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This multiple choice quiz uses an excerpt from “The Old English Baron” by Clara Reeve. There are 12 questions and answers are provided. This could be set as a homework task to support a unit of work on gothic fiction. Alternatively, it could be used in class as a starter, as a diagnostic tool to check for gaps in key knowledge and comprehension. The questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is a straightforward multiple-choice quiz (answers provided) based on a short excerpt from “White Fang” by Jack London. There are 11 questions which test some key knowledge as well as comprehension and reading fluency. This could be set as homework or used as a lesson starter. Alternatively, it could be used diagnostically to identify gaps or the questions could structure a guided reading session.

Planned for a year 7 class who were confused about similes and metaphors, this simple quiz was used for homework but could also be used as a starter or within a lesson as a way of identifying learning gaps. Answers are provided.

This was planned for a lower ability group at GCSE (targets of grade 2 or 3) and it aims to guide the pupils through some close reading of two non-fiction texts (very short extracts) where writers express their thoughts and feelings about pet dogs. The powerpoint culminates in an AQA style question 4.

This powerpoint contains 21 starter activities suitable for students studying gothic fiction at key stage 3 or key stage 2.

This was planned for a lower ability KS4 class (targets of 2 and 3) who were working towards AQA English Language GCSE. The focus of the lesson is on inferring the writer’s viewpoint and explaining why the writer’s choices help to communicate that viewpoint. The subject-matter is Smithfield (meat) market and the writer’s viewpoint is not hard to detect. The powerpoint guides the students through the selection of evidence and demonstrating comprehension by framing the writer’s ideas in their own words. The final slide invites the teacher to model the most challenging part of the answer - explaining why the quoted words convey what they do.

This is a simple and straightforward revision powerpoint using William Howard Russell’s recount of a hurricane during the Crimean War (public domain) and taking the students through three steps in order to write an answer to the exam-style question: how does the writer use language to describe the storm. A model answer is provided for use after the students have had an attempt at their own response. Planned for a lower ability class of students with targets of 3. Could be useful for re-sit groups.

This is a short and simple activity using an excerpt from Dickens’s recount of a train journey to France (“The Flight”). There are some questions to prompt analytical thinking about Dickens’s use of language and then an exam-style question at the end. This was created for a KS4 class as a revision activity in preparation for GCSE English Language but could also work at KS3.

This activity uses a short excerpt from Dickens’s non-fiction writing and guides the students up to and through the writing of a model paragraph, after which the expectation would be that they would then apply the model to the writing of their own paragraph. The focus is on recognising the writer’s viewpoint and then explaining how that viewpoint is communicated through the language choices made.

Here are three poems by Emily Dickinson (public domain) with simple questions to guide an analytical reading of each one. Suggested answers and ideas are provided. These could be used as a teaching resource to build students’ confidence when approaching unseen poetry. Alternatively, they can structure a guided reading session or be set for homework, revision or cover.

This is a short and straightforward powerpoint which guides the students through a short and straightforward poem by Thomas Hood (public domain). There are two slides with specific questions about the poem. These were planned for classroom use as a peer think/pair/share opportunity. Alternatively, these could be used to guide a student, working individually, through some thinking about the poem. The questions could be used by a tutor to prompt a discussion about the poem. After this, students are asked to write an exam-style response and the final slide offers some further comments to add depth and detail to the response.

This is a simple close reading and response activity using Walter de la Mare’s festive poem, “Mistletoe”. There are four questions and the second slide offers suggested responses although the questions are sufficiently open to enable a range of responses.

This lesson uses Jack London’s brilliant story “Moon Face” which would sit really well alongside Poe’s “The Tell Tale Heart”. Planned for a year 9 class as part of a unit on short stories but has potential to be used elsewhere at KS3. The aim of the lesson is to use inference to explore the idea of an unreliable narrator. The lesson takes the students through discussion of the effect of a simile, of personification and begins to explore the idea of the narrator’s hypocrisy. After a short time in paired discussion, students are then asked to respond to this question - In ‘Moon Face’, what do we understand about London’s unreliable narrator?

This is a straightforward reading starter activity created for a lower ability class in year 11 (targets of 2 and 3). It uses an extract from “Dracula” in which Mina Harker’s diary records details of weather and setting. There are questions focusing on the effect of the writer’s use of repetition and on the effect of the connotations of death. There is a further challenge question on the repetition of an idea. Suggested responses are provided and these could be used for self or peer assessment or as models.

Planned for a less able KS4 class, this powerpoint recaps some of the key ideas from Stave 1 of “A Christmas Carol”. The focus is on Scrooge and the lesson aims to embed the idea that Scrooge is in very real danger of going to hell and that time is running out. The lesson also touches on how Dickens uses setting for the characterisation of Scrooge.

This lesson was planned as part of a unit on gothic horror for y8 but could work for any class at KS3. The powerpoint includes both reading and writing activities. The lesson forms part of a SOW focusing on writing in the gothic genre. The initial focus is on the characterisation of Dracula and the creation of a foil. The focus then moves to the idea of characterisation through setting and introduces the idea of “Frankenstein”.

This powerpoint was created for year 9 who were embarking on some GCSE poetry at the end of the academic year. The key question asks what Blake is saying about life in industrial cities and the focus is on several of the key images in the poem. The lesson introduces the key question at the outset and returns to it at the end.

Created as a cover activity for a KS4 class, this uses an image and a GCSE-style task. There are prompts for sentence starters, verb and adjective use and proof-reading. Could be used as a homework activity or for revision. It could also be used to structure and lead a guided writing activity.

Planned for a less able class at GCSE, this powerpoint is focused on the presentation of Scrooge at the end of the novella. There are a couple of recall activities; key knowledge is flagged up and public domain illustrations are used to support comprehension.

This worksheet was created as a cover activity for a year 7 group who were studying a unit on poetry. It could be assigned to any class at KS3. The focus is on the use of extended metaphor and two poems are used, one by Shakespeare and the other by Langston Hughes. Useful for improving reading fluency and practising comprehension. Could be set for cover or for homework or alternatively the questions could be used to structure a reading intervention or guided reading session.