Contents

Introduction Welcome to Take Five ................................................................................................................... 6 The English teaching ‘core’

1. Strategies for teaching Shakespeare The play’s the thing by Julie Hopkins ........................................................................................ 8

2. Essential poetry Nuts and bolts by Kat Slocombe .............................................................................................. 16

3. Approaches to poetry Poetic license by Liz Ekstein ..................................................................................................... 23

4. Pre-1914 plays Finding your feet by Christie Cutter ......................................................................................... 28

5. Post-1914 plays The performance element by Lorna Smith .............................................................................. 40

6. Pre-1914 prose Making sense of pre-1914 texts by Edna Hobbs ..................................................................... 45

7. Post-1914 prose Killing Lennie (again!) by Lucy Hewitt ...................................................................................... 54

8. Non-fiction texts The non-fiction factor by Sarah Moody .................................................................................. 60

9. English language Learning to love language by Kate Lee .................................................................................... 66

10. Spoken language Breathing life into spoken language by Kate Lee ................................................................... 73

Breaking it down

11. Sentences Shuffling sentences by Richard Durant .................................................................................. 78

12. Punctuation De-mystifying punctuation by Carmel Waldron .................................................................... 90

13. Spelling Slimy spellings and rotten rules by Jo Irving .......................................................................... 98

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14. Grammar Grammar games by Carmel Waldron .................................................................................. 103

15. Vocabulary Vocab with verve! by Richard Durant .................................................................................. 109

Good writing 16. Writing poetry

All a Bard! by Trevor Millum ................................................................................................ 114

17. Original writing Pimp my writing! by Lucy Hewitt ......................................................................................... 120

18. Autobiographical and biographical writing Life writing by Keziah Featherstone ..................................................................................... 127

19. Informative writing Showcasing skills by Rose Fletcher ...................................................................................... 131

20. Opinion-based writing Yours angrily by Lucy Hewitt ................................................................................................ 136

Speaking and listening and drama

21. Speaking and listening Get talking by Kat Slocombe ................................................................................................ 148

22. Approaches to drama Energising drama by Annie Fox ........................................................................................... 155

23. Drama approaches to Shakespeare Active Shakespeare by Al Powell ......................................................................................... 159

24. Drama in English Desk drama by Dan Clay ...................................................................................................... 164

Media and technology

25. Media in English Sneaky media solutions by Clare Rees ................................................................................ 170

26. Media approaches Staying ahead of the game by Al Powell .............................................................................. 175

27. Media production Lights, camera … err, is this thing on? by George Stainsby .................................................. 180

28. Going multi-modal Not just words by Stephen Mitchell .................................................................................... 185

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29. Bringing texts up to date Tweet ye not! by Sarah Moody ........................................................................................... 193

Good practice

30. Dynamic teaching ideas Don’t just sit there by Louise Astbury ................................................................................. 199

31. Starters A good breakfast by Al Powell ............................................................................................. 205

32. Plenaries Putting the plug in by Lorna Smith ...................................................................................... 214

33. Differentiation – supporting SEN students Making small changes by Edna Hobbs ................................................................................. 219

34. Differentiation – supporting gifted and talented students If Macbeth was a pizza ... by Richard Durant ....................................................................... 225

Organisation/planning

35. Planning and text organisation Metaphorical masking tape by Rhiannon Glover ................................................................ 230

36. Research-based tasks and projects Research works by Lorna Smith ........................................................................................... 236

37. Homework Clever homework by Rose Fletcher ..................................................................................... 243

38. Revision techniques Revved-up revision by Keziah Featherstone ........................................................................ 248

39. Alternatives to formal marking Lightening the load by Linda Newton .................................................................................. 254

40. Getting organised What you do before you do something by Nic Ashton ........................................................ 262

41. Displays Exploring the 3rd dimension by Kate Lee ............................................................................ 268

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