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 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 lesson on Kamikaze by Beatrice Garland for the AQA Power and Conflict anthology pitched at middle ability students. The homework should be set about a week previously so students can peer/self mark as the entrance task.

Lesson on London by William Blake for the AQA Power and Conflict Anthology. Page references are to the student copy of the anthology which is also available in my resources.

Lesson on My Last Duchess aimed at mid to lower ability students. You will want to personalise the entrance task. The lesson also assumes students have studied other poems in the anthology, most notably Remains, The Prelude and Ozymandias. The page references on the power point are to the student copy of the anthology which is also in my resources.

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.

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.

This is a 12 to 14 lesson complete scheme of work on Media Analysis and Text Creation. Students will learn the vocabulary necessary for the analysis of a range of multi-media texts (advertisements, comic strips, posters and so on) and then apply these in written and spoken assessments. Texts used include Thor posters, extracts from Heartstopper and stills from Bohemian Rhapsody. Students then create and reflect upon their own multi-media texts. There is lots of differentiation built in and students have lots of agency, able to select their own texts and tasks. Intended for KS3 classes (I do it with Year 8), this does have an eye on preparing students for the IB Diploma Programme (the success criteria for the oral assessment comes straight from the Language A Individual Oral assessment). It was a pretty enjoyable unit, both for teachers and students, and it was amazing how some normally quite weaker students really shone once they were working with multi-media texts rather than just pages of print. I’ve made this available for free, but it does represent HOURS of work. Therefore, if you do use it, please leave a review. Thanks. Happy teaching!

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!

Two trackers for the International A2 and AS Level English Language, CIE specification 9093. What these tracker do is give you the range of a students’ marks. By adding in classwork and mock marks on the relevant sheets, the overview then tells you the best and worst combined marks, giving you a picture of the range of grades that they are capable of securing. (Numerical marks are automatically converted to grades, using the June 2022 grade boundaries, which in future years can be updated on the look up tables sheet.) Furthermore, by adding d (developing) s (secure) or e (extending) under the assessment objectives on each classwork sheet, you can build up a picture of the needs of individual students and the class as a whole in order to plan and differentiate more effectively. I hope it’s helpful!

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.

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.

A lesson analysing 'Hoping' by Shirley Hughes: allows you to do something Christmassy with your exam classes, while still keeping a focus on the skills that they need for the GCSE LIterature exam (AQA, unseen poetry). Very accessible for Low Ability - remove the scaffolding questions for higher ability classes. Merry Christmas!

This unit is designed for Year 9, to prepare them for study of the AQA Poetry of Conflict cluster at GCSE - though it is a good preparation for the study of poetry at GCSE for any exam board. The unit includes poems by Wilfred Owen (2), Jessie Pope, Alison Fell, Pablo Neruda, Ciaran Carson and John Agard. In addition, there is an extended creative writing task, two discussion lessons using de Bono's hats and an ICT lesson. An overview document contains a lesson by lesson guide, giving suggestions for AFL, differentiation and homework (though lots of all three are already built into the unit). All lessons come with powerpoints and accessible resources. Happy teaching!

A complete scheme of work for Night John, which I have taught (and refined) for the last 6 years. I usually teach it with Year 8, though I have also used it with Year 7 and low ability Year 9 groups. The scheme is 18 lessons long, and covers all the main reading, writing and speaking objectives. It includes an extended creative writing task, related non-fiction texts, a persuasive speech, an ICT research lesson, a drama lesson and a debate lesson. It's great fun despite the weighty themes, and students always enjoy this unit.

A lesson - probably a double's worth - on The Charge of the Light Brigade, linked to the AQA Power and Conflict anthology.

Two lessons aimed at teaching secondary students the key parts of speech that they need to know for literature analysis.

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.

A version of the classic KS3 unit, looking at poems by Linton Kwesi Johnson, Les Murray, Imitiaz Dharker, Yoruba hunters and Nissim Ezekiel (among others). There is also an emphasis on thinking critically about what culture means, plus a drama lesson exploring deaf poetry. In addition to the main 9 lessons, there are 4 additional lessons looking at specific language techniques. A reading assessment and a scheme of work overview, giving a lesson by lesson guide, is included along with resources - power points and printables - for all lessons. 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!