We have started to add resources to the blog that will support you in completing your coursework.  So far, we’ve added them for Original Writing and Educating Rita, but we’ll be adding them for all pieces very soon, so watch this space! 

Use the Coursework Support link at the top of the homepage, or the individual coursework links on the right of the homepage, to find the resources you need.  Post a comment here if you don’t find what you need, and we’ll do our best to add it as soon as possible.

Welcome to your GCSE course, and to this English blog, which has been set up to give you all the support we can in your English and English Literature GCSEs.

Use the ‘Information for Students and Parents’ link above to access information about what you’ll be studying over the next 2 years.  Then use the ‘Resources and Activities’ link to look at some of the resources we’ve found to help you.  We’ll be adding to these regularly, so keep checking back.

Don’t forget to show this to your parents too, and to give them the letter with your teacher’s contact details.  After they’ve looked at the information here, they need to complete and sign the contract, for you to bring back to your teacher.

Good luck over the next 2 years – and remember your teachers are here to help you succeed.

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Revision breakfast!

Just to let Year 11 know: the English department are running a revision breakfast before the Literature exam tomorrow morning.  Sessions will start at 8am.  See posters in the English corridor tomorrow morning for which room to go to.

Food will be available and teachers will do some warm-up activities to get ‘Of Mice and Men’ and the poetry into your heads.

There will also be a revision breakfast before the Paper 1 exam on June 2nd (starting at 8am) and a revision lunch before the Paper 2 exam on June 4th (starting at 12.20)

Spread the word!  (especially about tomorrow’s session!)

There are several areas year 10 students should focus on when preparing for their end of year examinations. Students will be examined on their reading and writing skills as follows:

On Thursday 14th of May all year 10 students will sit the whole of the Paper 1 examination. Section A of the examination is reading media and non-fiction texts. Section B of the examination is writing to argue, persuade or advise. Students should answer all questions in section A, and choose one question to answer from section B.

On Monday 18th of May all year 10 students will sit section A of paper 2. This will test their knowledge of the Different Cultures poetry we studied earlier in the year. Students will have a choice of two questions from which they should select one to answer. This test will be conducted in lessons.

Students can attempt the following activities to support their preparation for the examinations. Any questions should be directed to your English teacher. Good luck!

• Teaching – Teachers know the texts inside out because we not only study them but teach them to others. When you teach you are asked questions which force you to think about the text critically and encourage independent understanding. It also highlights any areas which need further revision. Try teaching a friend or family member about a text we have studied.
• Visualising - Drawing characters, settings and scenes from a text can really help you to get a clearer picture of it. When you have drawn your picture be sure to label it with quotations from the text and then stick it somewhere you will see it all the time, for example above the kettle or the TV or on the back of the bathroom door!
• Past Questions - Look at past questions and attempt them under timed conditions. Use the mark schemes to see how you get on and ask a teacher or a member of your class to help if you get stuck.
• Flash Cards - Make a series of flash cards relating to key ideas, characters, techniques and settings in the texts. Read them regularly.
• Internet - Use the links on the blog to explore relevant websites. Make notes as you read to help you retain information.
• Re-reading texts – It is essential that you re read each poem at least three so that you know it well and are adept at finding key passages easily.
• Colour Coding - Colour code key sections to help you trace and link ideas in the texts.
• Brainstorming – Create a large brainstorm to explore and connect ideas, particularly with the different cultures poetry.

This quiz is to help you revise the terminology you will need to write well about prose and poetry – so that’s Cultures Poetry, Literature Poetry and ‘Of Mice and Men’.  Enjoy!

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If I’ve done this right, the game link should appear in the post below this message.  You can choose any of the 5 games to play, to revise Cluster 1.  Enjoy!

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Dear year 10 Students,

Your homework this week is to add the following information to the blog as a comment on this post. Follow these instructions in order to complete the homework.

1. Look at the websites for the Sun, the Mirror or another tabloid newspaper. Find an article which you feel uses tabloidese language effectively.
2. Copy the link and paste it as a commment on this post. Your comment should also include a paragraph of your own writing explaining how the writer uses language for effect.
3. If you cannot access the blog, or it will not allow you to leave a comment, please e mail your homework to me directly, at cjdickens@alexandrapark.haringey.sch.uk so I know you have completed it.

Good luck!

Our revision focus this week is “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. We will be revisiting the text in class but there are several things you need to do for homework this week in order to ensure you are fully prepared for the examination. Your specific tasks are outlined below. Please comeplete the tasks assigned to you and leave an abridged version of your findings as a comment on this post.

1. Sam, Lottie, Nicole, Sarafina, Patrick: Write about the importance of places in the novel.You should think about several significant settings and discuss their symbolism, the events that happen there and the characters that we see there. You should consider the following settings: the bunk house, Crooks’s home and the clearing where we first see George and Lennie.
2. Riannah, Fahad, Frances, Harry, Max: Write about the importance of animals in the novel.When considering this question you should think about all of the animals mentioned in the text. Consider why Steinbeck chose to include so many, why he chose the particular animals to use (i.e. why dogs? mice? rabbits?), the characters they are linked to and the overall messages they send to the reader.
3. Chris, Sophie, Saskia, David:Write about the theme of loneliness and isolation in the novel referring to at least two characters in your response.Consider how different characters develop our understanding of the theme of loneliness. We see many different types of character and almost all of them link to this theme. Think about the feelings and ideas this conveys to the reader.
4. Tom, Alice, Steffy Odane, Mohannad: Why is Curley’s wife so important to the plot and the central ideas of the novel? Curley’s wife is a fascinating character. Every reader has a strong reaction to her, whether that is positive or negative. Think about how Steinbeck controls this reaction through language, symbolism and the way she reacts to the other characters in the novel. Why is she so important to the themes, ideas and overall message of the novel?
5. Abdi, Janki, Lina, Beri, Reece: Choose the character you feel most sympathy for in the novel and explain your opinion. Think about each of the characters in the novel and decide which one deserves the most pity. Choose at least two episodes in the novel which make you feel sorry for the character, and explain your reaction. Try to use quotations from the novel to support your observations.

Answer the exam question you have been given in full (I have re-printed them below if you loose them). When you have done this, re-read them and pick your best paragraph to write as a post below so that other students can read it and use it for revision. You must complete this homework by Tuesday March 24th.

FOUNDATION: Answer both parts (a) and (b)

(a) Compare the ways Robert Browning and Carol Ann Duffy present female speakers in “The Laboratory” and “Salome”.

(b) Compare the ways Simon Armitage and Ben Jonson present speakers in “My father thought it” and “On my first Sonne”. In both parts (a) and (b) remember to compare:

• the feelings and attitudes of the speakers
• how the poets present the speakers by the ways they write. (36 marks)

HIGHER: Answer both parts (a) and (b)

(a) Compare how the poets make the reader feel sympathy for the speaker in “On my first Sonne” by Ben Jonson and the speaker in one poem by Carol Ann Duffy.

(b) Compare how the reader is made to feel disturbed by the speakers. words and actions in one poem by Simon Armitage and one poem from the Pre-1914 Poetry Bank. (36 marks)