Tuesday, 20 July 2021

Y12: End of Year Tasks and Revision Resources

Hello Y12,





Well, we made it to the end of Y12! 


There's no live lesson on Friday, but I'll be asking you to do a couple of jobs for me. You will also find plenty of revision resources below.

Next year, we'll aim to get the coursework and Death of a Salesman done before the end of January, then there's one more Keats poem in February, before a good few months of solid revision and exam practice.



Your tasks:



1) Make the summer reading pledge. I know that many of you have told me what you’re thinking about reading, but I need a record of what you intend to read over the summer as a starting point for our coursework discussions in September.

So, I’d like you to copy and paste the following pledge into an email, add the texts that you’re going to read, and then send it to me before the end of the week:



I solemnly declare that I will undertake the following reading over the summer break in preparation for my A Level English Literature coursework:

1)
2)
3)
4)

I understand that failure to do independent reading will mean that I am not ready to recommence the course in Year 13.

(Your name)



As I receive your emails, I’ll paste them into one document, which I’ll bring to the first lesson in September. Have a look at my tips for your summer of coursework reading:







2) Tidy up and organise your notes and folder. This will be a good starting point for your revision too...




3) Fight that forgetting curve by doing some Othello and Keats revision.

Don’t forget, Paper 1 is closed book. If you put these texts to the back of your mind and don’t revise them until February, a lot of your hard work from Y12 will be gone.

Here are my revision suggestions:

  • Revise your key quotes on Quizlet.
  • Learn the stuff on this Keats Knowledge Organiser.
  • Brainstorm revision topics for each text (see my suggestions on the images below).
  • For each revision topic, create notes pages or revision cards, with key quotations.
  • Test your knowledge of aspects of tragedy by randomly selecting one from the star sheet (use this!), putting it in the middle of a blank piece of paper and brainstorming how that idea relates to Keats and Othello (with quotations). Start by doing it from memory, then add more ideas using your texts/notes.
  • There's a great podcast on Othello which you can find here. It's also available to download on iTunes (search 'Lend Me Your Ears'). It starts off with a gentle intro and plot summary (the first 12 minutes), but gets into some interesting discussions around key themes: race, identity, outsiders, storytelling etc. I'll try to remind you about this again next year. 
  • There's another Othello podcast (this time from acclaimed author Emma Smith at the University of Oxford) here.




You can also find a load of resources than we’ve used recently (including pdf versions of the above images, a past paper, model answers and all my Keats notes) in this folder.




Optional extra:

Prep for September by watching the 1985 movie adaptation of Death of a Salesman, starring Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich. It’s brilliant.






That’s it. We’re done. After you’ve sent me your email, you are free to go into holiday mode. But don’t forget to keep dipping your toe into the sea of revision every now and again to keep all that hard-earned knowledge fresh in your brain. And don't forget to get hold of a copy of Death of a Salesman for September.


Have a fantastic summer holiday!


Mr M

Thursday, 4 March 2021

Y12: Lockdown Lit 8.2 | To die upon a kiss

Hello Y12,

 

Here it is. We’ve reached the end of Othello.

 

I’ve kept it fairly simple today as I know a few of you need to get caught up so that we’re ready for next week. So, it’s just reading, three questions to get your reactions to the ending, annotations and quick exit quiz. This should be do-able inside an hour.

 

You’ll find all the work on this powerpoint:


See you next week!

 

Mr M

Tuesday, 2 March 2021

Y13: Lamia | Lesson 6

Oh hi Year 13,

 

Our last remote lesson, surely?

 

Today, we’ll get up to the end of Part 1 and we’ll be wrestling with some big ideas which provide keys to unlock the meanings in this poem. 


I feel like I’ve just waffled a bit in the video, but there are some important ideas in there. Please ask if there’s anything that needs explaining more clearly.

 

Everything you need is on this powerpoint:


Thanks for all your hard work. See you next week!

 

Mr M

Monday, 1 March 2021

Y12: Lockdown Lit 8.1 | Journey's end

Hello again Y12,

 

Last time, we paused at the death of Emilia. Today, we’ll look at our penultimate chunk of the text, leaving the final lines for Friday.

 

Here’s a breakdown of what our work today involves:

1) Revision/memorisation of La Belle Dame sans Merci (10 mins)

2) Watching the final 20 minutes of the National Theatre Othello (if you haven’t already) (20 mins)

3) Annotating an extract (10 mins)

4) Reading and annotating (20 mins)

5) Writing an introductory paragraph on the extract (10 minutes to prep, 10 minutes to write)

6) A second annotation video (20 minutes)

7) Exit quiz (5 mins)

 

This should all be achievable within the two lessons.

 

You’ll find all the work on this powerpoint:

 

Let me know if you need anything.

 

Mr M

Y13: Lamia | Lesson 5

Hello Year 13,

 

Thanks for all your hard work on the coursework! I’ll get to work on marking those tomorrow so that we can do feedback on our return to school.

 

I know some of you will still be beavering away at coursework to get it handed in today, so there isn’t too much for you to do on Lamia: recap, read and annotate, exit quiz. That’s it.

 

Everything you need is on this powerpoint:


Let me know if you need anything!

 

Mr M

Thursday, 25 February 2021

Y12: Lockdown Lit 7.2 | Emilia speaks out

Oh hi Y12,

 

Last time, we reached the dramatic death of Desdemona. Today, our attention turns to Emilia. The video is a bit long today as I wanted us to crack through a lengthy section to put us in position to focus solely on the tragic hero next week. So it’s just recap, reading and annotations, exit quiz.

 

You’ll find all the work on this powerpoint:


Any always, give me a shout if you need any help.

 

Mr M

Tuesday, 23 February 2021

Y12: Lockdown Lit Week 7 | Othello: The Murder

Welcome back Y12,

 

We’ve made it to the final, climactic scene of Othello!


We’ll probably get to the end of the play just in time for our return to school. At that point, we’ll do an essay or two and then get cracking on some more Keats. Despite everything, we're pretty much where I was with my Y12s last year before any time was lost to lockdowns. So we're doing well and haven't really lost any time.


You’ll find a full two hours of work on this powerpoint:


As always, let me know if you have any problems or need any help.

 

Mr M