Here you can find a wide range of ideas for using stories and poems in your secondary classroom. All of the materials are based on authentic texts or stories written especially for secondary learners and are designed to engage and motivate teenagers as well as develop their understanding of important themes and encourage personal, social and emotional development. Written by young learner experts from around the world, our ideas for using stories and poems are easy to use and aim to give your students the skills and confidence they need to enjoy learning English.

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Hay Festival Segovia kits

These three short kits were the result of a collaborative event in Segovia, Spain, between the organisers of the Hay Festival Segovia 2008 and the British Council, Spain. Teachers and teacher trainers from the Comunidades de Castilla León and Madrid were invited for a one day event which melded specialist BritLit workshops and events with public events featuring authors.

The Colourful Life of Calum McCall

Ron Butlin's little tale is a dark little piece, in spite of the title. It's very much a story of loss of dreams and the erosion of natural wonder.

Views from Edinburgh

Based on the works of Jackie Kay and Ron Butlin this kit looks at the Scottish city of Edinburgh. It differs from original BritLit kits in that there is no single narrative text to work through.

Emergency landing

'Emergency Landing' is a very short story by Louise Cooper, from her collection of very short stories called 'Short and Scary'. This kit is the third in the series for young teens. Engine problems during a flight cause the crew to look for somewhere safe to land and for passengers to wonder about what might happen when they make an emergency landing. But nothing is quite as it seems.

Liverpool

For the first time, materials for the BritLit project have been produced outside of Portugal, where the project began. Teachers working on BritLit in Hungary have been busily devising a new approach, and they have chosen to focus on four British cities, examining them through the eyes of their native poets. The first of these looks at the city of Liverpool and uses the words of Levi Tafari.

A House in the Country

A House in the Country concerns a returnee, Ray, who has made enough money in London to rebuild a house in Colombo. He is helped by Siri, a young man from the country, and together they talk about building another house, in the country. This is set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's ongoing civil war. When tragedy comes a bit too close to home, everything changes.

Visiting Time

When journalist Emma Brockes went to get material for a story about a man whose son had been murdered, little did she realise that it would result in the publication of a stunning short story called 'Visiting Time'. It is a story about revenge and accounting for actions, and has a twist that is both factual and literary, when the murderer changes from 'it' to 'him'.

Research and insight

Browse fascinating case studies, research papers, publications and books by researchers and ELT experts from around the world.

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