Two powerpoints (both alike in dignity…); the larger of the two covers the deconstruction of an English Language Paper 2 Section A mock exam - we go through common mistakes, areas of concern and identify how to improve on what we’ve done. I’ve provided the sources too, so you could use this as the basis of a Section A walking-talking mock; the smaller powerpoint covers speech writing, an area my lot particularly struggled with. Happy hunting…

To make effective use of this scheme I suggest you have a copy of the most recent RSC version of As You Like It (It is quite marvelous…) else a lot of the images I use will make little sense. There are five “lessons” that each last around the two hour mark. Each of the assessments is available, so the whole package is a self-contained unit of work. We had a lot of fun with this unit, and I inter-spaced the learning with periods where the class would act out elements of the play. You don’t necessarily need a copy of the play to teach this unit either.

This is my attempt to engage and develop my Year 12s academic voices in their Paris Anthology related essay responses. The main issue my class had seemed to focus upon when and where to start. What I do is show them how they can place a particular emphasis on one of several potential areas of focus initially. I show them how they could use Mode, Audience, Purpose, each of Grice’s Maxims and each of the different levels of language as a starting point for an analytical response. The attached word document appears to be an “essay”.It isn’t. It’s the collected starting points placed in one document so that the students can focus more on the “how you do it” instead of trying to copy down the best bits. It worked reasonably well and is suited for a class with similar needs. Hope you find this useful.

I used a similar approach with the Paris Anthology section and my class found it to be very useful. The issue they were having focused on incorporating enough AO1 terminology appropriately. This lesson is designed to talk them through an approach to an essay question, starting with the poetic voice, moving on to selecting relevant areas and then placing each level of language as a different starting point before exploring ideas across the language levels. It seemed to work… Hope others find this useful as a starting point.

A spreadsheet designed to track the academic progress of up to 30 A-Level drama students (you can do more, but you’d have to UNHIDE every hidden columns in order to make sure that the new cells work). I have included the 2018 and 2019 grade boundaries (as published by AQA), and left both the room and the capacity for the spreadsheet to be updated with 2020 and 2021 grade boundaries. The spreadsheet will tell you how many marks each student needs to achieve their target grade for each component of the course. The “Machine” calculates this on a section by section basis for each of the components. Additionally, there is room for up to 10 attempts for each of these components. The spreadsheet will then show you the BEST, AVERAGE and LAST marks each student achieved. Hopefully, this will make it easier for drama teachers to keep track of where their students are. NOTE: I’ve designed this with the best intentions, but if there is a “bug” or an improvement that you feel would be beneficial after purchase, then leave a note in the comments section and I will attend to it quick sharpish.

Attached is a spreadsheet that does an awful lot of work for you. To summarise, it does the following: Allows for easy collation of GCSE Literature marks on a paper by paper basis AND as a whole examination Allows for easy identification of various student demagraphics - EAL, PP and so on Allows you to measure progress against students best, average and last marks across both papers Works out "how many marks" until you hit target grades for individual students Colour codes grades and marks to allow for at a glance progress checks Once you buy this spreadsheet, you will not need to get another LITERATURE spreadsheet. The document contains instructions as to how to update the spreadsheet. Oh, and if you do get this, I suggest you LOCK the individual spreadsheets ASAP: the document is set up to allow you to do this and still enter the data, you just won't be able to accidentally delete any of the coding, thus removing any brain overloads that might ensue. Happy spread-sheeting!

3 Lessons taken from the old(er) version of the AQA English Language specification (the one where S&L counted towards the grades). I know it counts for nothing now, but it still needs to be done. These three lessons prepare a class to give a presentation OR take part in a discussion about a selected item they would save from the imaginatively named Room 202. Enjoy.

A useful little unit that we put together to fill a 2/3 week gap. It has the students explore pre-1914 material - poetry and prose - and ends with a controlled assessment in the vein of the old AQA English style questions for the Literature paper. Might fill some other gaps out there in shorter half terms.

Contained within this pack is all the resources i used in my GTP year with a bottom set Year 10 GCSE group. I had mixed success bu i felt my teaching got stronger as i went through this unit. A starting point for those wondering where to start perhaps, or another way of looking at a topic thoroughly done.

Focused on the Shakespearean text vs the Conflict Poetry from the literary heritage. Very structured against the bands and pointed towards the controlled assessment.

I did this as an end of year task with my Year 7's. Essentially it is putting on a puppet show of Pyramus and Thisbe, the idea being that the students tell a modern version but using elements of Shakespearean language. Set up for SLAF 3 but easy enough to alter for SLAF 1 and 2.

A worksheet on a poem, play and piece of prose from the Neo-Classical era. The questions are to check understanding and encourage thoughtful study of the era. I would appreciate feedback.

Two worksheets on the suburban habitats. One looking at the environments, one looking at adaption of rats and foxes.

I made this sheet after marking a load of mock exam papers and getting frustrated at the inability of some foundation students to compare effectively. Oh yes, this is meant to be printed on A3 paper too! I have had success with foundation groups in terms of getting them to structure their responses.

Have had major success with this activity with a low ability Year 11 group. Concept is centered around 'A Tavern in Verona' and deals with events after the finish of the play. Students create and develop their own character. I have had un-confident and uncooperative students sustain their identified roles for 20 minutes with a video camera in their faces. Give it a whirl...

Linked to the Roald Dahl 'Boy' SoW. I used these powerpoints and worksheets to differentiate for a very large middle set year 7 group. Reasonable success - the worksheets allows the top end to focus on their own development, leaving me to focus on those who were really struggling.

These lessons are to be ran in tandem with watching the 1963 versions of the film (not the modern version - the pilot is still alive!). You can insert these two lessons at any point in the SoW.

Another experiment with mixed success. Attempted with a particularly apathetic bottom set year 10 group and got some decent Band 3s - I felt they left a lot out on the field so to speak. There is a lot of scope for taking this idea and developing it - if Gove leaves off the specification (unlikely) I will be coming back for a second crack at this. If not, I will modify it for a KS3 scheme in the future. Happy trails.

Series of power points designed to help students to write their own Gothic Short Story.

A resource with simple worksheet that encourages students to read the short story 'Your Shoes' by Michele Roberts. It also builds in the Point, Evidence and Explain way of thinking. This is written as a Homework activity for higher ability sets or as a lesson for weak GCSE classes.