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This worksheet is designed to stimulate analytical consideration of the key images, symbols, and themes of J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’. The task is flexible: teachers may ask pupils to surround each image with quotations, words, themes, or general ideas from the play. For example, around the picture of the golf ball, pupils may write: “I don’t play golf” or ‘Birling’s luxuries and leisure as antithesis of the Inspector’, etc. Images inevitably link together and overlap, which is a great prompt for students to connect the key ideas from across the play.

An extract from George Bernard Shaw’s classic play ‘Mrs Warren’s Profession’, perfect for analysis as an example of political and social protest writing for Section A of the AQA A level exam. It can be challenging to find great resources for this part of the exam, but this extract (with the accompanying exam question) always work fantastically.

This extract from John Osborne’s classic 1956 play ‘Look Back in Anger’ is perfect practice for analysing elements of political and social protest for those studying the AQA A level syllabus.

This extract from Bertolt Brecht’s harrowing anti-war play ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ is perfect practice for analysing elements of political and social protest for those studying the AQA A level syllabus.

This crossword on Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ provides an enjoyable but academic activity for pupils to test their knowledge of the play. It always works as a great starter or plenary task. Ideal for pupils from KS3 to KS5.

This extract from Harold Pinter’s powerful play ‘One For The Road’ is perfect practice for analysing elements of political and social protest for those studying the AQA A level syllabus. Please note: this extract (and play) contains very mature themes and language.

This three-part workbook on the key themes of ‘Macbeth’ is an ideal revision or consolidation task. The first page asks students to annotate images representative of key themes in the play. Students could surround each image with words, quotations, analysis, etc. The second page asks students to retrieve key quotations from the play linked to each theme. The third page is another series of images, this time linked to key quotations from the play. Students are asked to write down the quotations beside the image.

A revision lesson designed to deconstruct Dr. Rank’s significance in ‘A Doll’s House’. This is a detailed analytical summary of Dr. Rank, including his key quotations, function in the play, and an essay question for students to consider. Perfect for those studying the play with AQA for A level (Political and Social Protest Writing).

How does Scotland fare under the tyrannical reign of Macbeth? Students rarely consider the country of Scotland itself when analysing Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, but to ignore Scotland is to forget the national scale of this bloody tragedy. This PowerPoint considers the role of Scotland in the play, including 10 key quotes about Scotland from various characters. Teachers can use these quotes however they please - it may create a great group activity or independent task. At the end of the PowerPoint is an exam-style question for students to consider. This is an ideal resource for encouraging students to aim for high marks in their GCSE analysis.

Here are 22 mock essay questions on Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ for students to practise their exam technique and sharpen their analysis of the text. These questions are particularly aimed at those studying the play within the comedic genre with AQA at A level, but they are easily applicable to any course offering detailed analysis of the play.

This resource contains detailed and academically challenging PowerPoints for all five acts of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. Each PowerPoint goes through an act scene-by-scene, analysing language, theme, character and context, combining scholarly notes from a range of sources. These PowerPoints work well when accompanying the reading of the text in class. Students find them useful for revision of the play too. These five PowerPoints have the potential to cover several weeks of lessons. These resources are aimed at A level students (particularly those studying comedy as a genre), but could be used for the study of the play with any high attaining group.

This is a thorough and comprehensive introduction to the context of Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’. The 21-slide lesson details Caesar’s life and role in the Roman Republic, outlining key terminology, politics, and history that will help explain his downfall. Shakespeare’s own life is also explored alongside the plot and focus of the play itself, and Elizabethan parallels with the play’s themes are explained. Questions and tasks are included for pupils, including a research (potential homework) task at the end of the lesson. The lesson is ideal for GCSE pupils, but could easily be adapted for other Key Stages. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 34-slide lesson explores the character of Viola in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. With academic scrutiny, the lesson analyses one of Shakespeare’s most complex heroines, beginning with an overview of her key lines, attributes, and role in the plot. This then leads to analysis of her name, key vocabulary that we might use to describe her, and how her role as a cross-dressing protagonists compares to other Shakespearean comedies. Important historical and theatrical context is explored alongside Viola’s character, and we consider the debates around just how ‘proto-Feminist’ Shakespeare’s presentation of Viola really is. Interesting viewpoints from a range of critics, directors, and actors are discussed. Crucially, we also explore how Viola’s character catalyses other key events in the play and is central to the comedy of ‘Twelfth Night’. We look at how Viola interacts with other characters in the play and debate modern interpretations of whether homoeroticism is integral to her character. The role of twins in other Shakespearean plays is considered, and the Carnivalesque atmosphere of the play is analysed in light of Viola’s character. Questions, discussion points, and essay questions are featured throughout. Students are encouraged to consider Viola’s character at a high level, so this lesson would be ideal for students aged 16+. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This crossword on Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ provides an enjoyable but academic activity for pupils to test their knowledge of the play. It always works as a great starter or plenary task. Note: When the answer to a question is ‘Lady Bracknell’, it should be written as one word, ie: ‘LADYBRACKNELL’.

This extract from Caryl Churchill’s ‘Top Girls’ is perfect for analysing elements of political and social protest as per the AQA A level paper. This extract is particularly effective for considering Feminist theory and gender politics.

This word search is a fun and stimulating activity for those studying ‘Romeo and Juliet’ to help consolidate knowledge of characters, key themes, and their spelling.

This word search is a fun and stimulating activity for those studying ‘An Inspector Calls’ to help consolidate knowledge of characters, key themes, and their spelling.

An invaluable resource designed to build a picture of how Shakespeare presents Macbeth via other characters in the play. Taking key quotes from a variety of characters, we can see how Shakespeare’s characters speak about and to Macbeth throughout the play. This not only unveils how loyalties change and develop throughout the play, but also how Macbeth himself changes and how characters may behave differently in private versus public settings. This is ideal for supporting study of the play at GCSE.

An analytical summary of Mrs Birling in Act II of ‘An Inspector Calls’. This 900-word essay explores how Priestley presents Mrs Birling’s unyielding prejudice in the pivotal second act of the play. Perfect for high-grade students, this is a sophisticated reading of a key character.

Detailed and high-grade notes on each of the major characters in J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’. Perfect for revision of the characters when studying the play at GCSE.