I'm a passionate secondary English and History teacher and am the main planner of resources for my department; as such, I thought I would start sharing them here with the wider community of teachers and professionals. I am Australian trained, but currently teaching GCSE and A- Level (AQA specifications). All lessons are very visually engaging, with images, clips and a variety of activities. You won't find any boring/blank resources here!
I'm a passionate secondary English and History teacher and am the main planner of resources for my department; as such, I thought I would start sharing them here with the wider community of teachers and professionals. I am Australian trained, but currently teaching GCSE and A- Level (AQA specifications). All lessons are very visually engaging, with images, clips and a variety of activities. You won't find any boring/blank resources here!
1/2 lessons that introduce students to extracts from various Gothic texts, such as The Woman in Black, Interview with the Vampire and two short stories from The Bloody Chamber. Creative writing activity at the end.
GCSE skills and related questions: Language Paper 1, Q1, 2, 5
A single lesson focusing on an extract from "Stardust," analysing language and structure.
GCSE related skills and questions: Language paper 1, Q2, 3
Text: Ready Player One
Skills: Extended critical writing, language analysis, self-marking
Designed for GSCE Language Q4, but can be taught as it is for any Dystopian unit.
2 lessons for a higher ability class. These quick paced lessons are highly structured so that students must complete a certain amount of activities in the lesson, and tick off their achievements as they go.
Language analysis is the focus, with an extract from Jekyll and Hyde. The two lessons cover:
- Comprehension
- Analysis of authorial methods
- Model paragraph
- Extended critical writing
- Analysis of sentence forms
A homework activity is also included. Print the first 3 slides for activity sheets.
For the GCSE paper Language Paper 2 (Non-fiction), this lesson facilitates students' development of summary writing skills (Q2 of the exam).
Ideal for a weaker class- visual clips of Wonderwoman and Guardians of the Galaxy make the material more accessible, with other written non-fiction texts the focus for the latter part of the lesson.
A one off lesson that you can teach either as a part of creative writing or just a filler lesson. Looks at how to structure a creative response based on different stimulus; plenty of model examples included.
Updated and improved from last year, my new Crime & Punishment unit!
The unit looks and fiction and non-fiction texts, and teaches all the skills required for student success with the AQA English Language Papers 1 and 2.
This is a whole scope and sequence, covering well over a term’s worth of lessons. Included also is a social justice mini-unit, for getting students involved in Amnesty International’s Write for Rights annual campaign.
Resources span all manner of activities: mixed ability, plenty of differentiation, stretch and challenge, project-based activities, collaborative learning etc. Some of the new additions are: focalisation of narrative, importance of place in crime fiction, Victorian language, crafting compelling villains, and the role of justice in crime.
Formative assessments included, as are student friendly marking criteria and feedback sheets.
I’ve loved sculpting and teaching this unit. Please enjoy!
These three lessons introduce students to the poem “All One Race” by Ooderoo Noonuccal.
Sequence of activities is as follows:
Brief authorial context
Word sort
Guided annotation of the poem
Scaffold for how to write a TEEL paragraph
How to create a meaningful topic sentence
Peer feedback activity
Included also is:
How to analyse techniques effectively placemat
Model paragraph
3/4 lessons for if you're starting to teach the GCSE Language Paper 2: Viewpoints and Perspectives, or as a general introduction to non-fiction.
Find included:
- Introduction to non-fiction and persuasive language devices
- Structure of a film review (I've chosen "All Quiet on the Western Front" as it coincides with my class's adjacent war unit, but you can supplement this for any film)
- Analysis of a film review
- Comprehension, analysis and summary exam skills.
Enjoy
My year 7s are continuing their non-fiction unit this term and after seeing (and loving!) Black Panther these holidays, I saw an opportunity for some enlightenment. 1-2 lessons examine a film review of Black Panther, with a series of questions and activities analysing its language features and meaning. Can be taught as a one off. A particularly important lesson for young students who, like mine, come from primary white backgrounds.
A single lesson that builds students' comparison skills for the GCSE Power & Conflict poetry unit. Activities include comparison and contrast for AO1-2, and critical writing.
A useful lesson for revising how to compare poems in the Power & Conflict poetry cluster, for AQA’s GCSE. I recommend this resource if you have already taught the entire unit. A few skills that the lesson covers are:
Detailed revision and analysis of poetic form
Revision of contextual influences and the importance of these
How to structure a comparison paragraph
Activity sheets for printing are included in the PP.
A revision lesson that briefly looks at the main themes, language and contextual features for Macbeth Act 4 and 5, followed by an examination of the Biblical in Macbeth (whole play).
Enjoy!
A lesson for a mixed ability KS3 class, analysing the short story form and Hemingway’s application of the “Icerbeg Theory”.
Activities include:
Key words
Information about Hemingway and summaries
Introduction to iceberg theory
Applying iceberg theory to creative writing
Reading, comprehending and analysing the short story “Cat in the Rain”
There is individual, paired, and whole-class activities included.
Enjoy!
I’m very proud to share with you my 12 week unit of work on Macbeth. This unit is aimed at a high ability class and includes 12 weeks worth of lessons, power-points, worksheets, resources, homework etc. The first few weeks focuses primarily on contextual details, followed by elements of tragedy, higher order terminology, and skills pertaining to form, genre, language and structure.
Furthermore, this unit is designed as a flipped-model project. Students should read the play at home and focus on discussion and writing skills in class. I’ve included the 12 week program I wrote for my students, that details the breakdown of lessons, key terms for each week and required readings prior to each lesson. Feel free to adapt this to suit your own schedules. My students really engaged with the program and the flipped-model fosters independence, study skills, and student autonomy.
Enjoy!
Please note that character profile sheets are based on the Schmoop resources.
A one off lesson (could be taught for either KS3 or KS4 depending on class ability) defining charactonyms. The focus is on the character of Minerva McGonagall, with an extract from "The Deathly Hallows", some language analysis and finally, a creative activity.
I've designed this lesson and posted it as a free resource so as to showcase my work in resource planning/creation. If you like this lesson, please check out my other resources which span KS3-5.
