A full lesson on The Eve of St Agnes by John Keats, taking students through key points of plot, context, form and structure, language features and themes. I used this over a two-lesson teaching sequence.

An introductory lesson aimed at Year 7 students on dystopian writing. The resource could be used with students in 5, 6 or 8 too, dependent upon ability. The lesson begins by deconstructing the etymology of the words ‘utopia’ and ‘dystopia’ and is then made up of a series of tasks on identifying, analysing and using nouns and noun phrases in relation to an extract from The Beach by Alex Garland. At the end of the scheme, students will use their learning to write a part of a dystopian story. Two separate starter activities are included in case you would like to spread the material across two lessons. There should be enough material to do so. Other lessons in the sequence will follow as they are completed.

A lesson on Kipling’s ‘If-’, which engages students with the poem’s main themes and ideas, and features of language and structure. It contains some background on the poem, information on stoicism (which seems to underpin many of the poem’s ideals), guided annotation, information on form and structure, and an exam-style question with writing frame. The lesson was designed for use with high ability students, studying the Edexcel IGCSE in Literature. The cover image was created using AI and does not reflect the appearance of the the slides in the resource. The image has been uploaded in case you would like to use it.

A full lesson on Keats’s To Sleep, covering context in detail, form and structure, tone, imagery, themes and interpretations.

A resource which offers discussion activities on the character of Offred's mother, as well as a simple plot ordering activity for revision.

The presentation contains a number of activities which will appeal to a range of abilities. For the lower ability there is a storyboard of the prologue and, for stronger students, there are activities on the sonnet form, iambic pentameter and an article on the role of fate in Shakespeare's plays. There are challenge and extension activities. Enough work for 1 - 2 one-hour lessons.

A presentation which takes students through the very basics of understanding what it means to 'compare' one thing to another, to analysing a model answer and then planning their own response. The model answer compares Death of a Naturalist and Excerpt from the Prelude from the Eduqas exam board. Parts of the resource would suit low ability learners but, for the most part, the presentation suits middle ability learners.

An introduction to the conventions of Gothic literature for KS3. This is an engaging resource with a video clip, a game of taboo, some descriptive writing and peer assessment. It is very accessible and would suit the low to middle ability.

A mini bundle with activities for comparing the following poems from the new Eduqas GCSE specification: Mametz Wood, Dulce et decorum est, Afternoons, Too Autumn and Ozymandias.

A three-lesson scheme of work on John Keats, designed to teach students about the sonnet and ode forms, context and Romantic ideals including the Sublime. The poems covered are: On The Sea, To Autumn and Bright Star.

The first part of a scheme of work on poetry from Beowulf, through Chaucer to the Romantic era. It gives students an understanding of how language has changed and the importance of the oral tradition. Lessons on the Romantic era help students engage with the sonnet and ode forms, provide context and teach them about Romantic ideals such as the sublime. The lessons on Keats are also available as a separate, smaller bundle.

A lesson with group work tasks on Keats’s In drear nighted December. The tasks also provide links to Keats’s later poems including Ode on a Grecian Urn and To Autumn.

A KS3 scheme of work which covers the first three chapters of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. There are a range of activities which cover both reading and writing aspects of the novel. Note that we use ipads at my school so, where they are infrequently mentioned, you could set the task as a homework or else book a computer room. Keep your eyes peeled for lessons on chapters 4 and 5 in the coming weeks.

A KS5 scheme of work (or a KS4 scheme for the more able). It covers the introductions, the Romantic genre, Walton's narrative, the first part of Victor's narrative, Byron and the Oedipus complex. The scheme is resourced with links to external websites such as the British Library and comes supplied with articles for which I claim no intellectual credit. Students can access the QR codes and hyperlinks which are given from time to time with an ipad or mobile phone.

A step-by step look at John Keats’s ‘When I have fears that I may cease to be’. The lesson begins with a look at the context, the unusual form of the poem and then the language. It also asks students to begin to make comparisons to similar ideas in some of Keats’s other poems e.g. the ocean in On The Sea and the harvest in *To Autumn. *

A full lesson on Keats’s La Belle Dame covering context, form and structure, interpretations and the central theme of the poem. The resource should enable the poem to be taught effectively in a single lesson.

A lesson which focuses on the language Keats uses to present the three figures (Love, Ambition and Poesy), as well as drawing connections and distinctions between this poem and the other great odes. There is little discussion of context here, save for the initial clarification of the epigraph as my students’ knowledge of Keats’s life is already strong.

This resource can be used across 2-3 lessons and leads students through the plot, context, settings, characters and key themes of the poem. I have tried to throw in a few strategies to make the lesson more student-led and less discussion or teacher focused, such as asking students to come up with their own questions about a section of text. The slides also contain my thoughts and ideas where they may be helpful.