In this extract, G.W.M.Reynolds describes a crowd gathered to watch a hanging. Alongside the extract are ten questions focusing on a range of reading skills including vocabulary, analysis and evaluation. Useful for cover, for homework or as a pre-reading activity before exploring the extract in greater depth.

This is a straightforward powerpoint taking students through activities to support and hone their reading skills. The focus is on the writer’s viewpoint - identifying it and beginning to look at how it’s suggested - and on the effect of language on the reader.

This is a straightforward powerpoint focusing on two short pre-twentieth century extracts. One is from “My Struggle with a Tiger” by Charles Jamrach and the other is from a story by Conan Doyle. This was planned for a less confident GCSE class but could also be used at KS3. It focuses on analysis - talking about the effect of the writer’s language choices on the reader. The last four slides are printables of the extracts.

This is a simple and straightforward comprehension exercise using an extract from “The Strand” magazine in which the writer describes a visit to Jamrach’s Emporium to see a crocodile being force fed. There are 8 questions. This could be used as homework or a cover activity. Alternatively, it could be used as a pre-reading or guided reading activity prior to a lesson with a focus on the writer’s viewpoint.

This is a straightforward powerpoint with the aim - W.a.l.t: know and use the cinquain form. Planned for key stage three. Covers both reading and writing skills.

These are the slides that I used to take my class through a first reading of “A Taste of Honey”, their set text for AQA GCSE English Literature. There are 67 slides in total. We read the play before beginning our close study.

This is a powerpoint that I have used to take my class through the whole of “A Christmas Carol”. There are 99 slides in total.

A simple and straightforward revision activity. 20 questions (suggested answers provided on a separate sheet). Could be used in class as a springboard for more developed answers through discussion. Useful for homework or cover. Created as a revision activity to enable students to identify gaps in their knowledge so that they can focus their next steps.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity using a recount (from 1883) of an unusual street performer. Made to support students in developing their skills of reading pre 20th century non-fiction, this might come in handy as preparation for AQA English Language paper 2, particularly if you pair it with a more modern text about street performers. Suggested answers are provided.

This is a multiple choice quiz with 20 questions (answers provided) on Puck’s speech from near the end of the play - “Now the Hungry Lion Roars”. Could be used as homework to secure and embed knowledge once the speech has been studied in class. Could be used as a pre-reading/flipped learning activity. The questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity, useful for developing students’ understanding of the context of “A Christmas Carol” and why “some would rather die” than go to the workhouse. There are 10 questions and the activity could be used in class, as a cover activity or for homework. Suggested answers are provided.

This is a walkthrough of Tennyson’s “The Eagle”, asking the questions that candidates will need to ask of themselves during the exam. The powerpoint asks them to focus on various methods including anthropomorphism, rhyme, rhythm and contrast. The final slide is an exam-style question. As the poem is so short, it could be useful for building confidence when tackling an unseen poetry question.

This is a very straightforward powerpoint using John Drinkwater’s public domain poem, “Moonlit Apples”. The powerpoint takes the students through a range of questions about the effect of methods used in the poem and concludes with an exam-style question.

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 task uses two short extracts, one from Barnardo and one from Dickens. Both describe homeless children living rough in markets. There are 14 questions, two requiring knowledge of “A Christmas Carol” (but this is an editable document so these questions can easily be removed if your students have not studied the text). This task is a good springboard for AQA GCSE English Language paper 2, question 4 - beginning to hone the reading skills which will be tested on that paper.

There are 7 questions here on Thomas Hood’s poetic grumble, “November”. It’s a lyric poem centering on the gloom of a November day in London. Written in 1844. Suggested answers are provided, although these are not definitive. This could be used to structure a guided reading activity. Children could work in pairs or groups and work through the questions, discussing answers. Alternatively, this could be used as a homework activity, for home learning, or for cover.

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.

The text used is abridged from John Steinbeck’s war correspondent reports. This is an account of an attack on a cinema in London, 1943. It is a harrowing account of children’s deaths and injuries and you will be able to decide whether it’s suitable for use with your class. There are ten questions with suggested answers provided. The answers are merely indicative - some students will come up with different, though equally valid, responses. This could be used for cover, set as homework or allocated for home study. 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.

This is a straightforward multiple choice quiz with 17 questions (answers provided) which can be used to structure a guided reading session or discussion about the poem. Alternatively, the questions can be set for homework prior to the completion of an unseen poetry response in class. A suggested question - How does the poet present the speaker’s thoughts and feelings about death? - is written just below the poem. Useful preparation for the GCSE Unseen poetry question. If you are studying “A Christmas Carol” the ideas in this poem segue neatly into the death of Tiny Tim.