I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
I'm currently the head of English and raising standards leader at a secondary school in Birmingham. I'm passionate about my subject and passionate about ensuring that the young people we serve leave education with a high competency in English.
Prior to teaching I worked in the radio industry as a presenter for 7 years and so when I became a teacher I enjoyed the opportunity to teach Media studies.
You'll find hundreds of English and Media studies resources.
A CPD presentation that introduces the strategies of:
presenting new information in small steps
modelling
scaffolding
This presentation is aimed at re-introducing teachers to these important elements of Rosenshine’s principles of instruction and includes some examples of how this may look in the classroom.
Three lots of walking talking mock style exam revision for AQA English language paper 1 and paper 2
Perfect to use in class as a walking talking mock - whereby you guide students thorough each question and allow them the suggested time to complete each task.
Using 3 different sample papers 1 and paper 2 papers, these resources:
- guide students through how to tackle each question
- provide suggested timings
- provide sample answers
- provide tips and strategies for planning a response
- show the questions annotated to ensure students stick to the focus of the task
- provide opportunities to self/peer assess against the mark scheme criteria
- model to students how to annotate the questions
The revision uses exam papers provided by AQA and use extracts from the following:
Paper 1:
- Glass, bricks and dust
- City of beasts
- Brighton Rock
Paper 2:
- Bad weather
- Festivals
- Villages
Rather than differentiation, many schools are thinking more in terms of scaffolding in the current climate.
The attached documents include:
a ppt used for CPD
a guidance document containing a range of strategies that can be used to scaffold work for children.
A complete walking talking mock for AQA English language paper 1.
Includes a student booklet containing model answers which encourage students to achieve thoughtful responses, exam tips and opportunity for students to practice annotation and structuring answers to the questions.
This resource uses the November 18 AQA English language inserts.
A power point is included to guide students through the mock including mark schemes.
Resources to support the development of the following questioning and higher order thinking skills and strategies:
- Blooms taxonomy
- Socratic questioning
- No hands
- Pause time
- Secret 7
- Big question
Ideal for leading departmental or whole school training on questioning strategies.
Resources included:
- CPD power point presentation on questioning strategies with tasks for staff to complete to get them thinking about their existing practice and how they could develop this
- Socratic questioning prompt sheet to support student development of their questioning of each other within lessons
- Links to Ofsted expectations
- Departmental audit template
A Walking talking mock that uses the AQA examiner feedback from summer 2023 to guide students through a process of planning and then writing answers/essays to the ‘An Inspector Calls’ question.
Power point (40 slides) and student work booklet included.
This resource focuses on helping students to:
plan their response
consider the text chronologically
embed context rather than bolt it on at the end
consider how themes can be context rather than just Historical events
create thesis statements
consider the texts as a construct
Exam questions used in this resource: Selfishness & Sheila as a character who learns lessons
Model answers included.
A student booklet and teacher power point that takes students through how to answer and revise for the ‘An Inspector Calls’ AQA literature question.
Model answers included and guidance on how to plan and then structure an academic introduction and essay.
Guidance is differentiated for character questions and theme questions.
Opportunities for students to write their own answers with and without scaffolds.
The resource uses two different exam questions.
A six week activity book that could be used independently in class or for homework.
Over the course of the six weeks students will work on strategies for effective writing which culminates in producing a piece of writing to argue in the final week.
Each week’s work begins with a retention quiz.
Students develop confidence in:
Understanding and identifying the GAP
Opening hooks
Language devices for effect
Punctuation
Planning for writing
Resources to support the teaching of ballads at KS3.
Included:
- ballad of Homeless Jack
- ballad of Hillsborough
- ballad of Frankie and Johnny
- ballad of Charlotte Dymond
Resources are fully differentiated by colour.
Purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
These resources cover act 2 and act 3 of An Inspector Calls and meet the requirements of the new GCSE 9-1 specification.
16 meticulously planned and fully differentiated lessons that are numbered for ease of use with activities included.
Homework tasks and assessment opportunities included.
Download and teach right away. These lessons are ready to go.
All lessons are fully differentiated by colour:
Purple = lower ability
Blue = middle ability
Yellow = higher ability
Red = most able
These resources cover the following areas of act 2 and 3
- Context - socialism and capitalism, men and women, trade unions, Priestley's moral message, welfare state
- Exploration of the theme of responsibility
- character analysis
- theme analysis
- Assessments in line with 9-1 success criteria
- homework tasks
- opportunities for debate and persuasive writing (prep for lang exam)
- opportunities for imaginative writing (prep for lang exam)
- development of tension
- Analysis of Priestley's structure
2 lessons to support the introduction to studying plays.
Resources provide opportunities for students to:
- explore stage directions
- explore stage terminology
- explore the layout of scripts
- practice creating scripts
- perform scripts
- explore the difference between plays and prose
Carousel activities which allow students to revise the context of Elizabethan England and practice analysing extracts from the play as well as referring to the play as a whole.
Differentiated to allow students to structure an exam response which culminates in an exam practice question.
Two exam questions also included in the structure of the 9-1 literature examination.
Extracts taken from:
Act 1 scene 5
Act 2 scene 2
Act 2 scene 3
Act 4 scene 3
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue - middle ability
yellow = higher ability
A complete walking talking mock for AQA English language paper 2.
Includes a student booklet containing model answers which encourage students to achieve thoughtful responses, exam tips and opportunity for students to practice annotation and structuring answers to the questions.
This resource uses the November 18 AQA English language inserts.
A power point is included to guide students through the mock including mark schemes.
A differentiated (by colour) lesson to support the teaching of comparison between Storm on the Island and Exposure from the AQA power and conflict anthology.
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
A student booklet and teacher power point that takes students through how to answer and revise for the Romeo and Juliet AQA literature question.
Model answers included and guidance on how to structure an academic introduction.
Opportunities for students to write their own answers with and without scaffolds.
The resource uses two different exam questions.
Resource to support exam revision for new specification AQA Power and conflict.
Resource guides students through comparing Kamikaze and Poppies
Included:
- mark scheme wording to help students
- a sample comparison paragraph
- tasks to help students identify similarities and differences
Four lessons on the short story ‘Chemistry’ by Graham Swift from the Telling Tales anthology
Each lesson has a power point and a worksheet style document that can be used for remote learning. Just upload it to your platform and everything that students need is on their document ready to work on.
Lessons were initially made for a well performing year 8 group. New versions were then created for a lower prior attaining year 7 group and so have been scaffolded to meet their needs. Both versions are included here.
Resources cover:
inference
language analysis
evaluation
writing to argue a view point
Knowledge checks and do now activities are included.
A learning walk / observation document that can be used to observe lessons across secondary school subjects.
This has been created in light of Ofsted’s latest framework which puts emphasis on curriculum and what students know and can do.
Three focus areas are teaching for memory, responsive teaching and subject expertise.
Behaviour / culture for learning is not included but should always be considered when visiting lessons.