This resource is suitable for KS4 assessments as part of timed essay writing skills and exam preparation in lessons. It can also be used with KS3 classes if you want to prepare them for the GCSE exam process too. It is adapted to AQA’s Literature and Language programmes of study connected to the new 2 year linear course of study.

A quick and easy way to give VERY SPECIFIC feedback without copious amounts of writing. Simply glue the sheet in under the student’s work. Tick the relevant criteria, set targets quickly and ensure the student has read your marking by getting them respond to in the student response section. This assessment sheet is ideal for marking drafts and final copies of exam preparation essays. It can be used with KS3 and KS4. It corresponds with the FAR marking policy = Feedback - Action -Response. i.e. Stage 1: The teacher gives FEEDBACK using very specific criteria which should be shared with students before the assessment takes place. Stage 2: The teacher uses the criteria to specify which ACTIONS the student needs to take to get to the next grade. Stage 3: The student writes a written RESPONSE to the teacher’s comments about the ACTIONS required to reach the next stage. It’s very useful for showing progress, communicating attainment on HW or timed (in class) essays that form part of exam preparation revision.

For use in any department. Suitable for NQTs or new HODs who might not have a resource bank at hand. The pack includes: • Peer Assessment WWW and EBI (with tick/cross SPaG grid) • Individual Learning Plan templates with suggested targets (for the front of exercise books • Improving spelling grid at the end of each half term • Student Voice Survey x 2 • Termly Target Setting Sheet (including Teacher’s Comment section) • SWOT analysis template

A quick and easy way to give VERY SPECIFIC feedback without copious amounts of writing. Simply glue the sheet in under the student’s work. Tick the relevant criteria, set targets quickly and ensure the student has read your marking by getting them respond to in the student response section. This assessment sheet is ideal for marking drafts and final copies of exam preparation essays. It corresponds with the FAR marking policy - Feedback - Action -Response. i.e. Stage 1: The teacher gives FEEDBACK using very specific criteria which should be shared with students before the assessment takes place. Stage 2: The teacher uses the criteria to specify which ACTIONS the student needs to take to get to the next grade. Stage 3: The student writes a written RESPONSE to the teacher’s comments about the ACTIONS required to reach the next stage. It’s very useful for showing progress, communicating attainment on HW or timed (in class) essays that form part of exam preparation revision.

Good handwriting is important. If teachers cannot read what a student has written in their books or on test papers, they will not be able to mark the pupils’ work accurately. That could mean losing some marks in exams and low self-esteem. Tests are already challenging enough! Plus, if a student’s handwriting is difficult to read, it is tough for teachers to tell if a student is meeting basic literacy criteria. **Who is this resource for? ** Students with poor handwriting **What’s included and why is it useful? ** There are two self assessment (student-focussed) activities that are designed to get students thinking about the impact of their handwriting and there is a practice section that follows on from a ‘tips’ section too. Links to curricula, standards or specifications? Learning English, English lessons, Literacy Support lessons

What is the purpose of this resource? To enable pupils to immerse themselves confidently in reading by teaching them how to process subject matter as they read and equipping them with the tools to assimilate the text’s content Why would I want to use this resource? To enable pupils to become competent readers that: Engage fully with a text at the word and sentence level and use that information to make sense of the text’s composition and its effect on the reader; Recognise and understand that texts comply with generic structures, and as a result, are created for particular purposes and have identifiable audiences; Appreciate that a reader’s interpretation of a text depends on their life experiences and also any previous reading experiences that they can bring to the table; Comprehend that texts are structured in specific ways to convey meaning, and that over time, regular readers will be able to perceive and predict these generic patterns – even in unfamiliar texts; Understand the importance and impact of textual features such as pictures, font types, layout and the semantic field (i.e. the author’s specific choice of language); Ask questions of all texts before, during and after reading.

Purpose: To gauge student progress and to generate enthusiasm for a topic by using personal reflection to demonstrate overtly to students how they have benefited from a learning task Why would I want to use this resource? This is great tool for introducing a topic. The slides are constructed to reveal explicitly to students how their learning is developing through the practice of different skills. If pupils are taught to perceive the connection between their progression and their unique learning style, they are likely to engage more deeply with the learning context and curriculum. Thus, using a purposeful teaching tool like “Strategic Thinking Plenaries and Starters” exposes students to the benefits of each topic/lesson. My suggestion is that the teacher use one slide at the end of each lesson (or at the end of every second lesson if they see a class more than 3 times a week) for the first two weeks of a new topic to demonstrate explicitly to students the thinking skills they will be developing as the content is taught. Also, a slide could be used as a mini plenary in the middle of a lesson (or as a consolidating task at the end of the starter) when the teacher needs to show clearly that the students have benefited from the activities the teacher has facilitated. In this sense, a teacher could use more than one slide in any lesson What is the Purpose of this Resource? This set of slides is based on strategic thinking skills using the acronym RESPECT, which itself is a new perspective that improves the quality of academic dialogue between teachers and pupils. It also empowers students to participate in the topic/lesson by strengthening communication across the curriculum. It is inspired by the paradigm of “Learning to Learn”. Thus, the focus is placed not on students simply doing something because a teacher tells them to; it’s built on creating lifelong, enthusiastic learners who want to commit to scholarship in the classroom. The emphasis is on refining the classroom ethos and linking life at school to the world of work ( i.e. the connection between soft skills and curriculum content) Overall, RESPECT (see below) is a tool that enriches the learning experience. The RESPECT acronym means: R - resilience E - expectations S – scanning P - pace E – entrepreneurial C – collaboration T – three mistakes a day or you’re not trying

These classroom posters are designed to improve the quality of student -teacher dialogue in a learning environment. They’re based on the RESPECT acronym which describes 7 behaviours of highly successful people: R - resilience E - expectations S - scanning P - pace E - entrepreneurial C - collaboration T - three mistakes or you’re not trying They can be printed of at any size (including A4 or A5 for diaries or exercise books).

Here are 20 tried and tested starters, plenaries and mini-plenaries that are ready to go. Please note they are suitable for any curriculum area at Key Stage Three and Key Stage Four and even Primary School lessons . All you have to do is transfer them to your own Powerpoint or IWB presentations. Some need you to add a statement to one or two, or add the heading of your lesson or the date.

This ppt contains 16 plenaries. Each slide develops the students’ ability to reflect and draw on different thinking skills. Inspired by HOM and the Learning to Learn paradigm.

This is an interesting poem that seems to capture pupils’ attention because it is so different. It is also a springboard into eulogies and obituaries. It contains: a starter the lesson plan (i.e. the sequence of the slides) the poem AQA criteria scaffolding in the form of sentence tags for extended answers and also linking verbs for analysis a model answer to apply the AQA criteria to a plenary and a Bloom’s inspired activity at the end The students read, deconstruct the archaic language then write about the poem in 30 mins. They then assess the AQA criteria against a model answer. Tried and tested. Great with Year 10 or 11. It could also be used with Year 9

This lesson uses Youtube clips as models of persuasive speaking conneted to Room 101. It is suitable for KS3 and KS4. It includes: a starter a plenary 2 x models (Room 101) Peer Assessment sheet Criteria sheet HW task

A quick and easy way to give VERY SPECIFIC feedback without copious amounts of writing. Simply glue the sheet in under the student’s work. Tick the relevant criteria, set targets quickly and ensure the student has read your marking by getting them respond to in the student response section. This assessment sheet is ideal for marking drafts and final copies of exam preparation essays. It can be used with KS3 and KS4. It corresponds with the FAR marking policy = Feedback - Action -Response. i.e. Stage 1: The teacher gives FEEDBACK using very specific criteria which should be shared with students before the assessment takes place. Stage 2: The teacher uses the criteria to specify which ACTIONS the student needs to take to get to the next grade. Stage 3: The student writes a written RESPONSE to the teacher’s comments about the ACTIONS required to reach the next stage. It’s very useful for showing progress, communicating attainment on HW or timed (in class) essays that form part of exam preparation revision.

This resource provides you with the long term plan for teaching the new 2015 AQA English Language and English Literature Specs. This is a good starting point for new HOD or experienced ones looking for a new learning plan for the transition from Year 9 into KS4. Each plan provides teachers with a schedule of what to study each term and includes language and literature ideas. All that is need is are the SOW. I hope they help!

This booklet accompanies the Detective Fiction SOW on my page. It contains extracts to be read in lessons and HW tasks for the SOW

PLEASE NOTE: this lesson can be bought and used in isolation or as part of a bundle for sale on my TES Author’s Page. This lesson contains: 2 HWs A lesson starter Worksheets (using written and visual stimulation) A Plenary The goal of the lesson is to get students thinking about the following persuasive skills: Repetition; Rhyme; Humour Punning (play-on-words); Hyperbole (exaggeration); Metaphors/similes; Commands (e.g. telling people what to do

This resource is for an advanced KS3 class or a KS4 class. This ppt includes: A starter A plenary All lesson tasks - including a writing task Please note, you’ll need to Google a copy of the poem.

This is a very useful resource for building up your students’ poetry analysis skills. It can be used in the following ways: group work (cover work) group work leading to a group presentation of an unseen poem Individual preparation for a timed essay Homework Class discussion It is suitable for KS3 and KS4.

This lesson contains: a starter a plenary a model criteria HW task an essay structure presented in stages

This resource is for a KS4 or a KS3 class. The ppt contains: A starter A plenary All learning activities A HW task Please note you will need to google a copy of the poem.