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Key Stage 3 - A Thematic Approach
‘If you were appointed, what would you do to improve student enjoyment?’
My Principal queried two and a half years ago when I was internally interviewing for my current post: Head of English.
Student voice had not always been kind to my department, and I felt if we could get key stage three students enjoying the subject, that enjoyment would be embedded and blossom by the time the stress of GCSE took hold.
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My Principal queried two and a half years ago when I was internally interviewing for my current post: Head of English.Student voice had not always been kind to my department, and I felt if we could get key stage three students enjoying the subject, that enjoyment would be embedded and blossom by the time the stress of GCSE took hold.
Earlier this week, I decided I should put my 25-minute drive to work to more productive use. Instead of listening to Radio 3, Radio 4, 5 Live, or Capital, I downloaded the AQA’s podcast ‘De-icing with Death and Jane Eyre’s flamingos’ as it promised to explain ‘how effective back planning can help students untangle a text from its context’ and the ‘importance of cultural capital’ in this process. It proved a thought-provoking 15 minutes.
Of all the challenges in the English Language exam, question one fades into the background when compared to the complexities of question four, or the mental gymnastics for the analysis in questions two and three. Question one sits there. Unobtrusive. Inoffensive. Nonchalant. A little dream of a question, really. “Find four things…”. Can’t go wrong, right?
The language analysis in question two is a tricky little gem of a question. Most students feel pretty confident attacking this one, and usually even weaker students can pick up one or two marks. I’m going to split this into advice for those who are aiming for each separate ‘level’, because the advice I would give is quite different.
And now question three. You little tricky brute. It should be so simple! Teach structural devices, and how to analyse them, chuck in a couple of nice sounding technical terms to boost their confidence, and voila! Eight out of eight? NO.
What is the problem with question four? It should be as simple as teaching the difference between analysis and evaluation, point them in the right direction, and watch them go. But it isn’t.
How to Use Unseen Texts and Poetry Effectively in the Classroom the assessment of reading skills in this paper is based entirely on unseen texts. Consequently whenever possible students should practice analysing texts as ‘unseens’ as the norm in their study of both English Language and English Literature try to harness good reading skills from Key Stage 3 onwards by introducing students to a range of non- fiction texts from the 19th to 21st centuries across a range of genres and increasing the challenge of these texts up into Key Stage 4
Presented at both The Team English Conference and the ResearchEd National conference this series of resources combine the latest research to improve creative writing. Directed towards improvements for the GCSE English Language Paper this resource can be used in conjunction with any qualification which includes a Creative Writing element.
Edusites English Macbeth Allusions booklet is not only useful for the teaching of Macbeth, but also in other texts where these biblical and classical allusions are made. We’re preparing our students for the language exam, where the text could be taken from anywhere. We are preparing our students for A Level, where good Bible knowledge is necessary for every text on the syllabus.
Power and Conflict Poetry Edusites English has teamed up with The Royal British Legion in partnership with Never Such Innocence would like to invite young people all over the world to share a message of Remembrance and hope, by saying “Thank You?" to the First World War generation.
Drawing room drama, murder mystery, critique of the classes, socialist sales pitch- there are a lot of different phrases you could use when describing ‘An Inspector Calls’. It’s a popular, short, and compelling little play that has been on the GCSE specification for decades now.
