A PowerPoint and resources to introduce the idea of annotating poetry to upper KS3 and all KS4. This allows whole-class annotation followed by peer work and answering questions to aid understanding. Both poems are freely available on the internet - just look for 'Mirror' by Sylvia Plath and 'Mid-Term Break' by Seamus Heaney.

A PowerPoint and activity around the idea of instruction writing. Students are asked to identify why instructions are important and what instructions they have followed - always interesting to see how many realise they are following instruction 95% of the time! The activities concern household chores, so hopefully all students can identify with them.

These activities have been created for groups of KS3 (and LA KS4) to give the students a challenge at the end of term. I like that they take time to do, when doing them properly. These activities are not like the usual Christmas activities, so the students really engage with them also!

A sheet of questions designed to prompt students to examine articles in more detail. This activity could be easily adapted for lower ability groups, purely by adding examples and more structure. ***Articles/Adverts not included***

Two assessment pieces designed to assess the reading skills of higher ability Yr9 students. However, the poems used can be given to KS4 students as a pre-exam revision task also. The task is designed to assess all elements of reading skills. *The poems being assessed by these questions can be downloaded via the internet for free.

This PowerPoint and revision sheet can be used by students as both an introduction to the types of questions they will be faced with in their Language exam, or as a revision tool at any point in their course. Both resources explain the different types of questions that are used in exams, and the PowerPoint gives students the opportunity to 'have a go' at each question style. Included in the pack is a breakdown of information contained in each slide and some answers to help those new to the course/exam structure.

The first in a Unit on Charles Dickens, looking at the first quarter of his short story, 'The Signalman'. This resource contains the story, and questions about the first two sections, with accompanying teacher notes to support.

Questions and activities for a Unit on Charles Dickens short story 'The Signalman.' This set of questions focusses on lines 91-183.

A set of cryptograms, designed to accompany the reading of the story of 'Of Mice and Men' or be used to support student revision of the novel. The cryptograms are designed to give a brief synopsis of a chapter, and the idea that the student needs to identify the missing letters really helps them to focus on reading what is written. This is a great way of helping students to retain information.

This resource is based on the novel Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, and should be used before starting reading the book. It allows students to pre-empt the story and understand the importance of a cover and blurb.

An extract from the novel with comprehension questions attached. The questions range in skills from literal to more explorative, and can be easily adapted for any ability range. ***The copyright belongs to John Boyne.***

An activity designed to enable students to explore the language of Shakespeare and identify the modern-day equivalents of certain phrases from Act 1 Scene 2 of the play. Students are then required to answer a question exploring the relationship between the different characters. Easily adaptable for students of different abilities and ages. *** All quotes from the play are the intellectual property of William Shakespeare***

A set of key skills cards designed to be a one-stop-shop for students preparing for the WJEC* GCSE English Language exam. Can be used separately as a revision prompt, or made into a booklet, which students can write notes in, alongside the rules and pointers. *This resource is easily adaptable for other exam boards, as many of the skills will be either the same, or similar.

A PowerPoint designed to inform students as to the requirements and key criteria for the new Edexcel (9-1) Speaking and Listening Element. From this, students can easily go on to plan and prepare for their presentation. * The task details can be easily changed or adapted depending on the ability of the group or a specific school policy on S&L at GCSE.

The second set of resources for a Unit on Malorie Blackman's novel 'Noughts and Crosses'. Included within this are a PowerPoint of activities and a student resource, all set for them to use as an independent learning tool. Teacher Notes are also included.

A set of five novel extracts (all copyrights to the authors) from classic fiction to exam board favourites, each with their key punctuation marks missing. The tasks are easily adaptable, and answers are included.

A set of resources to help students revise their descriptive writing skills. With a task, specimen answer and the FT grade descriptors included, the students can really grasp what an examiner will be looking for.

A newspaper article and questions based on the event of the Escape from Alcatraz. Designed for GCSE students, studying 9-1 GCSE, the non-fiction element. Answers are included also.

An activity to review and test students understanding of a story. Using Harry Potter allows the students to connect to a well known text. ***The extract is copyright of J.K Rowling.

A basic PowerPoint explaining what, when and how to use paragraphs in writing. The PowerPoint also demonstrates a method for planning a paragraph and a task for students to demonstrate their understanding.