This is a lesson on a modern poem (published 1957) about the First World War which features in AQA's anthology of Literature exam poems. The poem, if you don't know it, describes a nameless soldier's advance 'over the top' in the trenches. It is a conflict poem which explores the themes of violence and fear in war which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. It's particular useful to compare to 'Exposure' by Wilfred Owen and 'Remains' by Simon Armitage. The lesson begins by showing students a list of words featured in the poem, asking them to define them and consider associations with them which encourages them to think about the context. There is then a slide which explains what a bayonet is and features a link to a video on 'going over the top'. Students are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding quotes which explore peace and violence as well as any imagery. The ideas they pull together for this can then be explored as a class and there are slides which reveal the devices for them to then write about. 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 box - A handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies - Essay PEA styles sentence starters writing frames for weaker students (these refer to a different essay question to the lesson but can be adapted)

In this lesson students are asked to explain how Shakespeare builds tension before, during and after the discovery of King Duncan's body. The lesson starts by asking students to identify clues in the 'Porter's scene' that something evil is occurring in the castle. Students are then asked to explore how the different characters react to the news of Duncan's death (a link is provided to Patrick Stewart's performance). 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 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.

This is a bundle compiling of a powerpoint which introduces students to basic facts about Shakespeare, a sheet which lists facts about King James I, witchcraft and religious conflict in the 1600s that link to the play. Also there is a copy of act 1, scene 1 and an exit slip which can be used at the end of the lesson to assess students' understanding. 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.

This lesson asks students to identify useful quotes about Eric and explain what they show about him and the world in which he lives. The lesson starts by asking students to consider what sins he committed in the play and what he symbolizes as a 'challenge' task. There are suggested answers to these questions which could be discussed as a class. 2 extracts from the play follow this which students can think about in pairs and they can then be annotated on the board by students/the teacher. Students are then asked to list the positive and negative aspects of his character and what he does across the play. There are some suggestions which follow this. Also attached is a list of quotes from across the whole play which illustrate a range of ideas about Eric (either what he says or what others say about him). Students can annotate these in their books or they can be blown up to A3 size to write on. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with the AQA English Literature 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 about the First World War which features in Edexcel and AQA's anthology of Literature exam poems. The poem, if you don't know it, describes the hopelessness of war and misery whilst living as a soldier in the trenches. It is a conflict poem which explores the themes of violence and fear in war which can be linked to other poems taught within a unit. It's particularly useful to compare to 'Bayonet Charge' by Ted Hughes and 'Remains' by Simon Armitage. The lesson begins by asking students to list what they know or can guess about the poet and the conditions in the trenches. There is then a slide which introduces them to Owen and gives a short list of important facts to consider. 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 personification. 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. Students are then asked to think about structure and there is a slide which introduces them to tercets, para-rhyme and explains 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 handout of glossary style word banks which students can stick into their anthologies - Essay PEA styles sentence starters writing frames for weaker students. - Links to online videos/readings (see 'Notes' under slides).

This is perfect as an end of term treat! This is a powerpoint containing 42 challenging questions about the play as a whole as well as the answers to them which are to be found at the end of the presentation. I have asked the class to get into groups/houses and then asked them to write their answers on a piece of paper. They can swap their answers with another group and at the end, the answers are revealed question by question so you can see which areas they struggled with. This is ideal for a higher set because there are some sneakier questions but this can easily be adapted. It should take up the best part of an hour's lesson.

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.

Here I chose to read Act 5 quite quickly with my class and this is how we did it. Feel free to adapt this into 2 or more lessons. In this lesson students are asked to comment on how Macbeth’s attitude to losing the throne highlights how he’s changed as a character. At the start of the lesson,students are presented with a list of qualities expected within a tragic hero and consider how Macbeth is clearly one himself. Students are then asked to read act 5 scene 3 and consider how his attitude towards his position has changed since the start of the play. For the study of scene 5, students are given selected quotes and asked to explore these ideas further, including his use of imagery for effect. There are film clips of his famous 'Tomorrow' soliloquy from both the Patrick Stewart and Fassbender film. To end the lesson students are then asked to consider whether Macbeth was a hateful or sympathetic character and present their ideas on 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 - 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 we hear about Macbeth before we meet him. He is successful in defending Scotland and Shakespeare sets him up as the hero of the battlefield. The powerpoint starts by informing students about medieval warfare and then explains the context of the battle which rages at the start of the story. It then offers questions for students to consider in groups and then asks students to identify imagery and comment on its effect. 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 explore how Stevenson uses patterns of imagery within the novel. The lesson starts by asking students to define descriptive devices that are used throughout the novel. Students are then offered a sheet of quotes from the novel which are examples of those devices. They can stick them in their books, annotate and highlight them in pairs and then the teacher can annotate them on the board where the class can feedback their ideas. Students are encouraged to think about the following questions: - What device is used and why? - Do these quotes links to others elsewhere? - How is the modern/Victorian reader supposed to react? - How does this imagery create an atmosphere? 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. 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 - Handouts of extracts from the novel - Differentiated tasks (the starter task has a 'challenge' and a word box appears by the quotes for weaker students) - Opportunities for pair and group talk within activities ('Talk for Writing') - Alternating opportunities for self and peer assessment - Essay writing prompts to allow students to write about the text - References to the AQA English Literature mark scheme, 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 lesson which asks students to analyse how Steinbeck introduces Crooks in chapter 4 and interests the reader in him. The lesson starts by asking students to list what they know about the context of 1930's America and black people lives then. The second slide gives some facts about the end of slavery, lynching and the Jim Crow laws. Students are then asked in pairs or groups to read the quotes from chapter 4 (either before of after reading it in full) which are on the hand out sheet and consider what they show about him as a person. On the powerpoint there are some suggestions including references to any techniques that Steinbeck uses for effect. The lesson ends with a chance for students to write independent essay paragraphs with a generic 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. As with all my lessons, there are 'Talk for Writing' activities and Challenge tasks for more able students.

Attached is a bundle of resources which will help explore the character of Crooks in the novel 'Of Mice and Men'. The first 3 documents offer quotes which either describe Crooks or are part of his dialogue from across the whole novel. The last 2 documents focus on his role particularly in chapter 4 of the story where he attempts to undermine Lennie and becomes interested in the 'dream ranch' discussed by Candy and Lennie. Students can use the quote sheets to annotate their thoughts about him and to make links using coloured pens (the 'quote explosion' looks great on a display). There is a A3 essay plan sheet where students have plenty of room to plan their ideas for each paragraph - an ideal homework activity.

Attached are two lessons which guide students in planning and performing a role play based sketch which explores the themes within the play 'An Inspector Calls' by J.B Priestley. Since students have the option of studying this for their English Literature GCSE it's often a good idea to ask them to rehearse or perform a Speaking and Listening assessment based on it as it's got a range of ideas to discuss. Lesson 1: Students are asked to consider which skills they need to work well within a group and generally in terms of being a good listener and public speaker. Suggestions are listed on the next slide and they are introduced to AQA's mark scheme (Pass, Merit, Distinction). They then have the choice of 3 scenarios based on characters and moments within the play. Some of these are hypothetical situations which may not have happened but are plausible and provide good scope for emotional conflict - these might be best explored by a stronger group which you could select. Attached is a planning sheet with logical steps on how to approach them. There is a chance to rehearse and peer assess notes. Lesson 2: Students are asked to check their notes and add any last ones before performing. Attached is a peer assessment tick sheet which is also useful for teachers to use and log grades whilst the class watches. At the end of the performances students are asked to consider the best performances and justify why as well as noting down their final judgement of their own performance linking it to the success criteria.

This is a lesson inspired by the idea published by the National Poetry Society. It invites students to plan and write a piece of creative writing based on a physical object - here a button from an item of clothing. All you need is a jar of assorted buttons to inspire your students! This works really well with students of all year groups and abilities. The resources attached take students through the various stages of planning, writing and reflection time. 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 (it could of course be broken down into different lessons) A Word document planning grid which you can edit if needed.

In the lesson students are asked to create an interesting gothic style villain to use in their creative writing (AO5.1, 5.2). 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. To begin students are asked to consider Count Dracula's past (see the other lesson I did on him although it's not vital to use to do this lesson). This leads to a discussion about how important a villains' back story can be and whether they are sympathetic to readers at all. For this I have provided a link to the 'Dracula Untold' trailer which explores this idea. Next to get their creative juices flowing these are 2 slides with images of villains on them - students can work in pairs to write descriptive sentences about them using a list of key skills ranging from adjectives, similes to harder ones such as oxymoron and adverbs. Next students are asked to make up a gothic-style villain of their own and write a profile of them. The lesson ends with a chance to peer assess a partner's and offer advice on how their character plan could be improved.

In this lesson students are asked to explore how a writer can write in vivid detail and create tension. It would ideal to use as part of a KS3 unit on autobiography. The lesson starts by asking students to read the information on the first slide about who Dame Ellen is and what she achieved. They are to list feelings words associated with her feat. There is a slide with illustrates her route and there’s a link to an online video about her journey. After students read the extract from her autobiography (which is attached), they are to consider in pairs how she starts in an interesting way. This first paragraph is on a slide which you can annotate with the class. After this stage they can consider two chosen quotes on the next slide where Ellen uses imagery in order to create an effect. This task is linked to the GCSE reading skills AO1, 2, 3 where they have to think about language, structure and the readers’ reactions. The whole extract has been pasted onto these slides and there is some space around the text if you want to annotate it when going over it with the class. The plenary asks students to consider what questions they would ask Ellen after reading this. There is a suggestion of a written activity where they can exercise some of skills discussed today. This lesson, as my other 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 Mr Hyde is portrayed as a villain. The lesson starts by presenting students with images of gothic villains and asking them to discuss what they know about each one. Students are then asked to read the extract where Mr Enfield tells Mr Utterson about how Hyde attacked a young girl in the street which is when the reader is first introduced to him. They can annotate and highlight it in pairs and the it can be annotated on the board where the class can feedback their ideas. There is another activity where students are provided with particular quotes and they are asked to link them with other moments in the novel (this is useful for classes who have finished the novel as a form of revision). 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 refers to the AQA English Literature course but can be adapted to suit your course. 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 extracts from the novel - 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, 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 is an interesting modern poem which features in both AQA and Edexcel's anthology of Literature exam poems. The poem, if you don't know it, explores the feelings of a mother whose son has gone to war as a soldier. It is a moving poem about loss which can be linked to other poems which share this theme. The lesson begins by asking students to define a list of key words which appear in the poem and then challenges them to link them together, thus predicting what the poem could be about. They are then introduced to the 'WPSLOMP' method of analysing poetry which they can then apply in pairs before colour coding devices that the poet uses for effect (metaphor, simile, sensual imagery and caesura). The ideas they pull together for this can then be pulled together as a class and there are slides which reveal the devices for them to then write about. 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. Attached is; - A powerpoint with the lesson clearly outlined - A handout of the starter activity which can be cut up - Essay PEA styles sentence starters writing frames for weaker students Within this powerpoint are also links to online analyses of the poem as well as the BBC Bitesize video.

In this lesson students are asked to explain how Macbeth’s personality and his use of language has changed since he’s been King . The lesson starts by asking students to consider the security of Macbeth's position and make predictions based on what they know already. Students are then asked to read Macbeth's soliloquy (a link is provided to Patrick Stewart's performance) and consider what his treatment of the assassins shows about him. 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 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.