This fifty slide powerpoint on Sherlock Holmes could be used as background to the study of a Conan Doyle text; as part of a crime writing scheme of learning; or as a one off lesson to get students to create their own detective character. The folder includes: A powerpoint with brainstorming activity on different fictional detectives; a ten question quiz on the character traits of Sherlock Holmes; historical background information about how Conan Doyle created Holmes and his popularity. A worksheet to support students to create their own detective. Follow-up comprehension questions to consolidated the learning for homework.

Engage your students in creative writing with this eight lesson student workbook and accompanying powerpoint. Students imagine that their car has broken down near the haunting and mysterious Howley Hall Hotel. Just like Brad and Janet, they knock on the door, whereupon they encounter a strange old lady. Little do they know that inside a strange presence lurks. They are guided to write a gothic story at the same time as revising basic skills, such as sentence demarcation; capital letters; homophones - their/they’re/their; your/you’re; punctuation speech; commas in lists; vocabulary enrichment; complex sentences; sentence variety. Suitable for primary students or secondary students who need to revise basic skills.

Two lessons using the opening of 1984 to introduce students to the features of dystopian fiction with a particular emphasis on Orwell’s use of pathetic fallacy in the introduction. The lesson sequence is as follows: Lesson 1 Starter on what students think makes a perfect world. Explanation of origin of term dystopia. Examples of dystopian fiction for children. Overview of 1984 without spoilers. Analysis of techniques used in opening to establish the dystopian atmosphere of the novel. Zoom in on Orwell’s use of pathetic fallacy. Students identify examples. Answers on slide. Discussion regarding living in this kind of world. Lesson 2 Students return to their original thoughts on what makes a perfect world. Narrative writing in preparation for AQA GCSE English Paper One Narrative Writing. Choice of writing a story about a perfect world or writing a story inspired by a picture of the Earth. Both with focus on using pathetic fallacy and sensory description. Folder includes 24 slide powerpoint and copy of extract of opening. Students are quite rightly fascinated by this amazing novel.

Have oodles of fun designing your own theme park. This step-by-step Word guide explains how to create a marketing campaign for your very own theme park. The steps include: Create a name and a logo for your theme park. Design four new rides for your park and write a sentence to sell each of them. Create two areas to appeal small children. Create a new on-site hotel with themed rooms. Put it all together in a leaflet to publicise the theme park. This sixteen-page booklet contains example texts which have been marked-up to highlight key features.

This student workbook contains activities based on poems from Benjamin Zephaniah’s poetry antholgy entitled “Talking Turkeys”. There are twelve lessons covering the following poems - “Greetings”, “Bodytalk”, “Running”, “Fear Not”, “Little Sister”, “According To My Mood”, “De Generation Rap”, “Civil Lies”, “For Sale”, “Who’s Who”, “Heroes” , “Memories” and “Pride”. There is also “Checking Out Me History” by John Agard included for comparison. Creative writing tasks include writing about a hero and writing about a time when you felt proud. This is designed to engage and enthuse low ability students with fun activities on the great Benjamin Zephaniah. An added bonus is a powerpoint that encourages students to write about a relative.

Three lessons using an extract from Bill Bryson’s “Notes from a Big Country” on the theme of junk food. The lesson sequence is as follows: With a worksheet of devices, students learn the techniques that writers can use to create humour. They then identify these devices in the extract. The second lesson is transactional writing where students write an article to persuade their class mates to eat healthily in timed GCSE exam practice conditions. The third lesson is a feedback lesson after the articles have been marked. The folder includes a WAGOLL from a real GCSE student and exercises to help students make their conclusions more powerful.

This twenty-six slide powerpoint contains two lessons on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18. In the first lesson, students get to grips with the archaic vocabulary by translating the sonnet into modern English. They can then focus on the meaning and the extended metaphor of the weather. In the second lesson, students are taught the key structural elements of the Shakespearian sonnet form. They then have a go at writing their own love sonnet. For inspiration, Benjamin Zephaniah’s poem “I Love Me Mudder” is included, which they could turn into sonnet form. They are given three-step guidance to writing a sonnet and then time to reflect on the process and Shakespeare’s achievement of writing 154 sonnets in total. Included in folder are: Copy of sonnet with glossary of archaic vocabulary. Copy of Benjamin Zephaniah’s “I Love Me Mudder” 26 slide powerpoint with starters.

Help your students to recognize and identify bias in newspaper reports. Students are presented with two newspaper reports which they have to make more biased using the techniques that they have identified throughout the lesson. Help your students to become more savvy readers of the media.

A basic scheme of work aimed at weaker students that you can build on and develop for students of higher ability. Eleven powerpoints guide you through the text with ideas for development. Many storyboards of the action are included to reinforce understanding of the plot. Background work includes a powerpoint on Mary Shelley and the history of the discovery of electricity.

Travel writing is one of the best ways to teach students to use language in a sophisticated way. In this project students choose a city or region of the world that they are interested in and create a travel guide on it using the example provided as a style model. The style model is about the Spanish city of Girona and the sections of the travel guide include: An introduction 3 Days in your chosen destination. Four of the best things to do there. Essential information with top tips for visiting. Final section original to the student. Students’ attention is drawn to the use of premodifying adjectives and imperatives, which are typical of this style of writing. Students are able to see how travel writers sell destination through interweaving information about history, modernity and cuisine to make their locations sound exciting and attractive. There is also the possibility to turn the travel guide into a speaking and listening activity as students imagine that they work for the tourist board of their destination and wish to promote it.

This folder includes a powerpoint which guides students through the poem. The first activity helps them to work out what the Latin sentence “Dulce et Decorum est…” means. This is followed by looking at the poem in terms of Owen’s use of similes, metaphors and imagery. Two example paragraphs of analysis of the first lines of the poem serve as a model to encourage students to write some analysis of their own. A storyboard worksheet is also included which students could complete for homework.This lesson could be used in conjunction with the background lesson on Wilfred Owen, also found here.

Have fun exploring ideas about animal cruelty with Benjamin Zephaniah’s hilarious poem “Talking Turkeys”. This folder contains a cloze exercise on the poem to engage students directly with the text with follow-up comprehension questions. There are then three more powerpoint options for further exploration. Students can either create a leaflet to persuade people to give up turkey and eat something else at Christmas. Or if you are looking for a Christmas themed activity, students can use the poem as inspiration for their own Christmas poem. And don’t forget to watch Mr Zephaniah in action on Youtube, performing said poem in a bright pink shell suit. Not to be missed!

This introductory lesson to the greatest World War One poet includes sixteen slides about his life. The folder also contains a very moving letter that he wrote to his mother about a disastrous sentry duty that he had to undertake. The powerpoint concludes with a choice of activities inspired by this letter, such as highlighting all the powerful language and writing your own poem; responding to the letter as Owen’s mother; interviewing Owen and then writing up the interview as a newspaper report (planning sheets included). A great resource to celebrate the centenary of the end of World War One and can be used in both English lessons and history lessons. This can also be used as an introduction to the two other lessons on Dulce et Decorum Est and Exposure, both available here.

Support your students to write a formal letter of objection to the council regarding the building of three new houses on a residential road. Using the thirty-two slide powerpoint, students compare two letters of objection looking for similarities and differences, as well as evaluating which is the best. Then they write their letter to their council objecting to the proposal to build an office block in the middle of the local park. The powerpoint creates interest in the subject by giving information about the importance and history of parks. Students then generate ideas together for the content and the structure of the task. The folder contains Word copies of the example letters and a powerpoint. Perfect for preparing students for GCSE transactional writing.

Using the poem “Nettles” by Vernon Scannell, students analyse the effect of the extended metaphor of military imagery to describe the nettles before engaging with the theme of the poem. In the second lesson, students learn how to create extended metaphors themselves with an example comparing school to a prison. Students are given several choices and lots of support to then choose a vehicle for their own extended metaphor. Folder includes: A worksheet to identify meanings of military imagery words before reading. Copy of poem. 25 slide powerpoint.

Teach students how great writers like Roald Dahl create their characters. This powerpoint introduces four lessons on Dahl’s iconic teacher, Captain Hardcastle, from his memoir “Boy”. The folder includes: Lesson 1 - analysis grid on how Dahl “shows, not tells” and exercise for students to do the same. Lesson 2 - analysis grid on how Dahl uses similes and metaphors and exercise for students to create simile.s Lesson 3 - analysis grid on how Dahl uses colour in his description and exercises for students to come up with more interesting colour adjectives and to use them. Lesson 4 - write an essay on how Dahl creates this unpleasant character with 3 WAGOLL PEE paragraphs and further support. You’ll end up despising this character, just as Dahl intended!

Teach your students how to write a ballad poem using the life of ex-slave and slave rescuer, Harriet Tubman. Celebrating the heroic life of Harriet Tubman, this twenty slide powerpoint shows how her life story was made into a ballad by Eloise Crosby Culver. Students then study the key features of ballads and are invited to add an extra verse of their own to the ballad, with historical information about the great lady. Students are then tasked with writing their own ballads about either a fictional or real person. Links in well with writing a ballad about Kissin' Kate Barlow from "Holes".

Enable your students to focus on effective structure and language features by inspiring them to write a story with the title “The Rescue” by giving them a real life newspaper report on a dramatic mid-sea rescue of a cargo ship. The report contains all the details they need and all they have to do is to transform the structure of the report into the five-part story structure, enabling you to focus on what makes an effective narrative. The folder includes: A powerpoint with pointers and tips. A Word version of the report. A Word planning sheet. Designed for both AQA and Eduqas GCSE narrative writing.

Introduce your students to the fascinating story of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre with this thirty-four slide powerpoint, complete with visually stimulating images to illustrate the information. The follow-up activities include: A twenty-three sentence cloze exercise to help students embed and remember the information. Diagrams of the theatre to label. An interview with an imaginary theatre-goer to stimulate further understanding of the context. Support for a writing task where students imagine that they have been to see a Shakespeare play. True or false on Shakespeare’s Globe. Written information on Shakespeare’s Globe that could be used for homework. Transport your students back in time to the seventeenth century with this comprehensive folder of resources!

This Powerpoint introduces the historical context of witches in Macbeth with a true or false game where students have to identify the correct or incorrect statements about witches. Students are then given some information about James V1th’s role in witchcraft persecution. Before studying Act One Scene One they are presented with a modern translation so that they understand what is going on. They then read Shakespeare’s Act One Scene One and consider what was lost in the translation and why Shakespeare’s scene is much more powerful. Students enjoy reading and acting out the scene in groups. They are then asked to design three costumes for a modern version of the play, focusing on representing the witches as powerful, evil and frightening. At the end of the lesson, you can show them Roman Polanski’s opening scene and compare and contrast their costumes with Polanski’s choices. Could be used as a precursor to my lesson on the witches’ spell; as part of an introduction to Shakespeare or as part of a scheme on Macbeth.