The Know Buzz

11 short tests for 10 marks each based on 11 different advertisements. Questions explore the use of persuasive techniques in copy and visuals to effectively promote products or services. Linguistic techniques, rhetorical devices, wordplay, slogans, imagery, font choices as well as psychological exploitation of human desires feature in the questions. Each test is designed to encourage a thoughtful analysis and critical interpretation. I found that my students often know what the advertisers are

This product consists of 101 slides describing and explaining a range of techniques which make comedy from the use of surprise in overthrow of expectations and anti-climax to irony, satire and parody. Comic creation of character is also featured together with treatments of caricature and stereotype. I made this for my year 11s when I found that they had difficulty unpacking inferred meaning which is a key element of the making of humour. Each type of humor is presented, defined and carefully exp

This product is a 45 minute multiple choice quiz designed to test the skills of students at interpreting humour in visual texts like comic strips and cartoons. It covers various strategies in comedy like overthrow of expectation, euphemism etc as well as rhetorical devices like irony, parody and satire. I did this for my year 11 and 12 students as a way to model techniques used to clearly explain humour in images and texts intended to expose, ridicule or make fun of human nature. My students ar

Zipped up poetry program. This resource provides an at-a-glance interpretation of the poem 'The hollow men' by T.S. Eliot. A summary of Eliot's use of diction, themes, allusions, style and rhetorical devices is provided as a basis for a deeper exploration of the multiple meanings signified in this fascinatingly complex poem. The teacher should find this transparency a helpful starting point for discussion and debate. Please ensure that each student has a legitimate copy of the poem. The version

This resource consists of 25 reading comprehensions for students from year 8 to year 12. Use these for tests, homework or diagnostic assessments. You will find a variety of themes and styles to choose from with settings in the U.S. Canada, Africa and England. Fiction Newspaper articles Columnists Opinion pieces Humor Lyrical writing An index indicates the number of words in each exercise as well as the approximate time it should take a student to complete and the number of marks allocated.

Zipped up poetry. An at-a-glance guideline based on the poem 'Dulce et decorum est' by Wilfred Owen. Notes on background and biography touching on theme, rhetorical devices, imagery, poetic devices, and other relevant aspects of the poem. It is a useful summary of the main aspects of the poem upon which to base a wider discussion. Please ensure that the students (and teacher) have a legitimate copy of the poem for their own use as this version is represented here only as a vehicle for the n

This is a super-useful little unit which provides a fool-proof method for tackling an impromptu speech. My students are given 5 minutes to prepare their impromptus and they basically spend all five minutes panicking. One minute into their speech they fizzle out. I created this as a way to provide a road map for getting the speech going and sustaining it. You will find a video of an award-winning speaker delivering a superb oral presentation which I have annotated with pointers. There is also a f

This product provides a rigorous and challenging testing of the play 'Othello' by William Shakespeare. 11 quizzes with a total of over 1000 multiple choice questions cover plot, themes, characters, diction, imagery, versification and dramatic techniques. Each quiz covers a scene of the play with between 35 to 120 questions - depending on the length of the section. The quizzes take from 20 minutes to 45 minutes to complete. Each unit consists of: a teacher reference guide with questions and answe

This resource provides 10 fun activities, exercises, games and group challenges which cover the main themes and characters of Othello by William Shakespeare. They are: Jealousy - Causes and effects image linking activity. Otherness (Othello's race and outsider status) - think/pair/share compare Othello to a Venetian gentleman. Appearance / reality - CSI investigation and strategy match-up exercise. Dramatic Irony - s/he thinks/we know cloze activity. Honesty - play truth or lie board game in gr

This resource consists of 7 essay topics based on 'Othello' by William Shakespeare. Each topic is followed by a comprehensive discussion as an example or suggested response. The topics cover major themes of the play including appearance versus reality, jealousy, honesty, race, fate, good versus evil as well as the characters of the major players. These can be used for tests or exams or as a way of teaching approaches to formal writing tasks involving the development of logical arguments, cr

This product is a 45 minute multiple choice quiz designed to test the skills of students at interpreting visual texts like advertisements, posters, infographics, and other messages combining images and words. I did this for my year 11 and 12 students as a way to model techniques used to clearly explain intention, target market, purpose, appropriateness as well as rhetorical and other devices used in persuasive texts. My students are often aware of persuasive strategies used by advertisers or pro

This resource explores the use of fact and opinion in writing and speaking. * It unpacks features of opinion with examples from literature the media and film. * It shows how facts can be deceptive. * It offers guidance on using fact and opinion effectively. * It supplies 8 engaging activities to reinforce the acquisition of new concepts. * It includes a printable workbook. * It provides suggestions/answers for the activities. The aim of the unit is to explore: the strength or

Zipped up poetry program. A teaching resource to enable a discussion of the poem 'Journey of the Magi' by T.S. Eliot. It includes notes on the theme, rhetorical devices, allusion, symbolism, dramatic monologue and other relevant aspects of the poem. It is a very useful product to facilitate a wider interpretation of the subject matter and further debate. Please ensure that the students have a legitimate copy of the poem for their own use as this version is represented here only as a vehicle for

This product includes a 6 minute video exploring jealousy in 'Othello' by William Shakespeare. Both Othello and Iago are discussed in relation to the way that jealousy manifests within them. To get students to think about the many ways in which jealousy can reveal itself I collected a range of examples from the text to show how it surfaces again and again. To relate this to our own lives I chose a range of images which reflect different aspects of jealousy. Why are we jealous of others and wha

This resource provides 17 texts for summarizing in various different ways. Point form / list exercises are blended with paragraph writing activities. Passages vary in length from 350 to 950 words. In longer texts the summary comes out of a portion or relates to a specific aspect of the passage for reading. Most are 7 point summaries with 3 marks available for language use and expression but some are list form and some are rubric-based assessments. Sentences for precis are included with sug

This resource contains 6 short 10-mark multiple choice comprehensions with memorandums: 6 Diverse and engaging passages between 450 and 550 words each. 10 multiple choice questions on each passage carefully balanced according to lower, middle and higher order of taxonomy - 4 literal, 4 inferential, 2 evaluation/appreciation Student copy supplied as well as Teacher marking copy and answer table for quick reference. These are perfect to mix and match in a test, to drop into an assessment with a

Zipped up poetry program. This resource is an at-a-glance analysis of the poem Preludes by T.S. Eliot. It covers structure, style, diction, theme and imagery. It is intended to function as a guide for the teacher from which to initiate a deeper discussion and wider interpretations. Since much of Eliot's work tends to be enigmatic, allow for variations in interpretations as long as they are well substantiated. This is a summary of what is a complex modern poem. Please ensure that students have th

This resource consists of 13 short language / grammar tests. Each test is based on a different piece of writing for close reading and critical evaluation. The text might contain errors of expression or grammar for correction. Elements of style are highlighted in this interesting and varied array of passages including newspaper articles, blogs, non fiction and fiction. Questions invite students to apply, or show understanding of, basic grammar rules and sentence structure conventions. An appre

This product includes a 7 minute video presentation discussing Aristotle's model of the tragic hero and how it applies to Shakespeare's drama 'Othello'. There are also slides summarizing the concept. Then there is a group activity in the form of 4 jigsaw puzzles containing 16 extracts each from the play to be arranged according to the classic model of the tragic hero. Students arrange the extracts to reflect Othello's heroic stature, the turn in his fortunes from good to bad, his tragic flaw

This product is a 45 minute multiple choice quiz designed to test the skills of students at interpreting and applying English grammar rules in context. 5 very different texts are provided with 6 questions on each. I do this for my year 11 and 12 students as a way to prepare them for grammar questions in their exams. This way they get a sense of how solid their foundation knowledge is with regard to the structure of sentences, the function of the parts of speech, rules governing punctuation as we