Nine highly engaging lessons on Part Two of ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ for the Edexcel English Literature (Women and Society) A Level spec. Resources include: a 56 slide PowerPoint, 2 model comparative essays, essay mark sheet, starter task on chapter 26, detailed handouts on chapters 23 and 26, reading log sheet. Included on the PowerPoint are a wide variety of teaching and learning tasks (all of which have been successfully tried and tested with Year 12 students), key information to aid understanding and progress, and clear signposts to relevant AOs. All chapters of Part Two of the novel are covered - starting with a summary for each chapter. Tasks vary across the chapters but usually include links to theme(s) or context, details of narrative/character presentation, exploration of key methods and textual evidence. I have not split the PowerPoint into specific lessons but I completed this unit in 9 lessons. If you are pushed for lesson time, some tasks could easily be set for homework. The two A* exemplar essays compare ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ with Hardy’s ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’. This unit follows my Part One SoW available separately on TES Resources. My Part Three and Part Four SoW will be uploaded once I have remove all references to my current school from the resources.

Two language change lessons on early dictionaries and the age of prescriptivism for AQA English Language A Level Paper 2. Resources include two PowerPoints (19 slides and 13 slides) and two accompanying student handouts containing relevant information and a range of thought-provoking and engaging activities to apply learning and make it memorable. These lessons have been tried, tested and honed with numerous Year 13 classes as part of my language change SoW. The Words of the Year (WOTY) are from 2023; I will update when the 2024 ones are released.

Eleven highly engaging lessons on Part One of ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ for the Edexcel English Literature (Women and Society) A Level spec. Resources include: a 74 slide PowerPoint, lesson 1 introduction sheet, two key context handouts, detailed handouts on chapters 1 and 15, ATSS reading journal, essay mark sheet, starter task on chapter 5, and a copy of the poem the novel’s title is taken from. Included on the PowerPoint are a wide variety of teaching and learning tasks (all of which have been successfully tried and tested with Year 12 students) for the classroom and homework, key information to aid understanding and progress, and clear signposts to AO1, AO2 or AO3. There is one essay set just on this novel with an accompanying mark scheme with AO4 removed. So out of 30 rather than 40. All 15 chapters of Part One of the novel are covered - starting with a summary for each chapter. Tasks vary across the chapters but usually include links to theme(s) or context, details of narrative/character presentation, exploration of key methods and textual evidence. I have not split the PowerPoint into specific lessons but I completed this unit in 11 lessons. I taught this novel after teaching ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’. However, there are no references to Hardy or Tess in the Part One SoW, so it would work equally if you are teaching the more popular ‘Women and Society’ 19th century novel: ‘Wuthering Heights’. My students had all read the whole novel in the summer between Year 11 and Year 12, so already knew the plot before lessons started after February half term. Half term homework had been to reread Part One. I will be uploading my additional SoWs on Parts Two-Four of this novel as separate TES resources once I have removed all references to my current school from them.

A full lesson including an A* exemplar accents (language diversity) essay produced for my Year 12 AQA English Language students as a modelling example in the Autumn term and 22 slide PowerPoint. This lesson guides Year 12 students through potential content for an AQA Paper 1 Section A evaluative essay (after I had taught the accents part of my accent and dialect SoW). This is followed by use of the exemplar essay to guide students through the AQA mark scheme and exemplify level 4 and some level 5 AO1 and AO2 success criteria. Initially, I cut up the essay and asked students to organise it into an argument (AO1 level 4), then we discussed whether it guided the reader (AO1 level 5). We then explored the use of precise AO1 terminology and academic register before exploring evidence of detailed knowledge and comments on different views and approaches (AO2 level 4) and how some of these views were challenged and evaluated (AO2 level 5). The PowerPoint also helps students understand what the mark scheme wording means. I then gave my students two new accents essay titles to choose from for their first A Level essay - details on PowerPoint. All lesson details are on the PowerPoint with some additional tips/ideas/links in the notes sections. This lesson proved a great success with high quality A Level essays produced by my students. The AQA Paper 2 Section A mark scheme can be found on the AQA website.

An outstanding lesson on I Love Me Mudder for Year 7 during Black History Month. Includes a range of engaging activities, differentiation tasks, a pre-lesson research worksheet (could be used in class or for homework) and guided self assessment. Tried and tested with great success in the classroom for the last three years.

10 resources for 3 highly engaging, thought provoking and informative lessons (with 3 independent study tasks) exploring attitudes to regional British accents for AQA AS/A Level English Language Paper 2 Section A. The lessons explore a variety of linguistic concepts, ideas and research including accent bias, changing attitudes, Giles’ matched guise research, the 2004 BBC poll and 2013 ITV findings with a wide range of audio clip links to support teaching and learning. Independent learning tasks develop and consolidate learning as well as aiding revision and essay writing skills. The lessons also include exploration of the Alex Scott Tokyo 2020 Olympics commentary Twitter debate to demonstrate accentism is still very much alive. Across the wide range of activities there are also links to the Teach Real English, Accent Bias Britain and Accentism Project websites for useful resources and information. The lessons were created for Year 12 and can be used for either AS or A Level students. With this in mind, I have included different essay title wording on slides within the second lesson PowerPoint for either AS or A Level. I have also included both my Paper 2 Section A AS and A Level student mark sheets for discursive/evaluative essays. These activities are all tried and tested in the classroom with excellent results.

A sheet I created to use for CLD essay feedback (AQA English Language A Level Paper 1 Section B) highlighting where students have met the assessment criteria for AO1 and AO2 and highlighting (or adding) key targets. I then staple it to the front of the essay. I have used this successfully since the new spec came in. It helps focus students on key areas for improvement and what the A Level examiners are specifically looking for. Please visit my TES shop for further A Level English Language resources.

A* essay responses to the AQA 2017 and 2018 English Language A Level exams (Paper 1 Section B Children’s language development - Q4 learning to talk task). These essays meet the criteria for high level 5 for both AO1 and AO2 so are ideal as ready made modelling examples for any of the knowledge and skills required for this section of the A Level exams. They have proved hugely beneficial for previous and current students in the classroom and one-to-one tutoring for essay content, structure and the mark scheme skills listed below. AO1: linguistic methods and terminology applied with patterns and complexities identified different levels of language analysis applied in an integrated way with connections explored levels of language analysis applied with no errors reader is guided through the essay AO2: a synthesised and conceptualised and individual overview of issues demonstrated approaches, views and interpretations of linguistic issues evaluated and challenged

Tried and tested essay planning sheet for AQA GCSE ‘Macbeth’ essays. This resource reminds students they need to explore both the printed extract and show their knowledge and understanding of other scenes in the play. It is perfect for planning those early essays and for revision planning. My students found it especially useful for reminding them of areas of context they could include. I enlarge it to A3 for classroom planning (leaving space to add more ideas after whole class feedback), but leave it as A4 if homework planning. It has also proved to be an invaluable resource for private tutoring and can be simply tweaked for other set GCSE plays or novels.

33 resources for 15 engaging and meaningful lessons teaching ‘War Horse’. This scheme of work was adapted for my mixed ability Year 7 class during lockdown for delivery via remote learning. Therefore, it is also ideal for teaching in classrooms with new Covid protocols in place. If you have any pupils self-isolating, resources for each lesson can quickly be emailed or uploaded to your school’s virtual learning environment. Lessons would also be suitable for if you need to set cover. A wide range of extension tasks and differentiation by choice are included, as well as vocabulary support for most chapters, hyperlinks to clips from the film and audio versions of each chapter, and SPaG practice. Many tasks can be self-assessed. Pupils study the whole text of ‘War Horse’ and their understanding is built up through a series of structured lessons focusing on the development of reading skills such as retrieving information, extending vocabulary, comprehension, deducing, inferring and interpreting ideas and then commenting on the writer’s use of language and/or structure. A detailed mark scheme is included for the end of unit teacher marked reading assessment (in the style of GCSE paper 1) including example answers for varying marks. This scheme of work proved hugely successful with my pupils who had an array of specific learning needs, many requiring additional support or challenge. Pupils especially liked the range of learning tasks, engaging starters, the clarity of the instructions and activities encouraging empathy with the narrator and other characters.

Set of resources for a Year 7 lesson at the start of term revising correct use of capital letters, full stops and commas. This was specifically adapted for pupils to complete individually and self assess in our new post lockdown classrooms. Main task answers and some extension tasks are included on the PowerPoint. Alternatively, you could set these SPaG tasks as remote learning or homework. Hopefully this will help fellow English teachers at the busy start of the academic year. All you need to do in advance is print off the worksheets (or upload to your virtual learning environment).

Seven tried and tested resources on poetry which can be used as challenge, or homework or starter activities with KS3 classes. They include a wide variety of tasks (differentiation by choice) to enable pupils to explore the effects of a range of language and structural techniques. These tasks also help pupils respond to more challenging ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions to help develop evaluative skills. Pupils have found these activities extremely beneficial in preparation for end of unit and end of year assessments. I have these resources (along with my prose extension reading tasks and challenge writing tasks) laminated on coloured paper (green for reading and yellow for writing) in a folder my pupils can access if they have completed all my main lesson tasks. I have also used these activities for cover lessons and as adaptive learning group tasks. Now my school is moving towards pupils using laptops in lessons, I have uploaded these into my KS3 class Teams rooms to encourage pupils to access stretch and challenge activities as part of their independent learning. I have uploaded my reading challenge prose tasks and writing challenge tasks as separate packs on TES. You can also purchase all three in a money saving bundle.

An 81 slide fun quiz made up of 53 questions and answers which can be used for KS3, KS4 or even KS5 classes with three main rounds for engaging variety in those end of term lessons. There is a 25 question general literature knowledge quiz first - with the extra benefit that the last letter of each answer is the beginning letter of the following answer. This is followed by a ten question round on literary terms. You may or may not want to add correct spelling into the mix for that round! Answers are at the end of that round. The third round is a name that book round with fifteen book covers with the titles blanked out. Answers are at the end of that round. The books are from a range of target ages and genres. There is also a final round of three bonus questions if you need some tie-breakers. This was initially created last year and proved hugely popular with all my English classes from Year 7 to Year 13. It is an hour of end of term fun related to English, literature and independent reading.

An excellent range of tried and tested resources for three engaging revision lessons on the key skills for AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 (Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing) Section A: Reading. These lessons require no additional prep - just download, print out the word docs and you’re good to go. Resources: a detailed PowerPoint for each lesson ( 16, 11 and 13 slides each), an extract from Game of Thrones, a question/answer booklet plus exemplar answers. These lessons include a range of interesting pair and whole class activities as well as individual tasks, self and peer assessment and reflections. Mark schemes for levels 2-4 are on the PowerPoints to aid assessment of student work and exemplars. Several activities have differentiation. Most slides have extra information in the notes sections to aid the busy teacher and task timings on relevant slides. Lesson 1 focus is an overview of Paper 1 plus close attention to questions 1 and 2. Lesson 2 focuses on question 3. Lesson 3 on question 4. Each lesson fits into one hour with a starter task to help settle the class and encourage thinking about or using relevant skills. Each lesson also involves timed individual work on the relevant question. Self and peer assessment (guided by peer assessment of the exemplar answers) of all tasks cuts down teacher marking. DIRT is factored into lesson 2 (question 3) and homework tasks for lessons 1 and 3. These lessons have proved highly successful with my Year 11 English classes in the final weeks before their GCSE exams.

Seven resources for an outstanding rated observed lesson on Frankenstein for the new AQA GCSE 1-9 spec. Lesson created for a top set Year 10 class exploring the methods Shelley uses to create tension and drama in Chapter 23 (AO2 focus). Details on lesson plan re objectives, timings, differentiation, creative and independent learning. Plus some extra info on the notes sections under some slides. I laminated the starter picture and AO2 criteria so I could use them again. I hope some or all of the ideas are useful and save my fellow English teachers some valuable time for prep, marking, family time or much needed sleep!

31 ready-made tried and tested homework tasks for essential AO6 skills (new English Language GCSEs). These tasks help KS4 students develop a useful repertoire of ambitious vocabulary. In addition, they increase a student’s ability to use a range of sentence structures and are beneficial in developing punctuation proficiency. The first 15 tasks focus on narrative, descriptive or viewpoint writing. The rest link with specific English Lit set texts - so also useful for revision. Each homework task gives students at least three words to find a dictionary definition for and then place into a sentence. Extension tasks encourage punctuation variety or more extended writing. Some tasks include differentiation by choice. Moreover, key skills of close reading and following instructions are boosted with set rules (such as one sentence must be a complex sentence beginning with a subordinate clause) to be followed. Rules vary across the tasks. If students misread or ignore the rules, I make them redo the homework. I created these for mixed ability GCSE classes. Over time, the tasks led to significant improvements in each student’s use of more ambitious vocabulary, sentence variety and accuracy in a wider range of punctuation. I print out the tasks for the first few weeks, then refer students to their virtual learning environment to save my photocopying bill. Marking is straight forward with definitions checked through peer assessment. Eventually all main tasks can be peer assessed with teacher marking of extension tasks only. I also issue students with an AO6 homework help sheet (included) to refer to if needed. Set texts covered: A Christmas Carol (2), Frankenstein (2), Great Expectations (2), Macbeth (2), Romeo and Juliet (2), AQA Power and Conflict Poetry - also relevant for Edexcel Conflict Poetry (2), An Inspector Calls (2), Lord of the Flies (2).

Two sheets to be enlarged to A3 to help students revise key quotes from ‘An Inspector Calls’ for the new AQA English Literature GCSE Paper 2. This revision resource was created specifically with my visual learners in mind. I photocopied the sheets single sided to encourage students to display them at home.

Four resources (15 slide PowerPoint, modelling examples, AQA style extract essay question - with additional tips to support less able students, and two short extracts for focused close analysis) for one lesson and a homework preparing Year 11 students for their ‘Great Expectations’ essay question in Paper 1 of the new AQA English Literature GCSE exam. A range of activities are included in which students complete tasks (discussions, notes, annotations, PEEL paragraphs, peer and self-assessment, DIRT) in pairs/individually which focus on the need for detailed, close analysis of the exam extract. Two activities also encourage students to include relevant contextual detail in their answers. The lesson builds on my previous revision lesson (available separately on TES Resources) which helps students revise key aspects of the novel as a whole, and builds towards the homework task: timed essay for teacher marking and feedback. Most tasks offer differentiation by choice and students work on their individual targets after peer assessment. Moreover, most slides have additional information or ideas in the notes sections. The lesson was created for a mixed ability Year 11 class. All the activities were well received. My students especially liked the modelling examples and revision of how to analyse structure as well as language. As a teacher, I was extremely pleased with the resulting essays.