Lesson focuses on Act 3 sc. v and Act 4 sc. i introducing the characters of Hecate and the Apparitions and their link to the key theme of Equivocation in the play. This was an observation lesson and resources were praised as Outstanding, so there is differentiation throughout to challenge the more able in my mixed ability group. There is quite a lot of content so I have included my lesson plan but there is scope to adapt it to your own teaching style; more time could be spent looking at Act 3 sc. v and expanding on AO2 ideas in the Hecate’s soliloquy activity so some teachers may choose to spread this over two lessons if you have the time. Some teachers may also choose to revisit the A3 sheet after reading Act 5 depending on how much of an overview your students already have of the play’s ending.

An engaging and interactive introduction lesson for the AQA Aspects of Tragedy paper! Begins by comparing features of Comedy and Tragedy before focusing in on exploring the features of both Greek and Shakespearean Tragedy. Includes worksheets to familiarise Year 12 students to Tragedy terminology and a homework task applying Aristotle’s Poetics of Tragedy to modern celebrities. I would recommend also showing students either last year’s paper or the AQA specimen paper alongside this lesson.

A complete lesson with engaging emoji starter activity looking at the first half of Act 3 sc. iv (Banquet scene). Accompanying resources include an extract-based exam question in the style of the AQA Literature Paper 1: Shakespeare and the C19th novel. There is also a worksheet helping students to plan a model answer for responding to this question, specifically broken down to focus students' attention on the three AOs this section of the exam assesses. The question itself can then be set as homework or can be completed in timed conditions in class during the following lesson.

Learning Objective: To understand how Shakespeare creates tension in the build-up towards the final battle. A lesson with 2 accompanying worksheets, guiding students through Act 5 sc. ii to Act 5 sc. v and helping them begin to evaluate the ending of the play. Resource focused on developing AO2 for the AQA GCSE Literature Paper 1.

Seven detailed and differentiated lessons explaining and analysing Part I of Keats’ ‘Lamia’, providing in-depth A level knowledge to prepare students for the AQA Aspects of Tragedy exam and beyond. 50+ slides (along with accompanying resources) including key extracts, detailed annotations, stimuli for discussion, thorough explanations of both terminology and classical references, and ongoing cloze summaries. Challenges for more able students throughout. Please see my accompanying Lamia Part II resource also!

This interactive activity encourages students to place themselves in the footsteps of young soldiers during WW1, guiding them through the choices and key events that faced young men: from signing up right through to the war’s end in 1918. It deals with key topics including conscription, conscientious objectors , trench foot and the Battle of the Somme. The powerpoint basically works like an educational version of the ‘choose your own adventure’ books! Students are given three ‘choices,’ each of which are hyperlinked to allow them to choose their own individual experience of WW1. Depending on time, you can let several different students play or play as a class by voting and going with the majority. I’ve used it many times throughout my career, as a contextual activity alongside teaching war poetry or Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful, as well as when teaching both Year 6 and Year 7 History.