This uses an extract from Arthur Machen’s story, written in 1914, (it is in the public domain) in which a group of English soldiers are facing a mighty German advance. There are 12 questions. The questions cover the reading skills of information retrieval, inference and explaining the effect of the writer’s methods. This task could be used for cover or for homework. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading activity. Suggested answers are provided - which means that this task could also be set for a student working from home who would like to do some self-assessment.

This is a straightforward worksheet using Thomas Hood’s poem, “I Remember I Remember”. The intention is that once the students have worked through the 9 questions, they will be furnished with ideas to support them in answering the exam-style question that’s printed above the title - How does the poet present the speaker’s ideas about childhood? The sheet can be used to guide paired or group discussion in class. Alternatively, it could be used for homework so that students are prepared for a timed essay in class. Planned for a year 10 class but this could be used to support an introduction to unseen poetry at key stage three.

This is a short and (hopefully) straightforward powerpoint using a very short extract from “The Island of Dr Moreau” by H.G.Wells. The lesson uses questioning to provide the ideas for a modelled first paragraph of a response after which students are asked to work more independently to complete the response. For less confident students, the evidence is already selected. You may wish to add challenge by asking students to select their own evidence. The last two slides are the printables. At the end of the lesson, students are asked to identify two of Wells’ effective methods and use them in their own descriptive writing. This task could be used to extend the lesson or set for homework.

This is a short and straightforward activity giving students an opportunity to practise and develop the skills of writing an analytical essay about an unseen poem. The poem is “Spellbound" by Emily Brontei so no issues with copyright. The first slide of the ppt has a copy of the poem and the essay question. The second slide gives students a suggested pattern for tackling the task, the idea being that they should go through each of the steps in every paragraph of their response. The third slide can be used for self/peer assessment and developing the response further.

Three straightforward writing starters planned to improve student approaches to the paper 2 writing task for AQA English Language. Each is intended to take 15 minutes although of course you could then allow more time for students to develop their initial ideas into a developed piece of writing. The first slide is merely about generating a range of ideas to support a clear viewpoint. The second and third slides extend this by reminding students to use a range of sentence types and varied punctuation.

This is a simple and straightforward powerpoint planned to support students in their preparation for the unseen poetry task for English Literature GCSE. The poem used is “The Deserted House” by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge. Slide 3 of the powerpoint is for differentiation - to support less confident students in getting to grips with the idea of the poem as an extended metaphor. This slide can be deleted for those students who don’t need it. The final slide is for peer or self assessment - or could be modified and used as a scaffold for those in need of support.

This uses an excerpt from Elizabeth Gaskell’s “The Grey Woman” which uses many of the features of the gothic genre. There are 14 multiple choice questions which could be used for flipped learning or to structure a guided reading activity. Alternatively, the questions could be used as a starting point for class discussion of the extract, for homework or for cover. Answers are provided.

A straightforward powerpoint to enable students to practise their skills of analysing unseen poetry prior to their GCSE English Literature exam. The poem is in the public domain.

This activity uses an extract from “Carmilla” (public domain text) and there are ten questions which could be used in class, as cover or set as homework. Alternatively, they could be used to structure a guided reading session. Might be of use as part of a unit on gothic literature.

This is a 20-question multiple-choice quiz on Thomas Hardy’s “Neutral Tones”. It could be used for revision, for homework after the poem has been covered in class or as a flipped learning activity so that the students read the poem and attempt the quiz prior to teaching - that way, subsequent teaching can be targeted towards gaps and misconceptions. Answers are provided so that the task can be self or peer-assessed.

This is a simple and straightforward resource using an excerpt from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story, “The Terror of Blue John Gap”. There are ten questions, focusing on vocabulary, inference and analysis. This resource could be used for homework or set as cover. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This straightforward task uses a couple of paragraphs of Charles Dickens’ impressions of travelling in France and there are 20 multiple-choice questions (answers provided) which could be set as homework to form part of a unit on Dickens, used for pre-reading or flipped learning or used to structure a guided reading or catch-up session.

This is a multiple-choice quiz with 21 questions, planned for flipped learning so set for homework before the poem was explored - in greater depth - in class. Alternatively, the quiz could be used for a consolidation homework after the teaching of the poem. You might wish to use the quiz to structure a more guided reading session of the poem as some of the questions lend themselves to further questioning and exploration. Answers are provided.

Planned for a year 8 class, this lesson looks at Dickens’s viewpoint on slums and the methods that he uses to communicate this viewpoint. The lesson begins with a discussion about a modern slum, an introduction to the idea that vocabulary gives an indication about viewpoint and questioning intended to ensure that all pupils have a secure understanding of viewpoint before they begin to look at the extract. The extract used is from “Oliver Twist” as Oliver and his employer (‘owner’), Mr Sowerberry, go into the slums to collect the corpse of a woman. The lesson uses several hinge questions to check crucial points of understanding. Wherever a question is used, the answer is given on the subsequent slide, just for clarity. For some reason, the ppt preview does not appear in the correct order. I will try to get TES to rectify this.

This lesson can be taught in two ways depending on the students’ level of confidence and the amount of scaffolding required. The resource used is Vachel Lindsay’s “The Spider and the Ghost of the Fly” which is an extended metaphor exploring the end of a relationship. More confident students can approach the task more or less straight away (after a warm-up which asks them to explore the title and furnishes some initial ideas). The task and poem are on slide 3 which is a printable but could be displayed on the screen if you’re trying to cut down on photocopying ! The idea is that students will approach the task fairly cold and then the subsequent 7 slides can be used to support an improved response, ensuring that the response is as thorough as possible. Less confident students (for whom this was planned) can work through all of the slides so that they have a wealth of ideas on which to draw before attempting their own response.

Planned for a year 8 class but also suitable for year 9, this is a lesson as part of a SOW on Charles Dickens. It asks the pupils to focus on establishing the writer’s viewpoint and begins with some context on the deplorable practice of baby farming. There is an image to generate understanding and ideas, followed by a non-fiction text from Benjamin Waugh (the founder of the NSPCC) in which he exposes and denounces baby farms. This text is studied in two sections. Once the pupils have worked through these texts and got an understanding of context and of viewpoint (Waugh’s writing is highly emotive and very scathing) they are then given an excerpt from “Oliver Twist” describing the parish farm run by Mrs Mann. The lesson culminates with the pupils being asked to identify Dickens’s viewpoint and then explain how the methods that he uses help to communicate that viewpoint. There is paired work and questioning along the way to get the pupils to this point.

Created for a year 11 class to try to build on their skills of analysis of unseen poetry this uses a deceptively simple poem by Whitman and guides the students through the process of analysis. With this lesson I am trying to encourage them to write about structural features for a poem that doesn’t necessarily have a wealth of language. The teaching strategies include close questioning on the title (something I find my students tend to ignore in their analysis though it is often a fruitful area for exploration), a whole-class reading of the poem (changing voice with punctuation to encourage students to notice that the whole poem is a single sentence and how the punctuation is used for emphasis), some paired discussion, spotting and beginning to explore the features and then modelling of the first paragraph of the response. The mark scheme is used to plot what’s required in the response.

A very matter of fact comprehension exercise based on an excerpt from chapter 19 of “Frankenstein” in which Victor ‘hides out’ on Orkney in order to create a bride for his creature. There is a focus on inference and the characterisation (in terms of thoughts and feelings) of Victor Frankenstein as he narrates this part of his story.

A basic comprehension activity on “Snow” by Walter de la Mare. There are ten questions focusing on the writer’s methods and their effect. Originally created as a homework. Could also be used as a cover activity, for exclusion work or for distance learning.

A simple and straightforward comprehension activity on Walt Whitman’s poem, “The World Below the Brine”. Questions focus on language, structure, viewpoint and ideas. There are 11 questions in total. Could be used for homework or set as cover. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading activity or prompt class discussion.