I'm a published academic/educational author and poet (Unifrog, Original Plus Books, HEB Books, AQA, and Cambridge University Press). I have been an English teacher and Visiting Lecturer for 15 years and am the English Network Co-ordinator for BSME.
I'm passionate about pedagogy, particularly metacognition, and always seek to inspire a passion for English in learners of all ages.
I'm a published academic/educational author and poet (Unifrog, Original Plus Books, HEB Books, AQA, and Cambridge University Press). I have been an English teacher and Visiting Lecturer for 15 years and am the English Network Co-ordinator for BSME.
I'm passionate about pedagogy, particularly metacognition, and always seek to inspire a passion for English in learners of all ages.
A structured PPT exploring John Proctor's use of language in a pivotal speech. This resource explores Miller's use of lexical sets, interrogative and exclamatory sentence forms in order to develop Proctor's character and augment the audience's response to him. The PPT includes annotated and exemplar 'WAGOLL' slides that can be printed off for students.
A complete lesson analysing extracts from Ray Bradbury's crossover novel, Something Wicked This Way Comes. Bradbury's rich prose forms the basis of students' exploration of figurative techniques and their effects. The lesson encourages students to explore Bradbury's stylistic choices, such as divergence from conventional grammatical rules, with a view to understanding authorial methods.
This lesson assists students with the skills required for AQA Paper 1 GCSE English, in terms of A0s 1,2,5 and 6.
Two adaptable templates already populated with targets addressing common errors and misconceptions. This resource focuses students' attention upon common errors - much like an examiner's report - but in a far more bespoke manner.
The first template is designed to feedback to the entire class, the second is designed as a template for students to engage with their individual strengths and weaknesses. I've used this with several classes and it has made a significant impact upon self-reflection and target setting.
A revision aid based on the principle of the ‘Mind Palace’. Students memorise the respective pieces of furniture and their associated ypoics then recall these in the examination, thus encouraging neuroplascticity and recall in the examination hall. This has proven extremely effective with my KS5 students as a starting point or springboard for their revision.
Critical essay writen by literary critic, poet and A Level teacher, Samantha Roden (author of Roth Through the Lens of Kepesh, 2016, and Catch Ourselves in Glass, 2017) exploring the relationship between The Great Gatsby and the American Dream.
Ideal for AQA AS and A Level Literature AO5 and to demonstrate to students how to write academically about literary texts.
Abstract:
The pursuit of happiness, the most pervasive of American ideologies, is embedded in the American psyche. But for Fitzgerald, the American Dream in its original form seemed as dry as the constitution from which it was born. The idealised view of the dream, which saw honest, hardworking men reap the just rewards of freedom and financial security is far removed from the champagne, bright lights and capitalist hegemony of Fitzgerald’s world. Whilst it could be argued that The Great Gatsby is little more than a critique of the American Dream, signifying its inherent frailties, it is equally apropos to suggest that the novel is symbolic of an American society struggling to free itself from the limitations of social conscience, having been seduced by individualism, material happiness and a more innate form of morality, whereby man is only answerable to his conscience.
A KS3 resource to accompany a gothic SOW. Students use imperative verbs to create a set of instructions to build Frankenstein’s monster.
Ideal for Y7 or low ability groups in 8 and 9.
Designed for KS4 AQA Literature Students. The two sheets guide students through key quotations relating to Macbeth’s character.
Difficult quotations are explained and every quotation is accompanied by analytical prompt questions that will facilitate deep learning.
An ideal resource to use with higher ability students or as stretch and challenge tasks for mid-ability.
A complete lesson/mini-assessment with question specific mark scheme designed for students to hone the skills required for Paper 1 Question 2.
The question sheet features an extract from Northern Lights and the question focus upon micro-level language analysis of specific lines. The mark scheme has been tailored to both question and extract and exemplifies what is expected for each level. The scaffolded student response is a useful metacognitive tool, demonstrating to students how an analytical paragraph is built.
As an examiner and author of GCSE exam papers and mark schemes for PiXL and pedagogical resources for AQA and Cambridge University Press, I designed this task with the application of skills and resultant accelerated progress in mind.
Can also be used as a KS3 mini-assessment as part of a fantasy/dystopian scheme, or as resouce to aid KS5 resit students.
An exemplar response to Macbeth for GCSE Literature with a comprehensive commentary. Ideal for revision or to use for modelling purposes when teaching the text.
This 45 slide PowerPoint guides students through the revision process for the AQA GCSE Love and Relationships Poetry Anthology. It has been designed to stengthen neural pathways by linking revision notes with bespoke images for each poem.
The package includes:
A 4-page student booklet that allows students to make notes on all of the key areas of analysis for each poem as well as a comparative analysis exemplar for reference.
A comprehensive ppt linking all poems to a bespoke image, along with a fictional narrative to facilitate students’ ability to remember every poem in the cluster. In addition, there are examiner’s tips, a strategic approach to analysis using the SMILE+C method, an exemplar analysing language, student-friendly explanations of the question format and the marking assessment objectives/marking criteria, and a bonus section on approaching unseen poetry with a Grade 9 exemplar.
My students love this - I hope yours will too!
A portfolio designed to gather evidence for teacher-assessed grades in response to the cancellation of exams.
Colour-coded and separated into sections for each question, it allows students to collate the best examples of their work to assist the teacher in making judgements.
Each section has a copy of the markscheme, relevant AO and example question from a past paper.
An engaging project that can be delivered as discrete lessons, a mini-scheme to accompany reading, or as a homework project. Designed to develop all core English skills for KS3 learners.
Activities include:
creating a motto
designing a house crest
creating a vision statement
writing a speech
creating spells in Snape’s class
designing a maze
becoming an effective speaker
Could also be used for upper KS2.