Welcome. My resources include CPD self-study units for teachers as well as whole units of work specifically designed for the English classroom. Whole units come with detailed teacher notes, teaching PPTs and all student resources. I hope you enjoy using them as much as I have. Questions are very welcome and I can be contacted at roseandmay2@virginmedia.com.
Best wishes, Sam
Welcome. My resources include CPD self-study units for teachers as well as whole units of work specifically designed for the English classroom. Whole units come with detailed teacher notes, teaching PPTs and all student resources. I hope you enjoy using them as much as I have. Questions are very welcome and I can be contacted at roseandmay2@virginmedia.com.
Best wishes, Sam
English Key Stage 3 Creative Writing Unit for Years 7-8
This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help students write creatively with a particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative texts, looking at excellent and varied models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses. It is ideal for a Year 7-8 class. A very nicely presented 83 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher notes with suggested approaches and all thirteen classroom resources. Please see the Preview for a selection of slides from across the unit.
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English Key Stage 3: Travel Writing (Literary Non-fiction) Unit for Years 8-9
This unit is designed to teach key reading and writing skills in the context of travel literature and to help build some of the key skills required at GCSE level when studying non-fiction texts. It moves from reading to writing and is based on the study of a number of short travel extracts from writers such as Paul Theroux, Jonathan Raban and Dervla Murphy. It is aimed at Year 9 as preparation for GCSE and would work equally well with Year 8 groups. Outcomes include analytical as well as creative writing.
This scheme of work is intended to be a creative and enjoyable way to explore the novel and is suitable for an able Year 7 or a Year 8 class. I taught it over the course of a term to my Year 7 but it could be condensed into a half-term. It includes preparation for Reading and Writing assessment pieces, (a piece of descriptive writing and a reading response) as well as lots of speaking and listening activities. There are also a number of engaging research/homework activities to which this novel lends itself and some activities which can be done as drama/role-play activities but which don’t require moving desks or classrooms! All resources to accompany the scheme are included. I hope your class enjoy the novel.
Key Stage 3 English: Improving Grammar and Punctuation - Starter Lessons
This resource was designed as a series of starter activities to be taught across a half-term. It is a flexible resource for students who require input on improving sentences. It focuses on sentences structure and punctuation and provides opportunities for students to apply new skills. It takes a visual approach to teaching simple, compound and complex sentences and provides texts and writing activities which help provide a context rather than the more traditional method of writing out individual sentences. As well as sentence structure, it covers punctuation including use of commas and punctuating direct speech. It perfectly complements teaching of narrative or descriptive writing as many of the examples and tasks are fiction based. Included are 13 starters on a 68 slide teaching PPT plus all ten resources in both word and pdf formats as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes. I hope you enjoy using these starters and that they help your students to improve their grammar and punctuation.
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English Key Stage 3 Creative Writing Unit for Years 7-8
This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help students write creatively with a particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative texts, looking at excellent and varied models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses.A very nicely presented 83 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested approaches and all thirteen classroom resources.**
This student-friendly guide is designed to support students in developing their skills in preparation for the Cambridge First Language English IGCSE Paper 2 Section B: Composition exam. It is intended for use at home and includes lots of interactive and practical tasks to help them embed the key skills required at this level. It was written with my own mid to high ability IGCSE group in mind. It includes a work booklet as well as accompanying resources in Word and PDF formats including planning frames, narrative extracts and creative writing tasks for exam practice. It will be invaluable for teachers who wish to set revision tasks for their classes or for parents who wish to support with exam preparation.
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Cambridge IGCSE English Language: Imaginative Writing Unit
This unit of work is designed with a particular focus on Component 2 or 3 Imaginative writing. It explores descriptive and narrative writing within the context of gothic fiction, and includes a superbly presented 104 slide teaching PPT plus all 19 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes.
Cambridge IGCSE English Language: Speaking and Listening Unit
This unit prepares students for their Cambridge IGCSE Speaking and Listening test (individual talk and conversation) on a specific topic agreed with their teacher. It guides students through the whole process by looking at aspects of effective talks such as openings, rhetorical devices, endings, use of cue cards to structure a talk and responding to questions. A 40 slide PPT is included as well as all eight resources in both word and pdf formats and a detailed set of teacher’s notes.
This highly engaging and enjoyable unit is designed to help Year 6 pupils write creatively with a particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It is ideal as a transition unit, helping to develop the key skills required for Key Stage 3 English. It supports pupils in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative texts, looking at excellent models from a range of literature such as ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The Hobbit’ and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses. A beautifully presented 83 slide editable teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested approaches and all thirteen classroom resources for pupils which are in PDF format.
I enjoyed teaching this unit and hope you do too.
This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for the Edexcel English Language Paper 1 exam with particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. I have written this for my own mid to high ability GCSE class. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative writing, looking at excellent and varied models of texts and identifying successful features before moving to students composing their own creative responses. The 63 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested teaching approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.
This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for OCR’s Entry Level Certificate in English with particular focus on the imaginative writing assessment. It supports students in developing some of the key skills required to write their own engaging narrative and descriptive pieces such as writing effective openings, writing dialogue, varying sentences and creating characters. It supports and leads them towards the imaginative writing task which they complete at the end of the unit. The 71 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested teaching approaches and all ten classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I have also included a CPD self-study unit for teachers on teaching imaginative writing for entry level students and a set of extra creative writing tasks which can be used for the assessment. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.
This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for the AQA English Language Paper 1 exam with particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. I have written this for my own mid to high ability GCSE class. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative writing, looking at excellent and varied models of texts and identifying successful features before moving to students composing their own creative responses. The 63 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested teaching approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.
English Key Stage 3: Travel Writing (Literary Non-fiction) Unit
This unit is designed to teach key reading and writing skills in the context of travel literature and to help build some of the key skills required at GCSE level when studying non-fiction texts. It moves from reading to writing and is based on the study of a number of short travel extracts from writers such as Paul Theroux, Jonathan Raban and Dervla Murphy. It is aimed at Year 9 as preparation for GCSE and would work equally well with Year 8 groups. Outcomes include analytical as well as creative writing. All resources including key texts are included as are a set of teacher’s notes and a well-presented 42 slide PPT. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit as much as I did.
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English Key Stage 3 Creative Writing Unit for Years 7-8
This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help students write creatively with a particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative texts, looking at excellent and varied models from a range of literature and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own creative responses.A very nicely presented 83 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested approaches and all thirteen classroom resources.
This is a 3 week unit which is designed to prepare students for their AQA spoken presentation on a topic agreed with their teacher. The unit guides students through the process by looking at aspects of effective presentations such as openings, rhetorical devices, memorable endings, use of cue cards to structure a talk, delivering the talk and responding to questions. Lessons include exploring good examples of famous speeches and student talks as well as group discussions and opportunities to try out a variety of strategies. A 37 slide PPT is included as well as all six resources in both word and pdf formats and a set of teacher’s notes. I hope you enjoy teaching this unit.
THE TEMPEST Key Stage 3 English Teaching Unit
This unit is based around Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. I have taught it to both Year 7 and 8 though it could easily be adapted for a Year 9 class. It is designed to fit into a half-term but, depending on how many lessons you have, could be taught over a whole term. There is a 65 slide PPT with a range of creative and enjoyable activities including drama-style tasks suitable for use in the English classroom such as a ‘guided tour’ of the island. There is also a homework project which runs throughout the unit and a Reading assessment essay built in. I have included a set of detailed teacher’s notes and a free CPD unit on teaching Shakespeare. Please note that all files are in pdf format.
Creative Reading and Writing - Heroism Unit
This engaging and enjoyable half-termly unit is designed to develop key skills in reading fiction and non-fiction as well as writing creatively. It is based on the topic of Heroism with lots of activities and great texts to help students develop key reading skills such as locating information, inference, commenting on structure and comparison as well as key narrative writing skills such as opening and ending a story, writing direct speech, varying sentences, improving vocabulary and planning. Texts include extracts from non-fiction and fiction texts including 'Pat Barker’s ‘Regeneration’, Remarque’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ and Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’. All 18 well-presented student resources are included in word and pdf formats as well as a 68 slide teaching PPT (see Preview) and a detailed set of teacher’s notes. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.
This student friendly guide is designed to support GCSE students in developing their skills in preparation for the AQA English Language GCSE Paper 1 Section B: Creative Writing exam. It is intended for use at home and includes lots of interactive and practical tasks to help them embed the key skills required at this level. It was written with my own mid to high ability GCSE group in mind. It includes a work booklet as well as accompanying resources in Word and PDF formats including planning frames, narrative extracts and creative writing tasks for exam practice. It will be useful for teachers who wish to set revision tasks for their classes or for parents who wish to support with exam preparation.
This half-termly unit of work is designed to help prepare students for AQA’s English Language GCSE Paper 1 with particular focus on section B creative writing. I have written it with my own lower attaining GCSE class in mind. It supports students in developing some of the key skills required to write their own engaging pieces such as writing effective openings, writing dialogue, varying sentences, creating characters and planning responses. It supports and leads them towards the creative writing task (either narrative or descriptive) required for section B which they complete at the end of the unit. The 75 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes with suggested teaching approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I have also included extra creative writing tasks based on images in the AQA format. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit.
This engaging, student-friendly and digital home learning unit is designed to help GCSE students develop their narrative and descriptive writing skills. It is intended for home learning and includes lots of interactive and practical tasks to help students embed key skills. I have uploaded both a standard PDF and a PDF with text boxes which can be filled in by your students. It is relevant to all main exam boards and includes a work booklet with accompanying resources including planning frames, narrative extracts and creative writing tasks for exam practice. It will be invaluable for teachers who wish to set an extended unit of work or revision activities for their classes or for parents who wish to support with learning and exam preparation.
AQA English Literature GCSE: Comparing Poems Unit
This highly engaging English poetry unit is designed to introduce and explore Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Storm on the Island’ and Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically and comparatively using a specific paragraph and essay structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. Outcomes include a PETAL paragraph and the unit culminates in a comparative essay exploring how the authors present the natural world in their poems. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all resources are in pdf format.
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William Blake’s ‘London’
Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’
Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’
Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’
Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’
Australian curriculum-aligned resource - Narrative and Descriptive Writing for Years 9-10
This highly engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help students write creatively with a particular focus on narrative and descriptive writing. It supports students in actively exploring and enjoying both descriptive and narrative texts, looking at excellent and varied models and identifying successful features before moving to composing their own imaginative responses. A well-presented 60 slide teaching PPT is included as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes with suggested approaches and all eleven classroom resources in both Word and PDF formats. I enjoyed teaching this unit and hope you do too.
This practice unit of work will familiarize students with the style of assessment questions on the AQA assessment papers. It is designed to prepare pupils for the style of questions on the Gold award but I have also included reference to the Silver award tasks if, like me, you have students who are doing both within the same class. It should last around 4-5 weeks depending on the number of English lessons you have. I have not broken it down into individual lessons as all classes are different and some will need longer on some activities than others. It is designed in a way that classes can build confidence in tackling the Step Up style of questions.
Please check current list of NEAs with AQA and note that information, guidance, support and resources are available from AQA. Please note that ‘Leisure’ is intended solely as a practice unit and this topic is not a current NEA.
This unit of work is designed to help build the skills necessary for success in the speaking and listening assessment for AQA Functional Skills English as well as those valued by employers. It is a discussion based unit and explores skills such as asking questions, leading a discussion, researching and planning a presentation. It leads to two assessment activities, a ‘meeting’ in which students discuss setting up a series of lunchtime clubs for younger pupils followed by an individual presentation in which students showcase their own plans for a school club. I have included a detailed set of teacher’s notes, a 42 slide teaching PPT and all resources in both word and pdf format.
More AQA Functional Skills in English Units
AQA Functional Skills in English: Level 1 - Complete Course
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12458768
AQA Functional Skills in English: Level 1 Unit - Climate Change Crisis
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12458750
AQA Functional Skills in English: Level 1 Unit - Leisure
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12446306
AQA Functional Skills in English: Level 1 Unit - Taking the Next Step
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12443289
This unit of work is designed to help build the skills necessary for success in the speaking and listening assessments for Edexcel Functional Skills English Levels 1 and 2 as well as those valued by employers.
It is a discussion based unit and explores skills such as asking questions, leading a discussion, researching and planning a presentation. It leads to two assessment activities, a ‘meeting’ in which students discuss setting up a series of lunchtime clubs for younger pupils followed by an individual presentation in which students showcase their own plans for a school club. I have included a detailed set of teacher’s notes, a 44 slide teaching PPT and all resources in both word and pdf format. I hope your students enjoy taking part in this unit.
**More Edexcel Functional Skills Resources
Edexcel Functional Skills in English: Level 1 - Complete Course
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12459414
This is a collection of four teaching units for Edexcel’s Functional Skills in English Level 1 exam. Together they form a complete course which can be taught across one academic year or form the basis of a 2 year course. Each unit comes complete with a teaching PPT, detailed teacher notes and all resources in both word and pdf formats. **
**Edexcel Functional Skills in English: Level 2 - Complete Course
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12455303
This is a collection of four teaching units for Edexcel’s new Functional Skills in English Level 2 exam. Together they form a complete course which can be taught across one academic year or form the basis of a 2 year course. **