About the author:
I am currently a teacher of English in a wonderful West Midlands secondary school, having prior experience as a Literacy Lead, Specialist Leader of Education, SLT Lead, AQA examiner and Head of English. I am in my fourteenth year of teaching and as such am keen to share resources I have used successfully, both in my own lessons and across my school / MAT.
About the author:
I am currently a teacher of English in a wonderful West Midlands secondary school, having prior experience as a Literacy Lead, Specialist Leader of Education, SLT Lead, AQA examiner and Head of English. I am in my fourteenth year of teaching and as such am keen to share resources I have used successfully, both in my own lessons and across my school / MAT.
This resource is a full lesson PPT on Heaney’s Storm on the Island, for AQA literature power and conflict poetry cluster.
The lesson includes:
imagery task considering connotations of storms and islands
first reading task (with glossary) sketching the island
language analysis questions
biographical info on Heaney
fully annotated poem
subtextual reading task including a video on the NI Troubles and note making from info provided
comparison to Ozymandias task, including exam question and planning table
Created April 2022
This resource is a full lesson PPT on Jane Weir’s ‘Poppies’ for AQA power and conflict poetry. The lesson includes:
imagery task discussing thoughts on poppies, soldiers, war and aggrieved relatives
task considering the different thoughts and feelings of mothers and sons on war
link to President Zelensky appealing to Russian mothers (video)
biographical info on Jane Weir and link to a video of her discussing the poem
Fully annotated poem
Challenge and stretch task on the role of women in war (discussion)
Lesson created April 2022
This resource includes a full lesson PPT for the poem ‘Remains’ by Simon Armitage, for the AQA power and conflict cluster for English Literature.
The lesson includes:
dictionary definition task for close analysis of title
Role of a soldier task (role on the wall style)
Guided annotation questions
Group annotation task (stanza each)
Biographical info on Armitage
Fully annotated poem
Exam question slide (1 paragraph, PEEZl acronym)
Created April 2022
This resource includes a full lesson (possibly 2) on Shakespeare’s poem ‘Sonnet 18’. It originally formed part of a scheme for year 9 looking at a wide variety of poetry in preparation for their GCSE study, but would be suitable for any GCSE group as practice. The lesson approaches the poem as an unseen text, helping pupils develop poetic analysis skills (for AQA, but would work for any exam board).
The PPT includes:
Introduction to the poem through images
Brief contextual info to aid understanding
More in-depth discussion through key questions
Pupil-centred annotation task with brief guidance info
Creative writing cross over (where pupils write their own contrasts poem - including scaffolded planning sheet if required)
This resource includes a full lesson on Amitage’s poem ‘Hitcher’, updated March 2022. It originally formed part of a scheme for year 9 looking at a wide variety of poetry in preparation for their GCSE study, but would be suitable for any GCSE group as practice. The lesson approaches the poem as an unseen text, helping pupils develop poetic analysis skills (for AQA, but would work for any exam board).
The PPT includes:
Introduction to the poem through an image
A creative writing task of a 100-200 word story, based around key vocabulary from the poem
guided annotation through a suggested question (as per unseen poetry in the exam)
collated, suggested annotations for the poem, on the PPT
Creative writing cross over (where pupils write their own poem from a different viewpoint- including scaffolded gap fill if required)
This resource contains a 2 sided A4 key quote handout for pupils revising Macbeth.
The key quotes are organised into themes/ by character and starts with a rundown of key themes, context, characters and symbols before a brief outline of each act plot.
The themes/characters covered are:
appearance v reality
Lady Macbeth
Macduff
Hallucination
Cycles
Tragic hero
Guilt/ anxiety
Macbeth
Deception
Duncan
Banquo
Macbeth’s thoughts
Quotes have been carefully chosen so as not to be too lengthy and to match a range of questions
This resource includes a full lesson on Amitage’s poem ‘Clown Punk’. It originally formed part of a scheme for year 9 looking at a wide variety of poetry in preparation for their GCSE study, but would be suitable for any GCSE group as practice. The lesson approaches the poem as an unseen text, helping pupils develop poetic analysis skills (for AQA, but would work for any exam board).
The PPT includes:
Introduction to the punk movement through images
A task comparing clowns and punks
A gap fill exercise encouraging pupils to consider the poet’s vocabulary choices
guided light touch annotation (including focus questions to help pupils)
Debate/ oracy cross over (where pupils plan and complete a Harkness style discussion)
This resource is a 6 page document of key quotations for An Inspector Calls, divided into characters. Characters included are:
Sheila
Gerald
Eric
Mr Birling
Mrs Birling
Inspector
The quotes have been taken from the entire play and are mostly quite short to aid with revision and memory retention. There are around 15-20 quotes selected for each character.
This resource contains enough for 2 full lessons on the poem Bayonet Charge for the AQA power and conflict cluster.
Lesson tasks are as follows:
opening using a video link and recording plot/ emotions
WW1 context mini quiz
Ted Hughes context
opportunity for unseen skills annotation
guided annotation questions
full annotation notes
imagery analysis task
drawing task to consolidate
Created March 2022
This resource includes 1-2 lessons on Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade, for AQA English lit from the power and conflict poetry cluster.
Lesson covers:
Crimean war imagination task
Crimean war context
Key vocab matching task
Links to William Howard Russell’s article on the Charge (extract provided and non-fiction cross-over task)
Guided annotation
Focus questions on rhyme and rhythm
Key themes task and discussion question
Created March 2022
This resource is a 15 slide PPT (1-2 lessons) on the poem ‘London’ by William Blake, for the AQA power and conflict cluster. The lessons include tasks/ info on the following:
Task describing modern London
Task comparing this to Victorian London (using images)
A summary of the differences
Biographical info on Blake
Pupil annotation task plus a full set of notes for teaching
Figurative language quote explosion task
Task on structure (iambic tetrameter)
Challenge and stretch discussion of structure
Creative cross-over task (write a poem inspired by a city)
Comparison task - table comparing London with Emigree
Lesson created April 2022
This resource includes 1-2 lessons worth of activities on Wordsworth’s Prelude, for AQA power and conflict poetry.
The lesson PPT includes:
2 imagery tasks (thoughts and feelings on a natural image of a foreboding mountain/ what nature is)
contextual info on Romantic poetry and questions on links to this poem
Language and tone guided annotation questions + Youtube video link
autobiographical info on Wordsworth for note making
fully annotated poem
further sub-textual reading questions (sexual awakening - requires a mature audience)
challenge and stretch discussion task around the Enclosure Acts
Ordering statement task (overview of the poem’s meaning/ subject)
further analysis link through Youtube video + exam practice question (focused on single poem, not comparative)
Written April 2022
This resource is an English Language condensed paper 1 created to replicate the style of AQA examination questions.
The text extract is from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The text also has a context blurb at the top and is formatted with line numbers to replicate exam text extracts.
All questions are included (Q1-5) worded to replicate AQA style.
The paper is condensed which means there are no lines for writing - it spans 2 sides in total for cost effective printing.
A few words are glossarised as per AQA’s policy - uncommon words that have fallen out of common use / specialist terminology or vocab
Perfect for tutoring, exam revision, mock exams, walking-talking mocks or in class study.
This resource is an article taken from the internet on the Victorian poor at Christmas, providing context for Christmas Carol but also suitable for the teaching of other Victorian novels.
Pasted into Word for ease of printing and editing
A list of key literary techniques (methods) used within the play, for higher ability GCSE students.
Terminology is listed down the left of the document, and the definition to the right. The resource can be cut up to allow a matching activity, or definitions only might be provided, to challenge students to label them.
A worksheet listing terminology applicable to both language and structure, divided into categories. There are spaces for definitions and examples which are left blank for pupils to complete.
Terms are colour coded - RED= need to know, AMBER = useful to know, GREEN = extending yourself.
Works well as a homework task.
A simple handout to give to pupils that gives advice on different ways to revise for English. Could also be given to parents to avoid that age-old quote: “you can’t revise for English”.
Various non-fiction texts / sources on the theme of Florence Nightingale. A mix of modern and Victorian sources.
Suitable for KS3 or KS4 for non-fiction study or contextual knowledge of the Victorian age. Available in PDF and as a Word doc.
Includes:
Extract from a biography of Nightingale
Information from the Florence Nightingale Museum
An Image from the Illustrated London news
An image of a news article on Nightingale (small font)
An extract from Nightingale’s notes on hospitals (image)
A lesson presentation on exploring Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess poem from a totally unseen perspective. Uses a variety of resources to help pupils access the poem, including images and letters.
Suitable for a year 9 group, or lower ability GCSE group. This is a challenging poem, but the resources initially focus more on understanding the story, investigating the mystery of the Duke and Duchess and what might have happened to her.