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A double lesson Power Point with Level 1 and Level 2 reading and writing questions. The lesson explores the controversy around violent music and the relationship between music and behaviour. You Tube links  add detail and context to the debate in an engaging and thought provoking way. Lesson 1 focuses on the Reading exam with Level 1 and Level 2 questions that can be displayed on the board to reduce printing. Texts A and B explore the two sides of Drill music and its influence on young people.

AQA Paper 2-style exam questions and non-fiction extracts. One extract is taken from Sinead O'Connor's memoir "Rememberings" (2021) and the other is from Stephen Hough's memoir "Enough: scenes from Childhood" (2023). In the real exam, Source B is always a 19th Century text, but here I've used another contemporary text, so that learners can more easily practice the exam skills of comparing two pieces of writing. In these extracts, both writers reflect upon the first time they encountered a piano.

GCSE AQA Language Paper 1 Question 3: this resource uses a pop music video (Stay by Shakespears Sister) to help students grasp the concept of analysing fictional texts for structure. Many students struggle to get to grips with the idea of structure; this activity is designed to demonstrate how stories are structured in a more visual way. There's a worksheet with links to three short video clips; students watch each clip and then make notes about what they see in the story (introduction of characters, setting, atmosphere / mood / tone, action, plot, etc). 

Texts, video and image stimuli to develop and promote speaking and listening discussion to address the question 'Is it good to listen to music while studying or working?'

Activity to be tutor led and therefore delivery can be adapted to suit learner audience to include more analytical discussions about purpose, tone, language and textual features and similarities between sources.  

Suits ESOL students at Entry 3+.  It creates plenty of scope for  further work e.g.

A lesson to build learners' confidence to make meaning from texts, introducing the terminology: theme, motif, symbol and metaphor. 

The song uses quite simple language, which means the focus instead is on deeper analysis. It prompted really interesting discussions in our class, and tied to our theme of new beginnings and goal setting at the start of a new term.

Editor's note

Activity to get students using Word and some of its applications by designing a poster for a gig.

Super set of 15 multiple choice literacy questions followed by 15 multiple choice numeracy questions. All cleverly based on the accompanying text about Led Zeppelin: ‘I come from Ice and Snow’, Led Zeppelin 1970. Written as revision material for L2 Access to Music students but suitable for any learners with an interest in music.
The literacy questions cover comprehension, spelling, vocabulary and purpose of text. Numeracy covers money, time, scale maps, substitution, percentages, area, range, median, and conversions.

An outstanding set of resources. Developed to prompt discussion on knife crime with parents and children in a family learning setting, they are equally suitable in an FE setting – prompting discussion between students and tutors. The materials can be used to focus on knife crime but are also useful as part of wider discussion about criminal behaviour.

The resources include

The story of Edward Elgar is a set of two lovely resources about the famous British composer. A PPT with simple past tense illustrated cloze exercises, accompanied by a very useful, detailed PDF sheet full of teaching ideas including extension ideas, web sites where you can hear Elgar’s music, leaflet about Elgar on bank notes, etc. Illustrated by Will Zawadzki, Abingdon & Witney College.