This is an exciting and engaging lesson/set of tasks aiming to build students’ skills at using personification and oxymorons in their writing . It was taught during an observation lesson where the teacher received an Outstanding judgement. Students learn to: - Define and give examples of what personification and oxymorons are; - Identify personification and oxymorons in fun and interesting examples; - Analyse what makes them effective; - Create their own personification and oxymorons using step-by-step advice; - Peer assess using a clear and succinct success criteria. It comes complete with: - Engaging and visual PowerPoint to guide students (and teacher!) through the lesson; - Colourful and thought-provoking two-part worksheet for the two main create tasks; - Lesson plan/ teacher guidance sheet, which goes through the lesson step-by-step; All pictures are licensed for commercial use, and image authors cited on the final slide. This lesson can also be bought as part of the Descriptive Devices bundle for just £5. The bundle leads students through each language device needed in order to write to describe confidently. Alternatively, you can buy the Descriptive Writing Big Bundle (All descriptive devices lessons, structuring and organising writing lesson, capturing the readers attention lesson, and the literacy writing mat) for £6.

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s fluency and comprehension skills, whilst developing their understanding of news and information texts. In this session, they read, comprehend and analyse an uplifting BBC News article based on the random acts of kindness of British teenager Sebbie Hall. 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 has been downloaded and reformatted into Word/PDF for ease of formatting/printing, however the source URL link and 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 to the questions it could feasibly be used with slightly older year groups.

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 fluency and comprehension skills, through reading an informative and age-appropriate non-fiction text. The text is a news article about the birthday of the world’s oldest land animal: Jonathan the tortoise. 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 Kids News - 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 fluency and comprehension skills, through reading an informative and age-appropriate non-fiction text. The text is a news article about the world population surpassing 8 billion people in late 2022. It examines population growth in the past and discusses predictions for the world population later in the 21st Century. 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 News for Kids - it has been downloaded and reformatted as a PDF and Word document, 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 5-6), 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 fluency and comprehension skills, whilst developing their understanding of news and information texts. In this session, they read, comprehend and analyse an uplifting BBC News article focusing on the success of a revolutionary cancer treatment for a young girl from Leicester. 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 has been downloaded and reformatted into Word/PDF for ease of formatting/printing, however the source URL link and is also provided on the first slide of the PowerPoint presentation. The session is best suited for children in upper KS2 or lower KS3.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising William Shakespeare’s ‘Othello.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Scene by Scene Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Dramatic Devices; Features of Tragedy. 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 resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of William Shakespeare’s ‘Othello.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in exam revision, comprehension tasks, or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of students towards meeting the KS4 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework - this makes the tasks suitable for all examining bodies. Students have found these resources extremely engaging, and for teachers 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 play ensuring that students gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: ‘Context: Shakespearean Times’ - to aid students with ‘Drawing on knowledge of the purpose, audience and context of the writing, including its social, historical and cultural context and the literary tradition to which it belongs, to inform evaluation;’ ‘Shakespeare’s Description’ - to aid students with ‘Analysing a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact;’ ‘Iago’ and 'Desdemona’ character profiles- to aid students with ‘Seeking evidence in the text to support a point of view, including justifying inferences with evidence;’ ‘Editing the Play’ - to aid students with ‘Making an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is around 30 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).

This whole class reading session aims to develop children’s comprehension skills when reading non-fiction texts. This particular session focuses on their reading of an original information sheet (included) about Mary Seacole. This was initially used with a year 5-6 class as a part of their whole class reading provision throughout Black History Month. 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 session is best suited for children in years 5-6, although with minor adaptations it could feasibly be used with slightly younger and older year groups.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Michael Morpurgo’s ‘Private Peaceful.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Morpurgo’s Language Devices; Influences on the Writer. 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 engaging and informative lesson enables students to understand the language features used by Michael Morpurgo to depict the horrors of war in War Horse. In particular, students analyse the effectiveness of his similes, metaphors and personification (amongst other devices) before creating their own descriptive device-filled writing about going ‘over the top!’ The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Defining and exemplifying range of different descriptive techniques; Identifying the descriptive language techniques in use in an extract from War Horse (chapter 8, in which Joey and the cavalry charge over no man’s land towards the enemy); Analysing the effectiveness of Morpurgo’s descriptive language, considering the effect on the reader; Creating their own first person descriptive passages about going ‘over the top’, using each of the descriptive language devices effectively; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Cards for the card-sorting activity; Descriptive language structure strip; Extract from War Horse; Writing to describe helpsheet; Comprehensive lesson plan. There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 7 and 8 classes, however colleagues have used them for between years 4 and 9 with minimal adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

Based on the popular game show ‘Pointless’, this resource is perfect for use as a whole lesson resource, enrichment option, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change questions. (I’ve also added a blank template so that you can make your own games from scratch). Containing almost 30 slides of sound clips and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several full rounds of questions to build or revisit knowledge of characters, plot, and themes in ‘War Horse.’ Round 1. The characters in War Horse Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Settings and Objects Round 4. Themes in War Horse The nature of this game ensures that the resource can challenge students of all levels. A blank template has also been added, so that you can create your own games!

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make sustained and developed links between Stevenson’s novella ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ and its social and historical context. In particular, students learn about 19th Century attitudes towards scientific discoveries and religion, the duality of the mind, and the idea of civilisation vs. savagery. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Understanding key information about 19th Century through the creation of a timeline - plotting key events, inventions, and scientific discoveries; - Comprehending the key events of the text; - Learning about Robert Louis Stevenson and his key influences in writing the text; - Linking their understanding of context to the key elements of the text; - Analysing how Stevenson presents 19th Century attitudes towards religion, science, and ‘the savage.’ - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Cards for the timeline activity; - Links to context worksheet (and completed answer sheet for teachers); - Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses; - Links to an engaging video and further reading for advanced students (internet access needed for these); - 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 KS3 and A Level Students. 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 make sustained and insightful interpretations of Stevenson’s language when describing Mr Hyde throughout the novella ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.’ In particular, students analyse how the use of similes, varied verbs, and repetition, contribute to the portrayal of devilish man deprived of a social or moral conscience. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: - Understanding key information about 19th Century morality, and learning how the character of Hyde becomes separated from these ideals; - Reading and comprehending key extracts describing Hyde in the text; - Exemplifying and analysing Stevenson’s use of language devices across his description; - Describing their own immoral/hideous character utilising the same descriptive techniques; - Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: - Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; - Selected extracts from the text describing Hyde; - Stevenson’s Language worksheet (and completed answer sheet for teachers); - Analysis template with success criteria for creating well-structured responses; - Links to further reading for advanced students (internet access needed for these); - 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 KS3 and A Level Students. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 10 to 13 of Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy: Tales of Childhood.’ This section of the text details his initial experiences at St. Peter’s School, including his run-ins with the Matron and his feelings of homesickness. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Summarising the key events. The session begins with a brief knowledge recall quiz based on the prior chapters. Students then read and understand the chapters, utilising retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning activities. There is easily enough material for two lessons here (21 slides in total). The lessons are suitable for students in either KS3 or upper KS2 (for advanced classes), depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 7 to 9 of Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy: Tales of Childhood.’ This section of the text details his many ‘idyllic’ visits to Norway. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Summarising the key events. The session begins with a brief introduction to the country of Norway, followed by a knowledge recall session on the prior chapters. Students then read and understand the chapters, utilising retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning activities. There is easily enough material for two lessons here (22 slides in total). The lessons are suitable for students in either KS3 or upper KS2 (for advanced classes), depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the first two chapters of Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy: Tales of Childhood.’ The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the first two chapters through: -Retrieving key information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Linking texts to context. The session begins with an introduction to Roald Dahl and his writing of the book, before guiding students through reading and understanding the opening chapters utilising retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. There is easily enough material for two lessons here (20 slides in total). The lessons are suitable for students in either KS3 or (for advanced classes) upper KS2, depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 14 to 17 of Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy: Tales of Childhood.’ This section of the text details Dahl’s later experiences at St. Peter’s School, including his unjust caning and ‘Little Ellis and the Boil’. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Comparing and contrasting text events; -Sequencing the key events. The session begins with a brief knowledge recall activity based on the prior chapters. Students then read and understand the chapters, utilising retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning activities. There is easily enough material for two lessons here (22 slides in total). The lessons are suitable for students in either KS3 or upper KS2 (for advanced classes), depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 18 to 21 of Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy: Tales of Childhood.’ This section of the text details Dahl’s initial experiences at Repton School, including his treatment at the hands of the ‘Boazers’ and the welcome supply of Cadbury’s chocolate! The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Understanding key vocabulary; -Linking texts. The session begins with a brief knowledge recall activity based on the prior chapters. Students then read and understand the new chapters, utilising retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning activities. There is easily enough material for two lessons here (25 slides in total). The lessons are suitable for students in either KS3 or upper KS2 (for advanced classes), depending upon the individual context of the school and students.

This engaging and thought-provoking double-lesson resource aids students in developing a secure understanding of the chapters 22 to 25 of Roald Dahl’s ‘Boy: Tales of Childhood.’ This section of the text details Dahl’s final years at Repton, before taking up his first job with the Shell Oil Company. The comprehensive and colourful PowerPoint presentation enables students to understand the text through: -Retrieving information; -Inferring and deducing hidden meanings; -Understanding key vocabulary; -Summarising key information. The session begins with a brief knowledge recall activity based on the prior chapters. Students then read and understand the new chapters, utilising retrieval, vocabulary, inference, explanation and deeper thinking activities. A clear, colourful and comprehensive PowerPoint presentation guides students through the learning activities. There is easily enough material for two lessons here (25 slides in total). The lessons are suitable for students in either KS3 or upper KS2 (for advanced classes), depending upon the individual context of the school and students.