JKnappster

This is a homework booklet intended to be used alongside “Romeo and Juliet” to accompany any homework tasks you may wish to set on the play. The booklet has a variety of short texts: poetry, non-fiction and fiction which are linked thematically to the play. All texts are in the public domain. The intention is that the students should bring the booklet to each lesson and the teacher can do some over-the-shoulder marking. The tasks have been intentionally created to facilitate this.

This is a homework booklet - editable to suit your needs - which has ten excerpts linked to “A Christmas Carol” with some tasks which have been designed for independent work for students across a range of abilities. The tasks do become slightly more challenging towards the end of the booklet with the expectation that children who are studying “A Christmas Carol” will be developing their knowledge and understanding of the text and will be ready to make links. I have planned this with the intentio

This is a homework booklet - editable to suit your needs - which has ten excerpts linked to “A Christmas Carol” with some tasks which have been designed for independent work for students across a range of abilities. The excerpts are mainly non-fiction but there are a couple of fictional pieces of writing too. The tasks do become slightly more challenging towards the end of the booklet with the expectation that children who are studying “A Christmas Carol” will be developing their knowledge and u

This is a simple and straightforward comprehension activity, useful for cover or for homework. There are ten questions based on a very short extract from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”. Useful as part of a unit of work on seafaring or fairy stories.

This activity uses a prose retelling from “Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare” by E. Nesbit (public domain). The extract focuses on Oberon and Titania’s quarrel. There are 8 questions/activities (answer and guidance provided) testing both reading and writing skills. Created as a cover activity for a year 7 class but would also be suitable for KS2.

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. The poems are "A Book", "The Storm" and "Unreturning". 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 worksheet using Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Fame is a Bee” (in the public domain). There are ten questions and then a task for the pupils. This could be used to structure a guided reading or literacy lesson. Alternatively, it could be set for cover or used as a homework to support a unit on poetry or metaphor.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity which can be used in class during a study of the play. Alternatively, it could be set for homework or used as a revision activity. It is also a useful resource to be provided for a cover teacher. Answers are provided enabling its use by a non-specialist or allowing self or peer assessment by the students.

In which Jonathan Harker attempts to leave Dracula’s castle but cannot… This worksheet has the excerpt from chapter 4 of Stoker’s novel together with ten questions which are intended to elicit close reading and thinking. The questions focus on inference, the writer’s methods and their effect and on vocabulary. Useful for homework or to set as cover. The questions could also be used to structure a guided reading session. Handy as part of a unit on gothic horror.

This is a multiple choice quiz (answers provided) based on a short extract from “The Lady of the Shroud” by Bram Stoker. This quiz fits neatly into a unit on gothic literature, ghosts or spooky stories. It could be used as homework. It could also be useful as a lesson starter or as a diagnostic tool to identify gaps in knowledge or reading comprehension. Alternatively, 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.

This quiz (answers provided) could sit neatly in a unit on gothic horror or scary stories. There are 11 multiple-choice questions that could be used to diagnose gaps in knowledge or understanding. The questions could be used to structure a guided reading session.

This is a very short and simple powerpoint aimed at students targeting grade 4/5. The extract uses two short extracts from Jack London’s short story “A Piece of Steak”. The focuses are on question 2 (language analysis) and question 4 (evaluation). Suggested responses at level 4/5 are provided on the slide after the task. Could be useful as homework or revision as well as being used in class as a teaching resource.

This is a comprehension activity designed to assess children’s reading fluency and focus on some of the reading skills that will be crucial as they work through an English Language curriculum. The text is an excerpt from “The New Mother” by Lucy Clifford (in the public domain) and there are ten questions with suggested answers provided.

This is a straightforward multiple-choice quiz (answers provided) on Sara Teasdale's "There Will Come Soft Rains". There are 14 straightforward questions. Could be set for homework either after having studied the poem or as a pre-reading activity to identify any gaps that need particular focus in the lesson. Could also be used to structure a guided reading activity, in which case you will find that several of the questions invite follow-up questioning.

This is a straightforward comprehension activity, useful for developing students’ understanding of the context of “A Christmas Carol” and why “some would rather die” than go to the workhouse. There are 10 questions and the activity could be used in class, as a cover activity or for homework. Suggested answers are provided.

Emily Dickenson’s “Summer Shower” with 11 questions intended to encourage close reading and some simple analysis. Planned for year 7 as part of a unit on poetry but also suitable at the top end of KS2. Could be used as a homework activity or for cover - the questions could also be used to structure a guided reading session.

This powerpoint is initended to be used alongside a first reading (cold reading) of “Beowulf A New Telling” by Robert Nye. There are 17 slides, one for each chapter (apart from chapter 7 which falls neatly into two sections). On each slide there is a choice of three activities. The intention is that the children work through these activities as they read through the novel. You may wish the children to work through each activity; you might give them the opportunity to select their own activity or

A straightfoward worksheet with a copy of Sassoon’s poem (which is in the public domain) and 12 questions which could be used to structure a guided reading session, or for assessment. Alternatively, this work could be set as cover or as a homework to support a unit of work on poetry, particularly the poetry of the first World War.

This uses Emily Dickinson’s beautiful poem about resilience. I created this as a revision task to support students in responding to the unseen poetry question in an exam but it could be used across a range of ages. There are 11 questions that could work for cover, for homework or to structure a discussion or guided reading session. Suggested responses are provided but these are not definitive!