Our favourite KS3 resources

A set of photos from around the world with various questions to prompt creative writing. The Word document contains word cards for extra support.

A well-structured hot-seating activity that provides outlines of characters and questions to ask them.

Create a dice for classroom games, or use it for teaching and revision (six themes, characters, ideas, or key words). You could even enlarge and use it as a box, and students could pop questions inside to test each other.

A series of lessons to explore character and role, using the sinking of the Titanic as a stimulus. Culminates in a whole class improvisation of a court scene. Would be helpful to show sections of the film.

Students explore Rudyard Kipling's 'The Way Through the Woods' to infer meanings, and consider more than one interpretation of a text.

Resource to guide pupils through an examination of structure using graphs.

Step by step instructions to enable you to download videos and play them when not connected to the internet.

Focuses on first and third person narratives. Students rewrite one of the scenes in the novel that isn't directly described. Discussion questions and a choice of three writing tasks.

An activity and questions to introduce Caliban.

A six week homework project in which students adopt the persona of a pirate and create some swashbuckling tales!

A worksheet that asks students to identify and use a range of different sentence structures. Useful as a homework activity.

An enticing stimulus for a persuasive letter writing task - apply to have your dream come true.

Detailed plans and resources concentrating on how action and humour can be developed through this Henry Lawson short story.

Create and develop a character using a magazine picture for inspiration.

An innovative way to inspire students to read fiction and non-fiction books.

Lovely speaking and listening activity. Vets have to make some difficult decisions - can you persuade them to save your dog? Includes different role-play cards for each 'dog owner'. (Search for 9537 for support materials for this resource.)

Compare the headlines that followed the death of Gordon Brown's baby daughter on 8th January 2002. See the Word Kitchen for further activities on newspapers and headlines.

A quick starter which could be used as a race.

Detailed plans and guidance on examining Sachar's simple, 'telling' style of writing.

Two lessons which develop the drama skill of 'conscience alley' and reinforce the study of Macbeth.

Design a piece of equipment for teen spy Alex Rider.

Activity designed to recap metaphors and other imagery and examine how Richard III uses them in his first speech. The original resource is followed by a differentiated version for use with students with SEN.

A study of moving image cartoon as preparation for comic book cartoon work. A fun project with serious potential. Additional resource needed: Danger Mouse 'Project Moon' DVD/video.

Make your own Shakespearean insult! An interactive matching activity.

A mixed, multi-level resource with large variety of VAK activities and an emphasis on drama and staging. Created for KS5 but also potentially useful for KS3.

Create mobiles highlighting how a PEE chain works.

A copy of the poem, a short quiz and story board to complete.

Additional resources to support the fantasy project.

A guide to produce a leaflet for a young target audience to inform them about an endangered species. The original resource is followed by a differentiated version for use with students with SEN.

A generic game to be adapted to analyse positive and negative sections from any poetry or prose text.

A series of posters to explain writing to explain, recount, analyse, discuss, evaluate, inform, persuade, instruct and report.

A detailed and lively lesson plan and resources to prepare students to adapt their writing to purpose, audience and format.

Includes 'apostrophe dominoes' to explore apostrophes for omission and an exercise looking at apostrophes for possession. [Amended 22/06/04]

Including helpful weekly plans and a wide range of interesting resources. Marvellous.

Use this pupil friendly guide to help prepare a written response.

A short presentation on the perils of not punctuating!

From Magna Carta to text-speak! A full scheme of work that includes detailed plans and user friendly classroom materials.

Some questions to get you thinking about holes in the story.

Is it a good idea to send the children to the country? The original resource is followed by a differentiated version for use with students with SEN.

Lesson plan and resources. Use word cards to reinforce understanding of synonyms and antonyms. A Teachit Interactive exercise is also available - match words with their synonyms and antonyms.

A fun way to teach aspects of descriptive writing that will cost you a bag of sherbet lemons.

What is a discussion? Introduction to arguments for and against banning junk food.

One of the lovers writes to an agony aunt at the end of Act 1 Scene 1 … write their letter!