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.

This 30-slide lesson is a detailed introduction to the context of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. The lesson includes notes on Stevenson’s life; his relationship with Edinburgh and London; Deacon Brodie; science and industrialisation; theories of evolution, Degeneration and Cesare Lombroso; Victorian rationality; the Victorian class system; and contemporary gender dynamics. It also features tips on top-grade vocabulary for students to use when analysing the text. Questions and discussion points are included throughout, and the lesson ends with a research task that could be used as a homework activity. This lesson is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE, but could be used with KS3 too. 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 30-slide lesson analyses William Blake’s ‘The Tyger’ from the ‘Songs of Experience’. Blake’s ambiguous poem is deconstructed via its various interpretations - as an exploration of faith, revolution, and industrialisation. Key themes, language, and imagery are unpicked, and Blake’s political context and radical views are explained. Discussion points, questions, and tasks are included throughout, and the lesson ends with an extended essay question in which students compare ‘The Tyger’ to other poems in Blake’s ‘Songs’. This lesson is perfect for A level students studying the collection as part of AQA’s Political and Social Protest Writing course. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores Stave Two of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider how Dickens presents the Ghost of Christmas Past and how Scrooge is affected by memories of his youth. The lesson delves into Scrooge as a boy, his apprenticeship under Fezziwig, and the tragic end to his relationship with Belle. 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.

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 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.

This 30-slide lesson explores Stave Three of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider how Dickens presents the Ghost of Christmas Present and how Scrooge is affected by what he is shown, including the Cratchit family, Fred’s party, and how Christmas is celebrated by even poor and isolated communities. The lesson explores Dickens’ use of children as symbols - notably Ignorance and Want - and how this might link to the context of the Industrial Revolution. 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.

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 30-slide lesson explores Stave One of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider Dickens’ characterisation of Scrooge - his attitude to charity, romance, and Christmas - and to think about how Marley’s Ghost triggers Scrooge’s metamorphosis of misanthropist to philanthropist. Scrooge’s relationship with Fred and Bob Cratchit (his character foils) is analysed. We also think about symbols of cold and darkness, and link this all to Dickens’ message in this allegorical novella. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. An essay question on Scrooge is featured, supported by tips for students and an exemplar introduction and differentiated analytical paragraphs. Also included is a worksheet for students to analyse the language used by Dickens to describe Scrooge in Stave One. This is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE or at KS3. PowerPoint and Word doc. saved as PDFs.

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 PowerPoint is an introductory lesson on the context of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, aimed primarily at A level students (particularly those studying the genre of comedy). The lesson contains information on Shakespeare, Commedia dell’Arte, Elizabethan acting, Illyria in context, religious satire, and more. Questions and tasks are featured for students, including a potential homework task. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 26-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to the context and comedy of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. The lesson features information on Wilde’s life and literary career and on Victorian contexts of gender, sexuality, and morality. The genre of comedy is considered in detail, and the key themes, characters, and conventions of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ are outlined. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This lesson would work particularly well for those teaching Wilde on AQA’s Aspects of Comedy paper for English Literature A level, but is still useful for those exploring the play for other courses. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

Explore Blake’s ‘The Ecchoing Green’ from the ‘Songs of Innocence’ as a poem of social/political protest with this comprehensive lesson aimed at A level students. For those studying the AQA Political and Social Protest Writing course, this lesson deconstructs Blake’s imagery, language and ideas to consider how ‘The Ecchoing Green’ fits in with his vision for the ‘Songs’ as poems of protest.

Explore William Blake’s ‘The Lamb’ as a critique of organised religion and child exploitation with this comprehensive lesson. Perfect for those studying Blake’s ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ for AQA’s ‘Political and Social Protest Writing’ paper.

This 30-slide lesson explores Stave Five of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider how Dickens presents Scrooge’s metamorphosis from a miserly misanthrope to a charitable and responsible citizen in the final chapter of the novella. We think about how Dickens evidences Scrooge’s change, exploring what leads Scrooge to reconsider his relationship with charity, Church, his local community, Fred, and the Cratchits. As we finish the novella, we consider the allegorical function of the story and whether Dickens’ messages are still relevant to our own society. 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.

This 30-slide lesson explores William Blake’s poem, ‘The School Boy’. Students are prompted to consider the poem’s themes, images, structure, rhythm, and key ideas. We think about Blake’s identification with radical politics and his widespread condemnation of institutionalised authority. School in the poem is read as a metaphor for the conformity and control that undoubtedly contradict Blake’s Romantic vision of the child as a free individual. Contextual links are made to Rousseau and John Locke, as well as children’s literature in the 18th century. The poem’s language (and imagery) is deconstructed in detail. We consider how this poem connects to other poems in the ‘Experience’ collection. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The lesson ends with a larger essay question too. Perfect for those studying Blake’s ‘Songs’ as part of AQA’s Political and Social Protest course, this lessons encourages students to look beyond this poem’s surface-level simplicity and form conceptual links to other poems in the collection. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 33-slide lesson on Philip Larkin’s ‘Going, Going’ explores the poem in comprehensive detail. Examining Larkin’s seemingly impassioned warning against the dangers of capitalist industrialisation against the sardonic satire of his poetic persona, this lesson unpicks the poet’s masterful use of language, form, structure, and imagery. Questions and discussion points are featured for students throughout, encouraging them to unpick the poem in great detail. Other Larkin poems to which ‘Going, Going’ might be compared are suggested, and the lesson ends with an extended essay question for students to complete either in class or as a homework. This lesson is aimed primarily at A level students, but could be used for high-attaining GCSE sets. ‘Going, Going’ is particularly rich for pupils reading poems through an ecocritical lens. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This is a thorough and comprehensive introduction to the context of Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’. The 21-slide lesson details Caesar’s life and role in the Roman Republic, outlining key terminology, politics, and history that will help explain his downfall. Shakespeare’s own life is also explored alongside the plot and focus of the play itself, and Elizabethan parallels with the play’s themes are explained. Questions and tasks are included for pupils, including a research (potential homework) task at the end of the lesson. The lesson is ideal for GCSE pupils, but could easily be adapted for other Key Stages. PowerPoint saved as PDF.