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 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 following literature texts:
Jekyll and Hyde
Romeo and Juliet
Unseen poetry
An INspector Calls
Power point (130 slides) and student work booklet included.
This resource focuses on helping students to:
plan their response
consider the texts 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 constructs
Exam questions used in this resource:
Jekyll & Hyde - sympathy for Jekyll
Romeo and Juliet - relationships between older and younger characters
An Inspector Calls - Selfishness & Sheila as a character who learns lessons
Unseen poetry - Autumn poem
A walking talking mock that uses the 2023 paper and inserts about train journeys.
Power point presentation and student work booklet included that:
guides students through strategies for answering each of the questions in section A in order to secure at least a grade 5
provides students with level 2 responses and guides them through how to create level 3 and 4 answers
supports students in how to read the sources effectively
supports students in making inferences and considering the big ideas to help with structuring academic responses
advises students to read the questions first
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 in response to the Jekyll and Hyde 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 text as a construct
Exam questions used in this resource: sympathy for Jekyll#
Model answers included.
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 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 in response to Romeo and Juliet.
Power point (42 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 constructs
Exam question used in this resource: relationships between older and younger characters
Model answers included.
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 ‘Macbeth’ question.
Power point (37 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: Macbeth’s violence
Model answers included.
Additional exam question used: Macbeth and Banquo’s attitude towards the super natural.
Lessons that guide students through the process of writing a comparison between Exposure and Extract from the Prelude as well as Exposure and Storm on the Island.
Students are encouraged to think about a thesis - a central argument that will run throughout their essay. What do we learn about the power in Exposure? What is the big idea?
Once students have this they are encouraged to unpick a quotation and explore how the words/devices used corroborate their thesis before writing their first paragraph.
Once complete, students apply the same process to the second poem by considering how the power has been presented and using evidence effectively.
40 revision cards with questions on one side and answers on the other to make revision fast and simple. This resource is best used in a small index card folder/organiser.** (As seen in the image) **
Based on the Leitner method, the idea is simple: the further the card goes back in the folder: the more secure the information is in long term memory.
A card can only move back a position if you correctly answer the questions on the card. If at any point you do not answer a card correctly enough, the card must return to section 1 regardless of how far back it went. This is because it needs to be re-studied.
Quotation cards
There are 3 questions on each card: a ‘who’ question, a ‘what’ question and a ‘why’ question.
Knowledge cards.
These cards test knowledge of either subject terminology or the text itself. Subject terminology cards include questions on the definitions of language devices, sentence types and word classes as well as specific terminology.
Knowledge cards include questions about context, plot, character and theme.
Getting started
Create 6 sections in your ‘Lightning Revision’ folder.
Place all/some cards in section 1 at the front of the folder.
Follow the timetable card **(photo attached) **which tells you which of the sections you should revise each day. You’ll revise section 1 every day because cards in this section are the ones that you are least secure with.
If you answer correctly enough: move the card to the next section.
If you aren’t happy that you answered correctly enough then move the card back to section 1. (Regardless of how far back in the folder it was.)
**The Science bit: the better the mastery: the less frequent the practice. **
‘Lightning Revision’ works using the principle of ‘spaced learning.’
Research shows that after studying something: within one hour, you will have forgotten an average of 50% percent of the information. Within 24 hours, you have forgotten around 70% and within a month, this increases to 90%.
By spacing out the studying and by returning frequently to the material we want to remember, we increase our chances of committing it to long term memory.
Instead of ‘cramming,’ the simple act of spacing out revision in instalments, and allowing time to elapse between them makes the learning and memory stronger.
This resource has been created to help information that you have revised stay within your long term memory. In this system, we revise information that we are insecure with more frequently.
2 versions included:
Print - fold horizontally - cut them up and you’re ready to go!
Print back to back and you;re ready to go.
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 Unseen poetry questions.
Power point and student work booklet included.
This resource focuses on helping students to:
understand the unseen poems quickly
plan their response
create thesis statements
Exam questions used in this resource: Autumn poem
Model answers included.
A Walking talking mock that uses the AQA examiner feedback from the summer exams to guide students through a process of planning and then writing answers to English language paper 1.
Power point (81 slides) and student work booklet included.
This resource focuses on helping students to:
plan their responses to the questions
consider the order in which to answer the questions
explore methods and their effect concisely
improve responses through model answers
consider ‘mood’ as a central concept in all of the tasks on the paper
develop their imaginative writing
Source material: Daphne De Maurier ‘Don’t look now’
Model answers included.
A Walking talking mock that uses the AQA examiner feedback from the summer exams to guide students through a process of planning and then writing answers to English language paper 2.
Power point (86 slides) and student work booklet included.
This resource focuses on helping students to:
plan their responses to the questions
structure shorter but more effective responses
consider the order in which to answer the questions
explore methods and their effect concisely
improve responses through model answers
develop their transactional writing
plan and sgtructure effective persuasive writing
explore rhetoric and what makes it effective
Source material: extracts are on the topic of train travel as used in the summer 23 exams
Model answers included.
A series of lessons attached that explore ‘Simon Lee: The Old Hunstman.’
Lessons include:
inference skills
comparing perspectives with model answers
do now activities
exploration of moral and links to the corona virus pandemic and random acts of kindness
article writing
This is a complete 6 week unit on Non Fiction Writing using topical issues.
Students work through a booklet which contains all extracts and activities. There is also an accompanying power point presentation.
Students will explore the following speeches, letters and articles:
Boris Johnson - Lockdown
Marcus Rashford - free school meals
Greta Thunberg - climate change
David Attenborough - climate change
Lilly Allen - Refugee crisis
Bukayo Saka - Racism in football
Martin Luther King - Racism
Emma Watson - gender equality
Malala - 16th birthday speech
Hands not hate article in response to homophobic attacks
As students progress through the unit they will explore rhetoric and how effective non fiction writing is structured and work on building their own piece of writing.
The unit culminates with speaking and listening.
The booklet also contains scaffolds for students who may need support in accessing the unit.
Resources to support the revision of 'An Inspector Calls' for new specification GCSE
Includes:
- sample responses
- step by step guide to structuring an analytical paragraph
- sample exam question
- carousel opportunity to expose students to a range of possible questions for them to discuss and annotate
- general revision of plot, character and context
Resource to support the revision of Jekyll and Hyde and how to form exam responses to an extract from the novel and make links to the novel as a whole.
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
These resources provide opportunities for carousel activities whereby students read 4 extracts from the novel and make notes to form an exam response. Students will consider other parts of the text as part of their answer.
Opportinities to:
- revise plot and significant characters and themes
- revise context
- revise extract to whole
- form exam responses linked to mark scheme
- explore sample answers
- practice timed writing
- learn quotations using image stimuli
4 extracts included
3 lessons to support the revision of the reading section of the new specification English language paper 1 for AQA.
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 a sample paper (included) the 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
Extract taken from: Glass, bricks and dust
10 key quotations from Jekyll and Hyde, each with an accompanying image to help stduents remember them.
Perfect as a starter where students use the given quote and image to write an interpretation.
A bundle of resources to support the revsiison of ‘An Inspectpr Calls’ for new specification 9-1 GCSE literature.
Included:
- context revision
- Remembering quotations resources
- sample answers
- quotation revision
- forming analytical paragraphs
- sample questions
- revision of plot and significant characters and themes
- structure revision
Ideal for year 7 or year 8. Two lessons to develop the AQA new specification paper 2 skills for question 4 using the AQA KS3 papers. (Comparison of writer perspectives)
Also ideal for low ability KS4
Resources provide opportunity to:
- explore non fiction texts
- select and retrieve explicit and implicit information
- identify example of a writer's language
- explain the effect of writer's language
- compare the perspectives of the writer
- use writing frames to structure a response
Differentiation:
purple = lower
blue = middle
yellow = higher
Texts included:
- Article about meeting the Grime artist 'Stormzy'
- Article about meeting Sir Paul McCartney
With very few sample assessment materials provided by the exam boards I have created my own.
They have been made to look exactly like the assessments that students will sit in the real 9-1 examinations and are phrased in the same ways too.
The student responses can then be marked using the relevant mark scheme for literature.
The extract in this assessment is taken from chapter 8.