Story Openings: Narrative Writing is an engaging, single-lesson introduction to what makes a great story opening in narrative fiction. The lesson can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or integrated as part of a unit of work on narrative writing. It is intended for use in a Secondary School English lesson, for a KS3 audience (11-14 year-olds), but it could also be used at KS2. The lesson includes: A quiz of well-known children’s book openings Tips on how to create effective story openings Activities to help pupils practise the techniques in the ppt Main Creative Writing activity and plenary The 20-slide ppt is easy to follow with all answers provided.

The Butterfly Lion: English Scheme of Work is comprehensive teaching pack for teaching the class novel. Originally designed for a mixed ability Year 7 class (KS3), this SoW would also be appropriate a Year 6 classroom (KS2). The unit comprises an engaging 109-slide master ppt which takes pupils on a chapter-by-chapter study of the novel. It includes 14x 1-hour lessons and 6x creative ‘Checkpoint Tasks’ that can be set as homework activities or completed in class time. The ppt includes teaching notes to assist in the delivery of this scheme, as well as answers to discussion questions. Additionally, the scheme includes 7 worksheets in pdf and doc x formats to support and scaffold teaching this novel - with the goal of helping students produce an end-of-term essay response. This scheme is designed to be fun and engaging - catering to a variety of different abilities and learning styles, with creative visual and writing checkpoint tasks, chapter-by-chapter discussion questions, information about some of the settings and references in the books, and links to educational videos helping to make the historical context of the novel come to life. The novel itself - involving a young boy’s travels from South Africa to England and the Western Front, galvanised by his love of his white lion - is guaranteed to be a hit with any young audience. The unit includes: A master ppt with 109 well-presented and easy-to-follow slides. Teaching notes, pointers and answers to discussion questions (see notes in slides) 14x 1-hour lessons (some of the lessons could be stretched over two lessons if necessary). 6x creative Checkpoint Tasks to cater to a variety of learning styles. This can be given as homework tasks or presented as whole-lesson tasks. 7x easy-adapted worksheets, provided in doc x and pdf formats to help support study of the novel.

Modernising Greek Myths is an 8-lesson English scheme of work. It is intended for a Secondary KS3 classroom - years 7-9, but could also be adapted for use at KS2. As a narrative writing scheme of work, the unit introduces pupils to 3 key activities based on the myths themselves. The scheme includes an engaging and easy-to-follow 83-slide ppt with teaching notes, classroom worksheets and exemplar material. This unit is short, versatile and dynamic. It begins by providing an overview of Ancient Greek mythology and culture, introducing pupils to key Greek gods as well as Ancient Greek inventions. The following lessons introduce pupils to 3 key Greek Myths: Pandora’s Box, the Myth of Narcissus and the Fall of Icarus, which pupils explore through film clips, worksheet acitivites and creative writing activities. The scheme moves on to cover the basics of successful story writing and helps to scaffold the unit’s main learning outcome: to modernise one of the 3 myths in order to make it your own. Answers to all questions are provided on the master ppt and exemplar materials are also provided.

Dialogue: Narrative Writing, is an engaging, single-lesson introduction to dialogue in fiction. The lesson can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or integrated as part of a unit of work on narrative writing. It is intended for use in a Secondary School English lesson, for a KS3 audience (11-14 year-olds), but it could also be used at KS2. The lesson includes: A reminder/refresher on the rules of punctuating direct speech Links to a student-friendly video and dialogue transcript Tips on how to write effective dialogue using speech tags Activities to help pupils practise the techniques in the ppt Main Creative Writing activity and plenary Extension Activity The 20-slide ppt is easy to follow with all answers provided. This lesson is intended for a 50 minutes - 1 hour of teaching time, but an optional extension task would easily extend it to cover 2 lessons if desired.

Story Setting: Narrative Writing is an engaging, single-lesson introduction to how to build strong and realistic story settings in your creative writing. The lesson can be taught as a stand-alone lesson or integrated as part of a unit of work on narrative writing. It is intended for use in a Secondary School English lesson, for a KS3 audience (11-14 year-olds), but it could also be used at KS2. The lesson includes: Tips on how to help to create rich and believable story settings Exercises inspired by artwork to help stimulate pupils evocations of space and place A well-scaffolded series of exercises helping to strengthen pupils’ use of sensory language, figurative langauge and use of concrete details. Main Creative Writing activity and plenary The self-explanatorty, 14-slide ppt is easy to follow with all answers provided.

English Short Story Exemplar: WAGOLL is a handy teaching resource for the English classroom. It is a 2-page short story, under 1,000 words in length, written with a secondary school audience in mind. It uses all of the essential ingredients of short story writing: an engaging opening, dialogue, figurative language, plot twists and a mysterious ending - so it is a useful resource for teaching the craft of story writing. The story itself, ‘Bubble Man’ tells the story of a broken-hearted bubble artist who seeks to avenge himself on his disloyal girlfriend. Suitable for KS3 and KS4 pupils (11-16). Accessible and easy to print.

Creating Characters: Narrative Writing is a double lesson powerpoint which helps pupils create strong and believable characters in their creative writing. The first lesson encourages pupils to reflect on memorable fictional characters they already know and to consider what makes them so effective. It culminates in a character profile activity which asks pupils to select a character from a portrait gallery and write a detailed character profile of them. The second lesson introduces pupils to the principle of ‘show don’t tell’ and builds on their work in the first lesson. It culminates in an extended writing task which sets their character in motion completing an activity or speaking to another character. Finally, pupils peer assess each other’s work evaluating the extent to which their writing has absorbed teaching points from both lessons. The double lesson can be taught as a stand-alone or integrated as part of a unit of work on narrative writing. It is intended for use in a Secondary School English lesson, for a KS3 audience (11-14 year-olds), but it could also be used at KS2. I delivered these lessons to Year 7 classes, however they would also be suitable for a low ability Year 8 group. The lesson pack includes: A 25-slide powerpoint with teaching material design to fill 2x hour-long classes. Easy-to-follow slides with discussion prompts and learning objectives, lesson starters and plenaries. 1x printable worksheet for pupils to fill in (Character Profile) Answers to all questions on slides and useful exemplars.

‘Blue Dog’: English Scheme of Work is a comprehensive KS3 teaching pack for the class novel - in this case, ‘Blue Dog’ by Louis de Bernieres. It can be used for a Year 8 or Year 9 class and may be particularly successful for pupils in a rural setting. It comprises 14x 1-hour lessons in a well-presented master ppt, accompanying worksheets, and essay planning guidance. The SoW has been designed to be as versatile and engaging as possible - with research tasks, interesting video links, links to online articles, a diverse portfolio of creative tasks (mapping, letter-writing, creative writing, book reviews), oracy-enhancing discussion questions for each lesson and a chapter-by-chapter glossary of terms to help the study of the novel progress as smoothly as possible. The novel itself is an uplifting coming-of-age story, packed with adventures in the Australian outback. This teaching pack includes: A master ppt (111 well-presented slides) with 14x 1-hour lessons Teaching notes on ppt slides with answers to discussion questions and handy teaching tips 7x class worksheets including i) A vocabulary-building ‘word wall’; ii) An A3 sized ‘map’ of the novel for jotting down notes on characters, themes and novel symbols; iii) A characterisation chart for the novel’s main protagonist, Mick; iv) An example PEE grid; v) An essay planning guide; vi) Book review template. vii) open-cloze worksheet activity on Australian aboriginals. All worksheets provided in doc x and pdf format so they can be adapted. Note to teachers: schools will need to provide pupils with copies of the novel in order to teach this SoW.

‘Write a Home Poem’ does what it says on the tin. Using a series of 9 prompts, the ppt will guide your classes towards writing their own poem in a step-by-step fashion. The single-lesson powerpoint is suitable for KS3 and KS4 classes (11-16 year olds) and intended for use in an English or Creative Writing lesson at secondary school. However, since ‘home’ is a universal concept, it could also be used working with adults too. The objective of the lesson is to create a poem in draft form and to begin the redrafting process. This can then be finalised and typed up later. I have taught this lesson with a number of different classes and had some great results. The poems can be displayed in books or classroom displays afterwards. The ppt includes: 16 engaging and well-presented slides intended for a 1-hour lesson An introductory slide encouraging pupils to reflect on what ‘home’ means to them 9 creative prompts to help pupils generate material for their poem An example of a home poem in draft form A slide demonstrating the editing process using the exemplar

Teaching KS3 Poetry: ‘What Has Happened to Lulu?’ is a unit of work comprising 6 lessons on the ballad ‘What Has Happened to Lulu?’ by Charles Causley. It is designed for a low ability Year 7/8 class and the aim of the unit is to derive a reading/essay response from the class by the end of the unit. The unit it designed to gently lead pupils towards an understanding of the poem, through consideration of key questions such as whose perspective the poem is narrated from and what formal choices the author has made in order to create a sense of mystery and tension in the ballad. The unit of work is packed full of fun creative writing exercises stimulated by the poem as well as a recapping quiz and step-by-step guidance on how to write an essay response to the poem. This unit of work includes: A 6-lesson SoW designed for a low ability KS3 class An easy-to-follow master ppt with 73 clear and well-presented slides. Teaching notes and optional additional activities included in notes Worksheets including a copy of the poem and an essay planning handout

Write an Animal Poem (KS3 English) is a single-lesson ppt which aims to get pupils to write and complete a short poem on a wild or domestic animal in a 1-hour class. It is a fun and accessible creative writing class which could easily be extended into a few lessons if pupils write up a neat and/ or illustrated copy of their poem in their books or for classroom displays. The lesson is intended primarily for Year 7 and 8 pupils. The 10-slide ppt includes: A warm-up/starter slide Activities designed to help pupils brainstorm ideas for their poem An accessible example poem by Tennyson to help guide pupils Success Criteria A model example

KS3 Poetry: ‘The Badger’ by Doherty is a 7-lesson mini scheme of work, which helps to scaffold analysis, contextual understanding of and creative responses to a single poem. Intended for a Year 8 classroom, this scheme of work is designed to encourage a holistic response to a short, accessible poem – the emphasis is on having fun with the themes of the poem, as well as looking at a wide range of texts and sources relevant to the poem – from a Mammal Society fact file to literature and videos about badger culling. In brief the teaching pack includes: A master ppt with 7 clear and well-presented lessons Teaching notes and embedded links in ppt slides Relevant worksheets, including a copy of the poem itself 7 lessons on the following topics: 1) Comparison of Mammal Society Fact File with poem by Berlie Doherty entitled ‘The Badger’ 2) Analysing ‘The Badger’ 3) Reciting ‘The Badger’ 4) Attitudes Towards Badgers: Badger Culling 5) The Secret Life of Badgers: Make an Illustrated Mind Map 6) Make your own Fact File on a British Wild Animal 7) Write an Animal Poem

KS3 Poetry: ‘The Eagle’ by Tennyson is an 8-lesson mini scheme of work, which helps to scaffold analysis, contextual understanding of and creative responses to a single poem. Intended for a Year 7 classroom, this scheme of work is designed to encourage a holistic response to a short, accessible poem – the emphasis is on having fun with the themes of wild animals and birds of prey, as well as looking at a wide range of texts and sources relevant to the poem – from an RSPB fact file to extracts from Helen Macdonald’s ‘H is for Hawk’. In brief the teaching pack includes: A master ppt with 8 clear and well-presented lessons Teaching notes and embedded links in ppt slides Relevant worksheets, including a copy of the poem itself 8 lessons on the following themes: 1) Comparison of RSPB Golden Eagle Fact File with poem by Tennyson 2) Analysing ‘The Eagle’ 3) Reciting ‘The Eagle’ 4) Falconry and ‘H is for Hawk’ 5) Describing an Eagle - Creative Writing Responses to a Bird of Prey 6) PEE paragraph on ‘The Eagle’ 7) Make your own Fact File on a Wild or Endangered Animal 8) Write an Animal Poem

Re-writing the Myth of Narcissus: KS3 English is a free single lesson with accompanying worksheet. It is intended for a KS3 secondary audience, within an English classroom. The lesson aims to familiarise pupils with the story and moral of Narcissus’ fate and to inspire them to re-write the tale in their own way. The learning outcome for the lesson is narrative fiction by way of Greek mythology. What’s included? An engaging and self-explanatory, 9-slide ppt with teaching notes. An accompanying worksheet. Designed for a 50 minute-1 hour lesson

The Butterfly Lion and World War One is a free lesson sample which addresses Chapter 9 of the novel by Michael Morpurgo. Designed with a LA KS3 class in mind, this class explores aspects of the novel’s historical context and culminates in a creative writing acitvity designed to showcase pupils’ understanding of the events of the chapter and life in the trenches. The lesson includes: A well-presented and easy-to-follow 11-slide ppt with images and clear instructions to pupils. Links to good-quality educational videos dealing with WW1 and trenchwarfare Useful discussion questions aimed to help consolidate an understanding of the novel. Answers are provided in the ‘notes’ section of the ppt. A creative writing task with accompanying visual stimulus.

‘Blue Dog: Novel Setting’ is a free lesson sample that address Chapter 2 of the novel by Louis de Bernieres. It is designed for a KS3 audience - Year 8 pupils or a LA Year 9 class. The lesson comprises: A pre-reading research task, a glossary of Australian terms, discussion question with answers provided and a mapping the homestead extension activity. It is designed to be taught in tandem with the novel itself. The lesson includes: A well-presented, easy-to-follow 8-slide ppt Discussion questions for pupils with answers provided in notes below A fun extension activity designed to test pupils’ understanding of the novel’s setting

This is a fun and versatile poetry writing lesson aimed at KS3 pupils. The lesson shows pupils how to make a poem about their favourite season using the technique of personification. Following a starter slide asking pupils to reflect on their favourite season and another slide recapping personification, the ppt goes on to show pupils how to write their own prose poem on the season of their choice. The lesson includes an example poem and is designed for a 1-hour session which can easily be extended if pupils wish to complete a final ‘neat’ /illustrated copy of their poem for their books or wall displays. This creative writing lesson is designed for younger pupils (11-12 year olds) and may also work with KS2 pupils too. The ppt includes: 8 clear and well-presented slides guiding pupils through the poetry writing activity. Starter activity and a slide recapping personification. An example of a season poem using personification.

This handy worksheet encourages pupils to brainstorm ideas about a fictional character that they can integrate into a piece of creative writing. It scaffolds characterisation, encouraging pupils to consider different facets of their chosen character: their appearance; likes and dislikes, fears and hopes - even what they like to eat for breakfast! A pdf and a word x version of the file is available so the worksheet can be adapted if desired.