This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make clear, detailed and well-informed interpretations of the character of Ruth in ‘Never Let Me Go.’ In particular, students develop their understanding of how the character is introduced and developed, drawing on a varied range of textual evidence from across the novel, before demonstrating their understanding of how the character through writing a letter from her viewpoint. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Reading an extract detailing Ruth’s introduction in the novel and answering comprehension questions about the initial portrayal of her character; Finding quotations in order to back up ideas about how her character is developed over the course of the novel; Understanding how Ruth reflects Ishiguro’s key meanings and ideas; Using their deep understanding of Ruth’s character to write a letter from her perspective; Peer assessing each others’ learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Quote Detectives Worksheet; Selected extract (from chapter 5); 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 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. 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 clear, detailed and well-informed interpretations of the theme of life and death in ‘Never Let Me Go.’ In particular, students develop their understanding of how this theme is introduced and developed, drawing on a varied range of textual evidence from across the novel, before demonstrating their understanding of how the theme is used to get across Ishiguro’s key ideas. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Reading an extract detailing the introduction to the theme of life and death in the novel, and answering comprehension questions to demonstrate understanding; Tracking and analysing the development of the theme of life and death throughout the novel, through a interesting timeline task; Understanding how the theme of life and death is used to portray Ishiguro’s key meanings and ideas; Using their deep understanding of the theme of life and death to answer an exam-style question; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Novel TImeline Template; Selected extract (from chapter 7); Essay Template 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 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. 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 clear, detailed and well-informed interpretations of Tommy’s characterisation in ‘Never Let Me Go.’ In particular, students develop their understanding of how his character is introduced and developed, drawing on a varied range of textual evidence from across the novel, before demonstrating their understanding of how the character reflects Ishiguro’s intentions. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Reading an extract detailing Tommy’s introduction in the novel and answering comprehension questions about the initial portrayal of his character; Reading around quotations in order to track how Tommy’s characterisation is developed over the course of the novel; Understanding how Tommy reflects Ishiguro’s key meanings and ideas; Using their deep understanding of Tommy’s character to write a diary entry from his viewpoint; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts. Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Quote Interpretation worksheet; Selected extract (from chapter 1); Diary writing succcess criteria; 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 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 9 and year 13 with some adaptations. All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.

This interesting and engaging lesson enables students to gain a detailed understanding of the masquerade ball scene (Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting) in William Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Students learn to make sustained and detailed inferences and interpretations in relation to the language and structures utilised by Shakespeare. The lesson also guides them through a close analysis of the figurative language used by the lovers in their opening dialogue. The lesson utilises a range of tasks, that require students to be attentive and interactive learners. It follows this learning journey: - Establishing the events that lead up to the Masquerade Ball; - Reading and interpreting the prologue and Act I Scene V, interpreting and inferring the key meanings; - Understanding the complications of Romeo and Juliet’s feelings for one another; - Analysing Shakespeare’s use of language and structure throughout Romeo and Juliet’s opening dialogue; - 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 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 lesson enables students to gain a detailed understanding of the dramatic devices used by William Shakespeare in his romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Students learn to demonstrate a developed understanding of features such as dramatic irony, stage directions, and puns, through analysis of precisely-selected textual evidence. The main scene analysed throughout the lesson is Act III Scene V, in which Juliet defies the orders of her parents to marry Count Paris. The lesson utilises a range of tasks, that require students to be attentive and interactive learners. It follows this learning journey: - Defining the key dramatic devices; - Contextualising Juliet’s behaviour in the patriarchal society of the time; - Reading and interpreting Act III Scene V, interpreting and inferring the key meanings; - Understanding the key themes throughout the scene, including Juliet’s struggle between obeying orders and following love; - Identifying and analysing the key dramatic devices used throughout the scene; - 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 closer analysis worksheet based upon Shakespeare’s dramatic devices; - Dramatic devices definition cards; - A template to help scaffold the main task, complete with P.E.E instructions; - 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 engaging and interesting lesson aims to improve students’ understanding of the context of the of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Some of the primary topics that are addressed are William Shakespeare himself, James I and superstition, witches and witchcraft, religion, mortality rates, and the theatre. This knowledge should enable students to make convincing links between the play and the events of the time. It is a vital lesson in any Macbeth theme that can be taught before, during, or after reading. The lesson uses a range of tasks, that require students to be visual and interactive learners. It follows this learning journey: - Understanding who William Shakespeare was, and remembering key details about his life; - Identifying words and phrases that he coined that are still in use today; - Taking part in a quiz about the some of the more basic key events and ideas of the time; - Researching the key events of the time (e.g. witch-hunts and the ascension of James I as King) and understanding which ideas were prominent. (e.g. divine right and religion) - Utilising speaking and listening skills in order to communicate gathered knowledge, and obtain knowledge from others. - Evaluating the learning in the lesson. All images in this resource are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide of the lesson presentation.

This exciting ‘Pointloss’ game 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 ‘Macbeth.’ Round 1. The characters in Macbeth Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Settings and Themes Round 4. Deaths in Macbeth 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 clear, detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for children learning about Aneurin Bevan as a part of their history study of ‘Significant Individuals.’ It contains comprehensive sections entitled: Overview; Times in His Life; Important Vocabulary; Aneurin Bevan Timeline; Answers to the Important Questions; Top Ten Facts. The resource is designed to be printed onto either A4 or 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.

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make precise and detailed interpretations of Harper Lee’s language choices throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. In particular, students identify and analyse the effect of Lee’s language in her descriptions of settings in the novel, using precisely selected extracts, before applying these concepts to their own descriptive writing attempts. The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through: Defining and exemplifying the descriptive writing techniques, through a fun and interactive bingo game; Identifying the language techniques that Lee uses in her descriptions of settings in the novel;’ Analysing the effectiveness of Lee’s descriptive writing; Creating their own descriptions of settings, using Lee’s model examples, a structure strip, and the techniques that they have gathered over the course of the lesson; Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts; Included is: Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive; Bingo Cards Teacher’s Bingo Questions/Guidance; Selected extracts (from chapters 1, 12 and 15); Descriptive Writing Structure Strip; Descritpive Writing 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 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 8 and year 13 with some 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 ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984).’ Round 1. The characters in Nineteen Eighty-Four Round 2. Quotations from the text Round 3. Settings and Objects Round 4. Themes in Nineteen Eighty-Four 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 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Margaret Postgate Cole’s war poem 'The Falling Leaves.’ They are perfect for aiding the progress of students learning poetry either in KS3 and KS4 in preparation for poetry/unseen poetry at GCSE, as the tasks draw on English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies - it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. The booklet is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

This resource booklet contains a wide range of age-appropriate and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Norton Juster’s 'The Phantom Tollbooth.’ 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 Milo’ - 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;’ ‘Juster’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;’ ‘Tock’s and Rhyme and Reason’s Character Profiles!’ - 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 in ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’ - 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 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).

These original writing mats offer a varied and visually engaging way for students to independently increase the depth and breadth of their imaginative writing. Designed on A3, they simply need to printed and given to students before they begin creative writing tasks. They could also be used as colourful word posters to brighten up your classroom and familiarise children with new vocabulary. The benefits of using these resources as writing mats is twofold: Firstly, the vibrant, wide-ranging, and student-friendly landscapes offer students a wealth of new writing stimuli. Secondly, the simple concrete noun labels save substantial learning time, as the effort that students may have previously exerted deliberating over the spellings of the common nouns is vastly reduced. Instead, students have the time to focus upon the teacher's intended key writing focus areas. This resource pack aids children in visualising imaginary settings, many of which fit in with Primary/ early Secondary topics. There are 10 different imagination landscapes in this pack: -Nightmare World -Ancient Egypt -Christmas -Medieval Times -The Future -Pirates -Olympics -Romans -The Circus -Fairy Tales Every image used in this resource pack is licensed for commercial use, and all are cited on a separate document within the pack. This pack can either be purchased alone, or as a bundle alongside the 'World Landscapes' writing mats for just 1 pound more.

These original writing mats offer a varied and visually engaging way for students to independently increase the depth and breadth of their imaginative writing. Designed on A3, they simply need to printed and given to students before they begin creative writing tasks. They could also be used as colourful word posters to brighten up your classroom and familiarise children with new vocabulary. The benefits of using these resources as writing mats is twofold: Firstly, the vibrant, wide-ranging, and student-friendly landscapes offer students a wealth of new writing stimuli. Secondly, the simple concrete noun labels save substantial learning time, as the effort that students may have previously exerted deliberating over the spellings of the common nouns is vastly reduced. Instead, students have the time to focus upon the teacher's intended key writing focus areas. This resource pack contains 12 completely original, comprehensive landscapes from around the world, including: -The Rainforest -Space -Under the Sea -The Poles -Mountain -Forest -Safari -Desert -Farm -Beach -Park -Town Every image used in this resource pack is licensed for commercial use, and all are cited on a separate document within the pack. This pack can either be purchased alone, or alongside the 'Imaginations Landscapes' writing mats for just 1 pound more.

These practice questions and tasks for the Year 2 SATs have been formulated utilising a number of past papers and the Year 2 expectations for Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling. Each question is worded in a similar manner to questions on past papers, to enable children to become a great deal more comfortable with what will be asked of them in their SATs exams. As these tasks are short, snappy, and interesting, I have been using them in the run up to the assessments, and the children have found them really engaging. All of the areas from the exam papers are covered, (there are around 30 separate 10-minute tasks in the booklet) including: Past tense, future tense, connectives, sentence types, nouns, adverbs, adjectives, adverbs, capital letters, statements, questions, commands, apostrophes, full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, prefixes, suffixes, and spelling bee activities. Enjoy!

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of Ben Jonson’s tender elegy 'On My First Sonne.’ They are perfect for aiding the progress of students learning poetry either in KS3 and KS4 in preparation for poetry/unseen poetry at GCSE, as the tasks draw on English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies - it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. The booklet is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

I used these comprehension resources recently to engage a group of girls who were reluctant readers. The pack enables students to fulfil the requirements of the Key Stages 2 and 3 comprehension expectations within the new National Curriculum framework. It does so in a new and student-friendly way, by engaging students in texts related to someone whom they share an interest in. Whilst focussing on Justin Bieber, these resources provide a wide-range of differentiated and interesting resources for students to build their reading and comprehension skills. The pack includes resources such as a short Justin Bieber biography, a newspaper story about the positive aspects of his personality, and lyrics to the song 'Baby.' Each of these are differentiated for lower KS2, higher KS2, and KS3. Students understanding of these texts are gauged through comprehension questions aligned with the expectations of the new National Curriculum (again, these are differentiated by age.) The curriculum expectations are included in the pack, and are referenced in brackets after each question. This allows you to easily plot students' progress against individual strands. Some images are used, which are licensed for commercial use, and are cited on the final slide.

This 16-page resource booklet contains a wide range of challenging and engaging comprehension activities for use throughout the reading of W.B. Yeats’ poem 'Song of the Old Mother.’ They are perfect for aiding the progress of students learning poetry either in KS3 and KS4 in preparation for poetry/unseen poetry at GCSE, as the tasks draw on English Literature assessment objectives - suitable for all examining bodies - it is clearly highlighted within each task regarding which assessment strands the task is designed to demonstrate. The booklet is provided in both Word (to allow for easy editing) and PDF (to ensure for consistency of formatting between computers). Activities within the booklet include (amongst many others): ‘Analysing Context’ - helping students to ‘Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.’ ‘Analysing Subject Matter, Language and Structure’ - to help students to ‘Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.’ ‘Diary Entry’ - to help students to ‘Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. Make an informed personal response, recognising that other responses to a text are possible and evaluating these.’ ‘The Speaker’ - to help students to ‘Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.’

This detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Simon Armitage’s relationships poem 'The Manhunt.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Line-by-Line Analysis; Poetic Devices/ Language Devices; Themes; Form/Structure; Poems for Comparison; Links to Wider Reading. 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 detailed and visually-appealing resource offers a complete reference point for students learning or revising Lord Byron’s poem 'She Walks in Beauty.’ It contains comprehensive sections on: Context; Line-by-Line Analysis; Poetic Devices/ Language Devices; Themes; Form/Structure; Poems for Comparison; Links to Wider Reading. 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).