Thoughts about teaching, literature, and teaching literature
I like to spend a lot of time explicitly teaching, modelling, and rehearsing with students finely crafted introductions. I do this for each of the questions we face as part of AQA GCSE English Literature. By the time of the exam, students should be able to produce a really precise and confident introduction for any... Continue Reading →
I’m currently working my way through an excellent series of Massolit lectures by John McRae that looks at unseen poetry. They’re great, really useful for teachers preparing unseen poetry, with lots of excellent choices and ways of framing an encounter with them. However, I’ve been especially struck by a question John McRae asks across several... Continue Reading →
I wanted to share with you a really simple but incredibly effective strategy that I’ve been using for a while now. It has improved the quality of my class discussion, increased student participation, and generally resulted in a better exchange of ideas. Here it is… As you read a text with your class, whatever it... Continue Reading →
When we arrive at the end of An Inspector Calls and witness the Inspector looking out at the audience, in a kind of ideological crescendo, bellowing his warnings about ‘fire, blood and anguish’, it would be difficult to imagine Priestley’s aim is not an act of conversion. Priestley, one instinctively assumes, is seeking to uproot... Continue Reading →
Previously posted in four parts, the below is a detailed moment by moment analysis of An Inspector Calls written to be both rigorous and accessible to students. It covers the entire play from start to finish. Setting the Scene The play opens with a set of detailed and specific stage directions and Priestley’s use of... Continue Reading →
This is part 4 of a four part series of posts looking at An Inspector Calls. It is written with students in mind. This post looks at the interactions between Eric and the Inspector as well as the end of play. The Inspector and Eric After having left earlier in the play Eric now returns.It... Continue Reading →
In this post, which is Part 3 of a four part series, we look at the Inspector's interactions with Gerald and Mrs Birling. The series is written with students in mind. The Inspector and Gerald At the end of Act One the Inspector reveals that Eva often went by a different name (Daisy Renton) and... Continue Reading →
This is Part 2 of a 4 part analysis of An Inspector Calls, written with students in mind. In this part we explore the arrival of the Inspector as well as his early interactions with Mr Birling and Sheila. Part 1 explored the initial moments of the play and the introduction of various key characters.... Continue Reading →
The below covers the start of the play and includes comments and thoughts on the initial introduction of some of the key characters, before the Inspector's arrival Setting the Scene The play opens with a set of detailed and specific stage directions and Priestley’s use of stagecraft, here, introduces the audience to some of the... Continue Reading →
There are many, many rich and powerful moments in An Inspector Calls that demand detailed analysis and exploration. The below gets to grips with just some of the things we could say about five absolutely key quotations in the play. Number One: When you’re married you’ll realize that men have important work to do sometimes... Continue Reading →
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