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Stress. How much is too much?

Apr 13, 2012 | Category: English

[caption id="attachment_3931" align="alignleft" width="300"] One possible solution?[/caption]Like most teachers, I'll be back at school on Monday and already I've got the heeby jeebies. Apart from all...

#Sir Michael Wilshaw #Alistair Smith #inverted U hypothesis #stress

Say what? Reflecting on spoken language

Apr 03, 2012 | Category: English

[caption id="attachment_1174" align="alignleft" width="250"] The plus side to turning 40 http://xkcd.com/166/[/caption]Over the past few weeks I've been getting my Year 11s to analyse their idiolect f...

#David Crystal #Daily Mail #Emma Thompson #idiolect #slang

Myths: what Ofsted want

Mar 17, 2012 | Category: English

With galling hypocrisy and seemingly no sense of irony, Ofsted have released their latest subject report for English snappily titled, Moving English Forward. The report is a step by step guide on how...

#Ofsted #lesson observations #Gove

How should we teach reading?

Feb 29, 2012 | Category: English

A few months ago I posted a piece in which Roy Blatchford (founder of The National Education Trust) outlined his manifesto for ensuring that every child gets at least a C grade in English. But, readin...

#Daniel Willingham #EB Hirsch #Reading #reading strategies

Creativity, analysis and comparison

Feb 11, 2012 | Category: English

English teachers have a tough gig. We need to constantly hone the hard-edged skill of analysis whilst simultaneously encouraging the fluffy stuff of creativity. There’s a lot said and written about cr...

#creativity #Sir Ken Robinson #grammar #analysis #comparison #Dickens #dumbing down #Toby Young

Hexagonal Learning

Jan 28, 2012 | Category: English

The mantra of all successful lesson observations these days is that students should be seen to be making progress. Perhaps the best way to show that you’re having an impact on their knowledge and unde...

#Geoff Petty #Tait Coles #Daniel Willingham #Carol Ann Duffy #Chris Harte #Damian Clark #hexagons #Macbeth #Simon Armitage #SOLO

What makes a perfect English lesson?

Nov 27, 2011 | Category: English

[caption id="attachment_718" align="alignnone" width="300"] Click me[/caption]Is there such a thing as the perfect English lesson? Well, no, probably not. At least, not that I’m aware of. There is, yo...

#Jackie Beere #English #popplet #Samuel Beckett

Does creativity need rules?

Nov 20, 2011 | Category: English

[caption id="attachment_4643" align="alignleft" width="300"] Grammar for toast?[/caption]Last week's #ukedchat was titled, How can we build children’s imaginations so that they have more to choose fro...

#Sir Ken Robinson #ukedchat #Einstein #grammar #Marmite #Michael Swan

Is grammar glamorous?

Nov 16, 2011 | Category: English

Well, no it's not is it. Grammar's that dull stuff what kids got taught in the 60s. And then enlightened educationalists decided it was unfashionable for children to know how to parse sentences and wo...

#Sir Ken Robinson #Gove #David Crystal #grammar

Objective Quest - Day 5

Oct 18, 2011 | Category: English

Phew! After two days of 'curriculum enrichment' followed by an evening compering awards evening I'm knackered. Friday's lessons seem a long time ago now but I'm committed to reviewing the learning obj...

#Jackie Beere #Kristian Still #learning continuums #meta menus