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.
20 full differentiated (by colour) and meticulously planned lessons to support the teaching of reading and writing skills. These lessons are ready to go.
Ideal for transition from KS2 to KS3, for year 6, year 7 or year 8 classes.
Within these lessons students are exposed to a wide range of fiction, non fiction and literary non fiction texts and will use these as a stimulus for creating their own texts.
These lessons allow students to develop skills for accessing the new English language and English literature 9-1 specifications.
Students will explore the following texts/extracts:
- Article on bats
- Extract from the Twits & BFG - Roald Dahl
- Extract from Frankenstein
- Extract from A Christmas Carol
- Extracts from autobiographies
- Extract from Bill Bryson - travel writing (non-fiction literary)
- Extract from Bleak house
- The Lion the witch and the wardrobe
- blogs
- poetry - Sister Maude, Mother any distance
- articles about Friendship
Students will develop the following skills in preparation for accessing new 9-1 GCSE
- Synthesis
- Comparison
- Language. structure, form analysis
- Theme exploration
- Analytical writing
- Imaginative writing - narrative and descriptive
- Transactional writing
Assessment opportunities and homework tasks also included
Resources to support the teaching of audio production. Lesson were planned to teach BTEC first unit 6 audio production but are equally suitable to help students understand audio for any Media studies course.
Students work towards a brief and will create audio (a radio programme) by following industry practice.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore a variety of audio - music, noise, silence, speech, special effects
- explore audio files - mp3, mp4, wav, AIFF, CD, DAB, FM
- explore mono and stereo
- monitor own audio consumption
- explore broadcast audio and non broadcast audio
- explore uses and gratifications - Blumler and Katz
- explore microphones
- edit audio using editing software
- follow a Media brief to create a radio programme (broadcast audio)
- explore and create radio sweepers, promos, idents, music beds etc.
- conduct research - primary and secondary
Differentiation using a points system. Students complete tasks to earn points, Difficult tasks have the most points attached to them.
A work book is included for students to use while studying.
Over 12 resources to support the teaching of advertising production. The resources were created for students studying BTEC First in Advertising production (Unit 18) but can easily be used to help students with their studies of advertising as [art of GCSE.
Resources allow students to work to a brief and end up creating an advertising campaign by following industry practices.
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore how adverts play on our fears and dreams
- explore persuasive language in advertising
- explore presentational features
- analyse adverts across 3 mediums (TV, radio and web)
- explore synergy
- study advertising across a range of mediums
- plan own advertising campaign
- conduct risk assessments and planning document as would be the case in the industry
- give a pitch for the campaign created
- explore legal and ethical
- investigate the ASA (advertising standards agency)
- consider budgets
- conduct primary and secondary research
- gather qualitative and quantitative data
A work book is also included for students to complete as they study the course.
Fully differentiated lessons to support the teaching of 'Storm on the island' by Seamus Heaney.
3 lessons that include pupil talk tasks, assessment, outcomes and cover:
- context of the poem
- language analysis
- form and structure exploration
- interleave content with Romeo and Juliet. (troubles in both texts)
- GCSE sample assessments
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow - higher ability
Fully differentiated lessons to support the teaching of 'A poison tree' by William Blake.
2 lessons that include pupil talk tasks, assessment, outcomes and cover:
- context of the poem
- language analysis
- form and structure exploration
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow - higher ability
Students explore extracts taken from Anne Frank’s dairy and explore the language she uses to express her feelings. Focus is applied to forming deeper interpretations.
Reading is also provided around the Holocaust which leads into an imaginative writing speech task based on this.
Do now quizzes also included.
This resource was created as a Walking talking mock to guide students through how to tackle key questions from the AQA language papers.
This resource deals with
Paper 1 Q4 and 5
Paper 2 Q2,4 and 5
The booklet provides all key knowledge and models as well as space for students to plan and answer questions themselves.
The power point guides the WTM.
A booklet of lessons to support the teaching of act 1 of Macbeth.
Each lesson has a big and small question, provides key terms to support scene exploration and contains a knowledge retention quiz that also tests student knowledge of Power and conflict poetry and A Christmas Carol.
A range of activities are included to support students with modelled responses.
A knowledge booklet designed for students to use as they study Romeo and Juliet in class. Suitable for KS3 and KS4 GCSE students.
Lessons for all scenes and scaffolded activities for students who may need it.
All lessons include a ‘do now’ activity that encourages knowledge retention and provide key term definitions to assist reading of scenes. Context is embedded and advanced reading around literary heritage is also provided.
Lessons provide opportunity for students to develop and practice:
language/structure analysis
Narrative writing
Writing about view points and perspectives
evaluation skills
SPaG
GCSE literature skills
academic writing including creating introductions
Two walking talking mocks for AQA English language. One booklet and power point for paper 1 and one for paper 2
Includes a student booklets 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.
These resources uses the November 18 AQA English language inserts.
A power point is included to guide students through the mocks including mark schemes.
A power point and student work booklet that helps students to understand the requirements of the writing tasks on both AQA language papers as well as develop skills.
Included:
example stronger and weaker answers
exploration of the mark scheme
exam hacks and tips
opportunity to develop effective descriptions
opportunity to structure effective narratives
opportunity to structure effective non fiction writing
exploration of rhetoric and rhetorical devices
effective strategies for planning responses
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.
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.
These resources (four lessons) guide students how to tackle each of the questions on language paper 1.
The extract is taken from ‘The Mist in the mirror.’
Included is a ppt to guide students through the expectations of each question including model answers that would achieve at least a grade 5 and planning strategies for each question.
Worksheets are also included which can be uploaded to an online learning platform for students to complete. Worksheets are very user friendly to minimise student difficulty.
Two lessons, used for remote learning but can be used in class, that serve as an introduction to ballads.
Students read ‘Homeless Jack’ and explore the conventions of ballads.
In lesson 2 students write their own ballad about ‘Too tall Paul’ after reading an extract from an article about Britian’s tallest man.
Two lessons using an extract from Jurassic Park that are ideal for remote teaching as there is a power point for each lesson and a document that students can complete. Easy to copy and paste into Teams or google classrooms.
The first lesson explores inference and the second focuses on analysis.
These resources (four lessons) guide students how to tackle each of the questions on language paper 2.
The paper used is the Summer 2019 paper.
Included is a ppt to guide students through the expectations of each question including model answers that would achieve at least a grade 5 and planning strategies for each question.
Worksheets are also included which can be uploaded to an online learning platform for students to complete. Worksheets are very user friendly to minimise student difficulty.
3 differentiated (by colour) lessons to support the teaching of Romeo and Juliet Act 5 scene 1, 2 and 3.
Differentiation:
purple = lower ability
blue = middle ability
yellow = higher ability
Resources provide opportunities to:
- explore language, form and structure
- assess against the 9-1 specification success criteria
- explore context - fate and predestination
- explore creation of tension
- explore unfortunate coincidence
- explore the significance of the ending
30 facts about Shakespeare and his plays. Cut them up and ask students to move around the room sharing information.
A useful activity to get students thinking about Shakespeare ahead of studying a play.
