A NEW DAWN

This blog, still in its maiden year, has remained static for 7 months. The adrenaline of exam season 2012 is long forgotten, but the new season is approaching – you can almost smell it! Of course, this means that it’s time to up our game and to get back into the thick of it. So before we begin posting, it seems appropriate to reflect on how we did last year:

WHAT WENT WELL?

  • The blog was used widely by the class of 2012 whose results (particularly for literature – 50% A*- B) were great.
  • It also proved a hit for wider audiences; as we post this, we have 20,000 views!
  • The student ownership of content was an excellent way to get actively involved in revision. The class enjoyed their chance to create posts or be a classroom monitor. They also felt a sense of pride in the documentation of their hard work.

EVEN BETTER IF?

  • We thought that the blog needed a facelift – do you like our new fishy design?
  • We want to make our posts even more user friendly this year. Since we seem to be catering to an audience wider than our classroom, we hope that our posts are accurate, helpful and inspire ideas in our readers.
  • We aim to be more interactive on the blog this year. The comment count from the class of 2012 didn’t go over 100. We hope to smash that record this year! We will use the posts from daily lessons to provoke further thought once a week for homework; posting our thoughts, opinions or questions.

So there we have it, can Miss Ryan’s class of 2013 take on the challenge of keeping up the blog?

Let’s see…

THE END OF AN ERA

Today was our last full lesson together. With exams out of the way for all but 4 of us, we decided to take a break.

It was a fantastic opportunity to chill out, reflect and share kind words (and food!) with each other. Here is a picture of us together as a group.

 

OF MICE AND MEN RAP

 

With just one day to go until the Literature exam, I have created and uploaded a video for you to revise – THE OF MICE AND MEN RAP!

Take a moment to watch it, hopefully you’ll find it useful and even remember some of it for the exam in the morning.

https://www.o2learn.co.uk/o2_video.php?vid=2059 - CLICK TO VIEW

I’m certainly not a contender for ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, but hopefully it will help you!

Miss Ryan

REVISING FOR THE LITERATURE EXAM

It’s Saturday night, The Voice and The Champions League final are on TV, you have an exam on Tuesday. It’s time to make a choice – to revise or not to revise – you know what I’d suggest!

Here are some things that you need to know for the exam – decide how you want to revise them. You could create posters, flow charts, cue cards, pictures, videos, raps…

Of Mice and Men

  • What chapter/pages do the main events take place: The dream; Candy’s dog getting shot;  Curley and Lennie’s fight; the ‘weak ones’ left behind; Lennie kills Curley’s wife; George shoots Lennie. Can you find a few major quotations for each event? Can you link the action to context? Can you spot the literary techniques that Steinbeck uses?
  • The Characters: What are they all like? Key quotations? Symbolism (ie. animal imagery to compare, significance of colour, link to context)
  • The Context: What does the book tell us about 1930s lifestyle in America? Key words: The Wall Street Crash, The Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, Migrant Workers, Segregation, Sexism.

The Crucible

  • What chapter/pages do the main events take place: Abigail’s accusations, Hale’s arrival, Abigail and Proctor’s ‘encounter’, The Proctor’s home, Elizabeth arrested, The witch trial and courtroom scene, Proctor’s death. Can you find a few major quotations for each event? Can you link the action to context? Can you spot the literary techniques that Miller uses?
  • The Characters: What are they all like? Key quotations? Symbolism (ie. religion, truth and justice, link to context)
  • The Context: What does the book tell us about 1600s and 1950s America? Key words: McCarthyism, Communism, The Death Penalty, Puritans, Persecution, Religion.

If any of you make something using your computer, you can upload it onto Fronter in a folder called ‘Lit Paper 1 Revision’. I can then upload it here!

You should also use this blog to look at the hard work you’ve done in class over the past few weeks.

Check out these websites too:

Bitesize – The Crucible: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/dramacrucible/

Bitessize – Of Mice and Men: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/prosemicemen/

Sparknotes – The Crucible: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/crucible/

Sparknotes – Of Mice and Men: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/micemen

We also have plenty of past papers, mark schemes, assessment objectives and resources on our Fronter page.

If you have any questions, comments or queries, then write a comment on one of the pages of this blog. I, or somebody else, can tackle your problems with you!

Happy Revising,

Miss Ryan