Inspired by the fab tension chart on Teachit for 'An Inspector Calls', I created one for the novel 'Jekyll and Hyde'. Helps students to consider structure/ pace/ ordering of events/ linear v actual etc etc.

Identify strategies to compare and contrast two texts and to understand how to evaluate two texts. Easily adaptable activity- I've used two articles about Pamplona bull running - nice and gory.

Two introductory resources I used for a y12 group about to start studying Austen's 'Persuasion' for c/work/ Pre-reading activity gets them thinking about openings to a selection of Austen novels (so could be used for any Austen novel). We focused on style and applied critical ideas about entry strategies. Then there is a female character adjective match focusing on chapters 1-3. They have to find supporting quote/evidence to justify their ideas.

I created this activity to be used about halfway through studying 'Best Words' (the now defunct AQA anthology)... however, could be easily adapted and used half way through any study of contemporary or literary heritage poems. The students have to 'answer back' to a poem of their choice in the anthology, showing their understanding of language, style and thematic ideas. The powerpoint/lesson plan explains a lot - and the chart is designed to help students gather ideas. Works really well and usually creates some FANTASTIC poems from the students you wouldn't typically expect.

Students have to find the titles of Shakespeare's plays hidden inside the wordsearch...

Inspired by a Teachit activity on the opening to ‘A Christmas Carol’, this activity is intended for y7/8 when introducing them to Dickens. There are four different extracts from Dickens’ novels and two group tasks associated with each - analysing how he ‘hooks’ the reader in, then preparing a dramatic reading for the rest of the class, intended to inspire them to read more. Lots of fun… and gives them ownership over their text.

Two activities linked to Chapter 10 of Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. One is a matching activity for cause and effect. The other is a workbook which breaks down chapter 10 into more manageable chunks. Students could do the whole thing with whole class/teacher-led, or you could split them off into groups and manage feedback...

A powerpoint that allows you introduce narrative in a critical yet accessible way. Filched from OCR critical anthology, David Lodge, Montgomery et al (who's Al? classic student comment). We then applied some of these ideas to McEwan's 'Enduring Love', but could be used with any prose text where narrative is a significant feature! The final slide contains an extract based activity with leading questions. Think critically, kids!

This resource was developed when I was teaching 'The Handmaid's Tale' in Year 12 on the OCR spec for comparative c/work but could be used/adapated for any study of a prose text. The idea is to get the students 'asking the right questions' of texts, with a solid focus on assessment objectives (in this case A03/4). Hopefully the powerpoint explains it but essentially, each student (or in pairs) is a that allow the best possible answer. . . The 'steps' outlined in the powerpoint give them guidance.

Lesson plan and resource uses John Agard's poem, &'Reporting from the Frontline of the Great Dictionary Disaster&';, to teach students about etymology in a fun and engaging way. It also ties in with poems from other cultures. Could be used as a stand-alone 'fun&' lesson, or to tie in with teaching about the origins of the English language. If you have a lively class, you can get a great performance at the end... it also produces some great display work if you get students to type their work up. Enjoy :)

Encourages students to critically engage with ways of reading 'The Handmaid's Tale' as well as re-familiarising them with general critical positions. It also contains my 'coathanger' method which helps them to use critics' quotes PURPOSEFULLY! Works really well with visual learners who often use the 'coathanger' diagram to plan whole essays. Any questions, please ask.

Best to read the uploaded instructions doc but essentially, an easily adaptable resource providing an introduction to poetry. It will also set them up for the poetry anthology to be completed at the end of the scheme of work.

Powerpoint providing background to Milton's Paradise Lost. Taught on OCR F663 in year 13 as comparative text with Doctor Faustus... see other resources! (only Book I) could be adapted though

A number of introductory resources for Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. I taught this as part of the Year 13 OCR A level spec. I taught it as part of the F663 component for examination. The comparative text used was John Milton's Paradise Lost.

So, I have no life... and created a digested read of 'Of Mice and Men'. - Give students whole document: they highlight themes in different colours - Copy and paste for your own resource - Cut up and group - thematically or ref. to Steinbeck's style. Please post suggestions for using it!

Understand the ways in which texts target particular individuals or organisations Identify the ways writers use language to try and influence readers you know the routine

This resource contains a lesson presentation with the objective: Understand how texts present a viewpoint or attitude about their subject . It is useful for exam prep for an unseen text perhaps or introduction to students writing their own analytical piece. Also contains a fun bingo starter and AA Gill text… enjoy

Objectives: 1. To learn how to select relevant details from an extract and present them in a relevant way 2. To understand how texts present an impression or image of their subject Powerpoint should explain all but focuses on conflicting opinions of Bear Grylls- ‘survival’ expert so should be vaguely interesting for those apathetic students!

As with the others the powerpoint is pretty self-explanatory, but the aim of this lesson is to help students understand how meaning is made and be able to write succesfully about it in exams. Overarching objective is to explore techniques used to analyse the way in which writers create particular effects. The extract used is a James Lee Burke one, so quite exciting :) in an englishy way!

A lesson designed to help students write about character succesfully- either for an unseen text or for any text studied in class. I would say GCSE level or a nice Y9 activity to get them ready for GCSE. The powerpoint should be self explantory but the starter activity is matching adejectives to definitions then there is a longer extract there to explore for main (From Clap Hands, here comes Charlie, by Beryl Bainbridge), The powerpoint should make what to do clear- for you and them.(ESPECIALLY GOOD FOR BOYS WHO CAN SOMETIMES STRUGGLE WITH EMPATHY BASED TASKS) :)