This highly engaging unit of work is designed to help prepare students to complete an extended piece of narrative or descriptive writing. I designed it with my own lower attaining class in mind. It supports students in developing some of the key skills required to write their own creative pieces such as writing effective openings, writing dialogue, varying sentences, creating characters and planning responses. It supports and leads them towards a creative writing task (either narrative or descriptive) 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. I have also included extra creative writing tasks based on images. Common Core Standards include CCS CCRA W.3,W.4,W.5 I hope you enjoy teaching the unit as much as I did. Best wishes, RoseandMay

This highly engaging, relevant and carefully designed unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for responding to and writing non-fiction texts. It is built around the idea of preparing for the world of further education or work. There are three sections: Speaking and Listening – preparation for a discussion and presentation task Reading section – exploring and responding to three different non-fiction texts - a news report, a college prospectus and web pages Writing section – covers writing a personal statement and a formal e-mail This unit includes a 71 slide teaching PPT as well as a detailed set of teacher’s notes and all 15 student resources. I hope you and your students enjoy the unit.

This unit prepares students for the OCR GCSE English Language spoken presentation. The unit guides students through the process by looking at aspects of effective presentations such as openings, rhetorical devices, endings, use of cue cards to structure a talk, delivery and responding to questions. Strategies include exploring good examples of talks as well as group discussions and opportunities to try out a variety of strategies. A 41 slide teaching PPT is included as well as all seven student resources in both word and pdf formats. I hope you enjoy teaching this unit.

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 Grade 7-8 class. A beautifully 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. Common Core Standards include: CCRA SL1, W3,4,5, R4 I enjoyed teaching this unit and hope you do too.

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 unit is specifically designed for English teachers who wish to develop their teaching of Shakespeare in the secondary or upper primary classroom. It takes you through a range of active approaches including practical drama activities to promote engagement with the themes, characters and ideas of the plays as well as suggestions for writing creatively about Shakespeare. This unit will support you in developing a repertoire of teaching strategies which you can apply to any of Shakespeare’s plays. They are based on the principles of ‘Active Shakespeare’ and includes lots of activities and advice which will help make the learning both enjoyable and effective. It includes tasks and opportunities for personal reflection and is ideal for teachers preparing to teach a Shakespeare play.

This is a self-study Professional Development unit for Early Career Teachers. As teachers, committed to pupil progress and well-being, we want to create classrooms which provide a thriving and welcoming environment. This is an area where your actions can make a difference as a positive classroom rooted in mutual trust and respect can have as significant impact on the learning. This self study unit explores practical ways in which you can achieve this and ideas which you can try out immediately with your own classes.

This self-study professional development unit is designed for English teachers and departments who wish to develop their practice in relation to teaching the whole class novel. It is a self study unit which includes lots of practical ideas for the high school or secondary classroom as well as opportunities for reflection and activities to help translate what you have learned into practice. The unit covers how to choose and introduce the novel, improve reading fluency, develop key reading skills, write about the novel and integrate engaging drama approaches. It is ideal for those preparing to teach the class novel to grades 6-10. Please note this has also been published as a mobile learning unit by Pearsons.

This unit is specifically designed for English teachers who wish to develop their teaching of Shakespeare in middle or high school. It takes you through a range of active approaches including practical drama activities to promote engagement with the themes, characters and ideas of the plays as well as suggestions for writing creatively about Shakespeare. This unit will support you in developing a repertoire of teaching strategies which you can apply to any of Shakespeare’s plays. They are based on the principles of ‘active Shakespeare’ and includes lots of activities and advice which will help make the learning both enjoyable and effective. It includes tasks and opportunities for personal reflection and is ideal for teachers preparing to teach a Shakespeare play.

This unit is aimed at English teachers and departments who wish to develop their practice in relation to teaching narrative and descriptive writing. It is a self study unit which includes lots of practical ideas for the Middle and High School classroom as well as opportunities for reflection and activities to help translate what you have learned into practice. The unit covers approaches to teaching key elements of narrative and descriptive writing including planning, structure, sentences and vocabulary as well as specific techniques such as ‘show not tell’. It is an ideal unit for an English teacher preparing to teach creative writing to a class.

This highly engaging unit guides students to delivering an individual spoken presentation on a topic of their choice for the Junior Cycle English Oral Communication Classroom-based Assessment. It guides students through the process by looking at aspects of effective presentations such as openings, rhetorical devices, endings, use of cue cards to structure a talk, delivery and responding to questions. Strategies include exploring good examples of talks as well as group discussions and opportunities to try out a variety of techniques. Students then research, plan, and rehearse their talks before delivering their presentations to the class. A nicely presented 43 slide PPT is included as well as all seven student resources in both word and pdf formats. I hope you enjoy teaching this unit. Best wishes, RoseandMay

This engaging and enjoyable unit of work is designed to help build the skills necessary for success in both group discussions and in making a presentation to the class. 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 activities, a ‘meeting’ in which students discuss setting up a series of lunchtime clubs for other students followed by an individual presentation in which students showcase their own plans for a school club. I have included a set of detailed teacher’s notes, a well-presented 44 slide teaching PPT and all student resources in both word and pdf format. I hope your students enjoy taking part in this unit. Junior Cycle Learning Outcomes include: Know and use the conventions of oral language interaction, in a variety of contexts, including class groups, for a range of purposes, such as asking for information, stating an opinion, listening to others, informing, explaining, arguing, persuading. Engage actively and responsively within class groups in order to listen to or recount experiences and to express feelings and ideas. Listen actively in order to get the gist of an account or presentation noting its main points and purpose. Deliver a short oral text, alone and/or in collaboration with others, using appropriate language, style and visual content for specific audiences and chosen purposes. 7.Choose appropriate language, style and visual content for specific audiences and chosen purposes.

Creative Writing and Reading - Gothic Horror Unit This highly engaging and enjoyable 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 Gothic Horror with lots of activities and great texts to help students develop key reading skills such as inference and comparison as well as key writing skills such as opening a story, writing direct speech, using narrative voice and varying sentences. Texts include extracts from non-fiction and fiction including W W Jacobs’ ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ and information texts on the London Burkers (body snatchers!) All 12 student resources are included in word and pdf formats as well as a nicely presented 50 slide teaching PPT and a set of detailed teacher’s notes. I hope you enjoy teaching the unit. Junior Cycle Learning Outcomes include: Reading 3. Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts. 4. Use an appropriate critical vocabulary while responding to literary texts. 8. Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words. Writing Demonstrate their understanding that there is a clear purpose for all writing activities and be able to plan, draft, re-draft, and edit their own writing as appropriate Write for a variety of purposes, for example to imagine. Engage with and learn from models of oral and written language use to enrich their own written work. Use and apply their knowledge of language structures, for example sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar, to make their writing a richer experience.

This half-termly unit is based on the idea of a media campaign with a focus on healthy living. It seeks to develop a range of skills including discussing and presenting, exploring and responding to a range of texts including advertising posters and a feature article as well as writing both analytically and creatively. It is ideal for a First Year English class but could equally be used for a Second Year class depending on ability. A very well-presented teaching PPT is included as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all seven students resources in both word and pdf formats. Junior Cycle Learning Outcomes include: Oral 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 and chosen purposes. Reading Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts, including digital texts. Read their texts to understand and appreciate language enrichment by examining an author’s choice of words, vocabulary, language patterns, and images. Writing Write for a variety of purposes, for example to analyse, engage, inform, explain and persuade. Write competently in a range of text forms, specifically a blog, using appropriate vocabulary and tone.

This unit is aimed at English teachers and departments who wish to develop their practice in relation to teaching narrative and descriptive writing. It is a self study unit which includes lots of practical ideas for the secondary or upper primary classroom as well as opportunities for reflection and activities to help translate what you have learned into practice. The unit covers approaches to teaching key elements of narrative and descriptive writing including planning, structure, sentences and vocabulary as well as specific techniques such as ‘show not tell’. It is an ideal unit for an English teacher preparing to teach creative writing to a Key Stage 3 or GCSE class.

This self-study unit offers support and guidance in teaching the speaking and listening component of English entry level courses in an interesting and engaging way, helping to ensure your programmes of study and lessons are relevant, motivating and develop the key skills necessary for success at this level. It is full of practical teaching approaches to key aspects of speaking and listening including group work, role-play and teaching the individual presentation - it is relevant to all exam boards.

This self-study CPD unit will explore and develop practical strategies to help pupils access and interact with texts in a way that supports thinking skills and develops reading comprehension. The strategies covered are cross curricular in nature, promote a collaborative approach to reading text and are aimed at secondary and upper primary pupils. Please note this unit has also been published by Pearsons as part of a mobile learning platform.

Speaking and listening activities in the classroom are an important part of the learning process, helping to develop key communication skills required not only at school but also by colleges and employers. In the classroom, this will involve pupils participating in whole-class discussion, group work (with perhaps three or four pupils working together), paired work and in making individual presentations to the class. By promoting inclusion, teaching assistants can have a major impact on the success of these activities and a pupil’s learning outcomes. In this unit you will explore a range of activities which help you consider how best to support the teacher in explicitly teaching about spoken language and developing a pupils’ critical thinking skills and confidence as participants. This resource has also been published by Pearsons as a mobile CPD app.

Intervention is, and always has been, a significant issue for schools but is particularly pertinent at the present time given recent and significant disruption to children’s education. This unit has been developed to support senior staff in thinking about their current provision for under performing pupils and to help them action plan a whole-school approach to intervention designed to support those who have been identified as underachieving and who are at risk of not fulfilling their potential.