In the English Literature section of LearningGrids, you will find activities that provide students with support for writing and planning when studying different texts.

As a starting point, look at the DocsPlus set Text Analysis which provides starters and vocabulary to help students to analyze the text they are studying. The set helps them to write about aspects of the text such as the opening and the ending, to offer ideas on the author’s technique, and to help them to introduce evidence into their written response.

For named texts, you will find a range of Wordbars covering characters and themes as well as general vocabulary banks arranged alphabetically.  For example, when studying Animal Farm, find useful words to write about Old Major, Napoleon, Snowball, Squealer, Boxer, and Benjamin; when studying Frankenstein, write about the themes of knowledge, ambition, justice, prejudice, loneliness, and revenge.

WorkSpace activities focus on key aspects of the text to get students thinking and organizing their ideas before writing. Find resources which focus on such topics as the relationships between characters, the context of the text, and the significance of the main events. For example, when studying The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, create mind maps about Victorian London, Victorian society, religion, and science and medicine; when studying Pride and Prejudice, consider the different views of marriage by looking at the marriages between Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins, Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

We continue to add literature resources to LearningGrids, so look out for more coming soon!