I am a teacher of secondary English, providing resources and lesson plans in this domain. My lessons are on the interdisciplinary side and as such can at times also be applied to other subject areas, such as history or drama. I hope you find them useful! Please don't hesitate to provide constructive feedback as I am always keen to improve my resources and ensure that you get the very best value for money.
I am a teacher of secondary English, providing resources and lesson plans in this domain. My lessons are on the interdisciplinary side and as such can at times also be applied to other subject areas, such as history or drama. I hope you find them useful! Please don't hesitate to provide constructive feedback as I am always keen to improve my resources and ensure that you get the very best value for money.
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 16-lesson (4-week) unit plan for Alain-Fournier's novel, Le Grand Meaulnes, explores characterisation, setting, themes, techniques, and text-to-self connections, as well as the context of the author's life and the influence of these on the text. The unit is enhanced by the usage of other fictional and non-fictional texts, such as The Great Gatsby and articles from The Economist. Pupils consider the links between style, context, content and purpose. They also create their own directed writing task based on the story, which is designed to demonstrate empathy and their understanding of plot and character, as well as command of authentic language appropriate to the text.
The unit plan was designed for use with students of IGCSE World Literature, but could also be adapted for other (I)GCSEs in literature, as well as (I)GCSE, IB French B, or A-Level French.
These notes on The Sound of Waves list potentially useful quotations from each chapter through the themes of innocence and experience (I have taught this text once privately and my student’s essay was based on this idea, so I read and made notes on the text with a view to helping her with this). Using the prism of these universal themes enables connections to be made between other curriculum texts, such as the poetry of William Blake and the plays of William Shakespeare.
The notes are aimed at teachers (rather than students) and do not constitute full lesson plans in themselves but serve to provide inspiration for lessons depending on what skills and topics you hope to teach when instructing students on the novel. They provide opportunities to help students understand the effects of techniques such as simile and metaphor, foreshadowing, personification, pathetic fallacy, and symbolism.
The notes also make links to critical thinking courses such as TOK (Theory of Knowledge) so can also be used by IB teachers to facilitate links to the Diploma core.
Obviously all ideas presented in the notes are interpretations which you may agree or disagree with. Nonetheless, I hope they help!
This Wuthering Heights unit is designed for students aged 16-18.
The lesson plans are not fully developed with objectives etc but these should be implicitly clear and give you the freedom to adapt them for your own class.
The lesson plans are based on the idea of virtually all reading being done in advance of the lesson taking place.
Many lessons are supported by Powerpoints, but not all are.
This 16-lesson (4-week) unit plan for Henrik Ibsen's play, Hedda Gabler, explores characterisation, setting, themes, techniques, and text-to-self connections, as well as theatrical movements and practitioners and the influence of these on the play, and is enhanced by the contrasting cultures of production and reception via study of historical context. Pupils consider the links between style, context, content and purpose. They devise their own adaptation of the play to form a 1-hour staged reading of the production.
**PLEASE NOTE: These lesson plans pertain to the 'old', outgoing Lang/Lit course (final exams in 2020). While a lot of the material will still be usable in the new course (first exams 2021), please bear this in mind when purchasing and, subsequently, using the plans yourself (whether as written or to make your own). Thanks for your understanding!**
This file contains at least 50 hours of lessons pertaining to Part 2 (Language and Mass Communications) of the English A: Language and Literature IB program. This would normally last you at least one academic year when interspersed with set text study and Part 1 (Language and Cultural Context) lessons (this equivalent pack is also available via TES). This is based on a schedule of 4 hours a week at standard level, with a supplementary hour per week at higher level. Topics include the analysis of social media and online language, advertisements, past paper practice lessons, persuasive speeches, journalistic texts, and historical and geographical contexts. Texts used are diverse and include texts from The Economist, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and The Financial Times, as well as texts by writers such as Dave Barry, Camilla Long, and Earl Spencer. Tasks are differentiated and activities are suggested to support students in relation to TOK and other official IB assessments. Extra resources can be supplied upon request at no extra charge to support you as far as possible; where possible these are already free to download on TES. Created by an experienced IB teacher and examiner.
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.
This Powerpoint is most suitable for IB Diploma (Language A) or A Level language and literature students looking to revise text types. The Powerpoint covers the features of the following text types, as well as things that students can look for/consider when analysing an unseen text of this type:
News article
Editorial
Blog or diary entry
Political cartoons
Graphic novels
Brochures and leaflets
Forum posts
Academic journal articles
Reviews
Speeches and talks
Tweets
Letters and emails
Interviews
Advertisements
Infographics
The resource also covers reminders of the purposes of writing, the differences between literary and linguistic features, and further tips to enhance performance in analytical tasks of this nature (e.g. commenting on context, planning skills).
This is not intended to serve as a full lesson in itself but could potentially be developed by teachers to create one according to the needs of their class. It’s perhaps more appropriate as a revision resource to be distributed for students’ own independent learning.
This 16-lesson (4-week) unit explores a prescribed selection of stories from volume 2 of Songs of Ourselves, as determined by Cambridge International Examinations. It helps students to analyse a variety of texts, techniques and historical and cultural contexts via a number of different media. Their studies will culminate in the production of a critical essay in line with CIE's requirements for official coursework.
This unit was designed for students working towards CIE's IGCSE in World Literature, but could also be used for pupils (at GCSE, IGCSE, A Level, IB...) studying any of the short stories listed below:
The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman)
The Contest (Annie Proulx)
On Her Knees (Tim Winton)
Her First Ball (Katherine Mansfield)
A Horse and Two Goats (RK Narayan)
The Bath (Janet Frame)
Journey (Shirley Geok-Lin Lim)
The Third and Final Continent (Jhumpa Lahiri)
The Moving Finger (Edith Wharton)
The Open Boat (Stephen Crane)
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 handout is designed to provide students with background information regarding Machiavelli. Presented as a list of bullet points for easier absorption of information, the text is also printed three times on one page for ease of photocopying/printing and distribution. Useful for the study of both English and History.
This character impressions grid scaffolds student note-taking on the characters in Christopher Marlowe’s play ‘The Jew of Malta’. Topics include appearance and attitudes. These notes can be subsequently used for revision purposes or to help structure an essay on a topic from the grid. Printing on A3 is recommended so as to maximise the space that students have for note-taking.
This resource consists of two files bundled together: one file containing a quotes quiz, the other file containing the answers. Students are asked to identify who said a particular quotation, roughly where in the play it took place, and about any techniques used in the quotation, as well as its possible significance. This can take a whole hour’s lesson if completed in traditional silent quiz/exam style, or the questions could be completed in teams and made more competitive (particularly if you only go for the summative aspect asking students to name who says it and where it happens, and possibly naming techniques, leaving out the interpretive aspect). Note that the answers only indicate the name of the character who said the line and where in the play this occurs, as well as some possible techniques that students may identify; any valid explanation of the quotation’s possible significance should be accepted.
This resource helps students to take notes on the theme of abandonment in Bao Ninh’s novel ‘The Sorrow of War’.
Contains page numbers to assist, for both Vintage and Minerva editions, as well as an extension task for early finishers.
The scaffolded notes can then be used to construct an essay on abandonment in the novel.
This unit of work is designed to guide Year 8/Grade 7 students through Gillian Cross' The Demon Headmaster.
While Teachit resources are referenced (and are available for free download via that website), many other resources and activities are also included, which are designed to stretch students in this age bracket given the text involved. Ultimately, however, it is accessible to all, including ESL, with various differentiation suggestions included (e.g. vocabulary-based activities).
This quiz was designed to be used in an English lesson to reinforce student knowledge of Irish history in relation to Brian Friel’s play “Translations”. However, it could of course also be used by history teachers!
The quiz could be done traditionally, whereby students revise in advance and then sit the quiz on their own.
However, I used it as a team game, whereby at around Easter time, the slips were cut up and hidden around the classroom treasure hunt-style. Students had to work in teams to find the slips and fill in the answers where they thought they went on the answer sheet. The first team to get a full sheet of correct answers - or the highest number of correct answers - by the end of the given time - won an Easter egg (I appreciate that edible prizes and/or the religious aspect won’t work in all schools so obviously feel free to substitute this with a reward of your choosing if needed). Ground rules worth setting include: no hoarding of slips in your team (they should be put back where you have found them so other teams can also find them…) and no using chairs/tables etc as weaponry to guard the slips you have found (yes, really!!).
These comprehension questions can be completed by students in groups or on their own, in class or as homework. They are also great revision resources and can be handy if you need to set cover work. Multiple copies of the questions are duplicated on one sheet in some cases, for ease of printing, photocopying, and distribution.
The questions are designed for MA-HA students and range from identification and interpretation of techniques used (such as paradox) to encouraging students to explore issues surrounding translation, narratorial reliability, and choices of nomenclature in the novel. Motif and symbolism are also covered. Some extension tasks are included.
These questions were originally developed for use by KS4 students working towards their IGCSE in World Literature.
They could also be used for native French speakers, or students of IB/A Level French (although they would of course need to be translated).
This lesson was designed for KS4 and was used in English lessons to illustrate the impact of persuasive language and connotation.
However, it could also be used as part of lessons in business studies/marketing.
Opportunities are given for whole-class and small-group discussion, as well as for students to work alone.
Students are invited to compare their initial thoughts about a brand with the brand’s mission statement, and to chart their changing impressions over the course of a lesson. Students are also able to consider the ethics of companies’ decisions behind their choices of brand name.
There are some elements of the PPT which pertain specifically to the IGCSE First Language English syllabus run by CIE; however, these are not the main part of the presentation and could be easily adapted or deleted.
For extension in an English lesson, there is the opportunity to discuss euphemism (especially in relation to Simpsons episode Realty Bites) - or this could be done as a separate lesson.
This PPT was created for use with KS4.