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This resource includes an extract from E.M. Forster’s 1909 short story, ‘The Machine Stops’, as well as an accompanying PowerPoint with four questions on the source based on AQA’s English Language GCSE Paper 1.

Explore Jessie Pope’s famous jingoistic poem ‘Who’s For The Game?’ in this comprehensive and engaging 20-slide lesson. Perfect for KS3 students with some introductory knowledge of World War I, but this could just as well work for a KS4 group who are analysing poetry. Questions, key vocabulary, and tasks are included, as well as some biographical information on Pope and context on the First World War. Exemplar analytical paragraphs on the poem are also included. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 26-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to the context and comedy of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. The lesson features information on Wilde’s life and literary career and on Victorian contexts of gender, sexuality, and morality. The genre of comedy is considered in detail, and the key themes, characters, and conventions of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ are outlined. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This lesson would work particularly well for those teaching Wilde on AQA’s Aspects of Comedy paper for English Literature A level, but is still useful for those exploring the play for other courses. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

Help students to finally master commas with this engaging 18-slide lesson that covers all the main rules. We all know that many students struggle with commas. This lesson aims to explain the key rules alongside practical examples. It explains how to use commas in lists (including the Oxford comma), for fronted adverbials, and subordinate clauses. Humorous comma errors are included for students to identify and amend. This lesson is ideal for KS3, but could definitely be used for GCSE students struggling with apostrophes too. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

These two lessons are perfect for analysing William Blake’s two ‘Chimney Sweeper’ poems from the 'Songs of Innocence and ‘Experience’. Both lessons contain detailed explorations of language, context, themes and ideas, especially in relation to Blake as a protest writer. Each stanza is deconstructed individually, and questions/tasks are included for students, including comparative and extended essay questions. These lessons are ideal for those A level students who are analysing Blake’s poetry as part of the AQA Political and Social Protest Paper, but easily adaptable for other exam boards too. The lesson on the ‘Chimney Sweeper’ of ‘Innocence’ is 36 slides in length. The lesson on the ‘Chimney Sweeper’ of ‘Experience’ is 26 slides in length. Two PowerPoints (saved as PDF) included.

This 21-slide lesson explores Maya Angelou’s classic poem, ‘Caged Bird’. The lesson introduces students to the key themes, ideas, and context behind the poem. Angelou’s life and work is discussed and the poem’s use of extended metaphor is deconstructed. Close analysis is conducted of language, form, structure, and rhyme, and students are encouraged to reflect on multiple readings of the poem. Key vocabulary is introduced to help students produce precise and sophisticated analysis when discussing racism, misogyny, and other forms of prejudice and marginalisation. Discussion points and questions are included throughout. An essay-style question is featured at the end of the lesson. This lesson is ideal for students approaching the poem either as part of a learned anthology or to develop their abilities analysing ‘unseen’ or isolated poetry. Owing to the universal nature of the poem, the lesson is suitable for a wide range of secondary-aged students, particularly those aged between 13-16. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 18-slide lesson explores Tennyson’s classic poem ‘The Kraken’. Perfect as a stand-alone lesson or part of a larger scheme of work on poetry or creatures, the lesson is neatly contained with its own explanation of Tennyson’s context and accompanying tasks on the poem itself. Questions, discussion points and tasks are included for students, including extended activities at the end of the lesson. The poem’s mythos, form, and environmental themes are considered. The poem itself is included. This lesson is designed for KS3 but could easily be used with KS4 pupils who are studying poetry. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson is a detailed introduction to the context of Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. The lesson includes notes on Stevenson’s life; his relationship with Edinburgh and London; Deacon Brodie; science and industrialisation; theories of evolution, Degeneration and Cesare Lombroso; Victorian rationality; the Victorian class system; and contemporary gender dynamics. It also features tips on top-grade vocabulary for students to use when analysing the text. Questions and discussion points are included throughout, and the lesson ends with a research task that could be used as a homework activity. This lesson is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE, but could be used with KS3 too. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

These two lessons (28 slides each) explore William Blake’s companion poems, ‘Infant Joy’ and ‘Infant Sorrow’, from the ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’. The lessons explore Blake’s radicalism and context, analysing the poems’ language, themes, form, structure, and message in light of his political protest. Questions, tasks, and discussion points for students are included throughout, including extended essays. These lessons are ideal for those studying Blake’s ‘Songs’ as part of AQA’s A level ‘Political and Social Protest Writing’ paper, but could be adapted for other purposes. PowerPoints saved as PDF. 56 slides in total.

This is a thorough and comprehensive introduction to Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, outlining the key context necessary to understanding the novel. This 25-slide lesson details the novel’s key historical context, exploring the Deep South of the 1930s and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, as well as Lee’s own life and the novel’s key themes and legacy. Questions, tasks and discussion points are featured throughout. An extended (potential homework) task is included at the end of the lesson. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 27-slide lesson explores Simon Armitage’s poem, ‘Hitcher’. The lesson analyses each stanza in comprehensive detail, considering Armitage’s use of language, structure, form, and poetic technique. The speaker’s increasing frustration and anger is examined closely as the poem builds to its infamous climax. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. One task involves creative writing, while an essay question is featured at the end of the lesson. This lesson is ideal for upper-KS3 or GCSE students. A copy of the poem is also included in this resource. PowerPoint and Word Doc saved as PDFs.

This 15-slide lesson explores Chapter 7 of George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. In this comprehensive lesson, students consider how Napoleon begins to consolidate his totalitarian rule through establishing a reign of terror. As animals begin to show signs of dissent and mild revolt, the pigs’ increasing use of violence shatters any illusion of a utopian society. As ever, Squealer’s propagandistic rhetoric is analysed. The allegorical function of the novella is also closely studied, as pupils learn about the Great Purge and the Peasants’ Revolt in the Soviet Union. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. The lesson is ideal for KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores Stave Four of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider how Dickens presents the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and how Scrooge is affected by what he is shown, including the businessmen, families, and looters who profit by Scrooge’s death, how the Cratchit family is affected by Tiny Tim’s death, Fred’s act of charity and kindness, and how Scrooge vows to repent at the sight of his own grave. The ominous and foreboding atmosphere of his chapter is scrutinised, considering why Dickens populates this Stave with so much morbidity. As ever, we think about how this all relates to Dickens’ authorial message. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE or at KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 20-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’. Detailed notes are included on McCarthyism, the Cold War, the Red Scare, and the Salem Witch Trials. Important vocabulary is explained and several tasks/questions for students are included. This lesson is ideal for GCSE pupils, and could be easily adapted for KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 23-slide lesson provides a comprehensive introduction to key context for studying Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. The his lesson covers the significance of the Prometheus, Gothic genre, Romanticism, Industrialisation and much more on Shelley’s famous novel, including the influence of ‘Paradise Lost’. Shelley’s life is explained, and the key themes are explored. Questions and tasks are also included for students. A creative task is featured at the end of the lesson. This could be used either as a class-based or homework activity. The lesson is ideal for GCSE students, but could be used for introducing the text for high-attaining KS3 pupils or even at A level. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 25-slide lesson explores all the key context behind Dickens’ classic novella, ‘A Christmas Carol’. It’s everything that students need to know before reading the text - including an introduction to Dickens’ life, understanding Victorian poverty, and an exploration of the key themes and concepts of the timeless story. Questions, discussion points, and tasks for students are also featured, including a research task at the end of the lesson (potentially a homework task). This lesson is ideal for GCSE pupils studying the text, but is easily adaptable for KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 15-slide lesson on Neil Gaiman’s horror story, ‘Don’t Ask Jack’, is ideal for KS3 classes studying short stories or genre writing. Students are encouraged to consider common elements of the horror genre and key vocabulary associated with ‘horror’ and its atmosphere. Conducting close analysis of Gaiman’s language and structure, students are then tasked with creating their own piece of creative horror writing, inspired by ‘Don’t Ask Jack’. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included in the lesson. A copy of the story is included in this resource. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 23-slide lesson explores Chapter 1 of John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’. Students are encouraged to think about Steinbeck’s idyllic opening setting and how the tranquil calm of nature is shattered by the arrival of two nomadic men with a mysterious past. The lesson invites students to analyse the juxtaposition of Lennie and George and to predict what will be their fate in the rest of the novella based on the key themes introduced in this opening chapter. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students in a PowerPoint that could easily stretch across two lessons. Ideal for upper-KS3 or GCSE students. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 32-slide lesson on Wilfred Owen’s harrowing portrait of the First World War, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, contains a detailed and comprehensive exploration of the poem. The lesson includes context on the war, propaganda, and Owen himself, as well as analysis and questions on each stanza of the poem, including structure and form. Questions and tasks are included, with a final essay question for students (and two exemplar paragraphs) at the end. A copy of the poem is included too. This lesson is ideal for KS3 (particularly HA) and GCSE students, but could be easily adapted. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores Stave Two of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. Students are encouraged to consider how Dickens presents the Ghost of Christmas Past and how Scrooge is affected by memories of his youth. The lesson delves into Scrooge as a boy, his apprenticeship under Fezziwig, and the tragic end to his relationship with Belle. We think about how this all relates to Dickens’ authorial message. Questions, discussion points, and tasks are included for students. This is ideal for those studying the novella at GCSE or at KS3. PowerPoint saved as PDF.