises Ibsen's origins and family relationships as well as the theatrical movements by which his drama abides (naturalism/realism). The sheet also encourages students to link these to his plays.

Many of these resources were made by Penguin to support work on The Great Gatsby. They are also referred to in my lesson plan pack, available for download on TES. There is also a file containing ideas for teaching The Great Gatsby, compiled from around the internet. Finally, there is an article about flappers that can be used with your most able students.

This column by Dave Barry can be used by secondary English students to understand cultural context, as well as how humour is created and used in writing. It can also be used by French classes for a tongue-in-cheek insight into French culture. The comprehension questions are as follows: How far does Dave Barry exaggerate? Is some of what he says true? Explain your answer. Give an example of how Dave Barry uses language in a humorous way. EXTENSION: What technique(s) does he use and why? Dave Barry also makes fun of Americans. How?

This text can be used to help A-Level, IB and (I)GCSE students analyse context, audience, purpose and style. Particularly valuable is the subtext that it doesn't just inform but also advertises/persuades.

This advertisement was kindly supplied to me by Save The Children Supporter Care. It can be used to help A-Level, IB, and (I)GCSE students analyse advertisements through the lenses of context, audience, purpose and style.

This worksheet encourages students to identify key sonnet features (iambic pentameter, volta, syllabic count), give examples of these, and comment on effects.

This text can be used by secondary students of all ages to understand how humour is created and used in writing. Comprehension questions are included. This is designed for use by English students, but could also be used in French classes for some tongue-in-cheek insight into French culture.

This weblog pack consists of a compilation of blog entries which appeared online on a variety of websites after certain Enid Blyton books were reissued with changes to characters' names (e.g. Jo-> Joe) and actions (Dame Slap apparently only snaps now). The blog pack can be issued in its entirety to each child or it can be divided up and individual blog entries given to students according to their level of English (the entries vary in length and complexity). The blog entries also present a variety of viewpoints. A great way to discuss language change with secondary students of all ages alongside other topics such as revisionism. Possible questions for students include: Why are people so demonstrably upset by the changes? Is their protest reasonable (why/why not)? Is it right to change parts of an author’s work once it has been published (why/why not)?

These comprehension questions were designed for use by MA-HA (I)GCSE students reading Edith Wharton’s short story “The Moving Finger”. These questions could be completed all in one go after reading the whole story (perhaps as homework) or could be completed after reading each part (maybe as a class activity). The questions encourage students to consider how characters are developed and evolve, as well as their overall significance to the story, using evidence from the text to support their ideas. As such these could also be used as stimuli for essays or presentations (as opposed to short answers). The final question could be done as an extension activity in writing and/or the quotation given to all students as a starter or plenary activity.

This worksheet was designed for use by MA-HA (I)GCSE students learning about Hopkins’ poem “The Caged Skylark”. The grid on the sheet encourages them to identify techniques and imagery used to compare the man and skylark, and to cite examples using line numbers. There is also room for students to expand upon their observations, which could be used as extension. This activity could be completed in groups or alone in class, used as homework, or completed for revision.

This activity has 3 separate parts. After eliciting a class definition of idioms from students, the worksheet requires them to match idioms with their true meanings. Interesting discussion could follow, not just to correct the answers, but to explain how they knew/guessed if they were unsure. Students can then write sentences using the idioms before developing their ideas into a story (more than one idiom could be used in the story - e.g. through dialogue - or one idiom could be developed more thoroughly into a narrative). This was originally made to use with KS3 but could also be used with able KS2s.

This resource consists of 7 comprehension questions (printed on the page three times for ease of printing/distribution) based on the Moniza Alvi poem ‘Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan’. The questions help students to interpret the use of techniques including juxtaposition, metaphor, and imagery, and to better understand the effects of these on the reader.

This Powerpoint introduces the etymology of ‘anthropomorphism’ and explains the differences between personification and anthropomorphism. The PPT then showcases examples of texts which use these, before setting students a task to anthropomorphise a classroom object and write a monologue ‘in character’ (students should be familiar with monologue-writing). There is still scope to add additional imagery/animations to the PPT if desired, as well as film clips (e.g. Fantastic Mr Fox, Toy Story, Cars).

This literary and linguistic techniques matching game could be printed, laminated and cut out so that students can use it kinaesthetically (which is how I used it) or distributed as a worksheet where students just draw lines between the terms and their definitions (but you would need to mix up the definitions in the document first!). It was designed for IGCSE students but could be used throughout secondary depending on your students’ abilities. It includes literary devices such as flashbacks, as well as linguistic devices such as complex sentences. Great as a starter or plenary activity, or for revision.

These comprehension tasks in relation to Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story “The Third and Final Continent” were designed for MA-HA (I)GCSE students. They could be completed in class or alone as short-answer tasks, or used as revision or homework. Alternatively, different questions could be assigned to small groups and developed into a presentation; or, if you would prefer a longer/more detailed answer, individual questions can be set as essays. The questions require students to find evidence from the text to support their answers and focus mainly on cultural contexts and differences, and character development. Multiple copies of the questions fill the page for ease of printing, photocopying and distribution.