Teaching creative writing
teaching english

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  • What is education for and how can school libraries contribute?

    Last weekend, I spoke at the School Libraries Group conference in Derby. I was asked to talk about what education is for and how school libraries can contribute towards the aims and purposes of education. If you watch the YouTube video of my talk (above) you’ll see that I look at a number of key…

  • Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde: The Play

    This compelling play is a dramatic adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde”, bringing out the full horror of the original story. This is the only stage version which is genuinely faithful to the text, using Stevenson’s words where appropriate.

  • A video musical poem: psycho bike

    I was moved to make this random video musical poem about my journey to Goldsmiths College on the bike:

  • Can evidence-based pedagogy raise levels of achievement?

    Last weekend, I spoke on a panel for the Standing Committee for the Education and Training of Teachers (SCETT), talking about whether “evidence-based pedagogy” will lead to a re-birth of the teaching profession. I argued that it could. The Education Endowment Fund (EEF) now are examining what really works in the classroom based on significant evidence. This approach, to…

  • Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde: The Study Guide Edition

    This brilliant edition of Stevenson’s novel may be the answer to your prayers. Written by an experienced teacher and best-selling author, this version is aimed at students who must analyse the text in depth or teachers wanting to deliver outstanding lessons on it.

  • Frankenstein – A Study Guide

    This is a study devoted to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein which will help both teachers and pupils. It contains a lively series of essays on the different contexts of the novel, its structure and themes, and also offers a great deal of analysis of the text itself. While it is authoritative, it encourages readers to think…

  • Jane Eyre – A Study Guide

    This is an extremely useful guide to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. It is ideal for students studying the text for A Level or equivalent qualification, but will be helpful to able GCSE students looking for high marks.

  • The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde — A Study Guide

    The study guide focuses upon the text of the book, providing generous quotations from the text itself, followed by detailed analysis written in the formal academic style expected in coursework and examinations. An excellent way of revising the book would be to read through the second half of this study guide, absorbing the key quotes,…

  • Far From The Madding Crowd — A Study Guide

    This guide is ideal for students who are wanting to attain top grades, and could clarify some basic points about literary theory for English Literature undergraduate students if they’re struggling to understand key ideas about contexts, structure and theme, and analysing quotation.

  • Wuthering Heights – A Study Guide

    For the price of a chocolate bar, you can become an expert on one of the greatest novels in the language. The guide is possibly more useful than many on the market because it is a) modern in its approach b) encourages a personal response to the text — vital if a candidate is going…

  • The Hound of the Baskervilles — A Study Guide

    This is a detailed, lively study guide on Sherlock Holmes’s most notorious case. It contains a detailed explanation of the contexts of the novella: how and why it came to be written, and the ways in which it invented the concept of the modern detective. In contrast to many other study guides, it encourages the…

  • Pride and Prejudice — A Study Guide

    This is an up-to-date study guide to Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, aimed at 15-19 year olds and the general reader. The guide is modern in its approach and provides all the necessary information to get a top grade in an exam and/or coursework.

  • The Turn of the Screw — A Study Guide

    Lively and engaging, this study guide is written by an experienced teacher who understands what needs to be covered. An excellent resource for GCSE and A Level students, or anyone studying the book at school or university.

  • Star-crossed: Romeo and Juliet for Teenagers

    A modern version of Romeo and Juliet which updates Shakespeare’s classic play in a very entertaining fashion. This play-script is not suitable for children under the age of fifteen.

  • How to Get a Great English Degree

    Are you studying English at university either as your main degree or as a subsidiary subject? Are you finding it challenging? Then this lively, short guide could be what you’ve been looking for!

  • Songs of Innocence and Experience: A Study Guide

    This is the ultimate study guide to William Blake’s classic poetry collection “Songs of Innocence and Experience”. Written by an experienced teacher and author, it not only contains all of the relevant verse, but also includes substantive comprehension questions and thorough analysis of every poem.

  • Michael Gove offers social justice in reverse. That’s why I back the strikes

    Gove’s conference speech was misleading – his education policies give more power to the privileged and fuel social segregation The main claim made by Michael Gove at the Conservative party conference was that his education policies are focused on “social justice”. It was a lacklustre speech that sounded more like a list of acknowledgements. For a large…

  • Are teachers doing the best for the best pupils?

    The biggest thing holding back bright pupils is the limiting structure of GCSEs, says a comprehensive teacher Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools, depressed me no end when I heard him on the radio yesterday morning. I was getting ready to teach my mixed ability classes in the large comprehensive where I work…

  • Teachers as writers — TES Pro article

     

  • How to use study guides in the classroom — TES Pro article

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