This animated Power Point gives a brief history of the newspaper and its evolution to the present day. Students are alerted to the tricks that publishers resort to in order to maintain their readership. The freedom of the press is something we need to preserve in this day and age and pupils are asked to compare tabloids and broadsheets to note their differences in style and content. User generated content is referenced as modern technology enables us all to act as journalists and report news as it happens. Students are asked to match ten definitions to key terms such as byline and exclusive. Finally, students are given the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice and write their own newspaper article, either about the stabbing of a teenager in a local fast food outlet, or an international affairs event which sees Trump and Putin arm wrestle for ownership of the Arctic Circle. This resource is suitable for ages 12+ and it would be useful for students to have copies of tabloid/broadsheet newspapers to investigate along with highlighter pens to identify features.

This animated Power Point advises students how to write for specific audiences. They are asked to consider the tone, style and register of what they are writing in order that these match the audience. Audiences might be determined by age, gender, expertise and the relationship to the author. Pupils are advised to TAP before writing: in other words consider the topic, audience and purpose of their writing. Finally they are given three options to write about: a speech aimed at Y6 explaining what to do about cyber-bullying; a letter to a newspaper editor arguing for or against expensive international travel or a leaflet advising young adults how to establish healthy sleep patterns. Suitable for ages 10+

This animated Power Point comprises twelve slides and analyses statements, questions, commands and exclamations. pupils are asked to consider how these kinds of sentence are used in articles, reports, reviews and persuasive texts. Examples are given of how authors might vary the length of their sentences to convey the passing of time or because they are trying to appeal to different audiences. Pupils are shown how , by rearranging the order of words in a sentence, greater emphasis can be placed on a particular phrase. They are reminded to not only identify such techniques but also to analyse and explain the effect on the reader.Students are required to discuss two texts; one extract from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the other is an advertisement for a Lunchtime Laughter Club. I include a resource in which the onset of an anxiety attack is described in detail and the situation escalates to feeling out of control. Suggestions for a longer written task are given where pupils are required to describe a difficult situation such as the first day at a new school, or the moment you realise something embarrassing is circulating on social media. Suitable for ages 12+

This Power Point resource is one of a host of similar quizzes to be found in my shop. This one tests understanding of punctuation, spelling rules, conditional phrases, using prefixes and suffixes and identifying root words, homophones and alphabetical ordering. Pupils are required to decipher a weirdly worded passage and translate it into standard English. Answers are provided. This resource is suitable for ages 10+ and is ideal for revision purposes.

This animated Power Point examines different kinds of texts and literary techniques that are used to entertain us. Pupils are given examples of short and long sentence structures which achieve different effects. They are also shown examples of different techniques which appeal to different senses. Alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia appeal to our sense of sound whilst similes, metaphors and personification often rely on a visual impact. The use of first, second and third person narrators is also covered. Short poems which can entertain us by means of shape and sound effects are included too. Lastly, students are asked to consider what kinds of literature they enjoy the most and to suggest favourite authors or genres to others in order to inspire further reading beyond the bounds of the curriculum. Extracts in this resource are by J.K.Rowling and Charles Dickens. Suitable for ages 14+

This PowerPoint focuses on those words which are especially difficult to spell because they have silent or unexpected letters in them. Pupils are asked to supply the missing letters , to complete a passage using those tricky words and to invent sentences of their own. This resource should prove useful when revising tricky spellings of all kinds and is suitable for ages 7+ depending on ability.

Turn over a new leaf and get to the bottom of some well known proverbs and idiomatic phrases, Students will enjoy matching the sayings to their meanings and even acting out such phrases as "Donald Trump doesn't sit on the fence" or "I wouldn't be seen dead wearing pink". This resource will be useful in those times when you want to have fun with the English language and demonstrate how peculiar some of our sayings really are... Suitable for ages 10+

This Power Point looks at adjectives and nouns. Pupils are given animals and adjectives which describe them using the same initial letter. Students are asked to match adjectives and nouns with the same initial letter and then with different initial letters. Pupils are asked to make adjectives out of nouns ending in -ful and -ous. Examples are given when several adjectives are used to describe and so pupils need to use commas to separate. Students are required to think of different scenes such as being a football match or in a supermarket and think of five things that might be in that particular environment. This resource should prove useful when revising nouns and adjectives and the use of commas in a list. I include a more general spelling, punctuation and grammar quiz in which adjectives feature . All answers included. Suitable for ages 7+

This animated Power Point is about writing to inform and explain. Students are asked to think about the structure of their writing, how to organise it logically with sub-headings or bullet points, how to include facts and statistics and how to maintain a formal tone throughout. Finally students are requested to write a piece of their own and may choose to write a report to the head teacher about an accident in the science lab, a leaflet to eleven year olds explaining how to cope with an asthma attack in PE or explain how to make a healthy meal from scratch to people with no previous cooking experience. This resource is suitable for ages 10+

This animated Power Point discusses alliteration and onomatopoeia and asks pupils to identify these techniques within extracts from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as well as other sources. Pupils are given phrases which they need to sort and also decide on an example which shows both these devices. Students learn that writers will try to appeal to different senses in descriptive passages and this resource focuses particularly on the sense of sound. Students are given a provocative image and are required to describe it using both techniques. This resource will be useful when encouraging descriptive writing and identifying techniques authors use to build characters and settings. Suitable for ages 10+

This animated Power Point discusses how descriptive writing is used in travel brochures and autobiographies to describe places and events. Extracts are taken from works by J.K.Rowling, Anthony Bourdain , Susan Hill and Mary Shelley and pupils are asked to focus and discuss how techniques such as similes, metaphors, personification and pathetic fallacy are used for effect. Students are reminded to use Point, Evidence and Explain when commenting about an author’s writing. Finally, pupils are asked to match examples of figurative language to explanations and examples. They are required to provide examples of their own such as a metaphor to describe the moon or alliteration to describe a ticking clock in an examination. Worksheets are available show-casing these extracts which could be used alongside or separate from the Power Point. This resource is suitable for 14+ years (one of the extracts is quite graphic and describes the slaughter of a pig)

Start the term with another quiz to check understanding of plurals, tenses, prefixes,suffixes, homophones, alphabetical order and much more besides. Answers are provided for ease of marking. Each section of the quiz can be tweaked to suit specific needs within your group. This is one of many similar quizzes to be found in my shop which can be used on a rotational basis when revising spelling and grammar. Suitable for ages 10+

This Power Point tests understanding of its and it's, subordinate clauses, tenses that agree with each other, prefixes to form opposites, alphabetical ordering and much more besides. This is one in a series of similar quizzes which can be used to check knowledge and understanding of different aspects of grammar and spelling. There is a weirdly worded passage to decipher at the end. Answers are provided and where they are not, it is intended that students read out their own examples with suitable choices. I include a resource which encourages pupils to include a wider range of punctuation in their writing. Suitable for ages 10+

This Power Point resource looks at literary techniques and presentational devices. Pupils are asked to consider the tools a writer has at his or her disposal to create an effect. Pupils are asked to write definitions of various techniques and to provide their own examples. They will also need to sort terms into groups: linguistic feature or presentational device? Finally students are required to use their knowledge to create a leaflet or write a film review. It would be useful to provide each group with an array of printed materials such as magazines, newspapers, promotional leaflets etc so that students can hunt for examples to match the terminology. Students need to be already familiar with an array of different terminology such as oxymoron, hyperbole, juxtaposition and more besides. This resource is intended as a revision tool and is suitable for ages 12+

This animated Power point examines four different sentence types: simple, complex, compound and minor. Pupils are given examples of how sentence structure might differ according to the intended audience. Later they are given examples of how sentence structure might differ according to the effect an author is trying to achieve. Finally students are asked to discuss the sentence structures found in an extract taken from a crime novel: M.J. Arlidge's Eeny Meeny. I include a resource which requires students to demonstrate their knowledge of punctuation by inserting a range of punctuation in lengthier paragraphs as well as allowing them to show off their own descriptive writing skills by describing someone they admire. This resource is suitable for audiences aged 10+