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.

Template for you to create your own Pointless games - whatever subject or topic you are teaching! Based on the popular game show 'Pointless', this resource is 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 almost 30 slides of sound clips, engaging visuals, and suitably challenging questions, this resource is effective at both promoting engagement and enhancing learning. There are several built-in rounds of questions to build students' understanding in your topics, including: - Identifying terms from definitions - Anagrams of key terms round - Recalling the highest level knowledge. The nature of the game ensures that this resource can challenge students of all levels. NOTE: You can buy this resource alone, or in a bundle of 8 Pointless games, for only £1 more!

This stimulating and informative lesson develops students’ skill in creating informal letters that precisely meet the content, language and structural features of the form. In particular, they gain an in-depth understanding of how informal letters should be set out on the page, what information should be included within them, and what style they should be written in, in order to meet form, audience and purpose. Students follow a clear and logical learning journey, in which they: -Understand why letter writing is still important in the present day; -Unjumble a model example of an informal letter in order to establish its structure; -Work collaboratively to identify and analyse the content and language features in further model examples of informal letters; -Create a success criteria for effective informal letters (although a ready-made success criteria is included); -Write their own informal letters, using a structure strip and helpsheet (if needed) and the techniques that they have learnt; -Peer/self-assess their writing attempts. There are enough resources here really for two lessons, including: -Visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint; -Informal letters x 3 (based on The Simpsons, Batman, and Harry Potter characters) -Informal letters structure strip; -Informal letters helpsheet; -Step-by-step lesson plan. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final page of the slide.

This detailed and engaging lesson enables students to gain an understanding of simple, compound and complex sentences, and to use a variation of sentence types in their own writing for clarity and effect. Students learn through a number of fun and interactive tasks, which enable them to: - Define and exemplify simple, compound, and complex sentences; - Identify them in writing; - Understand and analyse how different types of sentences can be used for clarity and effect; - Create a written piece using a variety of sentence structures for clarity and effect; - Evaluate their use of different sentence structures. The resources include: -Visually engaging and comprehensive whole-lesson presentation; -Resources for the card-sorting activity; -A model example and analysis worksheet; -A 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 detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Chapter by Chapter Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Austen’s Language Devices; Features of Romantic Novels. 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 Mark Haddon’s ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.’ Teachers have found them particularly useful in comprehension or guided reading sessions. They are perfect for aiding the progress of children towards meeting the KS3 expectations within the new National Curriculum framework. Children 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 children gain a deep understanding of the text. Activities within the booklet include: - ‘Context: Asperger’s Syndrome’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Know the purpose, audience and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension.’ - ‘Haddon’s Description - The Police Station’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Know how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, present meaning.’ - ‘Ed Boone’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Study setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these.’ - ‘Vocabulary Inspector’ - to enable students to demonstrate that they can: ‘Learn new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries.’ Plus many, many more activities (the booklet is 21 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 clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising knowledge relating to the Romans. It contains comprehensive sections on: Roman Empire map (annotated); Roman Leaders and Emperors; Roman timeline; Roman places and landmarks; Roman daily life. 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). It is most suitable for children in KS2 and KS3.

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 detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising J.B. Priestley's 'An Inspector Calls.' It contains comprehensive sections on: - Context; - Scene by Scene Summary (with quotes); - Main Characters; - Themes; - Priestley's Dramatic Devices; - Features of Form. 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 lesson enables students to gain a detailed understanding of the opening scene in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Students learn to make sustained and developed inferences and interpretations in relation to both characters and plot. Students also produce a family tree to demonstrate the relationships between the characters, using colourful and interesting images and resources. The lesson utilises a range of tasks, that require students to be attentive and interactive learners. It follows this learning journey: - Defining the key term 'feud' and apply this understanding to a range of contexts; - Reading and interpreting the prologue and Act 1 Scene 1, and establishing how Shakespeare sets the scene in Verona; - Reflecting upon what effect this may have had on audiences at the time; - Making detailed inferences/ interpretations into clues about characterisation and social structure; - Analysing Shakespeare's intentions in including such an energetic scene at the outset of the play; - 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; - A family tree template and character list; - A challenging and thought-provoking worksheet, and an answer sheet for the teacher. 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 preparing for the ‘Unseen Poetry’ elements of English Literature examinations. It is ideal for GCSE and A Level students, as it contains detailed and comprehensive sections (including explanations, examples and key questions) on: Content -Subject Matter, Context, Tone, Atmosphere, The Poet; Language - Similes, Metaphors, Interesting Adjectives, Interesting Verbs, Imagery, Onomatopoeia, Alliteration, Assonance, Personification, Hyperbole, Oxymoron, Repetition; Form and Strcuture - Common Forms, Rhyme/ Rhyme Schemes, Metre, Rhythm, Stanzas, Line Type, Line Length. Plus lists of Adding Connectives and Contrasting Connectives for use when comparing. 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 interesting and engaging lesson enables students to know what reviews are and why people read them, understand the features that make effective reviews, and write their own interesting and appropriate reviews. In particular, students learn to use a range of appropriate features in writing their own reviews, including facts and opinions, jargon, connectives, and statistics. There are easily enough resources here for 2-3 lessons on this topic. Over the course of their learning journey, students: - Define and exemplify what reviews are; - Understand why people read reviews; - Understand and categorise the different techniques used by reviewers; - Identify the features of reviews in model examples; - Analyse the effect of techniques in reviews upon the reader; - Use a wide-range of techniques in writing their own reviews; - Peer and self assess each other's review attempts. The resources include: -Visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint; -A colourful and helpful 'Writing Reviews' Help-Sheet; -Pointless Jargon Game; -Techniques cards for defining the key key features of reviews; -Connectives worksheet; -Blank book review template and film review template; -A model example (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone); -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 interesting and engaging lesson enables students to understand the key structural, language and content features of Haiku poems, and to utilise these features accurately and imaginatively in their own Haikus. Students follow a clear and logical learning journey, in which they: -Define and identify the key structural and language features of Haikus; -Understand the origins and purposes of this form of poetry; -Read Haikus, answering questions about the content and use of language and structure; -Compare and contrast Haikus, evaluating their effectiveness; -Plan and create their own Haikus, using a guiding helpsheet and the knowledge/skills that they have accrued over the lesson; -Peer/self-assess their learning attempts. Resources are eye-catching and purposeful, including: -Visually engaging whole-lesson PowerPoint; -An interesting, imaginative, and well-presented worksheet (in Word and PDF); - A useful Haiku helpsheet (also in Word and PDF); -Step-by-step lesson plan. All images are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final page of the slide.

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 detailed resource pack has been designed to make the learning of fronted adverbials (particularly prominent in the new curriculum) easily accessible, engaging and interesting for all children. Throughout the lesson, students learn to improve their skill at using appropriate, concise, and precise fronted adverbials within their own writing compositions. In addition to the comprehensive lesson, resources, and plan, it also includes a fronted adverbials writing mat to assist students in building their extended writing skills. 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 what fronted adverbials are; - Identify fronted adverbials in sentences; - Analyse and evaluate what it is that makes some fronted adverbials more effective than others; - Write an extended piece with the employment of fronted adverbials; -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; - An interesting short story for students to analyse; - A hyperlink to an engaging and heart-warming video through a hyperlink in the presentation; - 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/ the bottom of worksheets.

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising William Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Scene by Scene Summary (with quotes); Main Characters; Themes; Dramatic Devices; Features of Comedy. 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).