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Zephyr Learning - English and General Literacy Shop

Average Rating4.93
(based on 16 reviews)

I hold an MA in literature and a CELTA in language, and over the last 20 years I've taught language and literature in the UK and USA as well as ESOL in France and Tanzania. In addition to my work as a teacher, I am the Literacy and Grammar Consultant for Zephyr Learning and Professional Development. These resources have been refined in my own classroom and are the same ones I reference in my CPD sessions for teachers, priced so complete lessons cost the same as a cup of coffee.

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I hold an MA in literature and a CELTA in language, and over the last 20 years I've taught language and literature in the UK and USA as well as ESOL in France and Tanzania. In addition to my work as a teacher, I am the Literacy and Grammar Consultant for Zephyr Learning and Professional Development. These resources have been refined in my own classroom and are the same ones I reference in my CPD sessions for teachers, priced so complete lessons cost the same as a cup of coffee.
Peer assessment-Writing across the curriculum
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Peer assessment-Writing across the curriculum

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A series of peer editing sheets for use across the curriculum, designed to develop writing proficiency without sacrificing attention to subject-specific content. Worksheets are differentiated into bronze, silver and gold levels, with increasingly challenging targets for each level in organisation, grammar, punctuation and use of language. There are separate sheets for explanatory, instructional and persuasive writing. Students simply follow the instructions on the sheet, looking for specific features in their partner's work and circling the corresponding recommendations accordingly. No specialist knowledge is required on the part of the classroom teacher. For teachers in Wales, the targets are in line with those of the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework, with bronze targets aligning with the objectives for year 7, silver matching those of year 8 and gold matching those of year 9.
Peer assessment-Writng to describe or entertain
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Peer assessment-Writng to describe or entertain

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A series of peer editing sheets for use after students have finished drafting descriptive or narrative texts. Sheets are organised into Bronze, Silver and Gold levels with increasingly challenging criteria included in each. Criteria are based on the Literacy and Numeracy Framework for Wales, with Bronze corresponding to Year 7, Silver to Year 8 and Gold to Year 9 expectations.
Prepositions & prepositional phrases
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Prepositions & prepositional phrases

(2)
Fully resourced grammar-for-writing lesson that teaches students about prepositions and prepositional phrases, then uses sentence combining exercises to provide practice in placing prepositional phrases at different points in the sentence. Very useful in helping students to achieve sentence variety on Section B of Paper 1 and Paper 2. The powerpoint includes a starter, an explanation of prepositions and prepositional phrases (with examples), instructions for the worksheet (with an example), a list of possible answers and a plenary. It also provides examples of misplaced phrases/modifiers to help students to recognise when they have not placed prepositional phrases in a sentence correctly.
Grammar knowledge organiser - phrases
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Grammar knowledge organiser - phrases

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Explains and provides examples of the five phrase classes (prepositional phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, noun phrases and verb phrases). It further explains how prepositional phrases can function as adverbials (fronted and not) as well as post-modifiers in noun phrases. I’ve uploaded colour as well as black & white versions to suit different printing budgets and toner/ink levels at different schools.
Full stops - lesson & worksheets
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Full stops - lesson & worksheets

(1)
Fully resourced lesson with Powerpoint presentation, worksheets and answer keys. Students learn to identify when a sentence has ended and a full stop is needed. For the final task, they must insert missing full stops in an article about RMS Titanic.
Verbs - lesson & worksheet
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Verbs - lesson & worksheet

(1)
Fully resourced lesson. Students learn to identify the main verb in a sentence, no matter whether it is an action verb (a ‘doing word’) or a linking verb (a ‘being word’). The Powerpoint explains action verbs and linking verbs, with examples of each. Afterwards, students practise identifying the verbs in sentences on the exercise sheet (there are 40 sentences in total; you might wish to do only a portion at a time and spread the activity over a few lessons). More able students can be challenged to classify each verb as either an action or linking verb.
Appositives (nouns & noun phrases in apposition)
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Appositives (nouns & noun phrases in apposition)

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Worksheet with explanation of the concept and 3 different exercises: Adding punctuation to sentences that contain noun phrases in apposition; Removing unnecessary uses of ‘who’ and ‘which’ to transform relative clauses into noun phrases in apposition; Combining sentences to create new sentences with nouns phrases in apposition. This resource can be used as the basis of an in-class lesson or as revision homework.
Word Classes (Lexis) Knowledge Organiser
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Word Classes (Lexis) Knowledge Organiser

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Provides detailed explanations of the 9 word classes along with examples. It’s designed to be printed on the front and back of a single sheet of A4, and both colour and black and white versions are included (to make allowance for photocopying budgets at different schools). A useful resource for the cost of a cup of coffee! If you find this useful, please leave a review.
Compound sentences  / joining commas
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Compound sentences / joining commas

(1)
This fully resourced grammar-for-writing lesson teaches students how to use coordinating conjunctions (and, when applicable, joining commas) to combine simple sentences to form compound sentences. *NOTE: Instead of using the American acronym FANBOYS in this lesson, I have included the more UK-appropriate ANTBOYS (most American dictionaries do not recognise 'then' as a coordinating conjunction, whereas the British council and most UK dictionaries do. Also, although 'for' is recognised as a coordinating conjunction on both sides of the Atlantic, it is almost never used in contemporary writing. As this is a grammar for writing rather than a sentence-parsing lesson, the archaic 'for' has been omitted and the British conjunction 'then' has been included, thus 'ANTBOYS'). With this in mind, teachers in North America or ESOL teachers teaching North American English may wish to hide, delete or replace the slide in the powerpoint in which I have listed the coordinating conjunctions most commonly used in the UK.
Compound sentences / semi-colons
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Compound sentences / semi-colons

(1)
Fully resourced lesson that teaches students how to use semi-colons to combine simple sentences into compound sentences. It also teaches them about conjunctive/linking adverbs (e.g. ‘however,’ ‘besides,’ ‘likewise,’ ‘consequently,’ ‘instead,’ etc.) and how they can be added immediately after semi-colons to clarify meaning. Resources include printable explanations and practice exercises along with a Powerpoint presentation that can be used to guide students through the lesson (the Powerpoint includes the answers for the exercises on the worksheet).
A Level Language - Pragmatics (lesson 8)
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A Level Language - Pragmatics (lesson 8)

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Complete lesson designed for students taking A-level English Language as well as A-level English Lang/Lit Combined. Slideshow covers the following: schema, face theory, politeness theory (positive face, negative face, face-threatening acts), the cooperative principle, Grice’s maxims, implicature, deixis (personal, spatial, temporal).
A Level Language - Discourse (lesson 6)
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A Level Language - Discourse (lesson 6)

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Two-part lesson on written and spoken discourse, designed for students taking A-level English Language as well as students taking A-level English Language and Literature combined. The first slideshow (focusing on written discourse) covers: mode genre structure cohesion and referencing (exophoric, endophoric, anaphoric and cataphoric) intertextuality interdiscursivity The second slideshow (focusing on spoken discourse) covers: turn taking adjacency pairs phatic expressions back-channelling false starts fillers repairs ellipsis
A Level Language - Semantics (lesson 7)
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A Level Language - Semantics (lesson 7)

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Complete lesson covering terms and concepts linked to the language level of semantics. Designed for students taking A-level Language as well as A-level Language and Literature Combined. The lesson covers the following: literal language vs. figurative language figures of speech (metonymy, synecdoche, hyperbole, metaphor, simile, personification) denotation connotation synonyms and antonyms hypernyms and hyponyms semantic fields semantic change (ameiloration, pejoration, broadening, narrowing and semantic reclamation)
Heaney - Blackberry Picking - A Level
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Heaney - Blackberry Picking - A Level

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Two lessons on Seamus Heaney’s ‘Blackberry Picking’ designed for students taking AQA A-level Language and Literature Combined. The first (day one) lesson introduces the poem to students and guides them in conducting a linguistic analysis of the text; the second (day two) lesson invites discussion of their findings and covers important aspects they may have overlooked.
Frankenstein A-Level Knowledge Organiser (Lang/Lit Combined)
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Frankenstein A-Level Knowledge Organiser (Lang/Lit Combined)

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Based on the assessment objectives for AQA A Level Language and Literature combined; designed to be printed on two sides of A4. Covers the following: Social and historical context (the Industrial Revolution, Edmund Burke’s theory of the sublime, Rousseau’s theories regarding the nature/nurture debate, the alchemists Cornelius Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Paracelsus) Biographical context of Mary Shelley Literary context (explanations of important allusions and general characteristics of fantasy, science fiction, Romanticism, Gothic fiction and the tragic hero) Themes (the pursuit of knowledge, nature versus nurture, justice and injustice, the importance of family, isolation and companionship, fortune versus fate, personal responsibility) Characters (the roles and functions of Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, the creature, Elizabeth Lavenza, Justine Moritz and Safie) Settings (untamed natural settings versus university cities) Features of lexis, grammar, discourse and pragmatics to consider No coloured ink used, so the resource will print equally well on different colours of paper to suit student needs/preferences.
A Level Language - Grammar - Clauses (lesson 4)
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A Level Language - Grammar - Clauses (lesson 4)

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Complete lesson including slide presentation, exercises (with answers provided in the presentation) and knowledge organisers. The lesson covers: simple, compound and complex sentences main clauses subordinate clauses functioning as adverbials relative clauses (defining and non-defining) participle clauses infinitive clauses
Romeo and Juliet  Revision - Plot Sort
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Romeo and Juliet Revision - Plot Sort

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Each card includes key events from one scene in the play. Students arrange the cards in the correct order (either on the A3 placemat provided or in their exercise books, whichever you prefer). This provides an engaging and fun way to revise the plot of the drama. The task can be completed individually or in groups, allowing for friendly competition either way. The scene cards have been organised so that this task can be a two-lesson activity or a one-lesson activity: As a two-lesson activity, students arrange the scenes of the first two acts after they finish reading Act II, then arrange the remaining scenes in another lesson once they have finished reading the play. As a single-lesson activity, students arrange the scenes of the entire play at once (after reading the play in its entirety). Several different levels of challenge are provided; simply select and print the level that suits your students.