This resource is designed to be used with Chapter 7 of the novel Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. This chapter is titled ‘Twenty-Eight Minutes Past One’. The is the final chapter set in the home village as they Peaceful boys leave for war at the end of the chapter. It is also the final chapter in which Molly, Mother Peaceful and The Colonel play a central role so they are a focus of this lesson. This resource contains a powerpoint presentation that is used to complete a pre-reading discussion, to check the pupils’ comprehension of this chapter and to generate a discussion whether the pupils think Molly, Mother Peaceful and The Colonel are ‘good’ characters or not. As a teacher, you can decide if you want ‘good’ to mean good in terms of their morals or if you want it to mean effective as a character. This resource also includes some worksheets. These contain a lesson(s) plan, 3 activities and some extension work. The first activity asks pupils to work in a group/pair and to discuss who are their favourite 3 characters and why. They can record their ideas on the worksheet for this activity . The second activity asks the pupils to write whether they think Molly, Mother Peaceful and The Colonel are ‘good’ characters and give reasons for their answers. This activity follows on from the class discussion on the powerpoint presentation. This third activity is an extended writing task which asks the pupils to write a character description of Molly, Mother Peaceful or The Colonel. They are given some tips on what they could include before they write. In the extension activity, pupils are given 10 actions that characters in the novel have done so far. They are asked to use a thesaurus to find suitable adverbs to describe how the characters do these actions. This resource should take at least two lessons to complete, but it could be used for more depending on how much time you allow for the discussions. The extension work could also be used as a whole class activity or as homework. Please look at our other Private Peaceful lessons in this series.

This is an Entry Level 2 Functional Skills English reading resource. It consists of 3 non-fiction reading texts with comprehension questions. The first text gives advice on how to safely make a bonfire, the second is an advertisement for a Guy Fawkes fireworks display and the third is an informative text about different ‘fire’ celebrations around the world. These texts can be used as class activities, exam revision or as homework. Please look at our other Functional Skills Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes resources.

This resource contains a selection of activities to be used after teaching the 1st Chapter of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘Private Peaceful’. It contains comprehension tasks, tasks where pupils are asked their opinion and task which asks pupils to write an imaginative response to the novel.

This lesson is to be taught with Chapter 8 ‘Fourteen Minutes Past Two’ of Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo. There is a series of worksheets and a powerpoint presentation to be used during the lesson. The presentation is used to help organise the lesson structure and to provide visuals to help check pupils’ understanding of the text and to generate ideas for their oracy and their writing. This resource is normally used for between two and three hours of teaching. The activities of the lesson are: • Listen to/read the 8th chapter of the novel. • Check your comprehension of the story by describing what happened using the images on the lesson powerpoint. • Group Discussion: What makes a character effective in a story? • Lesson Activity: Write A Character Report On Charlie Peaceful Complete a writing plan for your report on Charlie Peaceful. Write your report on Charlie Peaceful. • Extension Work: • Were Charlie’s Actions Right Or Wrong? Write down as many reasons as you can for why Charlie’s action were right and wrong. Plenary: Class Discussion Class debate on whether Charlie was right or wrong to act the way he did. Please look at our other Private Peaceful lessons.

This is a reading for pleasure assembly best used to promote reading in your school.

This resource consists of a revision exercise for a Functional Skills Entry Level 2 assessment. It is for staff use, providing a topic for a discussion and a checklist to assess whether pupils have passed the test or not. Although this assessment follows the theme of Halloween, it can easily be edited for any topic and used multiple times. There are two pages for this resource, one for teachers to assess multiple pupils and one for assessing one pupil which can be placed in this pupil’s file. Please look at our other Functional Skills Halloween resources ranging from Entry Level 1 to Level 1 and including reading, writing and speaking and listening activities.

This text has been specifically designed for pupils to use when learning how to pick out literary techniques used by writers and for them to explain why the writer has used these examples that they have picked out. The text is about a person entering a haunted house. It is best used with our other resources on Writer’s Techniques which are also available on this site.

This resource consists of two speaking and listening discussions for Functional Skills English Level 1. It is for staff use, providing a topic for a discussion and a checklist to assess the pupils progress. Although this assessment follows the theme of Christmas, it can easily be edited for any topic and used multiple times. There are two pages for each activity, one for teachers to assess multiple pupils and one for assessing one pupil which can be placed in this pupil’s file. The first discussion asks pupils to imagine that they are arranging a charity Christmas dinner. As a group they must discuss what food and drink to serve, what activities to put on, where to hold it and what charity to raise money for. The must make a final decision as a group to end the discussion. The second discussion poses the question, “Is Christmas too commercialised?” In a group, students must discuss this question and come to a group conclusion. This discussion is linked to our Christmas Functional Skills English Level 1 reading resource. Both discussion should last around 15 minutes, but it depends on the number of pupils involved. Please look at our other Functional Skills Christmas resources ranging from Entry Level 1 to Level 1 and including reading, writing and speaking and listening activities.

This lesson is best taught after the pupils have read or listened to the second chapter of ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’. The main activities in this lesson are centered on the question of whether farmers should be allowed to kill foxes or not. The main production activities are a class discussion on this question and a writing activity where the pupils write a formal letter to the council giving their own opinion and asking for the council to act. There are structured writing plans for the pupils to complete, one that argues for farmers killing foxes and one that argues against it. These writing plans are differentiated, with different versions to accommodate more and less able pupils. There is also an extension activity for pupils who finish before others in the class, which is called ‘The Angry Farmer Conjunction Challenge!’

This unit contains a series of lessons for an ‘All About Me’ topic. It includes reading, writing and speaking and listening. The writing lessons are differentiated with higher level planning sheets and writing support sheets. The lessons in the unit include: Read about other people and complete a profile about them. Have a group discussion with other pupils telling them about the person you have read about and taking notes on the people they tell you about. Complete a profile about yourself. Write all about yourself. Have a group discussion telling other pupils all about you and taking notes on what they tell you about themselves. Complete an ‘All About Me’ poster.

This resource is to be taught with Chapter 3 of Michael Morpurgo’s novel ‘Private Peaceful’. It deals primarily with two topics. These are the character of Grandma Wolf and that of the kids in the story poaching. This resource actually contains enough activities to last for a series of lessons. The teacher can choose which activities they wish their pupils to do in class and can use other activities as homework if they wish. The activities included are used with the following lesson(s) plan: Lesson(s) Plan: • Listen to/read the 3rd Chapter of the novel. • Complete the comprehension challenge about Grandma Wolf. • Take part in a group discussion about whether the kids should poach or not. • Record the opinions of you and your group on this topic. • Take part in a class debate on this topic. • Work on a writing plan for a discursive essay. • Write a discursive essay about whether the kids should poach or not. There is also a sheet which gives pupil some useful language that they can use in discursive writing.

This resource is best taught after the pupils have read or listened to the first four chapters of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘Private Peaceful’. It contains comprehension exercises regarding the character development of some main characters in the first four chapters. It also deals with the theme in Chapter 4 of ‘An Amazing Event’. In Chapter 4 the kids see a yellow aeroplane and meet its pilot. Pupils are asked to list amazing events from their lifetime and ones they have lived witnessed, before they plan then write about witnessing an amazing event. also included, is a presentation that accompanies the lesson. It can be used with the activities in the lesson, as a starter, a plenary or it can lead to further speaking and listening activities. Here are the main activities in this unit: • Listen to/read the 4th chapter of the novel. • Complete the comprehension challenge regarding 4 characters in 4 chapters. • Make a list of any amazing events that have happened in your lifetime or that you have witnessed. • Take part in a class/group discussion about these events. • Work on a writing plan for describing witnessing an amazing event. • Write a text about witnessing an amazing event.

This includes a Level 1 Functional Skills English reading resource. Pupils are asked to read a text discussing whether we should celebrate Guy Fawkes Night or not. The writer discusses both sides of the debate and then concludes with their opinion on how we should change the way it is celebrated in modern times. Pupils could research this topic before or after reading the text, looking into the gunpowder plot and the history of how Guy Fawkes Night has been celebrated. After reading, the pupils have to complete a comprehension exercise and they are also asked for their opinion on the topic. The reading leads to a Level 1 Functional Skills speaking and listening exercise where pupils debate whether we should celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, stop celebrating it or continue to celebrate it, but change the way that we do it. The group must come to a conclusion at the end if the discussion, taking everyone’s views into account. The speaking and listening resource included is for staff to use as an assessment tool. There is a checklist of skills used to chart pupil progress both as a group and individually. This is a quick and easy way to assess pupils in their Functional Skills speaking and listening and it provides clear evidence in pupils’ books or folders.

This is a Functional Skills Entry Level 2 English writing resource. There are two writing tasks. In the first task, the students have to apply for permission to hold a firework display. In the second task, they have to write an article for a newspaper informing the public about a Bonfire Night that they are holding. These resources can be used as a stand-alone exam revision exercise or in a series of lessons involving Guy Fawkes Night or other celebrations. Before writing, the pupils may benefit from researching different types of fireworks and how to make the displays safe.

This series of resources is to be taught while studying ‘Of Mice and Men’. It is designed predominantly for classes in Special Needs schools in the UK. The resources help the pupils prepare for various qualifications. This includes Entry Level English, Functional Skills English and GCSE English Language. In total, there are 11 lessons in the series. Each lesson is differentiated. This means that the lessons are set at EL1, EL2, EL3 and at wither Level 1 Functional Skills or GCSE. There are reading, writing and speaking and listening lessons. Both the writing and speaking and listening lessons can be taught using various marking schemes. These lessons can also be used in main stream education for pupils working either below GCSE level or at a low GCSE level. This lesson should be taught after Lennie has had the fight with Curley. It prepares pupils for Functional Skills Level 1 reading exams.

This series of resources is to be taught while studying ‘Of Mice and Men’. It is designed predominantly for classes in Special Needs schools in the UK. The resources help the pupils prepare for various qualifications. This includes Entry Level English, Functional Skills English and GCSE English Language. In total, there are 11 lessons in the series. Each lesson is differentiated. This means that the lessons are set at EL1, EL2, EL3 and at wither Level 1 Functional Skills or GCSE. There are reading, writing and speaking and listening lessons. Both the writing and speaking and listening lessons can be taught using various marking schemes. These lessons can also be used in main stream education for pupils working either below GCSE level or at a low GCSE level. This lesson is to be taught just before George and Lennie get to The Ranch. It prepares the pupils for the Entry Level 1 Functional Skills Writing exam.