This interesting and engaging lesson enables students to know what colons and semi-colons are and when they should be used, to understand the effect of colons and semi-colons in the writing of others, and to use subtle and appropriate colons and semi-colons in their own writing. Over the course of their learning journey, students: - Define and exemplify what colons and semi-colons are; - Identify where colons and semi-colons should be placed in writing; - Place colons and semi-colons into unpunctuated sentences correctly; - Analyse the effect of colons and semi-colons upon sentences and wider texts; - Use colons and semi-colons accurately and with subtlety in their own writing; - Peer and self assess each other’s writing attempts. The resources include: -Visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint; -Placing Colons and Semi-colons’ worksheet (and teacher answer sheet); -A model example of a colon and semi-colon filled piece of writing for analysis; -Helpful and comprehensive step-by-step lesson plan. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final page of the slide.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills, whilst enabling them to gain a deeper understanding of climate change, through reading an informative and age-appropriate non-fiction text. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The age-appropriate reading text is produced by NASA kids - it has been downloaded as a PDF and is included in the resource pack, and the link for the source is also provided on the first slide of the PowerPoint presentation. The session is best suited for children in KS2 (particularly years 3-4), although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills through a reading of an opening extract of Hannah Gold’s 'The Last Bear.’ The resource pack includes the extract and all of the activities for the session, which the class are guided through via a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation. The reading is followed by a series of activities aiming to develop children’s retrieval, explanation, inference, prediction and summarising skills. It also contains a vocabulary check immediately after the extract is read to clarify any unfamiliar/ difficult language. The tasks are comprised of quick-check questions, solo thinking, pair/ group discussions and deeper thinking activities. The text for reading is hyperlinked at the bottom of the first slide. The session is best suited for children in lower KS2. I originally used this with Year 3-4 children, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups. The session is also suitable for home/ remote learning.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make precise and perceptive interpretations of the character of Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre. Through close analysis of specific extracts from the text, students develop an understanding of how Bertha fits the conventions of a quintessential ‘gothic monster’, and also explore her position as a prime example of the ‘Other’ in Victorian society. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which students learn through: Defining the key term ‘gothic novel’ and understanding the key conventions of gothic literature; Reading selected extracts from the text and answering comprehension questions considering Bertha Mason as fulfilling the role of the gothic monster; Considering ideas of the Victorian ‘Other’ and establishing how Bertha Mason recycles these ideas; Analysing how ideas of Bertha link to predominant 19th Century ideas about mental health and ethnicity; Using the knowledge they have gathered over the lesson to design and describe their own gothic monsters; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Bertha Mason worksheet; Selected extracts (from chapters 11, 20, and 26); Character profile template; Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. These resources were originally taught to GCSE students, but with subtle adaptations they have also been used with both younger and older (up to A Level) students. Worksheets are provided as word docs (so that you can edit) and PDFs (to protect formatting). All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to compose sophisticated, imaginative creative writing, through producing a first person account about competing in the opening stages of The Hunger Games. In order to do so, students first analyse the descriptive writing devices and sentence structures used by Suzanne Collins in Chapter 11 of The Hunger Games - the section in which the Hunger Games commence – before applying what they have learnt to their own compositions. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Defining each of the different types of descriptive devices, through playing a fun, interactive bingo game; Reading an extract from Chapter 11 of the text (provided) which describes the moments immediately before and after the Hunger Games commence; Identifying the language techniques used in the extract to paint an image of place in the minds of the readers, and to create the desired atmosphere; Analysing the effectiveness of each of Collins’ descriptive devices; Analysing the sentence structures and lengths employed by Collins in the extract; Creating their own first-person description of the horrific moments at the Cornucopia, before and after the Hunger Games begin; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Bingo Cards for the starter activity (and host instructions/ questions);’ Extract from Chapter 11 of The Hunger Games; Structure strips to support the descriptive writing; Writing to Describe Helpsheet to support the descriptive writing; Comprehensive Lesson Plan. All resources are provided in Word (for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure formatting remains fixed between different computers). There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 8 classes, however colleagues have used them for between years 5 and 10 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This stimulating and informative lesson aims to improve students’ ability to adapt the style of their writing to suit their audience and purpose. In particular, they attempt to meet the purpose of writing autobiographically. Students follow a clear and logical learning journey, in which they: -Define autobiographies and their key features; -Read extracts of autobiographies, and analyse the language techniques used; -Use independent learning skills to analyse an autobiography of their choice; -Create a success criteria for effective autobiography writing (although a ready-made success criteria is included) -Write a section of their own autobiography, using the techniques that they have learnt; -Peer/self-assess their autobiographical attempts. There are enough resources here really for two lessons, including: -Visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint; -Autobiography extract; -Analysing Autobiographies template; -Success Criteria; -Step-by-step lesson plan. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final page of the slide.

This engaging, comprehensive lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of Caleb Femi’s poem ‘Thirteen’ with particular focus upon the language, structure, and subject matter used within the poem. By the end of the lesson, students demonstrate their knowledge of the text analytically, through assured, appropriate, and sustained interpretations. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: -Securing contextual understanding of systemic racism, stop-and-searches, and other social factors that are addressed in the poem; -Reading and interpreting the poem, using a provided line-by-line analysis, and interactive group activities; -Developing their understanding through inferring and analysing key language and structural choices; -Analysing how Femi’s main themes and ideas are conveyed throughout the poem; Self/ Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: -Whole lesson PowerPoint - eye-catching and substantial (19 slides); -Copy of poem (freely available online); -Deeper thinking worksheet (utilising Bloom’s structured activities); -Analysis template with structure strip for creating well-organised responses; All resources are provided as both PDF ( (to ensure consistency of formatting between computers) and word documents (for easy editing - in the zip file). There are also opportunities for group learning, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. This was originally taught to middle-ability year 10 and 11 groups, but can easily be differentiated for groups of different ages and abilities.

This lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of one of the key scenes in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth – Act III Scene IV. In particular, they learn to make insightful interpretations about the changing nature of Macbeth’s tone throughout the scene, and are enabled to understand how this would have affected Shakespearean audiences. The lesson utilises a range of tasks, that require students to be visual and interactive learners. It follows this learning journey: - Defining the key term ‘tone’ and establishing its importance as a literary technique; - Understanding how tone is used to depict mood and attitude across a range of fiction; - Reading and interpreting Act 3 Scene 4, and establishing how Macbeth’s tone alters throughout; - Reflecting upon why this may/ what effect this may have had on audiences at the time; - Summarising the events of the scene; - Analysing Shakespeare’s intentions in sharply altering Macbeth’s tone throughout; - Peer/self evaluating the learning in the lesson. Included in this resource pack are: - A well-presented, thorough, and informative, whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - Resources for the reading and interpreting activity - full scene transcript with space for notes; - A template to help scaffold the main task, complete with P.E.E instructions; - Cards for the card sorting group activity - A comprehensive teacher guidance form/lesson plan to assist delivery. All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising George Orwell's 'Animal Farm.' It contains comprehensive sections on: - Context; - Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); - Main Characters; - Themes; - Features of Allegory; - 'The Power of Persuasion (in the speeches of Old Major and Squealer). Key words and ideas are underlined for easy reference. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for year 5 and 6 children when writing non-chronological reports. The organiser is also perfect for teachers, parents and English subject leaders - aiding their planning and supporting of children’s knowledge development for this writing text type. The organiser has a particular focus on the content, language and structural features required to write effective non-chronological reports at upper KS2. It contains distinct sections covering: -An Overview of Non-Chronological Reports; -Content: Title and Introduction, Main Body, Key Features to Include; -Language: Vocabulary Choices, Tone, Tense, Conjunctions, Cause and Effect Techniques, Adverbs, Conjunctions, Punctuation Checklist and Word Mat; -Structure - Paragraphs, Whole Text Cohesion, Images and other tips; -Key Vocabulary The content is fully aligned with the age-related expectations for upper KS2 children in writing. The resource is designed to be printed onto A3, and is provided as both a PDF and a Word version (so that you can edit if you want to). All images used are licensed for commercial use and are cited on a separate document (included).

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to understand how the lead protagonist of Suzanne Collins’ ‘The Hunger Games’ – Katniss Everdeen - develops as a character throughout the novel. In doing so, students learn how she develops and acquires the key skills, characteristics, beliefs, and values to become the complete dystopian heroine. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Comprehending how Katniss is initially introduced to the reader; Reading extracts from Chapters 3, 7 and 14 of The Hunger Games, identifying how Katniss’ character develops; Analysing how her character fits the role of the ‘Dystopian Hero/Heroine’, and matching her traits to the different features of this character form; Applying their understanding by creating their own Dystopian Hero/Heroine; Self assessing their learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;’ Extracts from The Hunger Games (from Chapters 3, 7, and 14); Character Profile for Katniss Everdeen; Blank Template for Creating a Dystopian Hero/Heroine; A comprehensive lesson plan; All resources are provided in Word (for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure formatting remains fixed between different computers). There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 8 classes, however colleagues have used them for between years 5 and 10 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Roald Dahl's 'The Witches.' Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS2 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework. Children love learning from these resources, whilst they are also of great use to teachers, as there is explicit information within each task regarding which comprehension strands the task is designed to demonstrate. They also relate to key extracts, characters, and themes from the story, ensuring that children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: - 'An Interview with The Grand Head Witch' - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;' - 'Dahl's Description' - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Explain meanings of words that they know and ask the meaning of new words. Link the meaning of new words to words that they already know;' - 'Description of the Grand Head Witch' - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Understand what is read by drawing on information from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas, and using quotations for illustration;' - 'Figurative Language' - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, to create an impact on the reader.' Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is around 20 pages in length!) I've also added it as a PDF in case the formatting differs on your computer. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included).

A Russian billionaire, Asman Veryrich, has approached you about setting up a new football club! This exciting, engaging investigation activity allows students to control the direction of their own learning, through speaking, listening, discussing, and reasoning. I initially created these resources to provide something interesting for the students to engage with for their English Speaking and Listening discussions, but it has since been used across Maths, Art and Design, and PSHE departments, as well as by form groups and holiday activity groups, to build teamwork and collaboration skills. Students get involved in all of the fun aspects of designing and setting up a new football club, including selecting a team of players, a manager, a stadium, and a training ground. They also design the team's club badge and football kits. They also need to use their skills of literacy to read and understand key evidence, and skills of numeracy to ensure that they keep their expenses within budget! What is more, groups can compete against one another to create the most successful team in the league, as all of the resources that they choose can help them to acquire valuable league table points! Included in this resource pack are: - Full PowerPoint lesson talking students through the process; - An 8 page team booklet, used to create their designs and calculate their budgets; - A pack of 96 player cards and 12 manager cards to select from (a combination of new and classic footballers are included, to ensure that this will never be outdated); - Budget and recording sheets to track their progress; - An A3 football pitch to strategise and select their team. Considering the time and effort that it took to create these resources, I think that they offer exceptional value. Whenever I have used this activity before, it has taken at least 3-4 lessons, including the introduction, design process, presentations, and evaluation. I originally have used this with mixed ability Year 9 and 10 groups, but colleagues have adapted it easily for students of all key stages. All images have been cited at the end of the PowerPoint presentation and are licensed for commercial use.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make precise interpretations of the descriptive language used by Philip Pullman in his descriptions of settings in ‘Northern Lights.’ They also learn how the depiction of settings can have a profound impact upon the tone and atmosphere of a novel, and apply this understanding (along with their knowledge of the key language devices) to form their own vivid and imaginative descriptions of places. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Understanding the power of places and settings, especially the impact that they have on atmosphere and tone; Defining each of the different types of descriptive devices, through completing an interactive group activity; Reading extracts from the text in which Pullman describes ‘The North’ and ‘The Bear Palace,’ and identifying the language techniques used to paint an image of place in the minds of the readers; Analysing the effectiveness of each of Pullman’s descriptive devices; Creating their own description of an awe-inspiring place, utilising appropriate and effective descriptive devices throughout; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Cards for the Card Sorting Activity;’ Extracts from Northern Lights; ‘Bear Palace’ analysis worksheet; Writing to Describe Helpsheet All resources are provided in Word (for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure formatting remains fixed between different computers). There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 7/8 classes, however colleagues have used them for between years 5 and 10 with some adaptations. The PowerPoint is in the zip file. All images are liensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.