Michael Rosen recently published a 'matrix' of different types of comments which children make about the texts they are reading: I have had a go at composing typical 'trigger questions' for each type of comment, for use in training. Click here or on the image above to download the questions as a Word document.
What does the poem do? A revision tool
This is an approach which I have used successfully when revising clusters of poetry for GCSE. (Apologies for any parts which seem commonplace or obvious.) The basic idea is familiar - to practise summing up the ‘essence’ of each poem, so that students feel that they have a pinned-down overview of each – a handy... Continue Reading →
Folding feedback into learning
Number #2 in an occasional series of short posts on feedback, appearing in no particular order
Developing critical readers: preparing students for GCSE English Language reading papers
Thoughts on how students are taught to write critically about texts in exams This post was originally an article for NATE‘s Teaching English (Issue 12, Autumn 2016) Preparing for the new English GCSEs has compelled English departments to put their Key Stage 4 curriculum through yet another revision. For many, this has been taken as an opportunity […]
James Durran 