The below lists all the resources I have shared online with links for you to download if you feel they might help. I hope they’re useful, of interest and most importantly save you some time!
Useful for both A Level English Literature and GCSE English Literature
— An English Class Map: https://tinyurl.com/y3j8t5gx This is a version of the PPT that I use in my first lesson of a new academic year. It could be adapted for any year group. I’ve previously posted on this blog about how exactly I set up the first lesson of the year.
— A Welcome Back Sheet: https://tinyurl.com/yyb8af9q This is a welcome sheet that is intended to be handed out at the start of a new academic year for students to complete. It can be used alongside the English Class Map PPT
— Whole Class Feedback Sheet: https://tinyurl.com/t2jcjwnc My version of a whole class feedback sheet.
— Analysis Bookmarks: https://tinyurl.com/y4dkwpwq The intention is for these to be tagged into exercise books for students to use when writing essays or reading. They are designed to cue and scaffold reading and writing. The bookmarks include ones for WHW, analytical verbs, reverse engineering, sentence stems, amongst others.
— Modelled Sentence Stems Template: https://tinyurl.com/yyt7m79t This can be used alongside the sentence stems bookmark when introducing each sentence stem, first modelling it. The students might fill this template in at the same time as you do
— Sentence Stems Template: https://tinyurl.com/ek3znxcu Similar to the above, this is a template of various sentence stems for analytical writing that can help scaffold student responses.
— How to Embed Quotations: https://tinyurl.com/y6bvzktt A guide to help students better understand how to embed quotations, with specific examples. This is something I find students tend to find tricky so hope this will help.
— How to Embed Quotations Worksheet: https://tinyurl.com/y67p9tjh A worksheet that provides lots of opportunity for scaffolded practice of embedding quotations. It ought to be used in conjunction with the How to Embed Quotations sheet.
— How to Write Like a Literary Critic: https://tinyurl.com/y3buzymr A single A4 document designed to prompt and cue students to use in their writing, for instance, transition phrases, connectives, evaluative adverbs, and analytical verbs. The idea would be for students to have this document next to them when writing an essay.
— How to Read Like a Literary Critic: https://tinyurl.com/y5hza87f A single A4 document designed to scaffold student reading by drawing their attention to patterns of thought they may pursue when thinking about the given text. For example, thematic concerns, patterns, motifs, imagery. It provides sentence stems to help cue these responses. Created with inspiration from Chris Curtis.
A Level English Literature
The Great Gatsby and Poetry Anthology
— Social and Historical Context Task: https://tinyurl.com/y35j9bq7 Designed to introduce students to some of the key contextual issues surrounding The Great Gatsby. They are required to read a short paragraph about a topic, highlight relevant information, and then summarise.
— Big Questions and Big Ideas: https://tinyurl.com/y967rdj7 This is a list of some of the big ideas and big questions that could be used to help teach The Great Gatsby as part of the AQA Love Through the Ages module
— Form of Love: https://tinyurl.com/y9b7vec4 This is a list of some of the forms of love that might be encountered in Gatsby as well as the pre-1900 poetry anthology. It’s certainly not exhaustive and is written with the AQA Love Through the Ages Specification in mind
Gothic Literature
— An Introductory PPT: https://tinyurl.com/y2oapvzq A detailed, 50-slide PPT introducing the gothic as a genre, exploring its key characteristics and conventions, key textual examples, as well as charting its historical and literary lineages
Unseen Prose
— What to Think About: https://tinyurl.com/y33pvk6x A short sheet that include prompts for students to think about when analysing unseen prose
— Preparation Booklet: https://tinyurl.com/y8djefwj A booklet that contains various passages for students to analyse, including essay questions using the AQA A Level format found in the Modern Times: Post 1945 paper. This could also be repurposed for Language Paper 1. With thanks to Doug Wise for a couple of the opening prose extracts.
GCSE English Literature
Macbeth
— Essay Structure: https://tinyurl.com/y6ss8dfe A scaffolded outline of the essay structure I recommend students use for the Macbeth essay. The aim would be for students to have this structure next to them when writing an essay, until it is no longer needed
— Massolit QR Coded Extension: https://tinyurl.com/y6o9dnx5 QR coded links direct to the relevant Massolit lecture, covering key scenes of Macbeth. A fantastic way to provide added opportunity for extension and challenge.
— Macbeth Booklet: https://tinyurl.com/ydhfvukq A full Macbeth booklet, with key extracts and lots of space to annotate, space for plot summary, historical and social context, big ideas and big questions, QR coded extension, key quotation bank. This is pretty much the only thing I use when teaching the play. With massive thanks to Stuart Pryke and Doug Wise whose work helped to shape and inform this booklet. [Here is the link to the old version should you prefer it: https://tinyurl.com/y5x6vxbr]
— Revision Booklet: https://tinyurl.com/y98qndy8 A short revision booklet template based around key characters. The aim would be to draw the mind map as a class and for the teacher to talk through the characters, hence it being effectively empty. It’s just a template.
— The Story of Macbeth Told Through 10 Quotations: https://tinyurl.com/465xbbp3 A short booklet that aims to tell the story of the play through 10 quotations, allowing lots of opportunity for discussion of big ideas and language. Great to introduce the play or to revisit after a break.
— Introducing Tragedy: https://tinyurl.com/dn83fyj3 A PPT that could be used to introduce students to tragedy or woven throughout the study of Macbeth
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
— Essay Structure: https://tinyurl.com/y6ss8dfe A scaffolded outline of the essay structure I recommend students use for the Dr J and Mr H essay. The aim would be for students to have this structure next to them when writing an essay, until it is no longer needed
— Booklet: https://tinyurl.com/rxx6e9m A full and comprehensive booklet for Dr J and Mr H. This is more or less the only resource I use when teaching the text. It includes KO, context, key quotation bank, retrieval tasks, key extracts with lots of room for annotation, plot summary. Created with lots of inspiration from Doug Wise’s excellent resources.
Poetry Anthology
— Essay Structure: https://tinyurl.com/yy8nejzt A scaffolded outline of the essay structure I recommend students use for the poetry anthology essay. The aim would be for students to have this structure next to them when writing an essay, until it is no longer needed
— Massolit QR Coded Extension: https://tinyurl.com/yymeqgq7 QR coded links direct to the relevant Massolit lecture, covering each poem of the Love and Relationships cluster. A fantastic way to provide added opportunity for extension and challenge.
— Booklet: https://tinyurl.com/y36v387m A completely reimagined poetry anthology, with double-spaced and centred copies of the poem for easier annotation, Big Questions and Big Ideas, two copies of each poem (one for initial ideas and second for group annotation), recall grid for all poems, thematic grid, model answer, essay structure, QR coded extension sheet. I’ve blogged before on how exactly I use this booklet when teaching the poems.
Unseen Poetry
— Unseen Poetry Booklet: https://tinyurl.com/yyp4gnq9 A detailed preparation booklet for unseen poetry including lots of different unseen poems that could be used to help prepare students, a structure strip to prompt when reading/analysing, essay structure for both 24 and 8 mark AQA questions, and model essays. This is more or less all I use when teaching unseen poetry.
— Sonnet Booklet: https://tinyurl.com/y5ydc8sl A poetry booklet comprised entirely of sonnets that could be used as part of unseen poetry preparation or indeed as a standalone module looking at the sonnet.
— Sonnet Introduction: https://tinyurl.com/y33ad2k5 An introductory PPT to be used alongside the above booklet when introducing the sonnet as a form, including some key writers and chronology as well as formal features
— Unseen Poetry Introduction: https://tinyurl.com/y3votdhf An introductory PPT to be used when introducing AQA GCSE Unseen Poetry. It can be used alongside the Unseen Poetry Booklet above. The PPT moves through a process for approaching an unseen poem for the first time, how to annotate and analyse it, as well as how to structure the 24 and 8 mark questions.
The History Boys
— Introductory PPT: tinyurl.com/y69z8xq5 This is the PPT I use when introducing the play and also throughout our study. It includes Big Questions for the play as well as various retrieval questions.
GCSE English Language (AQA)
Paper 1
— English Language Paper 1 Booklet: https://tinyurl.com/y8oj4stk (with space for student writing) or https://tinyurl.com/y8x9s55d (without space for student annotation). I’ve blogged before about exactly how I use this booklet, but the basic premise is that each question has been broken down into its constituent elements, with lots of opportunity to practise each small step before moving onto a full exam-style responses. With thanks to Laura Webb for her excellent mini mocks which were previously shared via Twitter and have been really helpful in providing the material that the various tasks are based around.
— Paper 1 Big Questions: https://tinyurl.com/yay7vjpr Big Questions for each question on Paper 1, which will help to create a conceptual thread for preparation and study
— Paper 1 Student Guide: https://tinyurl.com/3d677hmw A guide for Paper 1 including some top tips and strategies.
— Paper 1 Guided Mock: https://www.dropbox.com/s/bydlugc1o1qxj25/Language%20Paper%201%20Guided%20Mock.pdf?dl=0 A full guided mock for Paper 1 with space to live model how to approach the question and for students to write.
Paper 2
— English Language Paper 2 Booklet: https://tinyurl.com/7bu65nem It is exactly the same n ethos and application as the Paper 1 Booklet above. With thanks to Laura Webb for her excellent mini mocks which were previously shared via Twitter and have been really helpful in providing the material that the various tasks are based around.
— — Paper 2 Big Questions: https://tinyurl.com/yay7vjpr Big Questions for each question on Paper 2, which will help to create a conceptual thread for preparation and study
— Paper 2 Mini Booklet for Q2: https://tinyurl.com/yf8uwzup Inspired and playing around with Chris Curtis’ idea for Lessons on a Page, this booklet condenses the required knowledge for approaching P2 Q2.
— Paper 2 Guided Mock: https://tinyurl.com/mtk35udf This is a full guided mock for Paper 2. The idea is to live model and explain what is required for each question and how to approach the paper, with there then being space for students to complete each question.
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