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This is a thorough and comprehensive 26-slide lesson on Simon Armitage’s poem ‘Mother, Any Distance’, which is studied as part of AQA’s GCSE Literature anthology on ‘Love & Relationships’. This PowerPoint unpicks key themes of distance, growing up, independence, family bonds and letting go with close analysis of language, form and structure. Also included are many small questions for students and a ‘mock’ essay question in which students must compare ‘Mother, Any Distance’ to another poem, just like in the real AQA exam. PowerPoint is saved as PDF.

This is a thorough and comprehensive 30-slide lesson on Charles Causley’s poem ‘Eden Rock, which is studied as part of AQA’s GCSE Literature anthology on ‘Love & Relationships’. This PowerPoint unpicks key themes of separation, loss, memory, distance and reunion with close analysis of language, form and structure. Also included are many small questions for students and a ‘mock’ essay question in which students must compare ‘Eden Rock’ to another poem, just like in the real AQA exam. PowerPoint is saved as PDF.

This top-band essay on Priestley’s presentation of Sheila in ‘An Inspector Calls’ is an excellent exemplar for students. At the end of the essay is a highlighting key for students to unpick the essay’s techniques and structure, allowing for detailed discussion of the exemplar in class. This resource is particularly useful for challenging HA pupils to reach the top bands.

These 25 posters - featuring words of wisdom from 24 of Shakespeare’s plays - make for an inspiring, educational and visually stunning display in your classroom and corridor.

This 28-slide lesson explores the themes of duality and double-lives in Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. The lesson encourages students to think about the numerous binaries and dualities throughout Wilde’s play, and how these relate to the idea of ‘earnestness’ that the play satirises. Sophisticated vocabulary is provided to help students with their analysis. Students are presented with important literary and historical context, including Wilde’s own ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’ and Stevenson’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, plus examples of real-life late-Victorian scandals which fed into and fuelled fin de siecle interests in the duality of man. We also explore dualities in Wilde’s own life. The lesson considers how deception plays into the play’s key themes, and explores Wilde’s literary preoccupation with ‘masks’. Key quotations from the play (linked to duality or double-lives) are considered throughout the lesson, and each of the key characters are dissected. Discussion points and questions are featured throughout. This lesson is ideal for A-level (age 16+) study of the text. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 20-slide lesson introduces the key context of George Orwell’s ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’. Students learn about Orwell’s works and social commentary before delving into the dystopian genre and its key features. Totalitarianism and the political turmoil of the Cold War are then discussed, inviting students to think critically about society, individuality, surveillance, and propaganda as a tool for oppressive regimes to maintain control. The novel’s key themes are introduced, and students are tasked with looking up and defining sophisticated vocabulary associated with the novel. At the end of the lesson is a potential class or homework task in which students research historical examples of totalitarianism. This is an ideal introduction to ‘1984’, and could easily cover more than one lesson if teachers would like to expand upon any ideas or tasks. The PowerPoint is saved as a pdf to maintain its layout.

This 30-slide lesson explores the character of Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. With academic scrutiny, this lesson analyses one of Shakespeare’s most iconic and riotous characters, beginning with an overview of Sir Toby’s key lines, attributes, and role in the plot. We consider Sir Toby’s role as a quintessential comic creation: his Falstaffian parallels, his festive spirit, and his role as the ‘Lord of Misrule’. Important historical and theatrical context is explored alongside Sir Toby’s character. We consider how self-aware Sir Toby is, thinking about his relationship with the audience and how he relates to Shakespeare’s stagecraft. Crucially, Sir Toby’s function as a comic character (and how he relates to other characters, including Malvolio, Sir Andrew, and Maria) is discussed. We scrutinise Sir Toby’s role in view of the Carnivalesque atmosphere of the play. Questions, discussion points, and essay questions are featured throughout. Students are encouraged to consider Sir Toby’s character at a high level, so this lesson would be ideal for students aged 16+. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 24-slide lesson explores the character of Lady Bracknell from Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. Wilde’s presentation of Lady Bracknell is thoroughly deconstructed, with students asked to consider her theatrical heritage via Greek stock characters and the Comedy of Manners. We debate to what extent Lady Bracknell can be called the play’s ‘antagonist’, and how Wilde uses her to catalyse key events or provide comical obstacles in the play. Wilde’s structural use of Lady Bracknell is analysed, and important quotations from her and relating to her are dissected. We think about what we can learn from the stage directions about Lady Bracknell, and discuss how Wilde uses the offstage character of Lord Bracknell to inform Lady Bracknell’s character. We consider Lady Bracknell in the context of the ‘New Woman’ and students are provided with key vocabulary that might be used to analyse Lady Bracknell. Modern theatrical interpretations (including gender inversions) of Lady Bracknell are discussed. Students are also encouraged to think critically about how Lady Bracknell interacts with props and how Wilde positions her at the end of the play. Questions and discussion points are provided for students throughout the lesson. An exam-style essay question is featured at the end. Exemplar sentences and sentence openers are provided for students to enable sophisticated analysis, including purposeful introductions to extended essays. This lesson is ideal for high-level analysis of Lady Bracknell. PowerPoint saved as PDF.

This 30-slide lesson explores Charles Tennyson Turner’s poem, ‘On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book’. After some key starter questions, students learn about the poet’s life and context before reading the poem. A summary of the poem is included to support students’ understanding. Questions are asked about the poem’s use of symbolism and its function as a ‘memento mori’ poem. The lesson also encourages students to think about Tennyson Turner’s use of language and imagery. A detailed overview of form, structure and rhyme is also provided. Some examples of annotations are included to support students’ independent analysis of the poem. The lesson also explores the poem’s key themes, and a list of sophisticated vocabulary is given to facilitate precise analysis. At the end of the lesson, quick comprehension questions and an essay-style question are included. The lesson is saved as both an editable PowerPoint and PDF to retain aesthetic features.

This 20-slide lesson explores Fleur Adcock’s poem, ‘The Telephone Call’. Starter activities probe students to think about their attitude to the lottery and its anthropological implications. We then learn about the life and work of Fleur Adcock before reading the poem. Students are prompted to think about the two juxtaposing characters in the poem before delving into Adcock’s use of language, imagery, form, structure and rhyme. The significance of the poem’s 1980s context is also considered. Key themes and sophisticated vocabulary are listed to enable students to conduct precise analysis. We also ask what the poem’s true message may be, posing a variety of interpretations. This resource is ideal for those studying the poem as part of Cambridge IGCSE’s ‘Songs of Ourselves’, but is useful for anyone looking at the poem. Two versions of the lesson are attached: one is a PDF to save the best aesthetics and formatting; the other is a standard PowerPoint where fonts and formatting may be lost but can easily be edited.

This 21-slide lesson explores Tony Harrison’s poem, ‘Long Distance’. After some key starter questions about processes of grief, students learn about the poet’s life and context before reading the poem. A summary of the poem is included to support students’ understanding. Questions are asked about the poem’s attitudes to mourning, compassion, and masculinity, thinking critically about the poem’s use of voice and tone. The lesson also encourages students to think about Harrison’s use of language and imagery. A detailed overview of form, structure and rhyme is also provided. Students are encouraged to read the poem by focusing on several key themes, including appearance vs reality and routine & preservation. The lesson also explores the poem’s key themes, and a list of sophisticated vocabulary is given to facilitate precise analysis. At the end of the lesson, quick comprehension questions and an essay-style question are included. The lesson is saved as both an editable PowerPoint and PDF to retain aesthetic features.

This 30-slide lesson explores Maria in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. With academic scrutiny, the lesson analyses one of Shakespeare’s key characters, beginning with an overview of her key lines, attributes, and role in the plot. This then leads to interesting contextual points which might illuminate Maria’s character, and some structural analysis of her role in the play. Maria’s key lines and moments are explored, including her relationships with Olivia, Sir Toby and Malvolio. Interesting viewpoints from a range of critics, directors, and actors are discussed, and we look at how Maria has been presented in a range of theatrical productions. Crucially, we also explore how Maria’s character relates to the key themes of the play and is central to the comedy of ‘Twelfth Night’. The Carnivalesque atmosphere of the play is analysed in light of Maria’s character, with close focus on themes including social mobility, revelry and marriage. Questions, discussion points, and essay questions are featured throughout. Students are encouraged to consider Maria’s character at a high level, so this lesson would be ideal for students aged 16+. PowerPoint saved as both an editable PowerPoint and PDF (to retain aesthetic choices).

This 25-slide lesson explores Thom Gunn’s 'The Man with Night Sweats’. After some key starter questions and discussion points about the AIDS epidemic, students learn about the poet’s life and context before reading the poem. A summary of the poem is included to support students’ understanding. Questions are asked about the poem’s language and imagery, focusing crucially on the speaker’s relationship with their body. Ideas about tone, contrasts, and symbolism are explored. A detailed overview of form, structure and rhyme is also provided. The lesson also explores the poem’s key themes, and a list of sophisticated vocabulary is given to facilitate precise analysis. At the end of the lesson, comprehension questions and an essay-style question are included. The lesson is saved as both an editable PowerPoint and PDF to retain aesthetic features.

This 33-slide lesson explores Orsino in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. With academic scrutiny, the lesson analyses one of Shakespeare’s key characters, beginning with an overview of his key lines, attributes, and role in the plot. This then leads to interesting contextual points which might illuminate Orsino’s character, and some structural analysis of his role in the play. Orsino’s key lines and moments are explored, including his notable allusion to the myth of Diana and Actaeon. Close analysis of language is included to aid students’ annotations. Interesting viewpoints from a range of critics, directors, and actors are discussed, and we look at how Orsino has been presented in a range of theatrical productions. Crucially, we also explore how Orsino’s character relates to the key themes of the play and is central to the comedy of ‘Twelfth Night’. The Carnivalesque atmosphere of the play is analysed in light of Orsino’s character, with close focus on themes including narcissism, masculinity, and desire. Questions, discussion points, and essay questions are featured throughout. Students are encouraged to consider Orsino’s character at a high level, so this lesson would be ideal for students aged 16+. PowerPoint saved as both an editable PowerPoint and PDF (to retain aesthetic choices).