The year is 2086, and the students are needed for a special mission! This space mission has been designed to provide students with a fun and interesting group challenge, whilst also building key skills in critical thinking and collaboration, and essential knowledge for Science, English, and Mathematics. Students are placed in a scenario in which Earth is no longer habitable, and humans must seek to move to another planet in the Universe. Compiled for them is information on each of the potentially most habitable planets that are known to man (these are the real planets that have been confirmed by NASA and other agencies as having the most potential for life). In reading the key information, students will be drawing upon their knowledge of Science terminology, and will need to make some Maths calculations to work out implications of living on different planets. What will become clear fairly quickly is that none of the potential planets are perfect, and they must use reasoned judgements to determine which of them have cons that could perhaps be overcome. They then present their ideas, using clear and articulate speaking and listening skills, and write up their report, using appropriate written communication (a scaffold is provided to frame this). Everything is provided for you to download, print, and teach: - A comprehensive, whole-activity PowerPoint that guides the students through the mission; - Detailed and colourful information sheets on each of the contender planets for being the next Earth (these include links to amazing websites that can provide the children with more information); - A ‘Pros and Cons’ scaffold, to help students record their findings; - An information sheet on the ‘habitable zone’ around stars; - A scaffold for writing up findings; - Sorting cards for help with determining the key features of habitable planets; - Full teacher guidance. 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 2-3 lessons, including the introduction, starter challenge, main mission, presentations, and write-up. I originally have used this with mid-ability Year 6,7, and 8 groups, but colleagues have easily adapted it for students across key stages 2-4. All images have been cited at the end of the PowerPoint presentation and are licensed for commercial use.

These resources enable students to understand and analyse the characteristics of Napoleon’s dictatorship in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. In addition, students learn to make clear and accurate interpretations regarding the events of the chapters 5 and 6, (as Napoleon’s dictatorship begins to emerge) and make appropriate links to individual characters and their allegorical relationship to context. As these chapters signal the end of the animal democracy on the farm, and the start of Napoleon’s totalitarian dictatorship, a heavy emphasis throughout these resources is placed upon the character of Napoleon - particularly with regards to his similarities with Joseph Stalin. There are easily enough resources for two lessons within this pack. Students learn through the following tasks: - Gauging and collaborating prior knowledge through a discussion-based starter task; - Gauging their knowledge of key terms such as ‘totalitarian’ and ‘oppression’ through a collaborative card-sorting activity; - Reading chapters 5 and 6 and demonstrating their understanding through an apt and informative worksheet; - Developing their understanding of the main character of Snowball, and his allegorical equivalent, Joseph Stalin, through a comparison task; - Analysing the links between Napoleon and Stalin in chapters 5 and 6, using a templated writing frame; - Peer assessing their partners’ learning attempts. The following resources are provided: - Engaging and colourful step-by-step PowerPoint; - Cards for card-sorting activity; - Teacher lesson guidance/plan; - Analytical paragraphs worksheet; - Pictures for comparison task; - Copies of Chapters 5 and 6. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

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, interesting tasks, 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 ‘Animal Farm.’ Round 1. The characters in Animal Farm Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Settings and Objects Round 4. Themes in Animal Farm 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!

For use alongside data captures and discussions about pupil progress, this succinct performance grid enables observers to gauge and categorise department and individual teacher approaches to pupil progress data, using OFSTED guidance. The first page of the document provides descriptors of 'outstanding', 'good', 'requires improvement' and 'inadequate' feedback within appropriately considered focus areas, for example: Rate of Progress, Accuracy, Noticing Trends and Plotting Interventions, etc. Schools that already employ this tool often opt to highlight the descriptors on this page as they complete the scrutiny, thus creating a bigger picture of the strengths and areas for improvement observed. This can also be a helpful aid in arriving at an overall judgement, should your school opt to arrive at one. The second page allows observers to further pinpoint and describe the 'www' (what went well) and 'ebi' (even better if) aspects of the feedback, to aid teacher/department in improving their practice.

This lesson aims to help students to write descriptively, using a range of descriptive writing techniques. Students also learn how to incorporate the five senses into their writing. Furthermore, students explore social and moral issues such as 'swimming against the tide' and 'being different,' through the story of Oskar Schindler. Informative and engaging, this lesson follows a clear and logical learning journey. Students learn to: - Define the key term 'humane' - Understand the story of Oskar Schindler, and consider the social and moral dilemmas that he faced; - Consider decisions that they have had to make which contrast to popular opinion; - Remember the five senses, and discuss why they are important to descriptive writing; - Use the five senses to create descriptive sentences based on scenes from Schindler's List; - Write a descriptive piece about a difficult decision that they have had to make; - Peer-assess each others' learning attempts. Resources included are: A whole-lesson PowerPoint, that guides the teacher and learners throughout the entire lesson, an engaging worksheet, a writing to describe help-sheet, and a teacher guidance sheet. Note: I'm aware that this is a 15 film - however the clips that I have selected are not amongst the most graphic, and so I feel that the lesson can be used with students younger than 15. You will need a Youtube connection for the links to work. All images are cited at the end of the PowerPoint presentation, and are licensed for commercial use.

Now with PDF version included! This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use in guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the Year 2 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 are also generic enough to ensure that they are appropriate for use with all texts. Activities within the booklet include: - Word Witch - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Spot when a word has been read wrongly by following the sense of text;' - Scary Stepping Stones - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Enjoy reading and discussing the order of events in books and how items of information are related;' - Poets' Got Talent - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Enjoy reading poems and know some by heart. Say what you like or don’t like about a poem;' - Story Mountain - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: 'Enjoy reading and discussing the order of events in books and how items of information are related.' Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is over 20 pages in length!) All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on a separate document (included.)

I have recently taught a descriptive writing unit, and devised this assessment to gauge how students descriptive skills have progressed over the term. It includes the question paper, the mark scheme, and the reading insert. Formal enough to ensure that the students took the assessment seriously, but engaging enough to ensure that all students wanted to complete all of the tasks, (they hate some of the practice exam questions that exam boards provide on the past papers) all of my students seemed to enjoy completing this more than they normally enjoy assessments! The assessment is designed to gauge students' skill in: - Defining and giving examples of descriptive devices; - Identifying descriptive devices in texts; - Analysing the effect of descriptive writing in a vivid description of a 'Nightmare World.' - Creating their own descriptive piece about a their own nightmare world. This lesson can either be bought individually, or as part of the Descriptive Writing Big Bundle (which works out cheaper.)

This interesting and engaging lesson enables students to build their understanding of the relationship between Gerald and Sheila, two of the main characters in ‘An Inspector Calls.’ In particular, students learn about about how both characters contribute to the downfall of Eva Smith, and how their relationship is affected as details of their actions emerge. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards differentiated learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: - Recall and understand the key features of Gerald and Sheila's character profiles; - Link Gerald and Sheila to the historical context of the play; - Read and understand the section of the play in which Gerald is interviewed by the inspector; - Analyse the effect of Gerald's revelations on the relationship of Gerald and Sheila; - Create a diary-entry piece in which they consider Gerald's character and relationships with both Sheila and Daisy Renton; -Peer/self-assess learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - A clear and interesting worksheet for the development task (with answer sheet); - An extract from Act 2 of the play for students to read and interpret; - Guidance for completing diary entries; - A detailed lesson plan, complete with what the teacher and students should aim to achieve at each stage of the lesson. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

This stimulating and thought-provoking lesson enables students to create travel writing texts containing varied and imaginative structures, utilising strategies at both sentence level and whole-text level in order to add creativity and depth to their extended travel writing attempts. In particular, students learn how the subtle variation of sentence and paragraph order, in addition to a range of appropriate connectives, can help to create truly authentic and descriptive travel writing pieces. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards differentiated learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: - Define and identify the words that make up sentences; - Knowingly alter the structure and order of sentences, for effect; - Apply this knowledge to travel writing contexts; - Analyse model examples of travel paragraph/ whole text structures in travel writing; - Write their own travel writing pieces, with varied and imaginative structures; - Self/Peer assess travel writing attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - An logical, piece-by-piece writing plan, that enables students to build interesting whole-text and sentence level structures; - A detailed lesson plan, complete with what the teacher and students should aim to achieve at each stage of the lesson. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

This is an exciting and engaging lesson/set of tasks aiming to build students' skills at using varied verbs and adverbs 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 verbs and adverbs are; - Identify verbs and adverbs on funny posters and captions; - Analyse what makes verbs and adverbs effective; - Create their own verb and adverb filled writing piece; It comes complete with: - Engaging and visual PowerPoint to guide students (and teacher!) through the lesson; - Colourful and thought-provoking worksheet for the main analysis task; - Lesson plan/ teacher guidance sheet, which goes through the lesson step-by-step; - Resources to enable the teacher to make 'flags' for the development task. 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 interesting and highly-stimulating lesson students to demonstrate a developed, sustained understanding of the structural features of the Greek Tragedy which are utilised in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. In particular, students engage analytically with Eddie’s ‘hamartia’ and catastrophic downfall at the end of Act II. Students examine how Eddie’s role as a tragic hero, his fatal flaw, and the sense of fate which runs throughout, mirrors the features of Greek Tragedies. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards differentiated learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: - Define and identify the features of Greek Tragedies; - Understand Miller’s views towards Greek Tragedies, and his intentions for writing the play in this form; - Identify the features of Greek Tragedy in A View from the Bridge; - Critically engage with text as a Greek Tragedy, considering how Eddie’s downfall is constructed by his fatal flaws, hamartia, and catastrophe; -Peer assess each other’s learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation;; - Paper copies and online links to the extract needed for the lesson (end section of Act Two); - Greek Myths Definitions Cards; - Greek Myths worksheet (including answer sheet for teachers); - A logically scaffolded essay template; - A detailed lesson plan, complete with what the teacher and students should aim to achieve at each stage of the lesson. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

This interesting and highly-stimulating lesson enables students to demonstrate a developed, sustained understanding of the dramatic devices utilised in the ‘lifting of the chair’ scene in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. In particular, students engage analytically with Miller’s use of atmosphere, dramatic tension, dramatic irony, and stage directions throughout the scene. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards differentiated learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: - Understand the key term ‘masculinity’ and how it affects the behaviour of different characters; - Read and understand the chair-lifting scene at the end of Act One, making key interpretations and inferences; - Define and understand the dramatic devices: dramatic devices, dramatic irony, atmosphere, and stage directions. - Critically engage with Miller’s use of dramatic devices at the end of the Act One, including the events leading up to the chair lifting section. -Peer assess each other’s learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation;; - Paper copies and online links to the extract needed for the lesson (end section of Act One); - Dramatic Devices Cards; - Dramatic Devices worksheet (including answer sheet for teachers); - A logically scaffolded essay template; - A detailed lesson plan, complete with what the teacher and students should aim to achieve at each stage of the lesson. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate, engaging, and meaningful comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies.’ 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 story, ensuring that students gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: - ‘Context: The Barbaric Nature of World War II’ - 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;’ - ‘Golding’s Description’ - to aid students with ‘Analysing a writer’s choice of vocabulary, form, grammatical and structural features, and evaluating their effectiveness and impact;’ - ‘Jack’ and ‘Simon’ - to aid students with ‘Seeking evidence in the text to support a point of view, including justifying inferences with evidence;’ - ‘Editing the Text’ - 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).

Based on the popular game show 'Pointless', these resources are perfect for use as a starter activity, plenary, or revision tool. Editable, so that you can change to any other topic or change the questions/answers. Containing sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, these resources are effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several fully functional and challenging games, including: - English ('Building Adjectives', and learning 'Macbeth.') - Maths ('Shape, Space, and Measure) - Science (Physics, Space.) - History ('World War II' and 'The Tudors.') - Geography (Populations) Plus, a blank template for you to create your own Pointless games, based on whatever topic your class is studying! The nature of the game ensures that this resource can challenge students of all levels.

This interesting and highly-stimulating lesson enables students to make important inferences and interpretations regarding ‘the beast’ that is referred to by the boys on the island throughout William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies. In particular, students form opinions of what the beast may represent, based upon key evidence throughout the text. The lesson follows a clear, logical, bite-size learning journey, which guides students towards differentiated learning objectives. Over the course of this journey, they become able to: - Establish, sketch, evidence, and share their initial interpretations of the beast; - Collaborate with others to form rational and substantiated opinions; - Read and understand Chapters Six and Seven of the play, with a particular focus upon how Golding utilises the beast to depict other concepts and notions; - Analyse key quotations which refer to the beast in relation to each of the characters; - Give appropriate and sustained interpretations and inferences regarding altering views towards Golding’s use of the beast; -Peer assess each other’s learning attempts. This resource pack includes: - A visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint presentation; - Detailed worksheet; - A scaffolded essay template; - Links to the extracts of the text needed for the lesson (Chapters Six and Seven in this case); - A detailed lesson plan, complete with what the teacher and students should aim to achieve at each stage of the lesson. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the PowerPoint.