A single carousel-style lesson that gets students to explore Carol Ann Duffy’s poem War Photographer independently (though I’d also suggest showing them a few videos about developing photographic film beforehand). To go with either the AQA or Edexcel anthologies.

A lesson teaching students how to write and punctuate sentences that include a non-defining relative clause.

This is a full scheme of work (22 lessons) for the IBDP Language and Literature English A Intertextuality Unit. The Literary texts are British-Nigerian poet Patience Agbabi’s 2008 collection “Bloodshot Monochrome” and US songwriter Tracy Chapman’s eponymous 1988 debut. Thus, it covers two centuries, two genres and two continents. Non-literary texts include: -Magazine covers -John Berger’s 1974 documentary “Ways of Seeing” -Portraiture by Charles White and Abbie Trayler-Smith -Kathleen Hanna’s Riot Grrrl manifesto -The Pride Train Takeover -Marriage Equality campaign posters -Stand up comedy routines by Gina Yashere and Sindhu Vee The unit also guides students through introductions to Paper 1, Paper 2 and the Individual Oral with example respones and mark schemes. All lessons come with a Google Slides presentation plus hand outs where required. Critical reading on Agbabi is also provided. An overview document gives a lesson by lesson description, allowing teachers to see how they connect. I’m making this available for free, partly because it is so niche, but it does represent HOURS of work. Therefore, please leave a review if you end up using it. Happy teaching!

A student led carousel lesson on Rossetti’s remember - worked extremely well with my almost entirely EAL Year 11s - they effectively taught themselves. There are 4 stations which examine the meaning, sound, imagery and mood of the poem. No prior knowledge of the poem is needed, though students will need to be familiar with key poetic terminology. Intended for the Edexcel iGCSE in English Literature, but would be suitable for any syllabus (it could be used as an unseen poem, for example). See the notes sections of the power-point slides for ideas on differentiation and AFL.

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

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 fun flash fiction writing lesson with a horror theme. Gets students thinking about the horror genre, the use of the uncanny and twists in their writing, and how performance affects our response to texts. I used in with KS4 and KS5 classes, but I imagine KS3 would be fine with this too.

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!

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

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!

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.

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!

A complete scheme of work for Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (25 lessons long) aimed at Year 9, intended to provide context and familiarity with Dickens for further study in KS4. The unit contains powerpoints and resources for all lessons, and includes ICT, debates, speaking and listening lessons alongside reading and writing assessments. Many activities are also differentiated by reading ability.

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 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 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 14 lesson scheme of work to study Nikolai Leskov’s novella “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” for the IBDP Language and Literature A course, This is a 19th century prose text written originally in Russian and appears of the prescribed list. It fits into the Time and Space unit. The scheme covers the whole text, introducing students to Harold Bloom’s anxiety of influence as a way to explore the relationship between Leskov and Shakespeare, as well as between Leskov and Oldroyd, who adapted the novella into a film starring Florence Pugh. The film is considered here as a non-literary text, alongside reviews and films posters. There are example responses included, as well as guidance for producing Individual Orals on the text and practice questions for both Paper 1 and 2. Feedback and planning templates are also included. Happy teaching! All feedback gratefully received.

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.

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 fantastic and fun introduction to Shakespeare for KS3 - I've used it with both Years 7 and 8. The 19 lessons include a five lesson lead in looking at fairy tales, with an emphasis on thinking critically, followed by a fun exploration of Shakespeare's classic comedy using an abridged script (uploaded separately as a free resource as I don't own it). The unit includes both reading and writing assessments, spoken tasks, fully resourced lessons and differentiated activities.