A narrative technique where the play is broken down into short narrative chunks. Students can sit in a circle and are invited by the teacher to both ‘become’ characters but also settings and props. It is a fun and easy way to get through the narrative. Follow on activities can include giving the students a copy of the Whoosh for them to then create a storyboard or news article in order to familiarise themselves with the story; or they can colour code the writing for themes or tension. Detailed guidance given in additional support sheet.

Text: Noah’s Gold, Frank Cottrell- Boyce Three introductory lessons to enable Year 7 class of mixed ability to demonstrate range of skills to a new teacher. The book should have already been read but alternative activities are provided for those students who have not read the text. Key Aims of SOL: Comprehend an extended narrative, with knowledge of plot structure and characters. More advanced students will understand the concept of a framed narrative. Use evidence from the text to support opinions about the characters and plot. These may include close references or precise quotations Make links between fictional texts Write a creative description using a stimulus. The creative description should include a range of figurative language and clear organisational techniques. Contribute orally to a debate regarding the impact of the internet on imagination and learning. More advanced students may additionally consider the impact of AI, linking to current debates in the media. Assessment opportunities: As this is a short, introductory scheme, there is no formal assessment but the three lessons should provide clear examples of ability within the class.

A whoosh is a narrative technique which allows you to get through the ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ story quickly and in an accessible fun way! Students take the role of players for ‘chunks’ of the story, ready to change roles at each of the ‘whoosh’ points. Read the guidance sheet for more details and support.

The presentation recaps students on the three main sentence types (simple, compound and complex), reviewing their knowledge with a quick quiz. The resource asks students to label the different parts of the sentence. A series of descriptions follows with students asked to analyse the impact different sentence structures have . Students are then asked to apply what they have learned to an image, similar to AQA Paper 1 Question 5. However, the activities on sentence structures applies to all GCSE Board expectations. This lesson is also effective when preceding author analysis.

Complete lesson looking at extended metaphors and semantic fields. Designed to improve question 5 for AQA paper 1. Several famous examples from literature for students to analyse before attempting their own. Then HW to improve previous creative writing.

This is a step by step guide which works through Structure, Message, Imagery, Language and Emotions. Each element has a series of guided questions where students can choose what path to follow by checking them against their poem. They can then choose which basic interpretation most suits their poem. Each element can be used separately in lessons, or the PP can be used as an entire lesson of independent study. This is an excellent starting point for students who say they find poetry to hard but also to train students how to approach unseen poetry independently.

This resource guides GCSE students through the creative impact of paragraphing including: Contrasting paragraphs Changes in pace and action Single sentence paragraphs A circular structure It asks students to consider paragraphing past a purely organisational feature. The resource has references to shared Google sheets as it has been used for remote learning and for students working on a shared Google drive in school. There are stimulation images included for students to imply what they have learned about paragraphing. It references AQA English Language GCSE Paper 1 Question 5 but can easliy be adapted for any GCSE specification. Additionally, upper ability KS3 may find it accessible too.

This presentation goes through the key elements of punctuation and grammar for the GCSE with ROUGH estimates of what they could cost the student in terms of grade. I have been deliberately harsh in order to emphasise the importance to students - you may want to to adapt according to your class. Following some short activities, there are some wider creative writing tasks with photo stimuli.

A series of lessons (5) designed to help students revisit ‘Macbeth’ having studied it previously. The opening slides look at how to get the most out of quotations, choosing which ones to learn carefully. Following ‘lessons’ include ‘Lady Macbeth’, ‘Power and Ambition’, selecting lesser known quotations or scenes to impress the examiner, mindmapping, and ‘Kingship’ I’ve also included an additional lesson I did using two reviews of Macbeth as a way of revising the story but also to tackle English Language Paper 2, question 4. It is lighthearted and supposed to be a bit of a mental break from the grind of revision.

Short unit of work for creative writing - four lessons but could easily be extended into six or seven. Good to set for cover if necessary. Includes extracts from classic literature. Genre sorting table has proven to be a great starter for every key stage and gets students thinking about what they already know about genre.

This whoosh covers the entire book. It is therefore a long whoosh and may need to be split over a number of lessons. A narrative technique where the play is broken down into short narrative chunks. Students can sit in a circle and are invited by the teacher to both ‘become’ characters but also settings and props. It is a fun and easy way to get through the narrative. Detailed guidance given in additional support sheet.

Grade descriptors split into a grid to enable fast marking and demonstrate progression for students.

A narrative technique where the play is broken down into short narrative chunks. Students can sit in a circle and are invited by the teacher to both ‘become’ characters but also settings and props. It is a fun and easy way to get through the narrative. Follow on activities can include giving the students a copy of the Whoosh for them to then create a storyboard or news article in order to familiarise themselves with the story; or they can colour code the writing for themes or tension. Detailed guidance given in additional support sheet.

This is a revision power point which guides students through the AQA English GCSE paper one exam question by question. There are top tips to suggest to students how to get the marks. Also, it includes some sentence starters to avoid the ‘panic’! It also supplies clear topics for further revision. This works best when used in conjunction with an actual paper.

Close focus on question 4 for AQA English paper 1. This revision lesson should be taught with a copy of the sample paper with the extract from ‘Brighton Rock’. Students should follow guidance to attempt a response and then use the examples of assessed work to peer or self assess. Includes slides from AQA guidance.

Complete lesson looking at extended metaphors and semantic fields. Designed to improve question 5 for AQA paper 1. Several famous examples from literature for students to analyse before attempting their own. Then HW to improve previous creative writing.

A condensed study guide to give direction to students who say ‘You can’t revise English language!’

A marking grid which attempts to describe each Literature grade, filling in the gaps between the published grade descriptors from inference from AQA examiner’s reports and course materials. Can use in conjunction with my model essay resource for a solid and successful essay preparation lesson.

A resource to help students to consider the themes present in the CONFLICT anthology for AQA so they can select 7 poems to learn inside out. Pages included to collect and analyse quotations for revision.