This 15-slide lesson on Neil Gaiman’s horror story, ‘Don’t Ask Jack’, is ideal for KS3 classes studying short stories or genre writing. Students are encouraged to consider common elements of the horror genre and key vocabulary associated with ‘horror’ and its atmosphere. Conducting close analysis of Gaiman’s language and structure, students are then tasked with creating their own piece of creative horror writing, inspired by ‘Don’t Ask Jack’. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included in the lesson. A copy of the story is included in this resource. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 28-slide lesson explores James Reeves’ poem, ‘The Sea’. This poem is a brilliant example of extended metaphor and poetic craft; it is a beloved staple of many Key Stage 3 poetry lessons. The lesson deconstructs Reeves’ use of metaphor and other linguistic techniques, paying attention to the poem’s rhyme and rhythm too. Biographical information about Reeves is provided, as well as a series of questions, discussion points, and tasks for students. Students are asked to write a short analytical response to the poem, and an exemplar response is included in the PowerPoint. The lesson ends with a creative writing (poetry) task that could be used either as a homework activity or class-based task. This lesson is ideal for KS3 pupils, but could be used for GCSE pupils - especially those who find poetry challenging. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 27-slide lesson explores the context of Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’. In the lesson, students learn about Shakespeare and his sources for the play; why the Venetian setting is significant; some background to the Venetian-Ottoman conflicts; and the various historical connotations of the term ‘Moor’. We look at various images from ‘Othello’ - posters and stills from notable productions - to consider what the play might be about. The play’s genre as a tragedy is discussed, as are its key themes and the crucial recurring image of ‘jealousy’. Important (and high-level) vocabulary is also outlined. Questions, tasks, and discussion points are included for students. A research task/homework is featured at the end of the lesson. This lesson is an ideal introduction for GCSE or A level study of the text. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

Help students to finally master commas with this engaging 18-slide lesson that covers all the main rules. We all know that many students struggle with commas. This lesson aims to explain the key rules alongside practical examples. It explains how to use commas in lists (including the Oxford comma), for fronted adverbials, and subordinate clauses. Humorous comma errors are included for students to identify and amend. This lesson is ideal for KS3, but could definitely be used for GCSE students struggling with apostrophes too. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 20-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’. Detailed notes are included on McCarthyism, the Cold War, the Red Scare, and the Salem Witch Trials. Important vocabulary is explained and several tasks/questions for students are included. This lesson is ideal for GCSE pupils, and could be easily adapted for KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores Linda Pastan’s poem, ‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’. Ideal for Key Stage 3 or GCSE pupils, this lesson deconstructs Pastan’s poem of parental anxiety and letting go, paying close attention to language, imagery, form, structure, and rhyme. Students are encouraged to think about the poem’s metaphorical and allegorical significance, and questions, tasks, and discussion points are included throughout the lesson. Biographical information about Pastan and her poetry is included. A short analytical task is included, and the lesson ends with a creative writing (poetry) activity (which could be used as a homework task). PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson analyses William Blake’s ‘The Tyger’ from the ‘Songs of Experience’. Blake’s ambiguous poem is deconstructed via its various interpretations - as an exploration of faith, revolution, and industrialisation. Key themes, language, and imagery are unpicked, and Blake’s political context and radical views are explained. Discussion points, questions, and tasks are included throughout, and the lesson ends with an extended essay question in which students compare ‘The Tyger’ to other poems in Blake’s ‘Songs’. This lesson is perfect for A level students studying the collection as part of AQA’s Political and Social Protest Writing course. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 28-slide lesson introduces the background and context of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. We begin with a series of posters, asking students to ‘judge a book by its cover’ and guess what the play might be about based on the images. We then dissect the play’s title, thinking about dreams, midsummer, and madness. Students are introduced to Shakespeare’s life and work before delving into the genre of comedy and its recurring features. Life in Shakespeare’s England - particularly for women - is discussed. We read and watch a summary of the play before considering the significance of the play’s setting. In addition, students explore some famous paintings inspired by the play in order to further discuss what the play might be about. Key themes and ideas about love and transformation are explored. Students are then given some ambitious vocabulary to define, using a dictionary (online or otherwise). Common attributes of Shakespeare’s stagecraft are explained, while images from the play onstage and on film are presented. The lesson ends with a research task inspired by Shakespeare’s theatre. This lesson is ideal for students aged 11-14. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This lesson provides an introduction to the sonnet form. The lesson explains the key features of the sonnet form, its stereotypes and conventions, and outlines the differences between Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets. Questions and discussion points are included throughout, and students are shown an example of a sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, which they are then invited to discuss. At the end of the lesson is a research task which could be set either in class or as a homework activity. This is an ideal introduction for any KS3 unit on poetry or specifically the sonnet form. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 20-slide lesson introduces the key themes and context behind Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’. Students are encouraged to think about colonialism and cultural erasure, learning about Nigeria’s history since the 19th Century. Achebe’s life and work is discussed, and students are given an introduction to the Igbo (or ‘Ibo’) people. Key vocabulary and themes linked to the novel are explained, including the novel’s allegorical status. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are featured for students. Students are encouraged in this lesson to reflect upon the impacts of Western Colonialism - a practice seemingly more important now than ever in the wake of recent international conversations surrounding race and privilege. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 26-slide lesson explores the first chapter (‘The Story of the Door’) of Stevenson’s ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. To accompany the class reading or recapping of Chapter One of the novella, this lesson provides analytical discussion of and questions on how Stevenson begins the famous novella. Characters, setting, and key themes are analysed, with particular focus on Stevenson’s language and atmosphere. Tasks and discussion points are included for students, and an extract from the chapter is included for students to conduct linguistic analysis. This lesson is ideal for GCSE analysis of the text (eg. AQA), but could work for high-attaining KS3 groups too. PowerPoint and Word Doc. saved as PDFs.

This 35-slide lesson is designed to explore and revise the ‘generation gap’ in J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’. The lesson considers the gulf between the younger and older characters in the play with reference to key quotations and character development. We think about how the elder characters blame and criticise the younger characters in the play, and how the younger characters judge their disappointing elders in turn. Priestley’s authorial intentions are also explored, thinking about how each character is used symbolically. Each character is dissected in detail, including the ambiguities of Gerald’s place in terms of generational divisions. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. An essay question is featured at the end of the lesson. This resource is perfect for GCSE analysis of the play. PowerPoint saved as pdf.

This 32-slide lesson explores William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 130’. The lesson considers what we might expect typical love poetry to entail and how Shakespeare subverts our expectations. Students are prompted to question stereotypical depictions of romance and romantic imagery, and to think about how Shakespeare plays with the sonnet form itself. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are featured throughout, including an analytical ‘mini-essay’ in response to a question. The lesson ends with a creative writing (poetry) task that could be set in class or as a homework activity. This lesson is ideal for KS3. A copy of the poem (with glossary) is included.

This 21-slide lesson explores Maya Angelou’s classic poem, ‘Caged Bird’. The lesson introduces students to the key themes, ideas, and context behind the poem. Angelou’s life and work is discussed and the poem’s use of extended metaphor is deconstructed. Close analysis is conducted of language, form, structure, and rhyme, and students are encouraged to reflect on multiple readings of the poem. Key vocabulary is introduced to help students produce precise and sophisticated analysis when discussing racism, misogyny, and other forms of prejudice and marginalisation. Discussion points and questions are included throughout. An essay-style question is featured at the end of the lesson. This lesson is ideal for students approaching the poem either as part of a learned anthology or to develop their abilities analysing ‘unseen’ or isolated poetry. Owing to the universal nature of the poem, the lesson is suitable for a wide range of secondary-aged students, particularly those aged between 13-16. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 25-slide lesson serves as the perfect introduction to William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’, establishing the key context and background to the novel. The lesson includes exploration of the novel’s key themes and ideas, Golding’s life and his own comments about the text, the historical background of the Cold War and Atomic Age, as well as key terms and vocabulary to unpick the novel’s ideas. Questions, discussion-points and tasks are included for students. At the end of the lesson is an extended task that could work either in class or as a homework activity. The lesson is ideal for GCSE or KS3 study of the novel. PowerPoint is saved as PDF.

Here are 22 mock essay questions on Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ for students to practise their exam technique and sharpen their analysis of the text. These questions are particularly aimed at those studying the play within the comedic genre with AQA at A level, but they are easily applicable to any course offering detailed analysis of the play.

This resource includes two comprehensive lessons for analysing William Blake’s ‘Holy Thursday’ poems from the Songs of ‘Innocence’ and ‘Experience’. The first 28-slide lesson covers ‘Holy Thursday’ from ‘Innocence’. The second 32-slide lesson covers ‘Holy Thursday’ from ‘Experience’. Both lessons include detailed explorations of the poems’ language, context, imagery, structure, and ideas, especially in relation to Blake as a protest writer and critic of institutionalised systems of power. We think about Blake’s role as a Dissenter from the Church of England, and his use of recurring symbols (such as children) throughout the ‘Songs’. The image of Ascension Day in the ‘Holy Thursday’ poems is analysed, reading the poems as Blake’s critique of ecclesiastical hypocrisy and his attempt to understand the extent of the poverty to which he bore witness. Crucially, both lessons work in tandem to read both versions of the poem alongside one another, exploring Blake’s collective message through ‘Innocence’ and ‘Experience’. Blake’s singular poetic voice and ironic tone are also deconstructed, and we consider how the poems relate to 18th century children’s literature. Questions, tasks, and discussion points are featured throughout. Both lessons end with comparative essay questions. These lessons are ideal for those studying Blake as a ‘protest writer’ with AQA at A level, but could easily be used for any KS5 study of the ‘Songs’. *This resource is new and updated in March 2021. PowerPoints are saved as PDFs.

This resource contains four well-known recent speeches by famous women (Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson, Michelle Obama and Theresa May) which are excellent for linguistic and rhetorical analysis. This is a useful exercise for pupils studying persuasive writing and effective rhetoric. Not only do these speeches allow students to analyse how famous orators have used language, but they also inspire and teach how pupils can use language in their own persuasive writing too. Each speech is transcribed here and some contain designated space for analysis and answers to questions based on common GCSE exam tasks. This resource bundle is ideal for those studying English Language at GCSE, but is equally useful for KS3 language analysis or any other unit on rhetorical or persuasive writing.

This 25-slide lesson explores all the key context behind Dickens’ classic novella, ‘A Christmas Carol’. It’s everything that students need to know before reading the text - including an introduction to Dickens’ life, understanding Victorian poverty, and an exploration of the key themes and concepts of the timeless story. Questions, discussion points, and tasks for students are also featured, including a research task at the end of the lesson (potentially a homework task). This lesson is ideal for GCSE pupils studying the text, but is easily adaptable for KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This series of four lessons on Roald Dahl’s ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ breaks the story into four extracts and four distinct but interconnected lessons. Lesson 1: 16 slides Lesson 2: 16 slides Lesson 3: 14 slides Lesson 4: 16 slides Each lesson contains key questions and tasks relating to the story. Students are encouraged to think about Dahl’s suspense, characterisation, and use black humour. Key vocabulary is introduced and Dahl’s structure is dissected, with students making predictions and debating what might happen next as the story progresses. The nature of Mary Maloney’s marriage is discussed, as is the significance of her pregnancy, and the symbolic use of the leg of lamb in her infamous crime. At the end of the fourth lesson, we think about how Dahl uses the story symbolically and allegorically to comment on attitudes to gender in the 1950s. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. There are multiple tasks to strengthen analytical writing (with clearly structured model paragraphs included), and more creative tasks are featured, too, including diary entries and newspaper writing. Copies of all four extracts are included in this resource. There are at least 4 lessons here, but - depending on the pace of your classes - this could be stretched into more. This series of lessons is ideal for KS3. PowerPoints and extracts are saved as PDFs.