Welcome to the relaxing world of the staycation! This half-termly unit is built around the Step Up topic of Holidays and is designed to prepare students for their AQA Step Up to English Component 1 Literacy topics assessment. It is aimed mainly at Gold award candidates however it is also applicable to those doing the Silver award if, like me, you have candidates doing both awards in the same class. It is designed to ensure students develop the skills necessary to complete the assessment tasks which include two speaking and listening tasks as well as responses to reading and a longer piece of writing. It includes a nicely presented 40 slide teaching PPT with lots of engaging activities and extracts from a range of texts including a web review page, a holiday advert and a travel book by Bill Bryson. All 10 texts and student resources are included as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes explaining how I have used them. Thanks for looking and don’t hesitate to contact me if I can be of any help. I have included all resources in PPT, Word and PDF formats. Please check current list of NEAs with AQA and note that information, guidance, support and resources are available from AQA.

This very nicely presented unit of work is based on Sean Tan’s graphic novel ‘The Arrival’. It consists of 14 lessons which guide students through the novel chapter by chapter. It is discussion based and there are lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion with thinking points and scaffolds to support. It teaches students how to analyse images closely looking at aspects such as layout, character illustrations and colour. Written outcomes include creative responses as well as a final, analytical piece which can be formally assessed. There are also opportunities to read real and fascinating accounts from immigrants across the globe and consider how these help our understanding of the family’s story in ‘The Arrival’. All PPTs and lesson resources are included as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes based on my experience of teaching this unit. Please note that all files are in PDF format.

Seamus Heaney’s ‘An Advancement of Learning’ This short unit is designed to introduce and explore Seamus Heaney’s poem as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. It includes a very nicely presented 42 slide teaching PPT as well as all 18 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how you could deliver the unit. Outcomes include an analytical PETAL paragraph which can be extended into a longer essay using the structure provided. Please note that the teaching PPT and all resources are in pdf format. You might also like: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’

** POETRY – Seamus Heaney’s ‘Mid-Term Break’** This unit will enable students to explore Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Mid-Term Break’ in a creative and engaging way as well as develop their ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. Following work on how to write analytical paragraphs and embed quotes, outcomes include an analytical PETAL paragraph which can be extended into a longer essay using the structure provided. This unit includes a very nicely presented 39 slide teaching PPT as well as all 16 classroom resources for students and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how you can deliver the unit. Please note that all resources are in PDF format. You may also like the following poetry units: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’

English Teaching Poetry Unit: Seamus Heaney’s 'Digging’ This short unit is designed to introduce and explore Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Digging’ as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. It includes a very nicely presented 30 slide teaching PPT as well as all 12 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how you can deliver the unit. Outcomes include an analytical PETAL paragraph which could be extended into a longer essay using the structure provided. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all resources are provided in pdf format and units on other Heaney poems are available. These include ‘Follower’, ‘Storm on the Island’, ‘Mid-term Break’ and 'An Advancement of Learning. You might also like: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Follower’

English Teaching Poetry Unit: Ted Hughes 'Hawk Roosting’ This highly engaging unit is designed to introduce and explore Ted Hughes’ poem ‘Hawk Roosting’ as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. It includes a very nicely presented 40 slide teaching PPT as well as all 15 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how you can deliver the unit. Outcomes include an analytical PETAL paragraph which could be extended into a longer essay using the structure provided and a comparative essay as an optional extension activity. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all resources are in pdf format. You may also like the following poetry units: You might also like: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’

**Poetry Unit - William Blake’s ‘London’ ** This engaging unit is designed to introduce and explore William Blake’s poem ‘London’ in detail including analysis of form, structure and language. It will also help develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific paragraph structure which can be applied to any extended response to literature. It is ideal for students studying the AQA Anthology. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all files are in pdf format. You might also like: Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’

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. You might also like: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’

POETRY – Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ This short unit is designed to introduce and explore Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Storm on the Island’’ as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. It includes a very nicely presented 24 slide teaching PPT as well as all 10 student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how you could deliver the unit. Outcomes include an analytical PETAL paragraph which could be extended into a longer essay using the structure provided. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all files are in pdf format. You might also like: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’

Teaching Poetry - Wilfred Owen’s 'Exposure’ This short unit is designed to introduce and explore Wilfred Owen’s First World War poem ‘Exposure’ as well as develop students’ ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. It explores ideas such as writer’s purpose as well as the effect of key poetic devices including language and structural devices. This unit is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. Outcomes include a detailed analytical paragraph which could be extended into a longer essay using the structure provided. The download includes a very nicely presented 37 slide teaching PPT as well as all nine student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes explaining how you could approach the unit. I have also included a free self-study professional development unit on teaching poetry. Please note that all resources are in pdf format. You might also like: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Digging’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’

English Skills: Vivid Verbs, Amazing Adjectives and Adventurous Adverbs This is a highly engaging and enjoyable series of lessons which helps to develop key skills including vivid verbs, amazing adjectives and adventurous adverbs in an interactive way. It can be taught as a weekly or fortnightly skills lesson to a Year 6 or Year 7 group and culminates in a piece of descriptive writing. I have used it this term with my lower ability Year 7 group and had some lovely writing from them. A teaching PPT and accompanying resources are included. You may also like: ENGLISH SKILLS: Improving Grammar and Punctuation- Starter lessons English Key Stage 3: Creative Writing Unit for Years 7-8

This unit of work is designed to help prepare students for Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Language with particular focus on Component 2 or 3 Imaginative writing. It explores descriptive and narrative writing within the context of gothic fiction, looking at good models of texts and exploring successful features before moving to students composing their own creative pieces. This unit is built around the topic of Gothic fiction and is designed to last 6-8 weeks depending on how many lessons you have per week. It is structured in a way that introduces students to excellent style models of gothic fiction and builds writing skills through short-burst writing activities before moving towards extended written responses. The superbly presented 104 slide teaching PPT is included in PPT and PDF format with all 19 resources in PDF. Please contact me on roseandmay2@virginmedia.com if you would like any resource in another format.

This highly engaging unit of work is designed to help prepare students for the Cambridge IGCSE First Language English 0500 with particular focus on building skills in descriptive and narrative writing within the context of gothic fiction. This style of creative response is relevant to Cambridge IGCSE Paper 2 Section B Composition where students are given a choice of descriptive and narrative tasks or Component 3 Coursework Portfolio assignment 2 ‘writing to describe’ and assignment 3 ‘writing to narrate’. This unit is built around the topic of Gothic fiction and is designed to last 6-8 weeks depending on how many lessons you have per week. It includes a superbly presented 108 slide teaching PPT as well as all 19 student resources and a detailed set of teacher’s notes. It is structured in a way that introduces students to excellent style models of gothic fiction such as ‘Dracula’, ‘The Woman in Black’ and ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ and builds writing skills through short-burst writing activities before producing their extended descriptive and narrative pieces. Please note that the teaching PPT is in both PDF and PPT formats - as these are large files I’ve added the PPT in two parts as well. Other resources are in pdf - please e-mail roseandmay2@virginmedia.com if you would like me to send any resources in a different format. You may also like: 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.

AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit Welcome to the world of fast and fair fashion! This half-termly unit is built around the Step Up topic of Style and is designed to prepare students for their AQA Step Up to English Component 1 Literacy topics assessment. It is aimed mainly at Gold award candidates however it is also applicable to those doing the Silver award if, like me, you have candidates doing both awards in the same class. It is designed to ensure students develop the skills necessary to complete the assessment tasks which include two speaking and listening tasks as well as responses to reading and a longer piece of writing. It includes a nicely presented 50 slide teaching PPT (in editable PPT and PDF formats) with lots of engaging activities and extracts from a range of texts including a fashion blog, a feature article and an instructional piece. All 12 student resources are included in pdf and word formats as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes explaining how I have used them with my own Step Up classes. Please check current list of NEAs with AQA and note that information, guidance, support and resources are available from AQA. More Step Up to English Resources Complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes and can be found at: RoseandMay’s TES English Classroom Resources New individual units: AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit You may also like: AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit

AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 CRIME Unit Welcome to the murky world of Victorian child crime and pickpockets! This half-termly unit is built around the Step Up topic of Crime and is designed to prepare students for their AQA Step Up to English Component 2 Creative Reading and Writing assessment. It is aimed mainly at Gold award candidates however it is also applicable to those doing the Silver award if, like me, you have candidates doing both awards in the same class. It includes a nicely presented 79 slide teaching PPT (in editable PPT and PDF formats) with lots of engaging activities and both fiction and non-fiction extracts to ensure students develop the skills necessary to complete the assessment tasks for reading and writing. This includes four extracts from Roald Dahl’s ‘The Hitchhiker’, none of which appear in the actual Gold assessment - you may wish to watch the short film version to give a sense of the whole story. The writing section includes sections on good story openings, writing dialogue, creating character, narrative voice and varying sentences. All 21 resources with all texts and student resources are included in pdf and word format as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes explaining how I have used the resources. Please check current list of NEAs with AQA and note that information, guidance, support and resources are available from AQA. More Step Up to English Resources Complete courses and individual teaching units on all component 1 and 2 topics are available. They include teaching PPTs, all student resources and a set of detailed teacher’s notes and can be found at: RoseandMay’s TES English Classroom Resources New individual units: AQA Step Up to English: Component 1 STYLE Unit You may also like: AQA Step Up to English: Grammar and Punctuation Starters AQA Step Up to English: Component 2 Creative Writing Unit

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.

Australian curriculum-aligned resource - Narrative and Descriptive Writing for Years 6-7 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 6-7 class. A well 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. I enjoyed teaching this unit and hope you do too.

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 English teaching unit is built around the topic of volunteering and teaches key skills relating to speaking and listening, responding to texts and writing. It is designed for a Junior Cycle Year 2 class but could be used with other year groups depending on ability. It covers skills such as discussing and presenting, explores texts including posters, on-line information texts and adverts with students exploring key features before completing an analytical response. The writing section helps students to plan and complete a formal letter of application and an argumentative essay. A well-presented 56 slide teaching PPT is included in PDF format as are all nine student resources in both Word and PDF format and a set of detailed teacher notes. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit. Junior Cycle Learning Outcomes include: Spoken Language Know and use the conventions of oral language interaction, in a variety of contexts, including class groups, for a range of purposes. Deliver a short oral text using appropriate language, style and visual content for specific audiences. Writing Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing. Write for a variety of purposes, e.g writing to analyse and to argue. Write competently in a range of text forms, for example formal letter. Reading Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts, including digital texts. Use an appropriate critical vocabulary while responding to texts. Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words, vocabulary and language patterns, and images, as appropriate to the text.