This 26-slide lesson analyses and revises the characters of Ignorance and Want in Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. The lesson considers the characters’ appearance and symbolism, linked closely to the context of Victorian society and the thematic explorations of the novella, as well as Dickens’ Biblical parallels and the characters’ structural significance within the story. Tasks and discussion points are featured throughout, and the lesson ends with an extended writing task on the characters. Though they only appear briefly, this lesson demonstrates the significance of Ignorance and Want as symbols for urgent social issues observed and highlighted by Dickens in Victorian society. This is an ideal lesson for GCSE students, but could easily be adapted for KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This resource is a collection of 30 practice questions based on J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’. Providing perfect revision for those studying the text at GCSE, this bundle of 30 exam-style questions will give your students plenty of practice at analysing the play’s key themes, characters, and ideas. Questions are included on every character and each of the main themes. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

Help students to finally master apostrophes with this engaging lesson that covers all the rules. We all know that many students struggle with apostrophes. This lesson aims to explain the theories alongside practical examples. It explains how to use apostrophes for omission/contraction and possession, including plurals and names ending in ‘S’. Also included is a worksheet with apostrophe-related questions/tasks for students to complete either in class, as a homework task, or a starter activity to test knowledge retention in the next lesson. This lesson is ideal for KS3, but could definitely be used for GCSE students struggling with apostrophes too. PowerPoint and worksheet saved as PDF.

This 15-slide lesson explores Chapter 6 of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. In this comprehensive lesson, students consider how the pigs begin to violate the Seven Commandments (sleeping in beds and trading with humans) and how Squealer is able to justify these transgressions through manipulative rhetoric. The use of Snowball as a scapegoat is explored, alongside how and why Orwell emphasises Boxer’s significance to the farm’s ‘success’. The allegorical function of the novella is also closely studied, as pupils learn about the slippery relationships between Stalin and the US, UK, and Germany. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The lesson is ideal for KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

An A4 landscape poster all about similes - perfect for your classroom or corridor display. Useful for helping students remember key linguistic vocabulary.

This 15-slide lesson explores Chapter 7 of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. In this comprehensive lesson, students consider how Napoleon begins to consolidate his totalitarian rule through establishing a reign of terror. As animals begin to show signs of dissent and mild revolt, the pigs’ increasing use of violence shatters any illusion of a utopian society. As ever, Squealer’s propagandistic rhetoric is analysed. The allegorical function of the novella is also closely studied, as pupils learn about the Great Purge and the Peasants’ Revolt in the Soviet Union. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The lesson is ideal for KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores Stave Four of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider how Dickens presents the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and how Scrooge is affected by what he is shown, including the businessmen, families, and looters who profit by Scrooge’s death, how the Cratchit family is affected by Tiny Tim’s death, Fred’s act of charity and kindness, and how Scrooge vows to repent at the sight of his own grave. The ominous and foreboding atmosphere of his chapter is scrutinised, considering why Dickens populates this Stave with so much morbidity. As ever, we think about how this all relates to Dickens’ authorial message. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE or at KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

Perfect for stretch and challenge, this 24-slide lesson considers how Priestley was influenced by various theories of time when writing ‘An Inspector Calls’. The ideas of P.D. Ouspensky and J.W. Dunne are explored here, as well as questions about the nature of the Inspector’s curious relationship with time and how the significance of time is emphasised throughout the play. Stephen Daldry’s 1992 production of the play is considered in view of time theories, and the play’s key characters and stagecraft are analysed in terms of their relationship with time. Frequent questions and discussion points are included for students, and the lesson ends with an extended essay question on Priestley’s use of time. The resource is included in two versions here: as a PDF with saved fonts and formatting, and the original PowerPoint file so that the resource can be edited.

This 21-slide lesson explores Chapter 3 of John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’. Students are encouraged to think about the pathos created via the death of Candy’s dog, and how George and Lennie’s fate continues to be foreshadowed. Significant focus is placed on Lennie’s fight with Curley, which leads students to an extract-based essay question to answer. Top tips for how to approach the extract question are included here, plus an exemplar introduction and analytical paragraph as a model for students. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The extract-based question is also included in this resource. Ideal for upper-KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 14-slide lesson offers students an introduction to the ballad form of poetry. Students explore the history behind the ballad form, focusing on its sensationalist subject matter and significant use of rhyme and rhythm. We discuss how appreciating the oral nature of performed ballads is vital to understanding the rhythm and sound of the poems, and we think about which subjects commonly recur in popular ballads. A starter activity encourages students to consider rhyme and the aural nature of words. Students learn how the ballad form developed into the ‘Lyrical Ballads’ of Wordsworth and Coleridge, popularising the form that we now recognise as poetic ballads. The rise of modern ‘power ballads’ in pop music is also noted. An example of a ballad (by Wordsworth) is given for students to deconstruct its rhythm and rhyme scheme. Students then have a go at writing their own ballad. Another example - this time an original ballad (by yours truly) - is provided to help students with their own ballads. Questions and discussion points are included for students. This lesson is ideal for those studying the ballad form or poetry in general in KS3. PowerPoint is saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson provides detailed and comprehensive analysis of Priestley’s dramatic devices throughout ‘An Inspector Calls’. Considers the role of lighting, costume, pace, entrances/exits, dramatic irony, tension, props, and much more. The clever structure of Priestley’s play is unpicked and analysed. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This lesson is perfect for high-attaining students studying the play for GCSE. PowerPoint saved as pdf.

This 20-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to the context of Khaled Hosseini’s ‘The Kite Runner’. It features an overview of 20th century Afghan history and the rise of the Taliban, plus a brief synopsis of the novel and Hosseini’s intentions/message in writing it. Also included is a list of key words for students to research, some topical questions for classroom debate, and some key vocabulary. This is a useful first lesson for those reading the novel for their A level studies (particularly for AQA’s Political and Social Protest paper). Also included is a brief geo-political summary sheet of Afghanistan to help pupils to understand the nation’s context. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This resource includes a 32-slide lesson designed to introduce Greek Myths and Legends to students, accompanied by a short story in which the key Greek Gods are established. The lesson aims to introduce the conventions of Greek myths and the most significant characters of the legends. Storytelling and myth-making are explored, as is the influence of Greek mythos on our own modern culture. Students then read the story of ‘Zeus and His Mighty Company’, considering the characterisation of the Greek Gods. Tasks, discussion points, and questions are included for students. A research task ends the lesson either as a class-based or homework activity. The lesson works as an introduction to any unit of work on Greek mythology, or could feature as part of a larger unit on storytelling, heroes, or legends. This lesson is ideal for KS3 or upper-KS2. PowerPoint and Word Doc. story saved as PDF.

This 27-slide lesson on William Blake’s ‘The Garden of Love’ from the ‘Songs of Experience’ deconstructs the poem as a tool of political and social protest. The lesson explores Blake’s context as a radical Dissenter, his use of the pastoral genre, and considers in detail his use of language and imagery. The poem’s themes of sexual restriction, corrupt authority, and shattered innocence are considered through a variety of questions and tasks for students. At the end of the lesson, an extended essay question is included. This lesson is ideal for those studying Blake’s ‘Songs’ through AQA’s ‘Political and Social Protest’ paper at A level. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

A worksheet for students to use for making notes on the key characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’.

This crossword on Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ provides an enjoyable but academic activity for pupils to test their knowledge of the play. It always works as a great starter or plenary task.

This word search is a fun and stimulating activity for those studying ‘An Inspector Calls’ to help consolidate knowledge of characters, key themes, and their spelling.

This 36-slide lesson explores Sujata Bhatt’s poem ‘Search for my Tongue’. The lesson provides detailed analysis of the poem and includes: biographical information about Bhatt, analysis of the poem’s use of language and poetic techniques, analysis of the poem’s structure, form & rhyme, as well as a range of questions, discussion points, and tasks for students to complete. Students are encouraged to think about the significance of language and its relationship to cultural assimilation and identity. The final task at the end of the lesson is an extended writing activity. This lesson is ideal for KS3 pupils, but could be used for GCSE too. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores William Blake’s poem, ‘The School Boy’. Students are prompted to consider the poem’s themes, images, structure, rhythm, and key ideas. We think about Blake’s identification with radical politics and his widespread condemnation of institutionalised authority. School in the poem is read as a metaphor for the conformity and control that undoubtedly contradict Blake’s Romantic vision of the child as a free individual. Contextual links are made to Rousseau and John Locke, as well as children’s literature in the 18th century. The poem’s language (and imagery) is deconstructed in detail. We consider how this poem connects to other poems in the ‘Experience’ collection. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The lesson ends with a larger essay question too. Perfect for those studying Blake’s ‘Songs’ as part of AQA’s Political and Social Protest course, this lessons encourages students to look beyond this poem’s surface-level simplicity and form conceptual links to other poems in the collection. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 23-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to key context for studying Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. The his lesson covers the significance of the Prometheus, Gothic genre, Romanticism, Industrialisation and much more on Shelley’s famous novel, including the influence of ‘Paradise Lost’. Shelley’s life is explained, and the key themes are explored. Questions and tasks are also included for students. A creative task is featured at the end of the lesson. This could be used either as a class-based or homework activity. The lesson is ideal for GCSE students, but could be used for introducing the text for high-attaining KS3 pupils or even at A level. PowerPoint saved as PDF.