This FREE poster uses the classic ‘let’s eat grandma!’ joke to explain the importance of using correct punctuation. Use it to enhance your learning environment.

This 22-slide lesson provides a comprehensive contextual introduction to Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’. Students learn about du Maurier’s life and work before delving into important questions about genre - particularly common conventions of the Gothic and how du Maurier’s novel can be situated in the literary tradition of the Bluebeard legend. The significance of ‘Jane Eyre’ as a literary antecedent is also discussed. We think about overlaps between Gothic and romance genres, and explore the significance of the novel’s famous settings - both Manderley and Monte Carlo. Students learn about the decline of the aristocracy in the 1930s and how the novel can be read as a response to the changing social landscape of this period. We also think about how the novel’s famous rivalries between women should perhaps be reframed from a modern Feminist perspective, raising questions about who the novel’s real ‘villains’ are. The novel’s key themes are explored, and key vocabulary is introduced to facilitate sophisticated analysis of the text. The two major film adaptations are also discussed. The lesson ends by considering the novel’s famous opening sentence, with students conducting close analysis of how it creates a powerful beginning to the story. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This worksheet is great for revising the key themes of AQA’s ‘Love & Relationships’ poetry anthology. In the right-hand column, students can write all of the poems in the collection which they think match the theme in the left-hand column. Encourages students to think thematically and comparatively about the poems.

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 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 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.

Poster of William Shakespeare (including dates of birth and death) for your classroom or corridor display.

Introduce students to the basic geography of Afghanistan with this informative map and fact-sheet. Understanding Afghanistan’s geographical position is vital to contextualising ‘The Kite Runner’. Students can then be encouraged to complete their own further research into the country.

Enhance your learning environment with this poster of J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’, designed by Mr. Gradgrind.

An excellent companion resource for studying the context of ‘Macbeth’, James I’s speech to Parliament in 1610 elucidates his views of the monarchy and the Divine Right of Kings. Studying this speech will provide a solid understanding of attitudes to Kingship in Shakespeare’s time.

A poster featuring the famous ‘Some are born great…’ line from Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. Perfect for your classroom or corridor display!

Enjoy this stylish poster for ‘Pride & Prejudice’ by Jane Austen to enhance your learning environment. Designed by MrGradgrind.

Enjoy this stylish poster for ‘Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens to enhance your learning environment. Designed by MrGradgrind.

Enjoy this stylish poster for ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald to enhance your learning environment. Designed by MrGradgrind.

Enhance your learning environment and encourage reading with this poster, designed by Mr. Gradgrind.

A crossword on Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Ideal for KS3.

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 is a thorough and comprehensive lesson on Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem ‘Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee’, which is studied as part of AQA’s GCSE Literature anthology on ‘Love & Relationships’. This PowerPoint unpicks key themes of romantic passion, longing, distance and intimacy 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 ‘Sonnet 29’ to another poem, just like in the real AQA exam.

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 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.