GCSE

Top 10 ideas for teaching Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Stevenson himself is an interesting character, admitting that what began as nightmares in childhood eventually became full and extensive images and scenes of horror that could last up to a day. Medical professionals in today’s society would probably would call these episodes paranoid delusions or the results of lack of… Read More

Top 10 ideas for teaching Great Expectations

When I first started teaching I was advised by a more experienced teacher to avoid the Classics and never teach any novel over 200 pages as it took too long to get through it with a class. I heeded this advice for the first couple of years then decided I… Read More

Top 10 ideas for teaching Frankenstein

It is not often in literature that you find yourself unexpectantly on the side of the monster. Mary Shelley’s powerful and thought provoking novel challenges our assumptions of good and evil and encourages the audience to see all creations as equal and deserving of love. Frankenstein’s ‘hideous wretch’ seeks only… Read More

Top 10 ideas for teaching The Sign of Four

Before we start I have to admit something; before writing this blog I’d never read any Sherlock Holmes stories… in fact I’d totally dismissed them assuming they were dry and dull and not understanding the nation’s love for them. I stand wholly corrected. The Sign of Four is a short… Read More

Top 10 ideas for teaching Pride and Prejudice

Use these 5 discussion points and 5 extension tasks to help your students understand the context of this classic novel. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice is a novel that is so embedded in our society that you could describe a man as ‘a Mr Darcy’ and… Read More

Top 10 ideas for teaching Jane Eyre

Use these 5 discussion points and 5 extension tasks to help your students understand the context of this classic novel by Charlotte Brontë. Jane Eyre is a transcendent novel. I’ve read it as an 11-year-old and through my teens then into adulthood, and it gets richer and more relevant with… Read More

How to use character mapping to promote familiarity of AO in An Inspector Calls

Starting a new text with your class is always a joy, reading collectively and hearing their opinions and reflections never fails to brighten my day. But how do you teach the text in a way that is creative and animated whilst also letting the crucial exam requirements take centre stage?… Read More

How to differentiate to accommodate all learners

A new year more often than not means a completely new set of learners, each with their own individual ways of learning. Add into the mix those who do not have English as a first language, have additional needs or are more able, and it can be tricky to know… Read More

Planning KS3 and KS4 Science

With the new school year on the horizon, we asked Science consultant Ed Walsh for his advice on effective planning for both KS3 and KS4 Science. Q: I have been asked to come up with a skeleton, ‘knowledge based’ scheme of work for KS3 (which, for us, includes Years… Read More

5-year Science course teaching: what’s the big picture?

A couple of years ago I was at a science education conference and ended up in the same workshop group as (Lord) Jim Knight, who had previously been a Schools Minister. At the time the new GCSE Science specifications were in the process of development. I offered the opinion that… Read More