Thoughts about teaching, literature, and teaching literature
I really dislike the given AQA Poetry Anthology, not the poems, but the actual physical anthology. My students do too. In fact, I dislike it so much that I set about creating an alternative, that, whilst of course biased, I feel is far superior. This post is about what is included in this alternative and... Continue Reading →
One of the simplest but most effective questions I ask my students when analysing a text is 'what other words could have been used?' This one question has become a staple of our classroom talk and is now deeply embedded into our discussion and analysis routines. I regularly ask it of them, but much more... Continue Reading →
After recently finishing Jennifer Webb's superb How to Teach English Literature: Overcoming Cultural Poverty, I started to think about what she calls 'juicy' quotations. These are those images or quotations in a text that almost demand detailed linguistic and thematic analysis. They are those quotations that if successfully grappled with will yield countless interesting things... Continue Reading →
One of my favourite (if not the favourite) poems in the GCSE Love and Relationships AQA Anthology, Seamus Heaney's 'Follower' is a wonderful poem. Stylistically complex and emotionally rich in equal measure, the below represents a detailed analysis of the poem. I've used it in the past as part of a strategy of flipped teaching... Continue Reading →
codexterous 