The inspiration and original idea for this resource was @MrsSpalding on Twitter, and this is the product of a collaboration with two other Twitter users. The three GCSE Literature texts addressed are: * Macbeth * A Christmas Carol * An Inspector Calls and a range of critical theories are applied to each, including: * Marxist theory * Feminist theory * Jungian archetypes * Freudian theory * Aristotelian theory * Structuralist theory * Nietzschean philosophy * John Locke's theory of 'tabula rasa' (nature vs nurture) and is geared towards use with more-able students so that they can make conceptual interpretations of the literary texts studied to access the highest bands in the exams.

Using an extract from Washington Irving's 'Old Christmas', published posthumously in 1886, and a newspaper article written in 2016, these non-fiction texts present contrasting viewpoints and attitudes to the festival of Christmas. The Qs adhere to the format used by AQA and the section B writing task has also been uploaded as a 200 Word Challenge, where students must strive to include the three rhetorical devices listed on the image. Thought this might be useful to explore contexts if teaching A Christmas Carol, or just use as a Christmas themed practice exam paper. Hope it's useful. Matt :)

AQA-style GCSE English Language Paper 2 on the theme of witchcraft, using an excerpt from an 1882 non-fiction resource and an article about the pardon of Britain's last convicted 'witch' during WW2, published in The Guardian in 2007. This might prove useful alongside study of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', to consider the changing social attitudes and beliefs in witchcraft in England from 17th to 21st C. Also uploaded is a 200 Word challenge for Section B Writing task. Students must strive to incorporate the three rhetorical devices listed on the image. Alternatively, a Section B task is printed in the Word document. Enjoy! Matt :)

This resource comprises 16 posters, created using Adobe Spark, each containing key terminology for exploring narrative structure with precision and sophistication. Each poster contains a graphic, the term and a definition. There are 16 in total, and the folder also contains a Word document for students as a glossary, with terms, definitions and examples from various, popular GCSE Literature texts. I turned my classroom wall display into a Freytag's Pyramid and affixed the first 7 to it. The others are structural features for reference by students in class. Enjoy!

The idea for the 200 Word Writing Challenge originates from @Xris32 on Twitter. Inspired by a set of 200 Word Challenges shared by Twitter via @Team_English1, I have produced a number of 200 Word Challenges in the style of writing task typical of the new AQA English Language Paper 2B. You can see a couple of the slides as examples. UPDATED AUGUST 2017: Now includes 50+ slides, created using Adobe Spark Note, each containing a statement to which students are asked to respond, in a particular form and for a particular purpose, AQA-style Language Paper 2B, with some examples of how it can be adapted to other areas of the GCSE exam papers for both Language and Literature! The challenge is provided by the fact students cannot write more than 200 words, encouraging concision, and the response must include specific rhetorical devices listed on the slide as well as a particular word (if given: it's on some slides, not others!) The software package used is Adobe Spark: it's FREE and very simple to use. If you like these, have a go at creating some of your own! Matt :)

Courtesy of @MrsLCavalier who provided the source texts over on Twitter (via @Team_English1), I have produced an AQA English Language Paper 2 Walking Talking mock exam via SMART Notebook slides, complete with reminders about the focus of each Q; the timings; how to approach each Q; exemplar responses and Q by Q slides with interactive timers. PLEASE NOTE: If you don't use SMART Notebook interactive whiteboards in your school, you can download a FREE SMART Notebook viewer which enables you to open and view/project the slides in a format that it akin to Powerpoint. (Occasionally, due to formatting glitches some of the graphics or text can go a little wonky!) Or you can just download the source texts and the question paper. It is hoped that this is of use to you and your colleagues. Matt :)

Designed for use with students in Y7 whose reading ages range between 7 and 10 years, a highly differentiated workbook of activities providing pupils with opportunities to develop and demonstrate their reading comprehension skills and subject knowledge. Activities include: * Cloze exercise summary tasks * Extension activities with sentence stems to support independent writing * sequencing activities to demonstrate an understanding of narrative structure, introducing key terminology in readiness for GCSE English Language * independent research task with prompts to scaffold * scriptwriting the dialogue which evidently takes place in the 'Missing Chapter', Chapter 13, teaching or consolidating conventions * AQA-style Language Paper 1 tasks on Qs 1 to 3, based on an excerpt from Stoker's 'Dracula' (adapted) * homophone activity arising organically out of the narrative in Chapter 25 * AQA-style Language Paper 1 tasks on Qs 1 to 3, using the climactic episode from the novel in Ch 27 * Post-reading book cover design task, with model and template Aswell as the 37 page pupil workbook, I have produced a set of SMART Notebook slides which replicate the workbook to support whole-class, interactive teaching of the resource. I hope that this resource is of use to colleagues who are teaching children with low-level literacy, providing an appropriate level of challenge and an appropriate point of access to build pupils' confidence and enjoyment of reading, promoting rapid and sustained progress. Matt :)

This resource was inspired by an excellent blog on Twitter by @LauraLolder and a subsequent resource for R&J that was produced by @MissMFrost and shared via @Team_English1 Using @MissMFrost's PPT presentation format, I have produced 13 essay plan starters for use with A Christmas Carol and have uploaded them in Powerpoint format and also SMART Notebook format should you prefer to use this instead. I hope they are of use to you. Matt :)

Inspired by fellow English teachers @Team_English1 over on Twitter, I've produced these essay plan starters for use with AQA GCSE English Literature: MACBETH. The intention is to use them frequently as starters to maintain retention and to develop students' recall skills, which are essential in the context of closed book examinations. I have produced the resource in TWO formats: EITHER as Powerpoint OR as SMART Notebook. Hope it's helpful to you. Matt :)

A specimen Language Paper 1A, designed for use @ KS3, using as the extract the moment where Lucy steps into the wardrobe and enters Narnia, meeting Mr. Tumness for the first time. I've included a series of SMART Notebook slides to support whole-class interactive teaching of the paper, Q by Q and there is a Q3 key terminology matching starter activity; a modelled Q3 structure response and a new Q4 slide. There are loads of these specimen Paper 1s and 2s ALL FREE at my 'shop' here on TES, as well as highly differentiated versions for students with low-level literacy. Please leave a review and help yourself to them! Matt :)

A new practice exam AQA English Language Paper 1: 'Creative Explorations in Reading' paper which uses a dramatic moment from 'Dracula' where Johnathan encounters the three hags during his stay at Castle Dracula. The resource contains 4 exam questions which adhere strictly to the format of the specimen paper. Also included is a series of SMART Notebook slides, to aid your whole-class interactive teaching of the paper Q by Q, for textual annotation. I've added a model response to Q3: structure, too. NOTE: If you don't use SMART Notebooks, you can still view the slides by downloading a FREE, SMART Notebook Viewer (which will open the Notebook in a format similar to Powerpoint on your computer). Very occasionally some of the graphic / text moves a little (a formatting glitch in the software!) You can access the viewer FREE of charge here: http://express.smarttech.com/ Loads of other Paper 1s and 2s, as well as differentiated versions, ALL FREE at my 'shop'. Please leave a review and help yourself! Matt :)

A 35 page workbook of differentiated activities, designed to support students in their study of John Steinbeck's classic novella, 'Of Mice and Men'. To accompany the workbook is a set of SMART Notebook slides, which replicate the pages of the pupil workbook, to support teachers in their whole-class, interactive teaching of the text and the material. PLEASE NOTE: If you do not have SMART Notebook, you can STILL download and view SMART Notebook files by downloading a FREE Smart Notebook viewer. It opens the file on your PC in a format akin to Microsoft Powerpoint (with very occasional wonky movement of graphics due to a formatting glitch!) Anyway, you can access the FREE SMART Notebook viewer by copying and pasting this link into your web browser: http://express.smarttech.com/ I hope you find these useful. If you do, then you may find of interest similar resources available FREE at my 'shop' here on TES for 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' and also 'The Highwayman', aswell as differentiated AQA English Language exam paper 1s and 2s. Matt :)

Using part of a Parliamentary speech by Lord Shaftesbury, given in 1842 to the House of Commons and a newspaper article from 2014, both of these texts deal with the topic of CHILD LABOUR in different cultures and in different centuries. I have adapted the 19th C text slightly, simplifying some vocabulary and sentencing to make it more accessible to students whose reading ages are significantly lower than their chronological age, to provide an appropriate point of access to the skills demanded by the new AQA GCSE Language Paper 2A exam paper. To follow is a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole-class interactive whiteboard teaching of the resource. UPDATE: To view the SMART Notebook slides, simply download the SMART Notebook Express viewer, FREE online. It is a piece of software published by SMART Technologies and is completely safe to use. (express.smarttech.com) I have adhered to the phrasing of the exam questions, but the tasks are differentiated thus: Q1 - same as the actual exam paper Q2 - cloze exercise of the summary (this could be easily tweaked to sentence stems) Q3a - highlight and write down 3 relevant examples of language used to convey viewpoint Q3b - cloze exercise of use of language to convey viewpoint and attitude Section B writing task is included, but it is not differentiated. I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is currently beyond the ability of the students for whom I have produced this resource. I hope that it's of use to you and your students. I've produced ten of these highly differentiated papers for Paper 2A now and all are available FREE at my 'shop' with accompanying SMART Notebook resources, too. Please help yourself and leave me a review! Matt :)

Using a journal entry penned by Howard Carter documenting his discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen and an excerpt from Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle where he describes the Fuegians, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is different perspectives of discoveries. I have adapted the texts ever so slightly, simplifying some vocabulary and sentencing to make them more accessible to students whose reading ages are significantly lower than their chronological age, to provide an appropriate point of access to the skills demanded by the new AQA GCSE Language Paper 2A exam paper. Also included is a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole-class interactive whiteboard teaching of the resource. UPDATE: If you do not use SMART interactive whiteboards, to view the SMART Notebook slides simply download the SMART Notebook Express viewer, FREE online. It is a piece of software published by SMART Technologies and is completely safe to use. (express.smarttech.com) I have adhered to the phrasing of the exam questions, but the tasks are differentiated thus: Q1 - same as the actual exam paper Q2 - cloze exercise of the summary (this could be easily tweaked to sentence stems) Q3a - highlight and write down 3 relevant examples of language used to convey viewpoint Q3b - cloze exercise of use of language to convey viewpoint and attitude and an extension task where pupils complete PEE paragraphs, supplying relevant evidence and explanations. I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is currently beyond the ability of the students for whom I have produced this resource. I hope that it might be of some use to others. I've produced nine of these highly differentiated papers for Paper 2A now and all are available FREE at my 'shop' with accompanying SMART Notebook resources, too. Please help yourself and leave me a review! Matt :)

This 36 page pupil workbook contains a variety of highly differentiated activities to accompany the study of Alfred Noyes' classic ballad, 'The Highwayman' with students whose literacy is a barrier to learning. UPDATED: 20-03-17 I've added a wide range of images as a separate downloadable Word document for use with the Media Storyboard task. This might be preferable if your students have poor fine motor skills and, where possible, the images reflect a variety of camera 'shot' types so they can justify the choices they have made in the accompanying 'commentary' writing task. UPDATED 09-02-17 To include SMART Notebook slides which replicate all 36 pages of the Pupil Workbook. Some of the activities include: * pre-reading non-fiction comprehension: 'Dick Turpin' * sequencing Part One narrative events to show awareness of structure * cloze summary of Part One and extension task with sentence stems for completion * cloze and sentence stems for the journal of Tim, the ostler * a media storyboard and commentary * simile and metaphor, commenting on the use and effects of language * sequencing Part Two narrative events to show awareness of structure * cloze summary of Part Two and extension task with sentence stems for completion * newspaper report of the deaths * production of a non-literary leaflet: Highway Safety for Travellers I hope this is of some use to you. Please leave review. Thanks, Matt :)

A revision booklet to support study of A Christmas Carol for the new AQA English Literature GCSE, The booklet contains: * a graphic timeline of events * thumbnail character profiles (taken from BBC Bitesize) * a series of extracts with accompanying exam Qs in the style of that produced by AQA in their published specimen paper Hope it is of some use. Matt :)

A 36 page pupil activity workbook for less able students to complete as they study 'The Hound of the Baskervilles.' Also available to download is a set of SMART Notebook slides, replicating the pages of the Pupil Workbook for the purpose of whole class, interactive whiteboard teaching. UPDATED FEB 7th 2017: SMART Notebook slides now also include newspaper report task and cloze activity version. There are a variety of activities including: * cloze activity chapter summaries for almost all chapters * chapter summary completion activities using sentence stem prompts as an extension activity * 'The Missing Boots' - diary entry as cloze exercise and also with sentence stems for extension * Watson's first letter to Holmes, as cloze or with paragraph topic sentence stems as extension * Watson's second letter to Holmes, as cloze or with paragraph topic sentence stems as extension * Newspaper report - as cloze or with some prompts to scaffold more independent writing * Post-reading explanation of aspects of plot devices - applying inference and deduction skills * Book cover design and blurb task: including design task memo, planning page and book cover template I have designed this workbook for use with a published abridged prose version of the novel but as the abridged version is very faithful to the original novel, it is suitable for use with the original, too! UPDATED: The abridged version is this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Level-Baskervilles-Pearson-English-Readers/dp/1405862483 I hope this of use to you. Feel free to download the workbook - please leave a review and let me know what you think of it! Matt :)

A highly differentiated resource to support students whose literacy is a barrier to accessing the new GCSE English Language exam papers. I have adhered to the question format of Qs 1 to 3 of the exam paper but have scaffolded the responses to enable less able students to practise the skills demanded by the new AQA English Language Paper 1A: Reading exam. To accompany the pupil workbook, I have produced a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole class interactive teaching of the resource. Q1 - the same Q2 - cloze exercise Q3a - sequence the statements to show understanding of narrative events Q3b - cloze exercise to show comprehension of narrative events, using specialist terminology I have uploaded lots of these differentiated practice papers now, using extracts from texts including: Frankenstein, War of the Worlds, Dracula, Buddy, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Sniper, The Pearl, The Monkey's Paw, Z for Zachariah, A Christmas Carol and The Hobbit. Also FREE at my 'shop' are lots of Paper 2s, differentiated in similar ways, as well as loads of specimen Paper 1s and 2s with SMART Notebooks for whole-class teaching Q by Q. Help yourself and please leave a review. Matt :)

A highly differentiated resource to support students whose literacy is a barrier to accessing the new GCSE English Language exam papers. I have adhered to the question format of Qs 1 to 3 of the exam paper but have scaffolded the responses to enable less able students to practise the skills demanded by the new AQA English Language Paper 1A: Reading exam. To accompany the pupil workbook, I have produced a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole class interactive teaching of the resource. Q1 - the same Q2 - cloze exercise Q3a - sequence the statements to show understanding of narrative events Q3b - cloze exercise to show comprehension of narrative events, using specialist terminology I have uploaded lots of these differentiated practice papers, as well as differentiated Language Paper 2s, all available FREE at my 'shop'. Also, loads of 'actual' specimen papers! Help yourself and please leave a review. Matt :)

A highly differentiated resource to support students whose literacy is a barrier to accessing the new GCSE English Language exam papers. I have adhered to the question format of Qs 1 to 3 of the exam paper but have scaffolded the responses to enable less able students to practise the skills demanded by the new AQA English Language Paper 1A: Reading exam. To accompany the pupil workbook, I have produced a set of SMART Notebook slides for whole class interactive teaching of the resource. Q1 - the same Q2 - cloze exercise Q3a - sequence the statements to show understanding of narrative events Q3b - cloze exercise to show comprehension of narrative events, using specialist terminology NOTE: I have uploaded loads of these differentiated practice papers, as well as differentiated Language Paper 2s, all available FREE at my 'shop'. Also, loads of 'actual' specimen papers! Help yourself and please leave a review.