David A. Hill has over 40 years' experience in the field of education. He is the author of several English language training books and teachers resource books, original short stories and poems.

"[This book] can provide a series of ideas for lessons or alternatives to practicing on past exams papers."TES, TES Wales and TES Scotland

• Section 1: The World of School \ 1.1 Memories of junior school 'In Mrs Tilscher's Class' Carol Ann Duffy \ 1.2 Learning more than classroom subjects 'The Lesson' David. A. Hill, 'The Lesson' Edward Lucie-Smith \ 1.3 Tensions at secondary school To Sir, With Love E.R Braithwaite \ Playing with the language of school Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll \ 1.5 Passing exams The Minister for Exams Brian Patten \ 1.6 Classroom facts Hard Times Charles Dickens \ 1.7 In the playground Back in the Playground Blues Adrian Mitchell \ 1.8 The school that I'd like \ Section 2: The world of work \ 2.1 To work or not to work 'Toads' Philip Larkin \ 2.2 The effects of work Night Shift Simon Armitage \ 2.3 Town and country 'The Dalesman's Litany F.W. Moorman \ 2.4 Other people's jobs Security Guards Craig Taylor \ 2.5 Working children The Chimney Sweeper William Blake \ 2.6 Manufacturing biscuits The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work Alain de Botton \ 2.7 A country craft 'The Thatcher' Seamus Heaney \ 2.8 That isn't a real job! 'What the Chairman Told Tom' Basil Bunting \ 2.9 Advice on getting a good job \ Section 3: Wild Things \ 3.1 Room for all of us? 'Mountain Lion' D.H Lawrence \ 3.2 Danger! 'I fought off a mountain lion' Lila Lifely \ 3.3 At the zoo 'The Jaguar' Ted Hughes \ 3.4 Dinner time! Catch me a Colobus Gerald Durrell \ 3.5 One for sorrow 'Magpie' Esther Morgan \ 3.6 Dog turns wolf The Call of the Wild Jack London \ 3.7 Understanding Geese 'Skeins o Geese' Kathleen Jamie \ 3.8 Cats or dogs? 'Mort aux chats' Peter Porter \ 3.9 Writing about keeping dogs \ Section 4: Family \ 4.1 A sister 'Little Sister' J.C. Hall \ 4.2 Mother and Daughter 'Mother and Daughter in Bewley's Cafe' Anne Haverty \ 4.3 Dead mother, dead wife 'Book Ends I' Tony Harrison \ 4.4 I long to see my mother 'Mother' Grace Paley \ 4.5 Comparing written experiences Book Ends I/Mother \ 4.6 An unknown aunt 'The Aunt I Never Met' Matthew Sweeney \ 4.7 Granny The Virgin and the Gypsy D.H. Lawrence \ 4.8 A grandfather 'In Memory of My Grandfather' Edward Storey \ 4.9 Factual description: my family \ Section 5: Food: Making and Eating It \ 5.1 Indian cooking 'Indian Cooking' Moniza Alvi \ 5.2 Traditional Indian cookery Spice Up Your Health Anjum Anand \ 5.3 Working in a restaurant kitchen The Road Home Rose Tremain \ Eating avocado pears 'Avocados' Esther Morgan \ 5.5 Making rice pudding 'Pudding' Michael Laskey \ 5.6 Eating sushi at home 'Sushi' Tobias Hill \ 5.7 Moules a la Mariniere 'Moules a la Mariniere' Elizabeth Garrett \ 5.8 Home-made jam 'Crab Apple Jelly' Vicki Feaver \ 5.9 Making a salad 'Recipe for a salad' Sydney Smith \ 5.10 What are scampi? 'Scampi' Neil Rollinson \ What I'd serve \ Section 6: On the Road \ 6.1 Walking to the Danube 'Walking to the Danube' Philip O Ceallaigh \ 6.2 Hard travelling 'Hard Travelin'' Woody Guthrie \ 6.3 Truck rides On The Road Jack Kerouac \ 6.4 Which road will you take? 'The Road Not Taken' Robert Frost \ 6.5 In olden days The Leopard Giuseppe di Lampedusa \ 6.6 Riding with news 'How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix ' Robert Browning \ 6.7 A hard road \ Section 7: Places \ 7.1 A stone circle 'Stanton Drew' U.A. Fanthorpe \ 7.2 In a Welsh slate mine 'Slate Mine' Gillian Clarke \ 7.3 Peggotty's brother's house David Copperfield Charles Dickens \ 7.4 A rococo room The Door Magda Szabo \ At a country station 'Adlestrop' Edward Thomas \ 7.6 A cityscape 'Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802' William Wordsworth \ 7.7 My favourite place \ Section 8: Strange Stories \ 8.1 Catching a bus 'The Last Bus to Nowhere' Neil Rollinson \ 8.2 Aliens! 'A Martian Sends a Postcard Home' Craig Raine \ 8.3 She did what?! 'Goat' Jo Shapcott \ 8.4 Talking to her teeth? 'The Woman Who Talked To Her Teeth' Vicki Feaver \ 8.5 Why did he do that? 'Incident in Exeter Station' \ 8.6 Comparing character portrayal 'The Woman Who Talked To her Teeth' / 'Incident in Exeter Station' \ 8.7 A hut and an old lady 'The Bach' Patricia Donnelly \ 8.8 Is there anybody there? 'The Listeners' Walter De La Mare \ 8.9 A vivid imagination ' The Open Window' Saki (H.H. Munro) \ 8.10 The dark day 3. Wild things: the natural world4. Travelling around5. Painting with words: art and poetry6. Friends and lovers7. Home and family8. Strange stories