This is a comprehension activity based on the description of Fagin scuttling through the darkness to Bill Sikes. The Word document is editable so you can tailor the questions to suit the ability level of your class, if necessary. There are ten questions, some of which require extended answers, so this would be a useful activity for a cover lesson. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading activity.

Created as a cover activity for a mixed-ability year 7 class as part of a unit on origin stories, myths and legends, this uses a public domain text about Zeus unleashing the great flood on humanity (pairs well with the story of Noah’s Ark). There are ten questions focused on retrieval, inference and some basic analysis. Could be used as a cover activity, set for homework or the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session. Suggested answers are provided.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using a short excerpt from Charles Kingsley’s re-telling of Greek Myths (public domain). There are ten questions. This could be set for cover or for homework. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

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.

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 powerpoint guides students through the AQA GCSE English Language paper question by question (in that there are example questions and some guidance). There’s too much here for an hour’s lesson - could be extended over two or even three lessons. The text is a heavily abridged segment from “Casino Royale” by Ian Fleming in which Bond faces his enemy, Le Chiffre at the casino.

Created as a homework task as part of a unit on gothic horror, this would also work as a cover activity. It uses a short extract from “The Mysteries of Udolpho” by Ann Radcliffe and there are 8 questions, most requiring a more extended answer, focusing on analysis. Useful for honing the reading skills that will be tested at GCSE and for exploring a less common text from the genre of gothic horror.

Created for a year 7 class as a homework to go alongside our class reader of 'Love That Dog', this is a comprehension (close reading and response) activity based on the segment from "The Call of the Wild" in which Buck fights Spitz to become top dog. There are 14 questions in total, focusing on vocabulary, inference and the effects of language. This would be a good cover activity or the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

Planned for my year 9 class as part of a unit of work on Journeys, introducing the skills and tasks of English GCSE, I have also used this with a year 10 group as we begin to tackle the unseen poetry question for English Literature. It uses Shakespeare’s sonnet 50 and is an opportunity to explore the sonnet form as well as the poet’s use of language and structural features.

Useful for a homework task or for cover, this uses the description from “Dracula” where Jonathan Harker is being driven through the Transylvanian darkness to Dracula’s castle. The questions are divided into four sections: vocabulary, information retrieval, inference and the effect of the writer’s methods. This worksheet could be used to structure a guided reading session.

The aim of this lesson is to explore the methods Shakespeare uses to present the character of Egeus. The lesson begins with a brief prose overview of the start of of the play and then the lesson moves to focus on Egeus’s speech to Theseus. The lesson uses questioning and asks the pupils to annotate their copy of the speech as well as zooming right in on a specific quotation and exploding it (again, through prompt questioning). There is a homework - a 10-question multiple-choice quiz intended to consolidate some of the learning from the lesson.

A straightforward lesson exploring Sassoon’s poem, “The Kiss” with questioning used to discuss the effect of the personification of bullet and bayonet. There are 8 close reading and response questions on slide 15. These could be used to structure a discussion or set for independent work. The lesson culminates with a task asking the students to draw inferences about the nature of the speaker in the poem, writing in role as a senior officer. Planned for year 9 but could be suitable to explore unseen poetry at KS4.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using an abridged text from Dickens’ story “The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain”. There are 8 questions. This could be set for homework or used as cover. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is a simple and straightforward powerpoint created for cover but also useful for homework - or could be taught as a lesson or used to structure guided reading and writing. There are three slides. The first focuses on writing to describe, the second is a simple comprehension activity and the third is an opportunity for more extended creative writing. The intention was for the ppt to be displayed, reducing the need for photocopying, but the slides are easily editable if handouts are required.

Originally planned for KS3 students as part of a reading unit on the natural world, this could be used with much less confident readers at KS4, perhaps as part of a catch-up or intervention series. The text used is from “Nature Near London” (1905 so public domain) by Richard Jefferies. Alongside the short excerpt are some questions which can be used to diagnose gaps in reading skills and comprehension.

This is a multiple-choice quiz with 19 questions (answers provided) based on a description of setting from “David Copperfield”. This could be used for revision of reading skills at KS4 or could be part of a unit on Dickens at KS3. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session or, as flipped learning, to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding so that subsequent teaching can be more sharply focused.

This is a short comprehension activity using an excerpt from Kipling’s “The Mark of the Beast” in which Fleete turns into a werewolf. There are 7 questions. Suggested answers are provided. This could be used as a cover activity or set for homework to support a unit on gothic horror. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

I made this for my year 11 class at their request, to revise “Ozymandias” prior to their February mock exam in English Lit. Please feel free to use/amend for your own classes. The intention is that the ppt slides provide prompts for probing questioning and whole-class discussion of the poem. Just to be clear - this wasn’t used for first teaching of the poem - my students had a (in many cases, very hazy) knowledge and understanding before they went through this lesson. I hope very much that you will find this resource useful and will be really grateful if you’ll take a minute to leave a review. Thank you.

A multiple-choice quiz on Stave 3 of “A Christmas Carol” inviting students to consider Dickens’ message about family and how that message is communicated. 23 questions in total. Answers provided.

This is a revision powerpoint, more didactic than interactive, best used in year 11 for revision.