An introductory lesson on Thomas Hardy's 'A Wife in London' for 14-16 year olds. Suitable for any GCSE syllabus, this lesson introduces the themes and mood of the poem, as well as some key linguistic features. The starter covers the concept of pathetic fallacy, and specifically the use of fog in the poem. The main tasks are a stanza-by-stanza annotation, as well as four analytical questions to provoke deeper thought. There is also a slide on the historical context of the Boer War.

A KS3 lesson to introduce students to the concept of poetry and cultural identity. Will act as a good introduction to the AQA Poems from Other Cultures anthology. This lesson explores the concept of rap, hip hop and grime music as poetry. It features points of view from a number of well known rappers and MCs, and culminates in students analysing lyrics by 'Rap Shakespeare' and founder of the Hip Hop Shakespeare Company, Akala. The lesson includes a Do Now, differentiated outcomes, differentiated starter, main task and plenary.

An exciting, engaging lesson which teaches students the thrilling history of some of their favourite books. Mad, bad and dangerous to read - some of these books have been banned from classrooms and libraries across the world and one was even banned throughout China! This lesson culminates in a main task which asks students to write a persuasive speech which argues either for or against students reading Lord of the Flies. This task asks them to consider the wider impact of studying literature, and should stir up some excitement about reading! This lesson includes a Do Now, differentiated starter, main task and plenary.

A worksheet to help students track the changes in Scrooge from Stave 1 to Stave 5 of A Christmas Carol. Students can plot the key events along a timeline and are asked to come up with five adjectives to describe Scrooge at the beginning of the novella and five to describe him at the end. This is an ideal resource for introducing students to the essay question on 'A Christmas Carol' for GCSE English Literature, in which they may be asked to track and explain the changes in a character throughout the novella. Suitable as an introductory resource for Key Stage 3 or Key Stage 4, or as a revision worksheet to help students consolidate their understanding at the end of a Scheme of Work.

A full lesson on Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy from the Edexcel and WJEC/Eduqas anthologies. Includes differentiated outcomes from the WJEC/Eduqas mark scheme, three differentiated starters, a line-by-line analysis of the poem, an exemplar question and a plenary. Suitable for all year groups, with lots of scaffolding for students who struggle with independent analysis.

A narrative planning sheet encouraging students to plot their narratives in terms of opening, complication, climax, resolution and end. A visual aid to help students structure their creative writing. Especially useful to help Key Stage 3 students make the transition from 'beginning, middle, end' stories. Includes writing prompts to guide students.

A fun, interactive quiz to test students' knowledge of the plot, characters and key quotations of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Would be suitable for any group which has studied the text - from an introduction with Key Stage 3 to a relaxed revision resource for Year 11. The quiz includes over 40 questions across 4 rounds: Who Am I? Who Said It? Quotation Completion and Say What You See. The cover image shows an example question from the Say What You See round: 'Chain-Eye-Forged-In-Life'. The fun mix of question types and learning styles will help students better familiarise themselves with the text.

A lesson which focusing on honing and utilising persuasive, rhetorical and emotive writing skills. Taking inspiration from Stormzy’s ‘Grenfell Tower’ speech/rap at the BRITS 2018, the lesson analyses his use of language through a video clip, annotated extract, differentiated starter and independent writing task. This is a simple and engaging way to get students interested in persuasive writing, and to encourage them to understand the power of linguistic and structural features. The lesson also asks students to pick an issue they are personally passionate about and write a speech on it. This gives Key Stage 3 students the perfect opportunity to practice skills which will be necessary in their Speaking and Listening examination in Key Stage 4.

Printable ‘good luck’ postcards for English teachers to give out to their GCSE classes ahead of the upcoming exams. Four per sheet, with room for students’ names on the front and black for a personal message at the back.

A set of 20 alphabetical classroom posters of literary terms, from A (anaphora) to T (tragic hero) in various pastel colours, with exemplar quotations.

An analytical lesson on Thomas Hardy's 'A Wife in London' for 14-16 year olds. Suitable for any GCSE syllabus, this lesson offers contextual and linguistic lenses through which to read the poem. Students work in pairs to explode key quotations from the poem, then pass their work to another pair who will develop it with new contextual information on 'the London fog' and Hardy's relationship with feminism. Students will then answer an analytical question on the poem, with the support of a model answer which can be printed off, annotated or deconstructed as a group.

A simple SPAG diagnostic passage. A short story including 50 common spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes including missing speech marks, there/their/they're, you're/your, apostrophe misuse, slang, plurals, commas, grammar and spelling.

A KS3 lesson to introduce students to the concept of poetry and cultural identity. Will act as a good introduction to the AQA Poems from Other Cultures anthology. This lesson encourages students to consider the role social class plays in forging our cultural identities. The lyrics to The Enemy's song We'll Live and Die in These Towns are analysed, and the lesson includes a video clip of the music video, as well as a word document of the song's lyrics. The lesson includes a Do Now, differentiated outcomes, differentiated starter, main task and plenary.

A KS3 lesson to introduce students to the concept of poetry and cultural identity. Will act as a good introduction to the AQA Poems from Other Cultures anthology. This lesson encourages students to consider the cultural identity of one local area (in this case, Liverpool). The lesson examines a poem about the Hillsborough Disaster. It also introduces the WJEC Assessment Objectives and the PETAL Paragraph technique of analysing poetry. A word document copy of the poem to analyse is included. The lesson includes a Do Now, differentiated outcomes, differentiated starter, main task and plenary.