A glossary of useful terms for English and English literature - good for years 9, 10 and 11. perhaps even y12/13. Students to fill in throughout year or a good hmwk task.

Copies of the poems, 'pike' by Ted Hughes and 'trout' by Seamus Heaney and a few charts/venns that allow them to compare these two. The powerpoint has pics of a pike - can be used a starter. Once we studied these, they wrote an essay, then a poem describing an animal of their own.

A set of short extracts on the topic of feminism from a wide variety of sources (e.g. Mary Wollstonecraft, Helene Cixous, Naomi Woolf, Lady Gaga...) Suggestions for use included inside. Creates an interesting discussion/ thinking points before starting the study of a female writer (in this case, it was Sylvia Plath)

Chart to fill in on courage - includes quotes from Martin Luther King jr to start thinking, an overview of courage in the novel and a chart to fill in.

Printable handouts for Macbeth: decision tree and conversation analysis. First on is a checklist of conversation techniques (eg turn taking/ adjacency pairs), which you can use to analyse the Lady M and Macbeth scenes pre the murder of Duncan. Gets them thinking about the language of power, as well as the nature of spoken language. Resource two is a decision tree for students to fill in, exploring all the possibities and consequences facing Macbeth at the end of Act 1.

An oldie but goodie - powerpoint talks students through what lonely hearts are, with examples, then provides instructions on how to write their own. Provides some amusing results and I really push mine to write in the style of character and try to apply some of Austen's irony.

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.

Essay instruction sheet for essay on To Kill A Mockingbird with hints and tips - good half term hmwk or could be prepared in class as an exercise in essay planning.Question is: 'Explore the ways in which Harper Lee presents the development of Scout and Jem in the first section of ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’.'

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.

An introduction to Renaissance drama for A Level English Literature - my students are studying 'Hamlet' and 'The Duchess of Malfi'. A plastic skull would also be a useful, if not essential, teaching tool ! For the brave/stupid amongst you, get them to throw it to each other as they ask their 'big questions'. Also included a Renaissance drama knowledge planner. Credit also to 'Will' by Christopher Rush and 'Shakespeare's Restless World' by Dr Neil McGregor.

Two documents - easily adaptable - which allow students to keep track of their improvement, and allow you to assess their oral tasks too. Great for parents' eve and to see whether students actually read anything you write on their work!

Find a quotation activity for chapters 4-6 on the main aspects of the chapters.

Four creative writing activities including prose and poetry - suitable for year 7 and up if dealt with correctly. fun and a bit different - tried and tested in my creative writing groups from year 7 to 13. Perfect for homeschooling.

An introduction to revenge tragedies and research task for students. I was teaching Hamlet and the Duchess of Malfi but could be easily adapted...

Lesson aim: Develop a methodology for tackling questions on the novel as a whole. Focusing on appearance v reality in Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde, these potential sequence of lessons aims to help students tackling a bigger thematic idea as well as helping them approach bigger essay questions. Designed for AQA GCSE English Literature but would work well for any ... Also includes a layered writing mat, starter activity and worksheet to help plan an essay on the conflict between appearance and reality.

An activity designed to help students prepare to answer the essay question, 'How far and in what ways do you agree with the view that Shelley presents knowledge as dangerous and destructive?' More importantly, the focus here is on getting them to use critical interpretations to help them develop their answers. Worksheets could be used for individuals, groups or pairs... leading to some writing of paragraphs, then the whole essay itself. Powerpoint a full lesson and includes exemplars and modelled approach to using critics - my springboard approach! Excuse my woeful gym metaphor but students seem to find it useful.

Some revision activities, quizzes, exemplar essay to help revise Hamlet... Designed for OCR A-level English Literature but transferable, especially the big revision quiz and the mini quizzes (some designed using Socrative)

Designed for OCR English Literature A-level where it is taught as a comparative Gothic text I am comparing with The Bloody Chamber. Easily editable scheme of work proforma also attached. PowerPoint also include lesson by lesson approach, which includes some exam questions as well as passage based questions on extracts from other Gothic texts. Some additional teacher notes included but I also direct you to my FREE revision guide on this text. Edition used: 1831, Penguin Classics 1992 edition with intro by Maurice Hindle

A whole range of useful resources to support student writing - mostly A-level but some could work for more able at GCSE: - WHALE analysis; my own approach for getting students to analyse texts in detail by thinking like a whale. Includes modelled example using 'A Streetcar..' and blank template. - Analysis framework for any play; in table format so can be laminated/ cut up and allocated to students/groups, depending on AO but could also be used as is. - Discourse markers - simple list of connecting words - I challenge students to use them whilst writing shorter pieces in class. -Comparative writing frame to help students compare two texts; blank templates and modelled example using The Bell Jar and A Streetcar Named Desire - Information sheets on the approach required for different kinds of A-level writing e.g. critical analysis, interpretive, using secondary critical material - Two writing mats which are totally based on an example of a writer's palette in David Didau's wonderful book, 'The Secret of Literacy- making the implicit, explicit' - a must for all teachers, in my opinion. One focuses on deep language analysis, the other on interpretive writing. I laminate at A3 size and keep copies in classroom at all times - can be used for slow writing activity or to support students during timed writing. - Powerpoint with general activities on classic mistakes students make whilst writing. Use as a starter OR for some directed practice/ mastery after they have written an essay.

I really recommend teaching this wonderful text - currently on OCR AS English Literature spec, I taught it for a comparative coursework task instead (comparing with The God of Small Things). Students loved it... yes lots of swearing but all in context, and you will see I made the swearing into a learning activity about language prestige! Includes scheme of work, lesson PowerPoints and resources. More importantly, all my teacher notes are also included with the slides. Also, really recommend purchasing David Ian Rabey's critical guide to Jez Butterworth, published 2015.