A Midsummer Night’s Dream Context, Genre Conventions and Narrative Worksheets. A detailed, informative essay on the play’s origin and context. A detailed and clear plot synopsis with a plot ordering task as a print out worksheet. An information and worksheet exploring the conventions of Shakespearean comedy. All documents are in worksheet format, fully editable and printable. No preparation is required.

Created to raise student achievement in the Edexcel A Level Literature 9ETO/02 examination, a collection of eight sophisticated, evaluative and detailed thesis statements drawing connections between Frankenstein and The Handmaid’s Tale. The statements address all Assessment Objectives for this examination and can be adapted for use in most essays. A number of tasks are included to familiarise students with the language of the mark scheme and to develop their analytical writing skills to an excellent standard. The content and tasks here can be used as one lesson and homework or extended into a longer unit of work.

A nine slide ppt and 8 page work pack filled with examples of good quality writing that shows rather than tells, top tips, tasks and challenges for students to build skills in using language to show something with their creative writing skills rather than tell it. Ideal for AQA GCSE Language Paper 1 or Key Stages 2 and 3 creative writing.

A detailed program for Australian Stage 4 Year 8 on Trash by Andy Mulligan which is estimated to last 7 or 8 weeks / 20 to 25 lessons. All activities are tied to Australian National Curriculum Outcomes and fully differentiated for G&T, LD and ESL students. Learning activities and assessment tasks are embedded throughout taking the form of group projects, debates, close analysis of visual, literary and digital texts, and creative writing in a range of text types including news reports, feature articles and diary text types. Students also compose graphic organisers, charts and Venn diagrams. Visible thinking routines, self and peer assessment are used throughout, and there is an emphasis on social justice, diversity, sustainability and critical thinking built into all tasks. Extensive ICT learning is embedded through the unit with the creation and development of a ‘Digital Portfolio’ where students will store and reflect on their work. All activities also comply with UK NC guidelines.

A five page resource to aid last minute ‘cramming’ and revision for AQA GCSE Literature Paper 1 and Paper 2 middle to lower ability students. The texts covered are Macbeth, A Christmas Carol and The Lord of the Flies. Each page consists of a number of key words, pertinent textual references, core events, tone, context and symbolism. There are also pages for the Power and Conflict poetry cluster and the Unseen Poetry section of Paper 2. These consist of key words, voice, symbolism, tone, context, pace and setting. Ideas and possible structures for essay responses are included as acronyms and bullet points, as are sentence stems and discourse markers to aid comparison. These cards work well alone or as a short booklet.

A really handy venn diagram and 6 short tasks which asks students to investigate the characters Hamlet, Claudius and Laertes through consideration of the ways they are similar and unique. This is a great way to stretch students’ knowledge of the play, stimulate discussion and debate, or simply to use as a homework task for A Level courses.

15 ‘Midsummer and Me’ Debate and Discussion Question Cards which outline an ethical issue in the play and ask a series of critical thinking questions. This set is very flexible and can be used in a number of ways. Most popular uses so far are as ‘speed dating’ group discussions or as the basis for more formal debates. Tasks can be used as essay questions. Class Debates. Full instructions for holding a more formal class debate are provided along with 20 thought provoking, controversial debate topics. A handout explaining and giving examples of persuasive language devices is also included. This resource makes up part of my bundle full unit of work on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Designed for A Level or advanced GCSE students, a 25 slide power-point presentation which provides a detailed introduction to literary criticism. The concept of critical ‘lenses’ is described and short explanations are given of a number of critical paradigms including Formalism, Deconstructionism, Historical, Intertextual, Psychological, Archetypal, Mimetic and Reader-Response. Feminist (8 slides) and Marxist (4 slides) critical perspectives are explored in some detail, encompassing their core aims, central concerns and interests with specific reference to aspects of The Great Gatsby and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Bibliographies and guidelines for conducting further research are also included.

AQA Macbeth. A really useful ppt and printable word document that provides TEN AQA GCSE Literature Paper 1 critical evaluation exam style questions based around the ‘to what extent’ or ‘how far do you agree’ stems. Four of the question slides include a comprehensive or partial list of points to support an argument which encourage students to add their own ideas, forming a basis for a written response. Five exam style questions with extracts from the play make up the remainder of the ppt. If worked through in order, the slides build on reading and essay writing skills, though the resource works very well if used in any order.

A detailed table which breaks down many of the similarities and differences in the ways the characters, narrative events and issues in the play are extended, challenged and subverted in the modern film appropriation. It can be used as a support resource for an essay, presentation or to aid revision. It can also be adapted by deleting some parts of the text and asking students to add their own ideas and examples.

Twenty questions testing knowledge and understanding of the whole play. Most questions are multiple choice, some require short written answers and quotation interpretation. The test should take no longer than 30 minutes to complete and a full answer key is provided.

A Scheme of Work for the A Level Edexcel Coursework Component 9ET0/04 based around The Great Gatsby. Included are 20 tried and tested essay questions that have lead to successful coursework submissions, 22 possible comparison texts and 10 specific points of comparison with any second text. There is a list of over 30 textual themes and issues in The Great Gatsby, notes and tasks on its contextual influences, literary elements and narrative methods. There are also links to 3 useful documentaries.

This highly engaging scheme of learning which asks students to compare the film Bladerunner and Shelley’s novel Frankenstein focusing on the cultural paradigms and key contextual concerns of the creators of each text. Students explore what each text asserts about what it is to be human and our relationship with the natural world and spiritual realm. A number of essay tasks are included with a marking rubric and two exemplar essays.

Midsummer Night’s Dream Scene by Scene Quizzes of between 10 and 20 multiple choice questions. All are available as printouts and ppt presentations with one question per slide to aid feedback or so quizzes can easily be turned into a class competition. A full answer key is provided and everything is printable and editable. A quiz on the opening scene which asks for short written responses. This can be used with any age group though it is probably better suited to 14 years old and upwards, GCSE and A Level or similar age curriculums.

15 A Midsummer Night’s Dream critical thinking essay question cards, indicative content and marking sheets. Best for A Level or extending GCSE students, or any curriculum ages 14+. All resources are printable and editable. Each has a challenging and engaging central essay question, with the remainder of the page given over to a number of thought provoking and sophisticated thesis statements or ideas which students can extend to form a complete essay. Questions focus on: love, power, characterization, the influence of setting, narrative methods, justice and morality, reality and illusion, the conventions of Shakespearen comedy, argument and conflict, plays and acting roles, rebellion and dissent, transformation and personal identity, the value a society places on free will, the consequences of argument and conflict, the interplay of states of order and chaos. Essay focuses are concerned with enabling comment on the human condition and the structures of the world around us. Samuel Pepys’ Review Essay Task: a highly engaging essay task asking students to respond to a 17th century negative review of the play. The task is presented in a 4 page hand out which provides step by step tuition in how to form sophisticated, convincing response ideas, source textual evidence and write engaging, analytical and perceptive paragraphs. An additional 2 page resource consists of exemplar paragraphs and a short essay are provided with a list of useful vocabulary and perceptive ideas for students to adapt and use. This is available in 2 alternative formats for teacher choice. A graphic organiser to assist students in forming specific, complex ideas is included as are two Marking Rubrics.

A Christmas Carol for AQA Literature Paper 1. Seven fun, interactive games for students based around the themes, issues, content, message and characters in A Christmas Carol. All resources and instructions are provided and no preparation is required other than to cut out the playing cards. The games are: What am I Describing? Speed Speech. Sort. Connect. Most to Least. Anagrams (answers provided). Words from Words. This is a fun activity for any class or year group, although it is designed for low to middle ability GCSE students.

Creative narrative and descriptive writing unit of work, full lessons of fun, practical activities guaranteed to enable students to make incredible progress. Skills include basing a narrative around a central theme, show don’t tell, avoiding repeating words, focussing on small details of a larger scene, symbolism and layers of meaning, using a variety of sentence structures and punctuation, creating a character, narrative structure, impact openings and closings and more. There are 32 slides and a 27 page worksheet document with easy to follow guidelines, lots of tips for improvement and examples. Tasks are structured to build towards high quality short stories or extended piece of descriptive writing, although they work just as well as stand-alone starters or full lesson tasks. Primarily designed for AQA GCSE Paper 1 Section B, a tried and tested comprehensive selection which can be used with any age group and ability from Year 7 through to 6th Form.

A close reading test on the traditional story Artemis and Actaeon. The short story is included and there are nine comprehension questions and an extended response task. This is intended for a higher ability Year 8 or 9 class. It is recommended that the class reads the story together then students approach the tasks alone. Presented this way, this should take two lessons.

A ‘How To’ guide in writing successful, sophisticated short stories. These 8 pages break down all the major elements including; narrative viewpoint and the way this shapes meaning, the importance of setting and context, plot building, character creation and development, the necessity of strong themes, methods to create and maintain a central conflict, effective openings, and maintaining reader interest. This is best suited to advanced classes or older students. This will raise achievement for AQA GCSE Language Paper 1 Section B.

A detailed annotation of the prologue to the first Game of Thrones novel created for the AQA Level NEA Original Writing Coursework component. This is a good example of how to annotate the Style Model and provides ideas for the Commentary.