This 23-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to key context for studying Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. The his lesson covers the significance of the Prometheus, Gothic genre, Romanticism, Industrialisation and much more on Shelley’s famous novel, including the influence of ‘Paradise Lost’. Shelley’s life is explained, and the key themes are explored. Questions and tasks are also included for students. A creative task is featured at the end of the lesson. This could be used either as a class-based or homework activity. The lesson is ideal for GCSE students, but could be used for introducing the text for high-attaining KS3 pupils or even at A level. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 28-slide lesson introduces the background and context of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. We begin with a series of posters, asking students to ‘judge a book by its cover’ and guess what the play might be about based on the images. We then dissect the play’s title, thinking about dreams, midsummer, and madness. Students are introduced to Shakespeare’s life and work before delving into the genre of comedy and its recurring features. Life in Shakespeare’s England - particularly for women - is discussed. We read and watch a summary of the play before considering the significance of the play’s setting. In addition, students explore some famous paintings inspired by the play in order to further discuss what the play might be about. Key themes and ideas about love and transformation are explored. Students are then given some ambitious vocabulary to define, using a dictionary (online or otherwise). Common attributes of Shakespeare’s stagecraft are explained, while images from the play onstage and on film are presented. The lesson ends with a research task inspired by Shakespeare’s theatre. This lesson is ideal for students aged 11-14. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 20-slide lesson introduces the key context of George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’. Students learn about Orwell’s works and social commentary before delving into the dystopian genre and its key features. Totalitarianism and the political turmoil of the Cold War are then discussed, inviting students to think critically about society, individuality, surveillance, and propaganda as a tool for oppressive regimes to maintain control. The novel’s key themes are introduced, and students are tasked with looking up and defining sophisticated vocabulary associated with the novel. At the end of the lesson is a potential class or homework task in which students research historical examples of totalitarianism. This is an ideal introduction to ‘1984’, and could easily cover more than one lesson if teachers would like to expand upon any ideas or tasks. The PowerPoint is saved as a pdf to maintain its layout.

This 25-slide resource explores Percy Shelley’s iconic poem, ‘Ozymandias’. Students are encouraged to think critically about the function and purpose of statues, making way for discussions about myth-making and deification. They then learn about Shelley’s life and work, before delving into the context behind why he wrote the poem following the British Museum’s landmark acquisition. The resource explores ideas about the speakers and use of frame narrative, the poem’s heavy use of irony, and tensions between art and the artist. Form, structure, and language are analysed, and lists of key themes and vocabulary are provided to equip students with sophisticated tools for analysing the poem. Questions and discussion points are provided throughout the resource. ‘Quick-fire’ questions are given at the end, followed by an essay question. This resource can be used as a lesson or revision resource. It is ideal for ambitious GCSE or KS3 classes. Both a PDF and PowerPoint version of the resource are included.

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 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 20-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to the context of Khaled Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner’. It features an overview of 20th century Afghan history and the rise of the Taliban, plus a brief synopsis of the novel and Hosseini’s intentions/message in writing it. Also included is a list of key words for students to research, some topical questions for classroom debate, and some key vocabulary. This is a useful first lesson for those reading the novel for their A level studies (particularly for AQA’s Political and Social Protest paper). Also included is a brief geo-political summary sheet of Afghanistan to help pupils to understand the nation’s context. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson offers the perfect introduction to the context of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’. In the lesson, students explore Jacobean ideas of Kingship, looking closely at the reign of James I, the Divine Right and Great Chain of Being, and the atmosphere created by the Gunpowder Plot. We then look at Renaissance and Medieval ideas of gender (especially on the stage) and Aristotle’s rules for tragedy. The play’s key themes and ideas are explored, and students are encouraged to reflect on power and its relationship to corruption and even tyranny. Important vocabulary is explained, and students are tasked with researching other key words and ideas. Questions, discussion points and tasks are included for students. Also included in this resource is a copy of James I’s speech to Parliament in 1610 for the purpose of analysing the King’s attitudes to his Divine Right. Ideal for students reading the play at GCSE or upper-KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This is a thorough and comprehensive lesson on Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem ‘Love’s Philosophy’, which is studied as part of AQA’s GCSE Literature anthology on ‘Love & Relationships’. This PowerPoint unpicks key themes of unrequired love, intimacy, frustration and religion with close analysis of language, form and structure. Also included are many small questions for students and a ‘mock’ essay question in which students must compare ‘Love’s Philosophy’ to another poem, just like in the real AQA exam.

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. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 23-slide lesson explores W.H. Auden’s ‘Funeral Blues’. The lesson begins with questions for students about the poem’s title and information about the poem’s history (including how it’s now so famous from ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’). Students then read the poem (a glossary of key terms is provided) and discuss their first impressions. The poem is summarised and explained generally before the lesson moves into detailed questions about the poem: its speaker, its tone, its language, its imagery, its ending, and its message. Notes are given about the poem’s key tensions, as well as form, structure and rhyme. Key themes are listed, and there is a list of sophisticated vocabulary to allow students to conduct precise and high-level analysis. There is an image-based task for students to match pictures to the poem. There are questions provided throughout, including comprehension and though-provoking questions at the end. An example of an essay question (particularly relevant to the Cambridge IGCSE) is also included. PowerPoint is attached as a PDF and in its original format. The PDF is recommended if you wish to retain the fonts, layout, and design.

This 20-slide lesson explores Fleur Adcock’s poem, ‘The Telephone Call’. Starter activities probe students to think about their attitude to the lottery and its anthropological implications. We then learn about the life and work of Fleur Adcock before reading the poem. Students are prompted to think about the two juxtaposing characters in the poem before delving into Adcock’s use of language, imagery, form, structure and rhyme. The significance of the poem’s 1980s context is also considered. Key themes and sophisticated vocabulary are listed to enable students to conduct precise analysis. We also ask what the poem’s true message may be, posing a variety of interpretations. This resource is ideal for those studying the poem as part of Cambridge IGCSE’s ‘Songs of Ourselves’, but is useful for anyone looking at the poem. Two versions of the lesson are attached: one is a PDF to save the best aesthetics and formatting; the other is a standard PowerPoint where fonts and formatting may be lost but can easily be edited.

This 20-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’. Detailed notes are included on McCarthyism, the Cold War, the Red Scare, and the Salem Witch Trials. Important vocabulary is explained and several tasks/questions for students are included. This lesson is ideal for GCSE pupils, and could be easily adapted for KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 27-slide lesson on William Blake’s ‘The Garden of Love’ from the ‘Songs of Experience’ deconstructs the poem as a tool of political and social protest. The lesson explores Blake’s context as a radical Dissenter, his use of the pastoral genre, and considers in detail his use of language and imagery. The poem’s themes of sexual restriction, corrupt authority, and shattered innocence are considered through a variety of questions and tasks for students. At the end of the lesson, an extended essay question is included. This lesson is ideal for those studying Blake’s ‘Songs’ through AQA’s ‘Political and Social Protest’ paper at A level. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 25-slide lesson serves as the perfect introduction to William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’, establishing the key context and background to the novel. The lesson includes exploration of the novel’s key themes and ideas, Golding’s life and his own comments about the text, the historical background of the Cold War and Atomic Age, as well as key terms and vocabulary to unpick the novel’s ideas. Questions, discussion-points and tasks are included for students. At the end of the lesson is an extended task that could work either in class or as a homework activity. The lesson is ideal for GCSE or KS3 study of the novel. PowerPoint is saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores Stave Four of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider how Dickens presents the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and how Scrooge is affected by what he is shown, including the businessmen, families, and looters who profit by Scrooge’s death, how the Cratchit family is affected by Tiny Tim’s death, Fred’s act of charity and kindness, and how Scrooge vows to repent at the sight of his own grave. The ominous and foreboding atmosphere of his chapter is scrutinised, considering why Dickens populates this Stave with so much morbidity. As ever, we think about how this all relates to Dickens’ authorial message. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE or at KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

A lesson focused on how Scrooge is affected by reliving the memory of his lost love, Belle. Perfect for those studying the text at with AQA at GCSE.

This 28-slide lesson is a thorough and comprehensive exploration of Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Follower’. This PowerPoint unpicks key themes of admiration, childhood and identity with close analysis of the poem’s language, form and structure. Attention is paid to the demands of AQA’s GCSE Literature, through which this poem is studied in the ‘Love & Relationships’ anthology. Questions and discussion points are included for students, as well as a ‘mock’ essay question in which students must compare ‘Follower’ to another poem, just like in the real AQA exam. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This resource includes a booklet containing 10 extracts from 10 works of dystopian fiction by 10 different authors. The booklet contains imaginative and thought-provoking explorations of dystopian worlds - and each is ripe for analysis. Authors featured include Suzanne Collins, E.M. Forster and George Orwell. Also included is a PowerPoint with a brief introductory lesson to the dystopian genre. This explains the key features of dystopian literature and introduces the key vocabulary associated with the genre. This is perfect for a KS3 module or unit of work on dystopian fiction. It works well in conjunction with creative writing tasks. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This lesson is a sophisticated and thorough introduction to the context and key ideas behind Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’. This 23-slide PowerPoint lesson is perfect for those studying the play as part of AQA’s Political and Social Protest Writing course at A level, but easily adaptable to other A level courses (including Theatre Studies) too. The lesson includes biographical information about Ibsen, an explanation of Norway’s social history in the 19th century (with particular focus on the rights of women), and an introduction to the key themes and ideas in ‘A Doll’s House’. Questions and tasks are also featured for students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.