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’

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.

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 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.

This unit is specifically designed for English teachers who wish to develop their teaching of poetry in the secondary or upper primary classroom. It takes you through a wide range of practical, active approaches to promote engagement with poetry as well as ways of developing pupils’ own poetry writing. It includes tasks and opportunities for personal reflection and is ideal for teachers preparing to teach poetry in the English classroom. This unit has also been published by Pearsons as part of a CPD mobile learning platform.

This engaging and fully resourced unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for tacking the AQA Functional Skills Level 2 English exam paper. It is built around the topic of Leisure. There are three sections: Reading section – exploration of three different non-fiction texts Writing section – culminates in an assessed piece of work This includes a 47 slide teaching PPT as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all 9 resources in both word and pdf formats. Tasks and texts are relevant and engaging and ideal preparation for the Level 2 exam. Questions welcome - roseandmay2@virginmedia.com

This highly engaging and carefully designed unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for tacking the AQA Functional Skills Level 2 English exam paper. It is built around the idea of preparing for the world of college or work. There are three sections: Speaking and Listening – preparation for the discussion and presentation task Reading section – exploration of three different non-fiction texts Writing section – covers writing a personal statement and a formal e-mail - culminates in a assessed piece of work This includes a 73 slide teaching PPT as well as a detailed set of detailed teacher’s notes and all 15 resources in both word and pdf formats. Tasks, activities and non-fiction texts are relevant and engaging and ideal preparation for the Level 2 exam. I hope you and your students enjoy the unit. Questions welcome - roseandmay2@virginmedia.com

This engaging and fully resourced unit of work is designed to teach some of the key skills required for tacking the AQA Functional Skills Level 2 English exam paper. It is built around the topic of the climate crisis. There are two sections: Reading section – exploration of three different non-fiction texts including a letter, web pages and a blog. Writing section – focus on writing a speech and a blog and culminates in an assessed piece of work. This includes a 61 slide teaching PPT as well as a set of detailed teacher’s notes and all 13 resources in both word and pdf formats. Tasks and texts are relevant and engaging and ideal preparation for the Level 2 exam. Questions welcome - roseandmay2@virginmedia.com

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.

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: Seamus Heaney’s 'Follower’ This short GCSE unit is designed to introduce and explore Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Follower’ 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 32 slide teaching PPT as well as all 16 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. Please note that all resources are provided in PPT and Word as well as pdf format. Ideal for GCSE Anthology study. 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’

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.

English Teaching Poetry Unit: Carol Ann Duffy 'War Photographer’ Perfect for teaching the AQA Poetry Anthology ‘Power and Conflict’ cluster, this short unit explores Duffy’s ‘War Photographer’ and develops students’ ability to write analytically using a specific, taught paragraph structure. It is collaborative in nature with lots of opportunities for paired, group and class discussion. It includes a well presented 41 slide teaching PPT as well as all 13 student resources and a set of detailed teacher 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 and a comparative essay as an extension activity. Please note that all resources are in both Word and pdf formats with the teaching Powerpoint in PPT and pdf formats. You might also like: William Blake’s ‘London’ Seamus Heaney’s ‘Storm on the Island’ Wilfred Owen’s ‘Exposure’ Ted Hughes’ ‘Hawk Roosting’

This short sequence of lessons is designed to help GCSE students revise descriptive writing in the run-up to the GCSE Paper 1 exam. After a reminder of AQA’s exam requirements and revising key literary techniques, they will explore two models of good texts (‘Edgar Sawtelle’ and ‘Mosquito Coast’) and identify successful features before moving to composing their own based on a choice of two tasks and using the box planning method. This is an excellent method to help them plan in the exam itself. It comes with a fully editable PPT and all five resources as well as a set of notes for teachers.

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.