This is a non-fiction excerpt which is a recount by a boy who attended the notorious Bowes Academy (inspiration for Dotheboys Hall). I’ve used this alongside teaching of stave 2 of “A Christmas Carol” (Scrooge’s schooldays) to give pupils some contextual information about Dickens’ attitude towards boarding schools. The extract has a task attached which uses the wording of the viewpoint question for AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2.

A simple and straightforward comprehension activity with 6 questions (answers provided) looking at a brief extract from Stave 2 where Scrooge revisits his school and is rescued by his little sister, Fan.

This lesson uses Jack London’s brilliant story “Moon Face” which would sit really well alongside Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart”. Planned for a year 9 class as part of a unit on short stories but has potential to be used elsewhere at KS3. The aim of the lesson is to use inference to explore the idea of an unreliable narrator. The lesson takes the students through discussion of the effect of a simile, of personification and begins to explore the idea of the narrator’s hypocrisy. After a short time in paired discussion, students are then asked to respond to this question - In ‘Moon Face’, what do we understand about London’s unreliable narrator?

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 is a multiple choice quiz with 25 questions (answers provided) that could be used as a homework, as a revision activity or as a flipped learning activity, to support students working from home as they work through the poem independently - and then for the teacher to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding prior to teaching the poem. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a small-group revision or catch-up session. Some questions lend themselves to further exploration of the poem; others assess whether basic knowledge is in place.

This is a multiple-choice quiz on Oscar Wilde’s poem, “La Mer”. There are 14 questions. Answers are provided. I have set this as homework prior to using class time to explore the poem as an unseen in response to this question: How does the poem present ideas about the natural world? Answers are provided so that peer/self assessment can be used. Alternatively, the questions could be used to struture a guided reading/catch-up session. Some questions lend themselves to further exploration - for example, having identified that the alliteration is on the letter ‘s’ the students could be prompted to think about what that sibilance suggests about the natural world.

This straightforward activity uses an excerpt from Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story, “The Horror of the Heights” in which an aviator discovers a new ecosystem at a height of 40,000 feet. The tasks increase in difficulty and focus on: vocabulary, information retrieval, inference and analysis. Useful for homework, home learning or cover. Could be used with a small group to structure a guided reading activity.

This activity uses an excerpt from “The Beetle” by Richard Marsh which could slot into a unit on monsters, horror, tension and so on. It could be used for homework, as a cover activity or for small group work, to structure a guided reading session. The resource has the extract, taken from early in the novel, and the questions focus on vocabulary, information retrieval, inference, comprehension (of the structure) and analysis. The questions could be tweaked for greater depth or alternatively used as a springboard into a discussion of greater depth. The resource was planned for KS3 but could be used at KS4 to develop students’ confidence in reading this kind of challenging text.

Prior to using this lesson, my class had watched the BBC adaptation of “An Inspector Calls” so already had knowledge of the plot and a basic understanding of the roles of the characters in terms of Priestley’s intentions. Watching the adaptation first worked really well in my 4/5 target group. This is a short lesson (only 8 slides on the ppt) together with a multiple-choice quiz focusing the students on Priestley’s use of stage directions in “An Inspector Calls”. The aim of the lesson is to draw inferences from Priestley’s stage directions. For more able classes, the multiple-choice quiz could be used prior to the lesson to identify gaps in the students’ understanding so that subsequent teaching can be very precisely focused. With my own class (targets 4 and 5), I used the powerpoint first and then set the quiz as homework for consolidation and a little extension of knowledge. If you find either aspect of this resource useful, I would very much appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.

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.

Planned for a year 8 class, this lesson takes as its central idea Holmes’s comment at the end of “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” that, ‘I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience.’ After a recap of what’s meant by a noun phrase, pupils are directed to choose adjectives to develop nouns from the story into emotive noun phrases, thereby building a word bank. They then use their word bank in developing Holmes’s sentence into a speech to Watson in which he expands and develops his viewpoint.

Planned for a year 8 class, this explores Holmes’ and Watson’s vigil towards the end of “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”. Pupils are guided through an understanding of the meaning of tension. There is a text marking activity after which a grid is used to clarify their thinking. The lesson concludes with a piece of evaluative/comparative writing in which pupils are asked which of their identified methods is most successful in creating tension; which is least successful. Depending on the amount of modelling/scaffolding needed and the length at which you want your pupils to write, this lesson could be extended over two hours - although it was planned to occupy one hour.

Planned as part of a SOW for year 8 - a unit on Charles Dickens with a focus on characterisation - this lesson looks at Pip’s first visit to Satis House (chapter 8 of ‘Great Expectations’) and the first description of Miss Havisham. The aim of the lesson is to infer and deduce from description. Pupils are asked to explore the symbolism of colour, looking at the connotations of the colour used in the description of Miss Havisham. Their attention is drawn to the noun ‘lustre’ - this is used later to model a paragraph of analysis. Teaching strategies used are questioning, paired discussion and modelling.

This lesson was planned for a year 8 group but could be used elsewhere at KS3. It uses Conan Doyle’s story and this lesson focuses on how Conan Doyle creates a sense of urgency as Holmes uncovers the motive for murder and heads to Stoke Moran to try to protect Helen Stoner. The lesson asks the pupils to explore three of the writer’s methods for creating a sense of urgency: the plot itself, the setting and the dialogue. Focused questioning is used throughout. Differentiation is possible in the approach to this questioning - pupils could be asked to think and pair, then share; for greater challenge, responses could be written without any discussion.

Planned for year 8 but useful at any point in KS3, I think, this lesson focuses on using understanding of connotation to broaden and deepen understanding of Doyle’s characterisation of Dr Roylott as he appears in Sherlock Holmes’s rooms. Pupils are asked to look at the comparison of Dr Roylott to a bird of prey and think of the connotations of this noun, using the connotations in an explanation of what they understand about the character. Thereafter, their attention is turned to Doyle’s use of verbs. They are asked to choose the most effective verb - the one with the strongest connotations - and to use their work on the “bird of prey” comparison as a model to work more independently on their chosen verb.

This is a short and simple worksheet focusing on the scene from “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in which Holmes, Watson and Sir Henry Baskerville approach Baskerville Hall. There are four (short) sets of questions on vocabulary, information retrieval, inference and explanation of the writer’s methods. I created this as a cover activity but it would work for homework or even to structure a guided reading session.