GCSE
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Teaching 1984 in the surveillance culture of schools
Teaching Orwell’s “1984” as a set text in an examination-obsessed and heavily surveilled school system.
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The Turn of the Screw: The Study Guide Edition
This edition of Henry James’s haunting narrative contains a comprehensive study guide as well as activities that stimulate and engage. Aimed specifically at pupils reading the book as an exam text, there are detailed instructions about how to understand the challenging language, to appreciate the novel’s contexts and to write effective essays.
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Brontë’s Wuthering Heights: The Study Guide Edition
Aimed specifically at pupils reading the book for exams. The complete text is punctuated by analysis and questions on every chapter with answers provided at the back. Essential reading for all students and teachers!
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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Study Guide Edition
This edition of Shelley’s classic horror novel contains a comprehensive study guide, as well as extensive questions for students to help their understanding. Buy the paperback, and you get the e-book for free, so you can use the embedded web links.
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Review of autobiography
Task: Write a review of an autobiography Summarise briefly why you chose the book and what happened in your person’s life. Explain what interested you about their life, relating it to your life if you can. Explain what were your favourite parts of the book, quoting from your favourite passages and saying WHY the language and […]
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Re-writing autobiographical extracts, editing and improving them
Read these passages and answer the questions that follow: he looked like a turtle his little bald head with his oversized blazer, it looked like a home on his back! What is effective about this image? we seized every opportunity to get him back we didn’t care, we was going home after this and […]
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How successfully does Hardy open Far From The Madding Crowd?
Learning Objectives To learn about the techniques Hardy uses to create a suspenseful opening to Far From The Madding Crowd To learn about the contexts of Hardy’s novel An important point Starter activity: put these elements of the opening in the correct order Gabriel Oak loses his sheep Oak is rescued from suffocation in his […]
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Steps towards writing an excellent essay on the play
Lesson objective To learn how to use your notes to write an essay To collect your thoughts together quickly and write them down Starter activity – put these events in the right order Willy commits suicide Biff and Willy agree to set up the Loman brothers Willy remembers when there were trees in the yard […]
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Coursework — writing a sequel to the play or writing an essay which analyses the use of suspense
English Death of a Salesman coursework To be completed in CONTROLLED CONDITIONS in class Either: Sequel plus commentary (COUNTS as ONE piece of coursework) Write a sequel to the play, set ONE year later, where Biff returns home to visit Happy and Linda. Set the scene in the house. DO NOT […]
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The bully — reading an FGI extract and planning your answer
Read this passage, written by me and use it to help you plan your own autobiographical extract. Although I don’t know him at all, a kid, Andrew Mintern, in the year above senses my difference and decides to pick on me. One break-time there’s a massive surge after all the “spazzies” in the school […]
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Complications leads to a crisis, chapters 24-43, attraction
Learning Objective: To explore the concept of attraction and explore what it is… What makes a person attractive? Rank these qualities and add your own, with the most important first Good looks? A kind and generous personality? A dangerous and risk-taking personality? A high-status, respectable profession such as lawyer/celebrity A dangerous, romantic profession such as […]
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Far From The Madding Crowd – complications, chapters 13-26
Learning objectives: to learn how Hardy develops complications in Far From The Madding Crowd Hardy takes some time to ‘open’ the novel – justify your answers Why is this? Because he was a writing in serial form and therefore needed to put cliffhangers in his opening which meant it was longer than most modern openings. […]
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Far From The Madding Crowd — CHARACTERISATIONS
Learning objectives To learn how to answer exam questions To learn about CHARACTERISATIONS as opposed to CHARACTERS Important definition – COPY THIS, LEARN IT! CHARACTERISATION is how and why an author presents a character in the way he does. CHARACTER is a person in a novel WHY does more sophisticated analysis discuss CHARACTERISATIONS as opposed […]
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Betrayal — Chapters 27-46
What is betrayal? What’s your definition of it? Situations – what would you do? You learn that your partner is havinng an affair You learn after you have committed to each other that you partner had an important relationship they haven’t told you about You learn your partner has a secret love child An attractive […]
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Write your own autobiography
Writing to inform, describe and explain Using these prompts to write about it. Give it a unique title. The details of your birth? Where were you born? Was it a traumatic birth? Caesarean section? Parents thoughts and recollections on this. Your first memories: your first smell, your first accident, your first day at […]
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Complications — The intrusion of Serjeant Troy
Complications – The Intrusion of Serjeant Troy Revision of Chapters 1 – 24 Who did what? STARTER ACTIVITY Caused a stir in the Casterbridge Corn Exchange and set the farmers’ pulses racing. Lost his sheep, became a tramp and then got a job as a shepherd. Missed a wedding because of going to […]
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Teacher’s comments on two Romeo and Juliet essays on hatred
Important note TEACHER COMMENTS ARE IN CAPITALS. Pupils’ work are in lower case. Essay 1 ‘This play is as much about hate, as it is about love.’ Analyse how the theme of hatred is explored in Shakespeare’s play, discussing how it is represented in the language of the play and could […]
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‘This play is as much about hate, as it is about love.’
Analyse how the theme of hatred is explored in Shakespeare’s play, discussing how it is represented in the language of the play and could be presented dramatically. Hate plays a pivotal role in the play. The long feud between the families (‘from ancient grudge’) and when individuals fight like Tybalt and Mercutio (‘Tybalt, you […]
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Romeo and Juliet: To what extent does Shakespeare present Capulet as being to blame for the death of his daughter?
A pupil’s essay with teacher comments TEACHER COMMENTS ARE IN CAPITALS AND ITALICS Capulet’s character is very deceiving form the very beginning and Shakespeare makes it very clear at the end that both Capulets and Montague’s actions were to blame for the outcome as, “heaven found a means to kill your joys with love”. This […]
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Romeo and Juliet: Revision Quiz for Romeo and Juliet
Act OneWhat are the causes of the fight in the square? List FOUR important factors that lead to the fight. What does the Prince threaten to do if there is another fight? Why is Romeo not at the fight? How do we know Lady Montague and Montague are caring, concerned parents? What does Benvolio find […]
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Romeo and Juliet: Pupil essay: Youth and Age. Should Friar Lawrence and the Nurse have been more careful about the way they encouraged Romeo and Juliet’s love? To what extent does Shakespeare present them as being to blame?
Youth and Age Should Friar Lawrence and the Nurse have been more careful about the way they encouraged Romeo and Juliet’s love? To what extent does Shakespeare present them as being to blame? Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet were aided in their love. It was according to Romeo and Juliet love at first sight […]
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Romeo and Juliet: PUPIL ESSAY: What do you think that Shakespeare is trying to say about the feud in this play?
William Shakespeare tries to set a scene with two families that have pure hatred for each other. Right from the first scene he tries to introduce us to the conflicts between the Montagues and the Capulets. He tries to give us a sense that the feud has been going on for a long long time. […]
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Romeo and Juliet: Compare Romeo and Juliet’s different attitudes towards love in the play — a pupils essay with teacher comments
TEACHER COMMENTS ARE IN CAPITALS AND ITALICS Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet’s attitude towards love changes dramatically. Both of the characters at the end of the play are willing to die for each other in the name of love. At the beginning of the play we are introduced to Romeo and we are shown […]
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Useful grammar exercises
Log onto: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/exlist/exlist.htm