Resources made by a Head of English, with a background in TEFL and SEN (thus differentiation for EAL and SEN students is often a feature of lesson plans). I have also examined for AQA for the past six years, IBDP for the past 2, and have taught AQA, Edexcel and CIE specifications.
Resources made by a Head of English, with a background in TEFL and SEN (thus differentiation for EAL and SEN students is often a feature of lesson plans). I have also examined for AQA for the past six years, IBDP for the past 2, and have taught AQA, Edexcel and CIE specifications.
This printable resource includes copies of all poems in the anthology along with glossaries, explanations of contexts and visual stimuli. There is also a list of key poetic terms along with explanations and examples.
A printable Poetry Anthology for students studying the Edexcel IGCSE in English Literature (4ET1). It includes all the poems, plus glossaries, explanations of key features and contexts, and brief biographies (where relevant). There are also three pages of explanations of key terms for poetry analysis, with examples from the anthology.
A 12 lesson scheme of work to help students develop their Creative Writing skills. I currently use it to guide students through Assignment 2 of the CIE iGCSE in English Language: however, many of the resources date from when I was preparing students for the AQA English Language GCSE Creative Writing task, so could easily be adapted back for this purpose.
There is an overview document giving detailed instructions for the lessons. Each lesson then comes with a powerpoint and various printable resources. There’s lots of differentiation plus scope for group/pair work. Some lessons make take a double period and I strongly recommend doing the pre-teaching lessons on sentence types as well. There are also marking short-cuts and extra grammar resources included (particularly useful if you have lots of EAL students).
Outcomes are always excellent and the students tend to get a kick out of the classes, especially if you are up for doing a Freddie Mercury impression in lesson 2!
Happy teaching!
A lesson on Tissue by Dharker (AQA Power and Conflict Anthology) for lower to middle ability students. Pages references are to the student copy of the anthology which is available for download in my resources.
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!
Lesson on London by William Blake for the AQA Power and Conflict Anthology. Page references are to the student copy of the anthology which is also available in my resources.
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 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 for William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (27 lessons), which I have taught and refined over the past 6 years. Originally meant for Year 9, it works well with low-ability KS4 classes too - I've used it to prepare students for the AQA Literature GCSE. It's a very active scheme of work, with students acting out most of the play, and there are several written pieces alongside two essays. You will also need Jenga and, preferably, the Zeffirelli version on DVD. All lessons come with powerpoints and resources. An end of unit assessment (plus revision guide for students) is included, as is a scheme of work overview document, with a lesson by lesson guide and ideas for differentiation and AFL. Happy teaching!
A 24 lesson (plus two recap lessons) scheme of work to prepare KS4 students for the AQA Literature exam. Comes with a Scheme of Work over view document giving a lesson by lesson guide: all lessons fully resourced (including model answers). Includes spoken and creative tasks. The focus is very much on studying the text as a text, rather than teaching the exam technique - though there is some of that.
This unit is designed for Year 9, to prepare them for study of the AQA Poetry of Conflict cluster at GCSE - though it is a good preparation for the study of poetry at GCSE for any exam board. The unit includes poems by Wilfred Owen (2), Jessie Pope, Alison Fell, Pablo Neruda, Ciaran Carson and John Agard. In addition, there is an extended creative writing task, two discussion lessons using de Bono's hats and an ICT lesson. An overview document contains a lesson by lesson guide, giving suggestions for AFL, differentiation and homework (though lots of all three are already built into the unit). All lessons come with powerpoints and accessible 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 version of the classic KS3 unit, looking at poems by Linton Kwesi Johnson, Les Murray, Imitiaz Dharker, Yoruba hunters and Nissim Ezekiel (among others). There is also an emphasis on thinking critically about what culture means, plus a drama lesson exploring deaf poetry. In addition to the main 9 lessons, there are 4 additional lessons looking at specific language techniques. A reading assessment and a scheme of work overview, giving a lesson by lesson guide, is included along with resources - power points and printables - for all lessons. Happy teaching!
Background reading in preparation for studying Beatrice Garland's poem 'Kamikaze'. The reading comprehension is differentiated on three levels by reading age (12, 14, 16) but all three versions have the same answers, allowing students to peer mark the homework in class should you wish.
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!
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!
