Secondary

The Globe Theatre

Practical approaches to teaching KS3 Shakespeare

By Hannah Appleton Reframing or reimagining how we tackle Shakespeare in schools begins with our perception of it being boring, irrelevant or too difficult, especially if we teach in schools with high numbers of SEND, EAL or FSM. It is, however, precisely those complexities and layers Shakespearean texts provide, which… Read More

Getting comfortable with unseen poetry

Of all the different forms of writing that we study in English, poetry often seems to be the one with which students feel the least comfortable.  The fact that it simply doesn’t look like prose creates an instant barrier.  It’s unsurprising then that young people find the requirement to explore… Read More

Academic writing for GCSE

Academic writing just means that our students need to write in a formal manner that reflects their level of educational and is distinct from how they would converse orally or via text.  A good approach is to gradually introduce students to a range of ways in which they can ensure their writing is more academic.  I find it helpful to divide these into three aims: being concise, being precise, and being sophisticated. Read More

Avoiding empty analysis in GCSE English

It’s important that we encourage students to explore structure and form when they are analysing a literary text.  However, this can sometimes lead to empty analysis.  I’ve regularly read comments on exam papers like, ‘The writer uses a comma to convey how the two people are separate’ or ‘By writing in rhyming couplets, the poet demonstrates the speaker’s love for her partner’.  Responses like these are often based on good ideas but, unfortunately, the analysis is tenuous: a comma doesn’t actually mean anything; a rhyming couplet doesn’t instantly represent love. Read More
Two female students looking at a beaker with a red liquid in it, wearing lab coats

Empower your students to thrive in a changing world

Ed Walsh explores how you can inspire students to pursue STEM careers and the value of integrating career discussions into your teaching. Why is it important to start talking about careers in Key Stage 3? Students may start to make decisions about KS4 subjects that will affect their future… Read More
children lying on grass holding books in front of their faces

Igniting a love for reading in your students

Igniting a love for reading can be quite tricky with young people. Often parents ask teachers for help in getting their child to become a ‘reader’ after many attempts, and that’s not without them trying very hard. When I was growing up, computers were so slow that by the… Read More

Modelling exam answers for GCSE English

I love discussing a text with my classes: ethical issues in ‘Never Let Me Go’, duality in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, how far we think Macbeth’s a tragic figure, the sheer horror of war in poems like ‘Exposure’… But one of the things that I’m often asked is, ‘So how do I write that in an essay?’ It’s very useful to model writing with students so they understand how to shape their knowledge and understanding into a strong exam response. There are a number of different approaches that you can use, depending on your confidence with your class or with a topic. Read More
Male teacher stands in front of a white board in a classroom. He is smiling with his arms crossed.

Practical ways to improve teacher wellbeing

By Suzanne Allies We all know that teachers are extremely busy, and when workload and expectations from school become overwhelming, this can be very detrimental to the wellbeing of you and your colleagues, especially if stress and exhaustion continue in the long term. Wellbeing is such a personal matter; activities… Read More