This is an English lesson on the poem ‘Prayer Before Birth’ by Louis Macneice.The speaker of the poem is an unborn child asking for assistance in a cruel world which it will soon be born into. It discusses the themes of cruelty, injustice and freedom which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. The lesson begins by asking students to decide what advice they would give to a younger sibling about life, based on their own life experiences. This can then open an interesting class discussion. Students are then introduced to the ‘WPSLOMP’ method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which are examples of positive and negative imagery as well as some more challenging features such as simile, metaphor and repetition. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and the slides can be annotated by the teacher on the board and there are also some quotes colour coded as the answers. Three slides follow this which have pulled individual quotes from the first three stanzas which the class can brainstorm one at a time. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with an adaptable success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. Here I have used SQUID (Statement, Quote, Infer, Device/Develop which is similar to PEA). There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills. As with all my lessons, there are ‘Talk for Writing’ activities and Challenge tasks for more able students. Attached is: -A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined An alternative word search style starter using images to allow student to guess the meanings of harder words -The poem with a word bank on it (2 can be printed to an A4 page or 1 to a page) -Link to online videos (see ‘Notes’ under slides). -An extension task: write a poem giving advice to another about life, using this poem as inspiration. All images are from Openclipart.org.

In this lesson students are asked to explore how Roald Dahl describes his childhood in chapter 12 of his autobiography, Boy. It would ideal to use as part of a KS3 unit. The lesson starts by asking students to ‘think, pair, share’ about what it would be like to go to boarding school. They are then to read chapter 12. There is an extract attached which students can stick into their book. There is a group task for students to do after reading the chapter where they are given 4 questions on the board and a challenge task. All questions are linked to the GCSE reading skills AO1, 2, 3 where they have to think about language, structure and the readers’ reactions. There are slides with the text on for teachers to annotate on a smart board. There is a slide which demonstrates to students how they can structure an essay. The plenary asks students to write an essay paragraph using the SQUID structure provided. There is a slide which demonstrates how students can peer assess each others’ essay writing skills. This lesson, as my other Literature lessons do, includes: Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson Handouts of extracts/text Differentiated tasks Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities (‘Talk for Writing’)

In this lesson students are asked to explore how Roald Dahl describes his childhood in chapter 3 of his autobiography, Boy. It would ideal to use as part of a KS3 unit. The lesson starts by asking students to discuss Dahl’s villains and what they have in common. There is a challenge task which asks students to think about the complexities of what a villain is. Students are then to read the last couple of pages of chapter 3 (extract attached here) about Mrs Pratchett who owned a sweet shop. Students are then asked to discuss a list of questions on the board within a group about the extract. All questions are linked to the GCSE reading skills AO1, 2, 3 where they have to think about language, structure and the readers’ reactions. The plenary asks students to write an essay paragraph about Mrs Pratchett, using the SQUID structure provided. There is a slide which demonstrates how students can peer assess each other’s writing. This lesson, as my other Literature lessons do, includes: Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson Handouts of extracts/text Differentiated tasks (a separate document is attached with GCSE style Language paper 1 style questions) Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities (‘Talk for Writing’)

In this lesson students are asked to explore how authors promote their autobiographies by writing engaging blurbs. It would ideal to use as part of a KS3 unit on autobiography. The lesson starts by asking students to think about the difference between autobiographies and biographies as well as the meaning of root words - auto, bio, graphy. There is a slide to reveal the answers. There is a group task for students to do after reading a selection of blurbs where they are given 4 questions on the board. Thes extracts are from the autobiographies of Colleen Rooney, Michelle Obama and A Street Cat Named Bob. All questions are linked to the GCSE reading skills AO1, 2, 3 where they have to think about language, structure and the readers’ reactions. There are slides with the text on for teachers to annotate on a smart board. The plenary asks students to write a mini blurb introduce themselves and their lives using the key descriptive skills to engage a reader. There is a slide suggesting a peer assessment, referring to a success criteria. This lesson, as my other Literature lessons do, includes: Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson Handouts of extracts/text Differentiated tasks Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities (‘Talk for Writing’)

These resources could be stretched across at least 3 lessons if you chose. Alternatively, a class might be split into 3 groups to discuss the suggested themes and then present to the class within one session. Attached is a powerpoint and a quote bank for the following themes: Power, Fate and Destiny and Good versus Evil in the play Macbeth. The quotes are taken from across the play and some themes share some quotes. In some cases the speaker is named but not always, so that it challenges students to remember them. I would suggest that the quote banks are copied onto A3 paper or at least as A4 sheets pasted across 2 pages in an exercise book so that students have the space to annotate them and link them. Students could colour code their ideas and identify the act, scene and speaker of the quotes as a form of revision for the Literature exam. These are also a good basis for a classroom display. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write essay paragraphs independently using provided sentence starters which come in 3 formats: a 'layers of meaning' approach, PEA or the 'reading ladder'. An opportunity to self assess essay writing follows this. The success criteria provided relates to the AQA GCSE standards for a grade 5 (a good pass) but can be adapted to suit your course.

This is a lesson on an extract from a longer poem about a young man who steals a boat and becomes afraid of the sight of a mountain in the distance which makes him return to land. It features in AQA and Edexcel's anthology of Literature exam poems. It explores the themes of isolation and fear which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. It's particularly useful to compare to 'Remains' by Simon Armitage and 'Storm on the Island' by Seamus Heaney. The lesson begins by asking students to consider their emotional reaction to images connected to the poem and predict which themes could be explored in it. There is then a slide which introduces them to William Wordsworth as a poet. Students are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which are examples of metaphors, simile and references to nature, as well as some more challenging features. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and the slides can be annotated by the teacher on the board and there are also some quotes colour coded as the answers. Students are then asked to think about structure and there is a slide which introduces them to blank verses, sibilance and contrast. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with AQA's exam success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills. As with all my lessons, there are 'Talk for Writing' activities and Challenge tasks for more able students. Attached is; - A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined - The poem with a word bank on it - A handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies - A set of PEA style writing frames for weaker students to use (cut into strips to stick in books) - Links to online videos/readings (see 'Notes' under slides).

This is a lesson on a poem about a War Photographer which features in AQA's anthology of Literature exam poems. The poem, if you don't know it, describes how a photographer struggles with their feelings after taking photos of conflict in a war zone. It explores the themes of violence and isolation in war which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. It's particularly useful to compare to 'Remains' by Simon Armitage since it touches upon P.T.S.D and of course 'War Photographer' by Carole Satyamurti (see my lesson on that in my shop). The lesson begins by asking students to consider what it would be like to be a war photographer and why they would be an effective focus for a poem. There is then a slide which introduces them to Carol Ann Duffy as a poet and offers a quote about her thoughts about it as a form of journalism. Students are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which are examples of metaphors, simile and contrasts, as well as some more challenging devices. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and the slides can be annotated by the teacher on the board and there are also some quotes colour coded as the answers. Students are then asked to think about structure and there is a slide which introduces them to sestets, internal rhyme and the 'volta' as well as explaining the rhyme scheme. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with AQA's exam success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills. As with all my lessons, there are 'Talk for Writing' activities and Challenge tasks for more able students. Attached is; - A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined - A copy of the poem with a word bank - A handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies - A PEA style writing frame for weaker students (to be cut into strips and stuck into books) - Links to online videos/readings (see 'Notes' under slides).

Attached is a lesson where students are asked to identify how a writer has structured a text and comment on how that interests a reader (AO2, 3, 4). It uses an extract from 'Spies' by Michael Frayn. To start, students are asked to define the word 'structure' when we apply it to texts and as a 'challenge task' to list all the forms of structural devices that they are aware of. Slides follow with suggestions and a brief explanation of the AOs that they are assessed on by AQA in the English Language Paper 1. Students are then presented with the exam style question which in pairs they can identify the key words and suggest what the examiner is really looking for. The extract is attached with a word box and planning tasks which, after reading, students can tackle alone or with others. Other useful planning tasks follow such as colour coding structural devices and breaking down the story down into 4 stages. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write structured paragraphs in response to the question and there are sentence starters in the form of PEA attached to help. The lesson ends with a chance to self assess, referring to the success criteria for a grade 5. There is also a suggested homework task asking for student to research spies during the war and an accompanying video. This lesson, as my others, includes 'Talk for Writing' activities, pair and group tasks and differentiated tasks.

This is a lesson on a poem about a Japanese pilot during the Second World War who failed in a Kamikaze mission. It features in AQA's anthology of Literature exam poems. It explores the themes of isolation in war and shame which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. It's particularly useful to compare to 'Remains' by Simon Armitage and 'War Photographer' by Carol Ann Duffy (see my lesson on that in my shop). The lesson begins by asking students to consider what Kamikaze is and why those Japanese pilots would be an effective focus for a poem. There is then a slide which introduces them to Beatrice Garland as a poet. Students are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which are examples of metaphors, simile and emotions, as well as some more challenging features. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and the slides can be annotated by the teacher on the board and there are also some quotes colour coded as the answers. Students are then asked to think about structure and there is a slide which introduces them to sestets, sibilance and line length. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with AQA's exam success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills. As with all my lessons, there are 'Talk for Writing' activities and Challenge tasks for more able students. Attached is; - A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined - The poem with a word bank on it - A handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies - A set of PEA style writing frames for weaker students to use (cut into strips to stick in books) - Links to online videos/readings (see 'Notes' under slides).

...also explains anapestic tetrameter! This is a lesson on a poem which describes the Assyrian invasion of Jerusalem and how God intervened to protect the holy land - Byron based this on a biblical account of a real battle. It features in the Edexcel anthology of Literature exam poems. It explores the themes of violence and conflict which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. It's particularly useful to compare to 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' (see a lesson on this in my shop). The lesson begins by asking students to predict the story behind the poem based on some images. There is then a slide which introduces them to the story of King Sennacherib's attempt to invade Jerusalem and then another which introduces Lord Byron as a poet. Students are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which are examples of metaphors, simile and violent imagery, as well as some more challenging devices. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and the slides can be annotated by the teacher on the board and there are also some quotes colour coded as the answers. Students are then asked to think about structure and there is a slide which explains the poet's use of anapestic tetrameter, rhyming couplets and end stopping. I have also added a slide which offers historical facts about the Temple of Baal/Bel in Palmyra which was recently destroyed by ISIS. Although it was built a long time after the historical battle and there would have been many temples dedicated to Baal at time, it symbolised the King's culture and its recent destruction mirrors the violence in this poem and people's attitudes to ancient gods. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with Edexcel's exam success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills. As with all my lessons, there are 'Talk for Writing' activities and Challenge tasks for more able students. Attached is; - A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined - A copy of the poem with a word bank - A handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies - A PEA style writing frame for weaker students - Links to online videos/readings (see 'Notes' under slides).

In this lesson students will be asked to peer assess an essay extract and identify key skills from the mark scheme. Attached is an essay extract from a student which has the criteria to meet level 5 on it. Students are to stick this across a double page and annotate which A0s are used and where and highlight the strongest areas. This essay is on the powerpoint slides for the teacher to annotate. Students are then offered other quotes from the rest of the book on the board as well as a handout of ones from across the novel with a word box for more complicated words. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write essay paragraphs independently using provided sentence starters which come in 3 formats: a 'layers of meaning' approach, PEA or the 'reading ladder'. An opportunity to self or peer assess their essay writing follows this. The success criteria provided refers to the AQA English Literature course but can be adapted to suit your course.

In this lesson students are asked to explore what a reader expects from a villain and explain how one is portrayed in an extract (AO2, 3 + 4) I put this lesson together for a year 9 scheme of work which referred to the AQA English Language marking criteria but the success criteria can be adapted beyond a level 3 so that it's more demanding for a year 10/11 class. Students are asked to consider what a villain is and what conventions they usually follow with the gothic horror genre. As a challenge task they can consider whether they're always so complicated. After the starter, the class can can feedback and a list of 5 main features can be collated on the next slide. Next there is a slide which introduces Count Dracula which states some basic facts about him referring to the original novel by Bram Stoker and a link to a video clip. Next students can stick the attached extract into their books which describes Dracula's appearance and in pairs they could highlight key quotes and annotate it with their ideas. On this sheet there is a word box which defines any archaic language. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with the AQA English Language GCSE success criteria which can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills.

This is a lesson on a poem which explores the point of view of a War Photographer - not to be confused with Carol Ann Duffy's poem of the same name (AQA). It features in the Edexcel anthology of Literature exam poems. The poem, if you don't know it, contrasts the photographer's memories of taking photos of conflict in a war zone and the Ascot races. It explores the themes of violence and isolation in war which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. It's particularly useful to compare to 'Remains' by Simon Armitage and of course Duffy's poem (see my shop for a lesson on that one). The lesson begins by asking students to consider what it would be like to be a war photographer and why they would be an effective focus for a poem. There is then a slide which introduces them to Carole Satyamurti as a poet. Students are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which are examples of metaphors, simile and contrasts, as well as some more challenging devices. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and the slides can be annotated by the teacher on the board and there are also some quotes colour coded as the answers. Students are then asked to think about structure and there is a slide which refers to sibilance, alliteration and how the poem develops through each stanza. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with Edexcel's exam success criteria but this can be adapted for your course. There are 3 options on how to approach essay writing: 'layers of meaning', PEA, or the 'reading ladder' which follow the same idea. There is then an opportunity to self or peer assess according to the key skills. As with all my lessons, there are 'Talk for Writing' activities and Challenge tasks for more able students. Attached is; - A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined - A copy of the poem with a word bank - A handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies - A PEA style writing frame for weaker students - Links to online videos/readings (see 'Notes' under slides).

This lesson asks students to analyse how Macbeth explores his conscience before he decides to murder Duncan. Initially students are asked to imagine and list Macbeth's thoughts and feelings at this stage of the play. After watching a video of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth discussing the crime students are asked to speculate their attitudes before tackling the text in detail. After reading the scene, pertinent questions are posed for groups to consider and then there is an optional task where imagery can be identified and commented on. All lessons in this series include: - Links to online videos (see 'Notes' under Powerpoint slides) - Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson - Differentiated tasks - Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing') - Handouts of scenes or a selection of quotes from scenes studied - Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment - Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the scene - References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme for Paper 1, particularly to the demands for attaining a grade 5 - what is considered a 'good pass' for the qualification. It's suggested that you download the whole series to appreciate the full learning journey.

In this lesson students are asked to explain how events up to the start of Act 4 fit into the structure of the play and create more tension. The lesson starts by showing students Gustav Freytag's structure for a 5 act play and asks them to plot what would go where in the play so far by drawing a diagram in their book. Students are then asked to read the scene where Macbeth revisits the witches to retrieve more information about his position as King and consider how the story could now unfold. There are 2 links to both the McKellen and Fassbender film for this scene. There is an activity designed to help student unpick their fresh predictions and consider the concept of 'equivocation'. The lesson ends with an opportunity for students to explore how dangerous or useful the witches are to Macbeth using a continuum. All lessons in this series include: - Links to online videos (see 'notes' under powerpoint slides) - Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson - Differentiated tasks - Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing') - Handouts of scenes or a selection of quotes from scenes studied - References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme for Paper 1, particularly to the demands for attaining a grade 5 - what is considered a 'good pass' for the qualification. It's suggested that you download the whole series to appreciate the full learning journey.

This lesson asks students to identify how Shakespeare establishes Macbeth as a cunning character and builds tension within a scene. This powerpoint offers pertinent questions for students to consider about the dramatic irony which underlies the scene where Macbeth plays host to King Duncan. There is a tick sheet where students are to identify how key quotes refer to key themes and a chance to 'explode' a key quote as part of the plenary. All lessons in this series include: - Links to online videos (see 'Notes' under Powerpoint slides) - Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson - Differentiated tasks - Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing') - Handouts of scenes or a selection of quotes from scenes studied - Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment - Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the scene - References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme for Paper 1, particularly to the demands for attaining a grade 5 - what is considered a 'good pass' for the qualification. It's suggested that you download the whole series to appreciate the full learning journey.

In this powerpoint students are introduced to the character Lady Macbeth initially via portraits of her and a video clip where they are to infer how she behaves towards her husband who's returned from battle before tackling the script. Questions are offered to students to consider within groups and then a colour code is proposed where students identify where Lady Macbeth is being evil or controlling. All lessons in this series include: - Links to online videos (see 'Notes' under the powerpoint slides) - Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson - Differentiated tasks - Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing') - Handouts of scenes or a selection of quotes from scenes studied - Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment - Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the scene - References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme for Paper 1, particularly to the demands for attaining a grade 5 - what is considered a 'good pass' for the qualification. It's suggested that you download the whole series to appreciate the full learning journey.

Attached is a powerpoint introducing students the scene where Macbeth meets the 3 witches. It provides some contextual information which refers back to Lesson 1 in this series on witchcraft and offers questions for students to think about in groups / pairs. It ends by asking students to annotate 2 poignant quotes said by Macbeth and Banquo and consider their meaning. Students are to use a continuum to track their thoughts on the witches so far. All lessons in this series include: - Links to online videos (see 'notes' under Powerpoint slides) - Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson - Differentiated tasks - Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing') - Handouts of scenes or a selection of quotes from scenes studied - Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment - Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the scene - References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme for Paper 1, particularly to the demands for attaining a grade 5 - what is considered a 'good pass' for the qualification. It's suggested that you download the whole series to appreciate the full learning journey.

In this lesson students are asked to explain how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s roles have reversed in the story judging by their language. The lesson starts by asking students to identify the differences between them as people, referring to what they have previously learned. Students are then asked to read the scene where Macbeth admits to his torturous guilt (a link is provided to Ian McKellan and Judi Dench's performance). They are then to colour code where they find particular patterns in the imagery Macbeth uses and then invited to compare his use of language to his wife's previous use within her soliloquy near the start of the play. The lesson ends with an opportunity to respond independently by writing an essay paragraph. All lessons in this series include: - Links to online videos (see 'notes' under the powerpoint slides) - Starter tasks which introduce the main idea of the lesson - Differentiated tasks - Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing') - Handouts of scenes or a selection of quotes from scenes studied - Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment - Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the scene - References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme for Paper 1, particularly to the demands for attaining a grade 5 - what is considered a 'good pass' for the qualification. It's suggested that you download the whole series to appreciate the full learning journey.

Attached is a bundle of extracts that have been adapted from the original text which are more suitable for weaker GCSE English Literature classes and/or EAL students. In some cases I have taken out words, replaced them or omitted chunks of text so that they are more manageable, whilst aiming to keep the writer's original intention. In every document there is a simple essay question which students can focus on when reading the extract. I've found them useful to annotate in lessons and then ask students to respond using structured essay paragraphs. All extracts have a word box which defines archaic words. These would be useful for studying for any exam board and the question can be adapted to refer to the rest of the storyline. There are 14 extracts as follows: - How does Stevenson introduce Hyde as a villain?, Ch 1 - How does Stevenson make this scene tense?, Ch 2 (x 2 versions) - How does Stevenson show that Mr Utterson is worried about Hyde? Ch 2 - What type of atmosphere does Stevenson create in this extract? Ch 4 - How does Stevenson make Carew's murder dramatic? Ch 4 - How does Stevenson present Dr Jekyll as an isolated and desperate character? Ch 5 - Incident at the window, Ch 7 -How does Stevenson show Poole's fear of his master? Ch 8 - What do these quotes suggest could have happened to Jekyll? Ch 8 (list of single quotes, not extract) - How does Dr Lanyon feel about Hyde here? Ch 9 - How does Stevenson present the theme of addiction? Ch 9 - How does Jekyll feel about killing Mr Carew? Ch 10 - Jekyll wakes up as Hyde, how does Stevenson make this dramatic? Ch 10 - How does Stevenson make this a dramatic ending to the novel? Ch 10