Secondary school English teacher since 1996. Was Director of Faculty for ten years but relinquished that responsibility in September 2015. Enjoy producing teaching resources - save it / use it / tweak it / bin it, as you see fit!
Secondary school English teacher since 1996. Was Director of Faculty for ten years but relinquished that responsibility in September 2015. Enjoy producing teaching resources - save it / use it / tweak it / bin it, as you see fit!
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 :)
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 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.
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.
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 simplified some of the original text vocabulary and sentencing, while also scaffolding 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.
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.
NOTE: I have produced lots of these differentiated papers now, using extracts taken from: The Monkey's Paw, The Hound of the Baskervilles, War of the Worlds, Dracula, The Pearl, The Machine Gunners, Z for Zachariah, The Sniper, A Christmas Carol, Frankenstein, Skellig, The Hobbit and more.
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 also uploaded lots of differentiated new AQA 9 to 1 Language Paper 2s, all available FREE at my 'shop'. Also, loads of 'actual' specimen papers!
Help yourself and please leave a review.
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 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 AQA Paper 1s, using extracts from: To Kill a Mockingbird, War of the Worlds, Skellig, The Hobbit, The Monkey's Paw, The Sniper, Buddy, Dracula, Z for Zachariah, The Pearl and Frankenstein, as well as several differentiated Language Paper 2s, all available FREE at my 'shop'.
Also, loads of 'actual' specimen papers with SMART Notebook slides for whole-class interactive teaching, Q by Q!
Help yourself and please leave a review.
Using an eyewitness account of a prison visit reported in The Telegraph in 1881 and a 21st C American newspaper article in support of the death penalty, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is different perspectives of capital punishment in different cultures and centuries.
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 teaching of this resource.
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 7 of these highly differentiated papers for Paper 2A now and all are available FREE at my 'shop'. Please help yourself!
Matt :)
Using a journal entry penned by Samuel Pepys as an eyewitness account of the Great Fire of London and a Guardian newspaper article of the King's Cross tube station fire in 1987, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is different perspectives of fires in the city of London.
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.
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 8 of these highly differentiated papers for Paper 2A now and all are available FREE at my 'shop' with SMART Notebook resources too. Help yourself!
Matt :)
Using a letter penned by Charles Dickens as a survivor of a terrible rail disaster and a newspaper article 15 years after the Paddington rail disaster, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is different perspectives of rail disasters.
I have adapted Dickens’ letter ever so slightly, simplifying some vocabulary and sentencing to make it a little 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 teaching of this resource.
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
I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is 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 8 of these differentiated papers for Paper 2A now and all are available FREE at my 'shop'. Please help yourself!
Matt :)
Using an excerpt from Roald Dahl's autobiography, 'Boy' - The Great Mouse Plot - a booklet of highly differentiated activities which address skills tested by Qs 1 to 3 of the new AQA Language Paper 2A exam paper, but for students whose reading age is significantly lower than their chronological age.
It's a good way to introduce the focus of each question, and to get students responding in appropriate ways at a level that is appropriate to their ability.
I hope this is useful to you and your students.
Matt :)
Using an autobiographical extract from the perspective of a passenger onboard the Titanic and an online fact file written by teens for teens over 100 years later, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is perspectives of the sinking of RMS Titanic.
I have adapted the autobiographical text ever so slightly, simplifying some vocabulary and sentencing to make it a little 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.
I have adhered to the phrasing of the 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 (again, this could easily be tweaked to the sentence stems of PEE paragraphs where pupils supply the point, evidence and explain how language is used to convey the author's viewpoint.)
I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is a skill 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.
All are available FREE at my 'shop'. Help yourself!
Matt :)
Using an extract from George Orwell's non-fiction, "Down and Out in Paris and London" (1933) and an article taken from The Daily Mail online from 2014, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is attitudes towards the homeless in England in different centuries.
I have adapted the texts, simplifying a little vocabulary and sentencing to make them a little 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.
I have adhered to the phrasing of the 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 (again, this could easily be tweaked to the sentence stems of PEE paragraphs where pupils supply the point, evidence and explain how language is used to convey the author's viewpoint.)
I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is a skill currently beyond the ability of the students for whom I have produced this resource.
The students I plan to use these resources with have reading ages between 6 years 6 months and 10 years old.
I hope that it might be of some use to others. I have produced 8 of these resources now, all FREE at my 'shop'. Help yourself!
Matt :)
Using an extract from George Orwell's non-fiction, "Shooting an Elephant" (1936) and an article taken from The Daily Mail online from 2011, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is attitudes towards elephants.
I have adapted the texts, simplifying some vocabulary and sentencing to make them a little 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 this resource.
I have adhered to the phrasing of the 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 (again, could easily be tweaked to the sentence stems of a PEE paragraph where pupils supply the point, evidence and explain how it conveys the writer's viewpoint.)
I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is a skill 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 have produced 8 of these highly differentiated resources, all available FREE at my 'shop'. Please help yourself!
Matt :)
Using an extract from Conan-Doyle's non-fiction, "The Edge of the Unknown" and an article taken from the Discovery Channel online newsdesk, the theme of these two non-fiction texts is belief in ghosts.
I have adapted the texts, simplifying some vocabulary and sentencing to make them a little 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.
I have adhered to the phrasing of the 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 (again, could easily be tweaked to the sentence stems of a PEE paragraph where pupils supply the point, evidence and explain how it conveys the writer's viewpoint.)
I have not included the Q4 'comparison of methods to convey attitudes' task as it is a skill currently beyond the ability of the students for whom I have produced this resource.
SMART Notebook slides are also included for whole-class interactive teaching of the resource.
Matt :)