This activity uses an extract from “Carmilla” (public domain text) and there are ten questions which could be used in class, as cover or set as homework. Alternatively, they could be used to structure a guided reading session. Might be of use as part of a unit on gothic literature.

A simple and straightforward revision activity. 20 questions (suggested answers provided on a separate sheet). Could be used in class as a springboard for more developed answers through discussion. Useful for homework or cover. Created as a revision activity to enable students to identify gaps in their knowledge so that they can focus their next steps.

This is a straightforward worksheet using Thomas Hood’s poem, “I Remember I Remember”. The intention is that once the students have worked through the 9 questions, they will be furnished with ideas to support them in answering the exam-style question that’s printed above the title - How does the poet present the speaker’s ideas about childhood? The sheet can be used to guide paired or group discussion in class. Alternatively, it could be used for homework so that students are prepared for a timed essay in class. Planned for a year 10 class but this could be used to support an introduction to unseen poetry at key stage three.

Created for a year 7 class as a homework to go alongside our class reader of 'Love That Dog', this is a comprehension (close reading and response) activity based on the segment from "The Call of the Wild" in which Buck fights Spitz to become top dog. There are 14 questions in total, focusing on vocabulary, inference and the effects of language. This would be a good cover activity or the questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is a very straightforward powerpoint using John Drinkwater’s public domain poem, “Moonlit Apples”. The powerpoint takes the students through a range of questions about the effect of methods used in the poem and concludes with an exam-style question.

This is a short and (hopefully) straightforward powerpoint using a very short extract from “The Island of Dr Moreau” by H.G.Wells. The lesson uses questioning to provide the ideas for a modelled first paragraph of a response after which students are asked to work more independently to complete the response. For less confident students, the evidence is already selected. You may wish to add challenge by asking students to select their own evidence. The last two slides are the printables. At the end of the lesson, students are asked to identify two of Wells’ effective methods and use them in their own descriptive writing. This task could be used to extend the lesson or set for homework.

This is a 14-question multiple-choice quiz (answers provided) on John Clare’s lovely sonnet about the spring. Could be used as a starter activity prior to a deeper analysis of the poem. Could work as a homework activity. The questions could be used to stucture a guided reading activity.

This is a multiple-choice quiz with 26 questions on “The Farmer’s Bride” by Charlotte Mew. Could be used for homework or revision. Alternatively, this could be used to check students’ understanding of the poem prior to teaching so that the subsequent lesson can be more precisely focused on gaps. Answers are provided.

Created as a homework task as part of a unit on gothic horror, this would also work as a cover activity. It uses a short extract from “The Mysteries of Udolpho” by Ann Radcliffe and there are 8 questions, most requiring a more extended answer, focusing on analysis. Useful for honing the reading skills that will be tested at GCSE and for exploring a less common text from the genre of gothic horror.

Useful for a homework task or for cover, this uses the description from “Dracula” where Jonathan Harker is being driven through the Transylvanian darkness to Dracula’s castle. The questions are divided into four sections: vocabulary, information retrieval, inference and the effect of the writer’s methods. This worksheet could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is a comprehension activity based on the description of Fagin scuttling through the darkness to Bill Sikes. The Word document is editable so you can tailor the questions to suit the ability level of your class, if necessary. There are ten questions, some of which require extended answers, so this would be a useful activity for a cover lesson. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading activity.

This uses an extract from Arthur Machen’s story, written in 1914, (it is in the public domain) in which a group of English soldiers are facing a mighty German advance. There are 12 questions. The questions cover the reading skills of information retrieval, inference and explaining the effect of the writer’s methods. This task could be used for cover or for homework. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a guided reading activity. Suggested answers are provided - which means that this task could also be set for a student working from home who would like to do some self-assessment.

A powerpoint lesson on the opening of “The Speckled Band”, planned for a middle-ability year 8 class but suitable at any point in KS3. The lesson begins with a settler activity looking at the word ‘axiom’ and drawing an inference about Sherlock Holmes from his maxim. Pupils are then guided through Watson’s opening narration, making inferences from selected evidence. The focus then turns to Helen Stoner whereupon the inference is developed into deduction and pupils’ attention is turned to what can be inferred and deduced from the simile - and how that simile can be linked to other aspects of the description. Finally, pupils are asked to draw an inference from the way in which two paragraphs of the story have been structured.

In which Jonathan Harker attempts to leave Dracula’s castle but cannot… This worksheet has the excerpt from chapter 4 of Stoker’s novel together with ten questions which are intended to elicit close reading and thinking. The questions focus on inference, the writer’s methods and their effect and on vocabulary. Useful for homework or to set as cover. The questions could also be used to structure a guided reading session. Handy as part of a unit on gothic horror.

This uses an excerpt from “Dracula” in which the vampire hunters have lain in wait for Dracula who confronts, taunts and escapes them. There are 11 questions focusing on the writer’s methods and their effects with a couple on vocabulary and inference. Useful for homework or for setting as a cover activity. A useful addition to any study of the gothic horror genre. Alternatively, the question could be used for structuring a guided reading activity.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity, useful for developing students’ understanding of the context of “A Christmas Carol” and why “some would rather die” than go to the workhouse. There are 10 questions and the activity could be used in class, as a cover activity or for homework. Suggested answers are provided.

This is a multiple choice quiz with 25 questions (answers provided) that could be used as a homework, as a revision activity or as a flipped learning activity, to support students working from home as they work through the poem independently - and then for the teacher to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding prior to teaching the poem. Alternatively, the questions could be used to structure a small-group revision or catch-up session. Some questions lend themselves to further exploration of the poem; others assess whether basic knowledge is in place.

Aim: to comment on the effect of some of Owen’s specific language in “Anthem for Doomed Youth”. Lesson plan originally created for year 9 to develop their skills of writing a P.E.E structured answer, exploring the effect of Owen's language choices in the poem. Includes an opportunity for a whole-class model answer which then forms the basis for some independent responses.

This is a very bog-standard powerpoint using some questioning to support students’ recall of Hardy’s ‘Neutral Tones’ and ‘Singh Song’, “Love’s Philosophy” and Sonnet 29 - prior to asking them to tackle a question about the presentation of feelings about romantic relationships. Might come in useful as a starting point for revision. If you find this of use, I would very much appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.

This is a revision powerpoint, more didactic than interactive, best used in year 11 for revision.