Humble English Teacher hoping to cut down on teachers' workload by providing high quality resources (from primary to secondary - mostly English but some other subjects too). Please share and review if you like what you see here.
Humble English Teacher hoping to cut down on teachers' workload by providing high quality resources (from primary to secondary - mostly English but some other subjects too). Please share and review if you like what you see here.
This 27-slide lesson serves as the perfect introduction to J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’, establishing the key context and background to the play.
The lesson features information about Priestley’s life and views, capitalism, socialism, important historical dates, and pre-war and post-war context. The play’s key themes and ideas are explored, and tasks and discussion points are included throughout. At the end of the lesson is an extended writing task that could serve either as a class-based activity or homework task.
This lesson is aimed primarily at GCSE students but could be used for KS3 too.
PowerPoint is saved as PDF.
This 27-slide lesson explores the context of Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’.
In the lesson, students learn about Shakespeare and his sources for the play; why the Venetian setting is significant; some background to the Venetian-Ottoman conflicts; and the various historical connotations of the term ‘Moor’.
We look at various images from ‘Othello’ - posters and stills from notable productions - to consider what the play might be about. The play’s genre as a tragedy is discussed, as are its key themes and the crucial recurring image of ‘jealousy’.
Important (and high-level) vocabulary is also outlined.
Questions, tasks, and discussion points are included for students. A research task/homework is featured at the end of the lesson.
This lesson is an ideal introduction for GCSE or A level study of the text.
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This 10-slide lesson activity allows students to explore how the Birling family (and Gerald) each wronged Eva Smith. Looking at the play through the lens of the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ according to Catholic doctrine, we can see which sins each character commits, which may help us to determine which character - if any - is the most responsible for the death of Eva Smith.
The lesson includes a table-based activity and questions for students to consider. These activities always lead to fascinating discussions and intellectual debates about the play.
This is a particularly useful reflective activity or introduction to a deeper discussion of the play.
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This 27-slide PowerPoint is a great lesson on the beloved poem that we now know as ‘Daffodils’ by William Wordsworth.
The lesson guides students through the poem, thinking about its language, structure, rhyme, and central ideas. A basic biography of Wordsworth is also provided, and a glossary of challenging vocabulary. Questions are included in the lesson (including short comprehension-based tasks), as well as a larger final task in which students write their own poem, inspired by Wordsworth’s.
It is an ideal lesson for KS3 students, particularly Year 7 students who are still learning about poetic craft.
The lesson functions either as a stand-alone study or could easily fit into a larger scheme of work on nature poetry or Romanticism, for example.
A copy of the poem is also included in this resource.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
This 28-slide lesson on ‘Of Mice and Men’ introduces the key context vital to understanding Steinbeck’s classic novella, as well as functioning as a general introduction to studying the text.
The lesson includes key information about the Depression, the Dust Bowl, racism, patriarchal pressures and other prejudice during the 1930s in America. Steinbeck’s own life is also covered, as well as the meaning behind the text’s title, and students are invited to analyse various book jacket designs for the novella.
Key themes are explored alongside a comprehensive introduction to the American Dream and its role in the novella.
Questions and tasks are also included for students to tackle.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
This 21-slide lesson offers a fantastic introduction to George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, including everything that students need to know about the novella’s historical context.
Included is information on the Russian Revolution, Orwell, anthropomorphism, satire, and much more.
This resource is ideal for GCSE students or KS3 classes.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
This 30-slide lesson provides a comprehensive contextual introduction to Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’.
Posing questions to students about young love, marriage, passion, and stereotypes, the lesson introduces key themes and ideas related to Shakespeare’s iconic tale of doomed romance. The genre of tragedy is considered, as are typical elements of romance. We look at Shakespeare’s life and work, and examine a series of posters for ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to see how the play is commonly presented in the cultural imagination.
Important historical and theatrical context is explained, and key terminology is introduced to allow students to produce sophisticated analysis.
Questions and discussion points are featured throughout, and there is a research task at the end of the lesson. Also included is a series of films inspired by ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to facilitate conversations around the play’s cultural impact.
PowerPoint saved as PDF. Also included is a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ word-search.
This resource contains four well-known recent speeches by famous women (Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson, Michelle Obama and Theresa May) which are excellent for linguistic and rhetorical analysis.
This is a useful exercise for pupils studying persuasive writing and effective rhetoric. Not only do these speeches allow students to analyse how famous orators have used language, but they also inspire and teach how pupils can use language in their own persuasive writing too.
Each speech is transcribed here and some contain designated space for analysis and answers to questions based on common GCSE exam tasks.
This resource bundle is ideal for those studying English Language at GCSE, but is equally useful for KS3 language analysis or any other unit on rhetorical or persuasive writing.
This 30-slide lesson explores the context of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’.
The lesson considers how European colonialism and the Age of Discovery influenced and impacted Shakespeare’s writing. Students are provided with an in-depth discussion of European colonial expansion in the Renaissance, including information on the Jamestown settlement and common artistic depictions of Indigenous Americans in Shakespeare’s lifetime. We think about how ‘The Tempest’ can be read as a product of the search for the ‘New World’.
Shakespeare’s potential sources for this tragi-comic play are explored. Key words and themes are also presented, and the plot is outlined. We think about some of Shakespeare’s dramatic structure and stagecraft in the play, leading some critics to align Prospero with the playwright himself.
Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This lesson could be used as a comprehensive introduction for pupils studying the play anywhere from high-attaining KS3 to A level.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
This 18-slide lesson offers an introduction to Stevenson’s use of setting in ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’.
We consider how Stevenson’s use of setting facilitates Hyde’s dark deeds and the Gothic atmosphere of the novella. How the author’s childhood in Edinburgh influenced his depiction of Victorian London is also explored.
Stevenson’s language and techniques are analysed, linked closely to the text’s overarching themes of duality and deception.
Questions are included for students, too.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
These two lessons are perfect for analysing William Blake’s two ‘Chimney Sweeper’ poems from the 'Songs of Innocence and ‘Experience’.
Both lessons contain detailed explorations of language, context, themes and ideas, especially in relation to Blake as a protest writer.
Each stanza is deconstructed individually, and questions/tasks are included for students, including comparative and extended essay questions.
These lessons are ideal for those A level students who are analysing Blake’s poetry as part of the AQA Political and Social Protest Paper, but easily adaptable for other exam boards too.
The lesson on the ‘Chimney Sweeper’ of ‘Innocence’ is 36 slides in length. The lesson on the ‘Chimney Sweeper’ of ‘Experience’ is 26 slides in length.
Two PowerPoints (saved as PDF) included.
This 36-slide lesson explores Sujata Bhatt’s poem ‘Search for my Tongue’.
The lesson provides detailed analysis of the poem and includes: biographical information about Bhatt, analysis of the poem’s use of language and poetic techniques, analysis of the poem’s structure, form & rhyme, as well as a range of questions, discussion points, and tasks for students to complete. Students are encouraged to think about the significance of language and its relationship to cultural assimilation and identity.
The final task at the end of the lesson is an extended writing activity.
This lesson is ideal for KS3 pupils, but could be used for GCSE too.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
This 31-slide lesson on William Blake’s ‘The Little Black Boy’ offers superb analysis for those studying the poem at A level.
In tackling one of the most complex and ambiguous of Blake’s ‘Songs’, this lesson provides sophisticated linguistic, contextual and thematic scrutiny.
This is an ideal lesson for those studying Blake as a protest writer with AQA’s Political and Social Protest Writing course.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
This resource contains an extract from Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ as well as 4 exam-style questions based on the AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1.
Questions examine students on reading comprehension, language analysis, structural analysis, and constructing an argument in relation to the extract.
This is an ideal mock for students to sit or a lesson resource for teachers to use with classes to practise and tackle the demands of each question.
This 33-slide lesson explores and revises Gerald Croft in J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ in a thorough and comprehensive structure - perfect for those studying the play at GCSE.
Gerald is perhaps the most complex character in the play and students often find him challenging to analyse effectively. This lesson walks step-by-step through Gerald’s role in the play and how Priestley presents him at different points.
Included are Gerald’s key quotations and moments, his function in the play, his corresponding historical context, and regular consideration of Priestley’s message and use of Gerald as a symbol.
Questions and thinking points are featured throughout the lesson. An exam-style question is included at the end.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
This 35-slide lesson explores the role of women in Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’.
Perfect for high-attaining students, this lesson analyses how female characters are presented in the tragedy, exploring the roles of Desdemona, Emilia, Bianca and others in light of the play’s themes and Jacobean context.
We consider how various female characters are presented in the play, thinking about how female transgression and disobedience threatens the patriarchal authority of the male characters, and the tragedy that ensues. Fidelity, cuckoldry, and duplicity are explored, as are the roles of key props, such as the handkerchief. Directorial choices and how these might impact our interpretations of female characters are discussed.
Misogynistic language and masculine violence is also debated, while the private and public personalities of characters are deconstructed.
Students are equipped with ambitious vocabulary to facilitate sophisticated analysis of Shakespeare’s characters.
Questions and discussion points are included throughout for students. We consider Shakespeare’s messages and intentions, and students are provided with fascinating critical opinions from academics on the female characters of the play. This is an ideal resource for revising this key element of the play.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
This 17-slide lesson explores Seamus Heaney’s famous poem, ‘Mid-Term Break’.
The lesson begins by deconstructing the poem’s title, before thinking sensitively about funereal procedure and atmosphere. Heaney’s life and work is introduced to prepare students for the autobiographical nature of the poem. Key vocabulary is presented for students to produce precise and sophisticated analysis of the poem.
The poem’s key themes, imagery, and symbols are deconstructed, and students are encouraged to think critically about the poem’s language, form, structure, and rhyme. The tone of the poem is considered, and multiple readings of the poem are introduced.
Discussion points and questions are included throughout. A visual task invites students to identify key images associated with the poem, which works nicely as an individual or group activity. An exam-style question is included at the end of the lesson.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
This series of four lessons on Roald Dahl’s ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ breaks the story into four extracts and four distinct but interconnected lessons.
Lesson 1: 16 slides
Lesson 2: 16 slides
Lesson 3: 14 slides
Lesson 4: 16 slides
Each lesson contains key questions and tasks relating to the story. Students are encouraged to think about Dahl’s suspense, characterisation, and use black humour. Key vocabulary is introduced and Dahl’s structure is dissected, with students making predictions and debating what might happen next as the story progresses. The nature of Mary Maloney’s marriage is discussed, as is the significance of her pregnancy, and the symbolic use of the leg of lamb in her infamous crime. At the end of the fourth lesson, we think about how Dahl uses the story symbolically and allegorically to comment on attitudes to gender in the 1950s.
Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. There are multiple tasks to strengthen analytical writing (with clearly structured model paragraphs included), and more creative tasks are featured, too, including diary entries and newspaper writing.
Copies of all four extracts are included in this resource.
There are at least 4 lessons here, but - depending on the pace of your classes - this could be stretched into more. This series of lessons is ideal for KS3.
PowerPoints and extracts are saved as PDFs.
This 15-slide lesson on Neil Gaiman’s horror story, ‘Don’t Ask Jack’, is ideal for KS3 classes studying short stories or genre writing.
Students are encouraged to consider common elements of the horror genre and key vocabulary associated with ‘horror’ and its atmosphere. Conducting close analysis of Gaiman’s language and structure, students are then tasked with creating their own piece of creative horror writing, inspired by ‘Don’t Ask Jack’. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included in the lesson.
A copy of the story is included in this resource.
PowerPoint saved as PDF.
These two lessons (28 slides each) explore William Blake’s companion poems, ‘Infant Joy’ and ‘Infant Sorrow’, from the ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’.
The lessons explore Blake’s radicalism and context, analysing the poems’ language, themes, form, structure, and message in light of his political protest.
Questions, tasks, and discussion points for students are included throughout, including extended essays.
These lessons are ideal for those studying Blake’s ‘Songs’ as part of AQA’s A level ‘Political and Social Protest Writing’ paper, but could be adapted for other purposes.
PowerPoints saved as PDF. 56 slides in total.