A complete scheme of work (13 lessons), including three assessments, for Sarah Crossan's stunning novel-in-verse The Weight of Water. Dealing with common issues for today's teenagers, such as bullying, migration, racism and family break ups, this uplifting tale is always a hit with students. Over the past four years I have used it with Years 8, 9 and 10, and it makes a great introduction to (or consolidsation of) poetic analysis. The scheme includes speaking and listening tasks, as well as creative writing, media and reading assessments. An overview document gives lesson by lesson instructions, while each lesson comes fully resourced.

A complete scheme of work for the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which I have taught (and refined) for the past 5 years. I've always done it with Year 9 (it makes a great introduction to Romeo and Juliet in KS4) but could be done with high ability Year 8s as well. It's 25 lessons long, all fully resourced with powerpoints and handouts. An overview document gives lesson by lesson instructions as well as ideas for AFL and differentiation. Homework tasks, a display and three optional drama lessons are also included. Originally designed to help prepare students for the skills needed for the CIE English Language GCSE, I have also used it to prepare students for the skills needed for the AQA Literature GCSE.

A complete scheme of work on biography, which uses substantial extracts from the Diary of Anne Frank, as well as poems and other prose extracts. The 19 lessons include both reading and writing assessments, an extended writing project, and a teacher(s) in role lesson that is the most fun I’ve ever had with a class - I still have Year 11 students who come up to me to talk about it from when they were in Year 8. A scheme of work overview document gives you a break down of each lesson, along with ideas for differentiation and AFL. All lessons come with a powerpoint and other resources. Happy teaching! Note: 1. For copyright reasons, the extracts from Anne Frank are not included. You will need a copy of the text. However, the dates of the relevant extracts are clearly labelled, so you should easily be able to find them in your copy. 2. For some reason Lesson 4 was missing from the zip file, so this is included separately.

26 lessons, covering ALL poems in the Edexcel iGCSE Literature Poetry Anthology. As well as individual lessons for each poem, this unit includes: lessons on specific poetic techniques (metre; alliteration, assonance and sibilance); an introductory lesson to the whole anthology; a student-friendly printable version of the anthology, complete with glossaries, explanations and relevant context; six lessons on how to compare poems; marking slip template; peer feedback template; homework and extension tasks. Lessons tend to follow the entrance task - starter - development - consolidation - plenary format. A couple are carousel lessons: others are quite teacher-led. There is lots of peer marking involved - students really get to grips with the assessment objectives by the end. Happy teaching! Note: I have made some - but not all - individual resources available for free.

A complete scheme of work for A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (Edexcel A Level English Literature). 12 fully resourced lessons covering the full play, which you will want to intersperse with essay-writing lessons, plus example essays, and useful materials on context and criticism. Happy teaching!

Not a guide for students, but a resource to help them structure their revision notes for 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' (AQA GCSE Literature).

A selection of revision tasks for the Edexcel iGCSE English Literature qualification. Unseen poetry, Poetry Anthology and Of Mice and Men. To give to students, or to allow them to choose from them, for work in class or homework.

A workbook to aid and guide students in their revision of Romeo and Juliet.

A 16 lesson complete scheme of work for Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. Powerpoint presentations and other resources for all lessons are included, as well as an overview document giving ideas for differentiation and homework. The lessons include two debates, opportunities for performance, group work, and lots of peer marking - students will be very familiar with the Assessment Objectives by the end. Originally, this was planned for a Year 11 class taking the CIE iGCSE English Literature exam (100% pass rate with 75% at A*/A… just saying!), while simultaneously being used with a Year 10 class writing coursework for the Edexcel iGCSE English Literature (again, 100% pass rate with 75% 7 to 9). That Year group’s coursework essay was “How crucial is Alfieri’s role in A View from the Bridge?”; my current Year 11s’ coursework title - which they did in Year 10 - was “How does Miller present conflict?” (a slightly weaker group). Happy teaching!

An 11 (double) lesson scheme of work for Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is for Edexcel’s International A Level, paired texts, paired with The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, though many if not all of the lessons would work for teaching Ishiguro’s novel in isolation. If you are teaching this paired with Atwood, this scheme of work is based on the premise that students have read The Handmaid’s Tale independently (or at the very least watched the 1990 film) in advance. This allows them to make superficial comparisons of plot and character as you teach Never Let Me Go. I 've had very mixed ability groups, so there is a lot of differentiation, with scaffolding for weaker students and stretching questions for the more able. If you want to buy schemes of work for both texts, at a discount, you can. Just search my shop.

A complete scheme of work (16 fully resourced lessons) for Simon Stephens’ adaptation of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime”. I currently use this to prepare students for the Edexcel iGCSE in English Literature, but many of the resources date from when I taught the same text for AQA’s English Literature GCSE, and they could easily be tweaked to suit that purpose. This is a very active unit, which involves getting students to do lots of acting, but at the same time seeks to develop them into reflective learners through continuous self, peer and teacher assessment. It is a lot of fun to teach and the students always enjoy it. There is an overview document giving a lesson-by-lesson breakdown, and all lessons come fully resourced with power points and handouts (though you may occasionally need to produce literacy starters that meet the needs of your students). There is also an all-action launch lesson that will require you to source some assistants and props, but it really enthuses the students about the text if you can pull it off. Happy teaching!

An 11 (double) lesson scheme of work for The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. This was taught as part of the Edexcel International A Level in English Literature, paired with Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. This has always been taught as the second text, so that students are already able to make quite detailed connections between texts. Flip learning and peer marking are used regularly. There is a presentation for each lesson. I’ve had very mixed ability groups, so there is a lot of scaffolding for weaker students and stretching questions for the higher ability ones. If you would like to buy both schemes of work at a discount you can; please check my shop.

A complete scheme of work for Twelfth Night. 23 fully resourced lessons (presentations plus handouts, including critical perspectives). There are also quizzes, an overview document, opportunities for flip-learning and a revision workbook that students can collaborate on. There are also resources for teaching students how to write essays, as well as the content. This is intended for the Edexcel International A Level syllabus (Year 12). The goal is very much to engage students in the learning as active participants, with presentations, peer marking and student-led learning. Both classes I have taught with this have really enjoyed it.

Excite and engage your classes with one (or both!) of these great plays. This scheme of work gets students thinking critically about the strategies playwrights use, while also getting them out of their chairs to perform, either using the scripts or improvisation prompts. Scripts not included. An overview document gives you a run down of the scheme of work, with instructions for each lesson plus ideas for differentiation. There are 8 lessons with entrance tasks and powerpoint presentations: all of these are set up for both plays, so just delete the slides that aren’t relevant to the one you are teaching. The whole scheme will probably take longer (maybe 12 lessons) and one of the powerpoint presentations can just be recycled as you act/read the play through. Assessments are an essay on the presentation of the protagonist, and speech on the value of watching drama. Resources include example paragraphs, writing frames for low ability students and marking templates. Year 8 have great fun with this every year, and I hope you do too! Happy teaching!

This is a short but useful unit on Stevenson's short story Markheim, which shares many of the same themes as 'The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', so would work well as either an introduction to the author prior to teaching Jekyll & Hyde, or as an extension for higher ability groups. However, as it was originally taught to an extra-English class, many of the lessons use the Inference format (a form of reading instruction designed to boost the comprehension skills of low ability readers), so the unit could also be used for that purpose.

A 12 lesson scheme of work to help students develop their Creative Writing skills. I currently use it to guide students through Assignment 2 of the CIE iGCSE in English Language: however, many of the resources date from when I was preparing students for the AQA English Language GCSE Creative Writing task, so could easily be adapted back for this purpose. There is an overview document giving detailed instructions for the lessons. Each lesson then comes with a powerpoint and various printable resources. There’s lots of differentiation plus scope for group/pair work. Some lessons make take a double period and I strongly recommend doing the pre-teaching lessons on sentence types as well. There are also marking short-cuts and extra grammar resources included (particularly useful if you have lots of EAL students). Outcomes are always excellent and the students tend to get a kick out of the classes, especially if you are up for doing a Freddie Mercury impression in lesson 2! Happy teaching!

A complete scheme of work for William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (27 lessons), which I have taught and refined over the past 6 years. Originally meant for Year 9, it works well with low-ability KS4 classes too - I've used it to prepare students for the AQA Literature GCSE. It's a very active scheme of work, with students acting out most of the play, and there are several written pieces alongside two essays. You will also need Jenga and, preferably, the Zeffirelli version on DVD. All lessons come with powerpoints and resources. An end of unit assessment (plus revision guide for students) is included, as is a scheme of work overview document, with a lesson by lesson guide and ideas for differentiation and AFL. Happy teaching!

A ten (or more) lesson scheme of work on writing to advise, argue and persuade. Originally designed for Year 9, it would also work with high ability Year 8s and low ability Year 10s. An overview document gives a lesson by lesson guide, as well as ideas for further AFL and differentiation (lots of both are already built in to the lessons). All lessons come with powerpoints and resources. It's a very mobile and energetic unit, with speeches and debates, as well as an essay and grammar lessons on passives and phrasal verbs. Texts examined include those by Malala Yousafzai and Wilfred Owen. Happy teaching!

This short (7 lesson) poetry scheme of work was originally designed for a Year 7 class full of extremely weak readers, many of whom still struggled to blend phonemes. Therefore, this unit focusses very closely on the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and meanings, examining alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia in a fun and accessible way. As such it may well suit KS2 classes. There is a particular focus on Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky, but Macbeth and tongue twisters also make an appearance. Opportunities for spoken and creative writing tasks are included. An overview document gives a lesson by lesson account, while all lessons come with a powerpoint and resources. Happy teaching.

Two schemes of work (11 double lessons in total) for the Edexcel IAL in English Literature. These are for Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Students should read The Handmaid’s Tale independently first (or at least watch the 1990 film) before studying Never Let Me Go, and then studying The Handmaid’s Tale. Both schemes of work are available separately from my shop.