Learning update and exam prep

Hi all,

OK - time for an update of the learning we have covered so far this year, along with some thoughts about how you can prepare for your mocks.

Obviously, we've been focused on reading and analysing Of Mice and Men , with a particular focus so far on Steinbeck's use of setting, the strategies he uses for characterisation, and his use of language. We tried to learn about these features in a way which pushes us in the analysis we provide, with focus on ideas such as precision, sophistication and originality in the points we come up with.

Your mock exams will not involve OMAM, however, as they are English Language only, and OMAM is for Literature. The two exams you will do are:

English Paper 1 - Section A: Reading Non-Fiction texts, and Section B: Writing to Argue, Persuade or Advise

English Paper 2 - Section A: Poetry from Different Cultures, and Section B: Writing to Explain, Inform or Describe

For revision, you need to complete the following:

- create a revision resource for each of the poems we've studied - you will need to take your anthologies home to do this. You need to choose how exactly you'll do this, but I would recommend a series of mindmaps as the most effective way to do it; you could, however, choose to do notes cards, posters, podcasts or something else. Each mindmap or resource should provide notes about the poet, the meaning and attitudes in the poems, 3 points about the use of language in the poems and something about the use of structure / layout. Excellent work will be precise and sophisticated, and will also consider aspects such as pace, rhythm and the sound of the poems.

Deadlines are:

Four resources completed by 15th

Four resources completed by 22nd

I would like to see all the resources that you've created on Tuesday 23rd. Your own minds and the interpretations you bring are the most important resource for this task, but you will also find help on Bitesize and various other websites if you google the poems.

Extension:

- the best extension work you can be doing at the moment is to be pushing your reading. I would suggest reading the following: To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies are all great novels with the advantage that you can also write about them in the exam if you choose. I would also recommend reading some other Steinbeck novels, such as The Grapes of Wrath, which is fantastic in its own right, but will also shed interesting light on Steinbeck's key themes, interests and approaches.

OK, thanks for continuing to be such a great group,

Mr Boulter

Catch-Up

Hi eveyone,

Well, here we go, on the magical mystery tour that is Year 11, quivering in happy anticipation of the intellectual joys which lie ahead... or something like that. Anyway, I hope you had a cracking summer and are ready for what tends to be a busy but fun-packed year!

So, to catch up on where we are and what we need to have completed. From you I need:

- Final drafts of Frankenstein coursework (due on on Monday 20th September)

- 'Change' first drafts (Original Writing)

Once this is in, I'll give you the chance to redraft your OW, but otherwise our coursework folders will be finished, so hurray for that. I know some of you have given in Frankenstein and Change already, so thanks for that and see me for your feedback.

This leaves the following topics for this year:

- Poetry from Different Cultures

- Of Mice and Men

- Lit Poetry

- Exam practice and revision for all areas of the exam.

We've started off by preparing and delivering presentations on each of the Cultures poems, and then looking at how to construct excellent essays in response to them. This link will take you to the Candidate Exemplar Materials page on the AQA website, which should be really helpful in terms of giving you models of quality exam responses: http://www.aqa.org.uk/qualifications/gcses/english/english-a.php

Otherwise, you should have bought and read Of Mice and Men by now - I hope so as we will be starting to study the novel on Monday 27th.

See you all tomorrow,

Mr Boulter

Well done Year 10 and Welcome to Year 11!

Hello everyone,

Well done on your work this year - you have been a superb group to work with, in attitude, approach, work and achievement. I'm really looking forward to seeing how you get on in year 11.

Over the summer, you need to do the following:

1) Read the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The preferred edition in school is this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mice-Men-Steinbeck-Essentials/dp/0140292918/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1279700593&sr=1-3 , available for £5 on Amazon, but you may well be able to get it much cheaper second hand, either on-line or in a second hand bookshop. If you don't want to get this edition, any of the others will do just as well. It's a great novel, so I suggest lots of lounging about in the garden / in the park / on the beach, depending on how exciting your holiday plans are!

2) RELAX and ENJOY THE SUNSHINE!

Have a great time everyone,

Mr Boulter

Learning update!

Hi all,

Just a quick update to clarify your current coursework task and learning from class. At present, we have started a creative writing unit, and are trying to work on the creative thinking skills required for real excellence. The task we are leading up to is:

The host of a creative writing website approaches you to submit some writing for it. This month’s theme is ‘Change’. You have complete freedom in your choice of form, but are asked to make sure that what you submit is not longer than 1000 words.

In recent lessons we have tried to consider how to push our thinking in order to ensure that our ideas are original and engaging. We've tried lots of discussion, some free writing, and addressing various questions, such as 'How is writing like fishing?' and 'How Great is Great Britain?'. As ever, I've really enjoyed the contributions you've made!

OK, that's it - next steps are to shape our ideas into an engaging structure, then consider what we can do with the technical sides of our writing to ensure that it is good enough to carry the quality of our ideas.

Well done all and enjoy the weekend,

Mr Boulter

ps: Think about it, think think about it... - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5tmnBeNv18

Feedback please...

Hello again,
As we approach the end of year 10, it would be very helpful for me to get some feedback on how you lot think it's going this year, what you're finding useful and any ideas about how we can improve your learning. So, I'd appreciate it if you could spend 10 mins or so filling in this survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2CBH6VF If you could do it by next Friday that would be great.
Thanks,
Mr Boulter

The shame of it...

Having just created a lovely Summer look for the blog, which I hope you are enjoying as you read this, I had a look back through some old posts. I found, as I'm sure you all noticed at the time, a misused apostrophe. I wrote, with reference to Macbeth, that it was 'well-worthy of it's reputation...'. Well, I can only offer deepest apologies for any offence this typo may have caused. Rest assured that it will be a long time before I fully recover from the shame... can you every forgive me????

Writing to Describe homework

Hi all,

I'm writing this after what I hope was a not-too depressing lesson looking at Cormac McCarthy's frankly terrifying novel The Road. Hopefully, you will have understood and internalised a set of success criteria for this type of writing, and learnt some ways in which writers can make their settings vivid and engaging for the reader.

Your performance in the lesson was exceptional. Some of the points you made were really pushing at the upper limits of GCSE, showing real flair and originality - well done all, and well done for the superb levels of application, effort and engagement you displayed. Where are OFSTED when you need them?!

For homework, I'd like you to complete the piece of writing you started this lesson. The task is to write a description of somewhere you know well, describing the changes which occur through dusk and into night.

This should be given in during our first lesson back after your Work Experience.

Have a wonderful hols and WE; you have been, as ever, a fabulous class to work with. I'll have your Year 1o exams ready for when you get back.

Mr Boulter

Year 10 Exams

Hi all,
Just a quick one - I told you that I'd confirm the arrangements for the year 10 exams next week, so ...
- the English exam will be completed in class over two lessons (Weds and Fri).
- the exam is in two parts
- Part 1 asks you to read two non-fiction texts and answer 4 questions about them
- Part 2 asks you to do your own piece of writing, either to Argue, Persuade or Advise
I suggest that you revise the ideas we covered in class, ie FLAP (Form, Language, Audience, Purpose) when thinking about how to answer the Part 2 question, and also reflect on the success criteria we set for really effective writing - in particular, we considered the importance of using a variety of sentence structures, varied vocabulary and making a series of sustained and developed points.
As far as revision goes, the best thing for you to do is just to read a variety of non-fiction texts, and think about two things. One - what is the writer trying to say? Two - how do they use language and presentation to get their ideas across forcefully?
By the way, really well done to all who have delivered their Macbeth Oral Responses - they have been fabulous and I've enjoyed hearning them very much!
Hope you enjoyed the long weekend,
Mr Boulter

Long-overdue update!

Hello Year 10,

Just to let you know that I haven't forgotten you - sorry that I've not blogged but I am up to my eyeballs in Year 13 and Year 11 coursework and exam prep - this will be you in twelve short months!

Recently, we've been studying various aspect of Macbeth, with a particular focus on the characterisation of Lady Macbeth. I'd like to make a couple of points about this piece of coursework:

- It's a reading assessment, so builds on the same skills that we developed in the Inspector Calls and Frankenstein work. I'm therefore not going to give you as much guidance on planning and creating the response, but am expecting you to transfer the skills from prior work and redeploy them.

- I am giving you more freedom this time to choose your own title; I can make some suggestions but I want the work in planning and preparing the essay to be independently completed by you lot. This is intended to improve your skills and confidence in making your own decisions about texts and essays, which is vital when it comes to writing about texts in exams. I suppose I'm taking the opportunity to push your thinking skills, which puts a bit more pressure on you to be creative and analytical in your approach.

-Typical titles that have worked well in the past include:

Character based, eg:

"Discuss Shakespeare's presentation of Lady Macbeth"

"Discuss Shakespeare's presentation of the relationship between the Macbeths."

Scene based, eg:

"How does Shakespeare build tension in Act 2 Scene 1 and 2?"

"How does Shakespeare engage the audience through the Banquet Scene?"

Theme based, eg:

"How does Shakespeare develop the theme of betrayal in Macbeth?"

"Discuss Shakespeare's treatment of the theme of Reality vs Appearance in Macbeth?"

- We will assess this piece orally, rather than in essay form. This means that you'll be asked to prepare a 3-5 minute long presentation to me about the title you've chosen.

Homework

Homework is to work on the preparation of your oral response. The responses will be completed in the first week back after Easter, so you need to make sure you are absolutely ready to go by then. In the meantime, I suggest working to the following deadlines:

- By Monday 29th March

Have decided on your title

Have identified the key scenes and moments in the play you'll need to focus on.

Have chosen the quotations that will be most helpful to you in answering the question.

- Over Easter

Have thoroughly prepared your talk, ready for delivery when we get back.

Have written out cue-cards to help you with your delivery.

Have developed your comments about language, social / historical context and dramatic devices that Shakespeare uses

I'll give you some guidance on this in class, but otherwise it is up to you. The good thing is that you can easily find the text online (eg here), and there are also loads of support materials that may help you to develop an interesting presentation. As ever, Bitesize is good here , but you may also want to consider sites like Bookrags : basically there is loads of stuff around if you indulge in a spot of googling. BE CAREFUL THOUGH - you can only use these sites to get ideas and maybe the odd quotation; as soon as you start taking whole paragraphs fully from the web you are plagiarising, which is seen as cheating and can result in you achieving no marks at all!

Right, have fun then, and I'll look forward to seeing what you come up with. Do get in touch if you have any problems - my email is tbo@cheney.oxon.sch.uk.

Mr Boulter

Macbeth!

Hi all,

Well, we have finally begun our study of one of the most exciting, complex and down-right unbelievably amazing works of all time, and we are agreed that this represents a privilege for us of the highest order! (We did agree this, right?)

So far, we have learnt a little of the social and historical context of Shakespeare's life and work, including the fact that he used to traipse up and down Old Road in front of our school on his way to and from Oxford, and that he is thought to have both watched and performed in plays at the Golden Cross in town (where Pizza Express is now). We also learnt about his love life (or was it) and some of the things that may have inspired and motivated him.

Following this, we've used the Polanski film version to appreciate, enjoy and understand the play, whilst although thinking about and discussing possible approaches when it comes to essay time.

So, on Friday we will bring the play to its bloody end, before agreeing on the aspects we think would be most interesting to study next, and focusing on the relevant parts of the script.

See you then,

Mr Boulter

Success Criteria

Hi - just in case you haven't completed the homework task from the post below (due in on Monday remember), here are the success criteria for the task, as discussed in the lesson. Click on the image to make it big enough to read.
Looking forward to starting Macbeth tomorrow - this will be our main unit for this term, and we'll learn about the ways that Shakespeare controls language to create an amazingly rich, complex play, well-worthy of its reputation as one of the major works of English Literature!
We'll also have an opportunity to write up our Frankenstein first drafts. I'm afraid I haven't had time to mark your first drafts yet but you will get your feedback early this term.
Mr Boulter

Writing to Explain

OK you lot, here we go. Homework is to develop the paragraphs you wrote today into one complete article. In total, you need to write for no more than 45 minutes to achieve this, so I would aim to produce a side and a half as a maximum, and it's probably best to handwrite this, in order to replicate the conditions for the exam.

Remember that the title is: "Choose something that annoys you and explain your choice."

Here's a link to the article we looked at today:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/jan/30/lucy-mangan-this-week
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/01/ipad-therefore-iwant-why-idunno
Due to be handed in on Wednesday.
Have fun!
Mr Boulter

Frankenstein Update

Hi all,

Firstly, sorry it's taken me so long to post this, and also sorry I couldn't be there on Friday for your lesson. I had a Head of English meeting thing that I was required to go to, but Mr Northfield sent back a good report of the way you'd worked and conducted yourself, so well done for that.

We are now at a stage where you shuold be ready to write your Frankenstein coursework, and we will dedicate the first two lessons of this week to this purpose. At this point, we'll review how you are getting on, and make a decision about how much more time you'll need. Anyway, you are allowed to have all your notes and full access to the text, so it should just be a matter of putting into action all the learning that we have completed over the last few weeks.

The way to succeed in this essay is to be very aware of the success criteria as covered in class. Remember also to follow your targets from the Inspector Calls work and transfer the skill over to this essay. If you want to have a look at the precise marking criteria, they are on pages 51 and 52 of the booklet here: http://store.aqa.org.uk/qual/pdf/AQA-3702-W-SP-11.PDF . It's the Prose Study criteria - don't let yourself get confused by all the language here though - if you do what we have looked at in class then you'll be fine.

So, you need to come to lesson on Monday prepared to write and I'm looking forward to seeing what you achieve!

See you then and keep up the general levels of excellence shown by 10X4!

Mr Boulter

Well done!

Hi everyone,

Firstly, a huge well-done for the quality and success of your final drafts for the AIC essay - I really enjoyed reading them and it was great to see so many people acting on the targets that you've been set. I hope it's clear to you that the harder you work on these essays, the better you are going to do - it's this factor which influences your success most of all, rather than whether you think you are 'good at English' or not!

OK - just to confirm your homework. I'd like you to read or re-read chapter 23 of the novel, and note down key quotations which we could use for the essay. Remember that we are looking for quotations which either promote or detract sympathy from the monster in the readers' eyes. Remember also that lots of us have targets asking us to think about how the same pieces of writing could be interpreted differently by different readers. Therefore, think about this when selecting your quotations.

5 quotations from everybody please. If you want to push yourself, do the same for another chapter of your choice -one which you think is important in influencing the readers' feelings towards the character.

Ta-ra,

Mr Boulter

Snow Work

Hello everyone,

Well I hope you lot are enjoying your extended Xmas break, but I also hope that we'll be able to get on with things from Monday! If it turns out that there is any further disruption, and you have completed the work from the previous post, then the best thing for you to do is this:

- look at the novel again and find some more sections that will be useful to answer our coursework question
-pick out the key quotations that you want to use, and plan what you are going to say about each

Remember that our title is: How does Mary Shelley manipulate the reader's feelings for the monster?

So, you are looking for events and passages which provoke sympathy, fear etc in the reader, I would suggest that Chapter 23 is a good place to start looking.

Anyway, it looks at the moment as though there'll be an early start on Monday so we will miss our period 1 lesson, but I'll see you for a lesson, at last, on Wednesday.

Mr Boulter

ps - click on the image here for a closer look - amazing!

pps- what's the motto of the Eskimo lottery?

You've got to be Innuit to Win-u-it!