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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