This session is a quick paced, fun, interactive session with group and paired activities, handouts include match up tasks, planning tasks, read and obtain tasks and helpful handouts. This is an introductory lesson to writing using PURPOSE, AUDIENCE, FORM, TONE (PAFT) . It is focused for the Edexcel GCSE English Language paper as many of the questions of this paper are multi layered / skilled and ask for layers of understanding from the student in ways that other exam boards don’t. It comes with a “writing gibberish” starter and takes the student through various stages which can help them improve their own writing, get into the habit of planning but also touches upon being able to analyse writing, therefore bridging over both the reading and writing section of the exam. This session is aimed quite low as it is an introduction but does offer elements of stretch and challenge for more able students. It comes with helpful handouts for low ability learners and tackles some more high level concepts such as tone. There is enough material in this resource to be adapted into two sessions if needs be but is also adaptable to include more if necessary. Please be aware that the TES preview does sometimes distort the way the resource looks and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps

I used this session recently in a ungraded observation and was praised for my use of modern material in order engage students and embed English language skills but also with my collaboration with youth workers on this session. Many students don’t realise that much of what they watch on TV or in the cinema has it’s roots in a book or written form (such as a comic) . I find that by using materials the students are familiar with catches their attention and helps to quickly engage students in the session, it allows me to teach them the necessary skills they will need for the live exam. The main aim of this session is to explores structural features for paper 1 , question 4 of the AQA GCSE English exam by looking at an extract of Margret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale. We use the acronym ROW of CLONES to help students work through a piece of text and identify key structural features. Students work in groups and pairs to break down and examine the extract, they explore ideas of culture and individuality whilst also looking at the ways the Margret Atwood uses structural features to communicate atmosphere and repression to her audience. The lesson ends with a practice question, peer marking and a small self assessment plenary. This lesson is quick paced, engaging, exciting and underpins deeper issues such as human rights and human rights violations. This lesson helps to expose students to events that have and are taking place around the globe, encouraging awareness and tolerance - a key part of British Values. I collaborated with youth workers on this sessions and invited them to attend and help support group / paired activities and group discussions as they can bring another dimension to this topic, therefore encouraging cross school or college participation in English and encouraging a holistic approach to education. The lesson comes with the full extract, powerpoint of the entire lesson, worksheets and two videos, one exploring human rights and the other is the trailer for The Handmaids Tale. I teach in a 16-19 college where lessons came in 3 hour blocks therefore there is enough material for 3 hours in this resource, but it can be altered into smaller sessions depending on your timetable. Please note that TES previews an at times distort the look of the resource but this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This booklet is full of motivational, inspirational and confidence building quotes. I like to have this booklet in my classroom for students to look at, or use its in my classroom displays. This can be used either way depending on your needs. Hope it helps

This is a mini workshop session which focuses on how to use sentence structures for effect for the creative writing section of paper 1 of the WJEC GCSE English exam. This lesson is designed for revision sessions as the exam draws close but can be developed further or used with another exam board. This session uses Donald Trump for inspiration in how to use interesting sentences to describe. It also recaps high and low level language features. It is a fast paced session with paired activities and a main writing task taken from a practice paper. It ends with a self assessment plenary. Be advised that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

This is a team based lesson with quick paced tasks based around an extract from Andy Weir’s “The Martian”. The aim of the lesson is to answer an exam based question on the structural features used in this extract. The lesson comes with 7 worksheets which includes the extract and tasks which range across all abilities and can be used at your discretion. This resource also comes with the trailer (which does include the S word, so feel free to use at your discretion) and the full lesson on powerpoint. This resource is designed to be used in which ever way you feel works for your classes and is adaptable to accommodate your teaching style. The lesson is created for students who are already aware of structural features but again, you can adapt this session to either introduce or reinforce structural features, depending on what you have covered so far. The session comes with a start and short self assessment plenary, there are plenty of team tasks, group and class discussions and some peer assessment. It ends with a individual task which is exam focused. Please note that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

Having taught English over the last 10 years I have witnessed an increase in pressure put on students to achieve grade C’s and above - now grade 4’s and above. I have also witnessed how this pressure makes lower performing students give up in English, leading to poor attendance and behavior . Other students, who try their best, being made to feel stupid or “thick” (as they put it) because they never seem able to do what is increasingly expected of them. Therefore this is a lesson designed to be inspirational and encouraging, which makes it ideal for the start of the academic year and trying to start your students off on a positive mind set in English. It crosses over into something of a tutorial and is a good way to start off the creative writing unit as the final task is geared towards that particular question in the exam. If you are doing regular target setting and target reviews with your students, it is also a great session to begin that process with and allows you to have a starting point from which you can track. This session encourages students to measure their ideals against their actuals. Which is to look at what it is you want to achieve in the future (grades 4 - 9) but measuring the progress against what you did last week / last term etc and visibly seeing the improvements and progress being made. The idea is to encourage a positive feeling towards English and to develop a healthy approach to achievement and what achievement means. It can be used with any exam board as the creative writing task is across all boards. This lesson comes with a full powerpoint - slides of which can be printed and used as worksheets - and a video which ideally needs to be watched from roughly 3 mins in and ended at about 5 mins in ( exact times can be found in the notes section of the PP) If you don’t want to use the video, the point it makes is reinforced by a group task and so you can use either /or - or both. It is full of group and individual activities which can be done without a world of resources at your finger tips - ideal if you multi site in your job. Please note that TES previews can distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps

This resource is a 8 page resource, with trailer, filled with tasks based around discrimination and Harvey Milk - the LGBT activist. The aim of this resource is for you to use, build a lesson around or embed in anyway you see fit based on your classes and your style of teaching. You can use all or some of the resource available based on your needs. The main aims of the resource are: To list three facts about the life of Harvey Milk Discuss different kinds of discrimination and rights. Discuss the effects of discrimination on an individual. This resource is aimed at both lower and higher ability students with scaffolds and different tasks such as comprehension, research task, discussion and summary writing. The discussion task is based on the famous experiment ran by Jane Elliot in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King and comes with teacher notes on how to run the discussion. This is a great resource to use during observations or Ofsted visits, LGBT awareness month or the run up to Pride weekends. It is also a good session to invite youth/support workers along to as they can offer support, advice or help facilitate and add an extra dimension to the session. Please note that TES preview can at time distort the look of a resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a fun, fast paced, team based session which comes with a full powerpoint lesson from start to finish, 3 worksheets and 2 videos. This session covers the main language features which the students will need to know for this exam (DAFOREST / POSHIMP) and addresses not just the terminology but the purpose and job the language features perform. The main aim of the session is geared towards Paper1 Question 5. I use this lesson as an introductory session to language features for my students and build on these key skills as the term moves on. There is enough material to cover a 3 hour session in tis pack. As inspiration we look at an unusual character from the TV show ‘Big Giant Swords’ and use this person to inspire creative writing from the students. Please be aware that TES previews can distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

I have decided to share his resource because it was a great success with my students and managers, who turned from a personal resource to a departmental resource. This came about because I decided to try and encourage my students to read more, as they don’t read anything that isn’t on Facebook or Snapchat, by creating this 28 page booklet filled with extracts from Literature to give to them at the start of the year. This worked very well as the extracts are all at different lengths and difficulty and also features extracts from modern literature such as Harry Potter and older texts such as Wuthering Heights. I found that this helped my students become more familiar with the texts they may get in the live exam, therefore preparing them from day 1. This is a great resource to have on the students tables or around the classroom for the students to look at at their leisure or to refer to in your classes, which is something both Ofsted and my department managers praised. I also gave a few copies to have in the college library which helped to extend the English / GCSE section and helped to engage a wider college interest in supporting English. From a teachers point of view, this booklet is very useful for helping you cut down on your planning time as you have a bank of sources which you can use either as the core of your session or as an extension, starter or homework tasks. This booklet was also extremely helpful for revision purposes and drop in workshops as we got closer to the big day. The booklet contains extracts from many works of fiction which have been turned into movies or TV shows to help engage your class. Extracts include The Hunger Games, The Help, The Handmaids Tale, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984. It also has older texts such as Frankenstein, an extract from the original manuscript by Solomon Northup which inspired the movie “12 Years a Slave”. Many of the extracts can be used to embed other topics such as equality / diversity / race and bullying in to your sessions whilst also underpinning British Values. Extracts range from 2-3 pages in length to short paragraphs and script format to help you both stretch and challenge but also support the weaker students and build confidence. I hope you find this as useful as I did. Please keep in mind that TES previews can at times distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection, which is why I have included some screenshots to help you get an idea of what this booklet contains. Hope it helps.

This is a fun quick paced lesson designed to introduce paper 2 from EDEXCEL to your students. We look at the idea of creating a bucket list and focus on the use of language/structure and introduce counter arguments to help when answering question 8/9. There are lots of group activities in where they think and create their own bucket list, breakdown an article, work on counter arguments and eventually create their own persuasive article, encouraging reader to create and actually do their own bucket list. This session comes with the whole lesson on powerpoint, starter worksheets and 4 core lesson worksheets. Please keep in mind that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This session can be used as a mock exam or as a progress assessment on Edexcels Paper 1. It comes with a full powerpoint in which each of the reading questions is answered and explained alongside a peer marking activity. It is designed to be student centered and supportive rather than frightening and off putting- as we know students do not always like mock exams. There is a 4 page helpful handout to support students with the questions and a paper copy of the assessment. Starters include a paired activity recapping / giving a summary of the exam paper and a break down of each question along with a short clip from the movie. I have engineered this session to be completed individually but it can also be used as a team / workshop session in where students work together through each question and help each other learn. Please keep in mind that TES previews can distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a very fun and active lesson designed for lower level or a mixed level functional skills English class. This lesson has very few written tasks, as many lower level classes do demonstrate poor behaviour and are very reluctant to do written work. Instead we have a lesson which jam packed with group and paired activities from board games to creating an origami frog via a instructional video. This lesson also allows room to embed maths via the origami frog task. It is a quick paced lesson which also allows for stretch and challenge and offers a bridge into GCSE English by touching upon imperative verbs and explaining why such language features are used. It comes with a starter and a daily diary plenary task. Please be aware that TES previews do at times distorts the look of the resource and tis is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

As October is Black History month I have created a GCSE English Language session centered around the book “12 Years a Slave”. This session focuses on paper 1 question 2 of the AQA exam paper which looks at language. This is a whole lesson which comes with a full powerpoint with all worksheets and videos included. The sessions is a quick paced, team based session with plenty of activities to encourage independent thought and sharing of ideas to help stretch and challenge but also support. The lesson comes with starter and a small self assessment plenary, it breaks down the key points of the question and the final task is a practice exam question which the students have been working all lesson towards and should feel confident in answering. This is a great lesson to embellish with issues of modern day slavery if desired or, as in my case when delivering hot topics as these, invite youth workers or councilors to your session as they can provide an extra dimension to the session and support any students who may have encountered racism. Please be aware that TES previews often distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a quick paced and fun filled session with team games and activities. The main focus is on using language to persuade but underpins widening vocabulary and descriptive use. This session comes with the full lesson from start to finish on powerpoint and a 6 page worksheet pack. The lesson starts with fun team games such as Stop the Bus and Guess the Animal ( need to supply your own list of animals). The lesson the steers towards looking at endangered animals and looks at what we can do to help in our everyday lives. This session does assume that students are aware of DAFOREST and POSHIMP language features and leads towards the final task which is geared wards paper 2 questions 3 and 5 of the exam paper. There is enough material to fill a 3 hour session in this pack. Please note that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a quick paced, fun lesson all centered around the theme of monsters in literature. The pack comes with the full lesson on powerpoint and 5 separate worksheets which include an extract from Frankenstein and an ideas board to help students who struggle to come up with ideas. This session focuses on the EDEXCEL exam, paper 1 question 5, it consolidates DAFOREST and POSHIMP acronyms for language features and introduces ROW of CLONES acronym for structural features. The session comes with a fun starter which can be achieved by all levels and progresses in difficulty, team activities, handouts and ideas boards are in place to help those who struggle. The final task is to improve on a piece of writing they completed earlier in the session. A task which is designed to show students their own progression through-out the session / in real time rather than waiting for feedback at the end or in the next session Please keep in mind that the TES preview does distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This is a quick paced lesson which breaks down question 4 from paper 1 of the Edexcel paper and examines an extract from George Orwells, 1984. It works on the idea that the students are familiar with language and structural features. This session comes with a support scaffold, the whole lesson on powerpoint, the trailer to the movie and the extract and helps the students to break down the question and understand what is being asked of them, as this question is traditionally the tricky question and can confuse students as to how to best answer it. The sessions ends with an example question as it would appear in the exam, an example answer and gives the students an opportunity to piece an answer together themselves. Please keep in mind that TES preview often distorts the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This 5 page questions worksheet is based on the new book by Philomena Cunk -“Cunk on Everything”. Although this is a modern, comedic text, I often find that by using resources from current pop culture helps students to engage with English and helps learning or consolidation of learning take place , it also helps to give a light hearted and fun tone to your classroom however I mostly like to use resources such as these to help show students that what they learn in English is relevant and used in the everyday / real world and not just the classroom. This resource can be used with any exam board but I would suggest that some prior teaching on structural features take place first. The resource focuses primarily on the use of structural features within the extract and uses a range of questioning techniques which allows for differentiation of all levels and can be used in pairs / small groups or as an individual task. It ends with a final exam style question focusing on the structural question within the GCSE exam. You could use this resource as a part of the lesson, homework or as an extension. Please keep in mind that TES preview can distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.

This poster is a really helpful resource to have in your classroom or out on students tables during sessions to help them to remember and use high level language features in their work. The poster breaks down the acronym POSHIMP and uses Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones as a visual memory aid to help reinforce. This is in the format of powerpoint and so is easy to swap / alter or use in other powerpoints. Please keep in mind that the preview can distort the look of the resource and this is not a true reflection. Hope it helps

I know from experience with my own students that the more practice you do from a wide range of different texts, the more prepared you will be for the live exam. It is at this stage in the academic year that practice becomes very important and knowing your exam paper - the type of questions and layout of the paper - is vital to achieving the grades you want for your students. A diverse collection of interesting and engaging practice papers is difficult to come by as the 8700 spec is still relatively new. Therefore I have authored my own practice papers to use with my own classes, all with questions based from both the AQA exam papers. The sources for these mock papers include extracts from The Colour Purple, Harry Potter and Hunger Games. Paper 2 mocks include documents on the topics of Child Labour, disasters and celebrity culture. This bundle contains: Paper 1 mock x 3 Paper 2 mock x 3 All source materials A bite sized mock with focuses on a selection of the more tricky questions from both papers. That is 7 papers all together, which averages as £1.40 per paper. Please be advised that the TES preview can distort the look of the material so please keep in mind that this is not always a true reflection of the resource. Hope it helps.

This 7 page booklet id designed to help students with the reading component of their Functional Skills exam. The booklet can be used as in class resources, revision or as self study. Based on a article by Friends of the Earth, the booklet focuses on simple and easy ways we can help become more green in our every day routines and underpins purpose of text and audience questions from the exam. The questions in the booklet are a combination of low level, opinion based and exam based questions. They range from multiple choice to more structured answers asking for reasons or quotes to support . The booklet ends with an extension activity which focuses on language and writing elements of the exam and a self assessment plenary. Please keep in mind that the TES preview can at times distort the look of the resource and this is not always a true reflection. Hope it helps.