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Back in 2015, when the first exams of the new spec rolled around, I knew the importance of quotations - it was a closed book exam after all. However, over time, I began to realise that the key wasn’t just in the retention of quotations, but in the knowledge of what to say about them.
From there, I began to look for strategies that would enable students to both learn and apply this knowledge in an exam situation.
On twitter, I saw Diane Duncan had devised an acronym to use in a similar way - SLICE, which stood for
Initially, I saw it being used for a scene in Macbeth, and I could see the potential benefit of using this approach for a range of quotations across a number of set texts.
I started with Macbeth, identifying around 25 quotations which were “must learns” and could be used in a range of potential exam questions.
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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.
Teachers are nothing less than miracle workers. Language has the power to move us. Language has the power to make us see tired and old things anew. Language has the power to create hope.
We challenge you and your students to sleigh this Christmas Quiz!Christmas is the most pun-derful time of the year. There’s just so much material to work with that we decided you can have fun and test subject knowledge at the same time.Work in teams or as individuals to try and be the 2018 winners (sorry no prizes provided). Subject specific questions interspersed with shiny Christmas trivia.
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.
AQA Love and Relationships Over the past 2 exam cycles, I have observed that the students who worked the hardest, who committed a vast about of subject knowledge to memory, were able to achieve grades far higher than targeted. They learn them and quote them but do they really know what ‘to do’ with them? As Amy Forrester stated ‘I began to realise that the key wasn’t just in the retention of quotations but in the knowledge of what to say about them’.
