U6 English Language-- Cover for January 29, 2008

Hey y'all!

I know-- he's off for two weeks, and then he's off for a Year 10 Poetry trip. I realise that most of you are pining for a Language lesson, but you'll have to hold out 'till Wednesday afternoon, when I will seek to 'blitz' through an overview of the whole reading/writing shbang, and get us up-to date.

Today, I want you to focus on orthography-- that's the fancy word for 'spelling'. I've attached some online links for you to peruse or download, looking at issues surrounding how children learn (or don't learn!) to spell.

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/267

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/Children.htm

http://www.tda.gov.uk/upload/resources/pdf/t/tta99-16.pdf
Warning: this is government teaching material, so it may prove hard going!

http://www.warwick.ac.uk/staff/D.J.Wray/Articles/spelling.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1796331.stm

http://www.spellingsociety.org/kids/index.html
This is from the Simplified Spelling Society; it highlights the many orthographical inconsistencies of English, and their proposed solutions!

Please feel free to use this as a 'starting point'; seek out other materials on children and spelling/orthography, and bring them to Wednesday's lesson!

Mr H.

Year 9 Story Writing

Need some help thinking through your story? Need help in finding some things to say about someone else's draft?

Go to http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/mainguides/entertain.htm for a pretty thorough guide. While pitched at a GCSE level, a lot of the hints and tips they give should prove useful!

Don't forget-- there's a story contest at writersworkshop@hotmail.co.uk for you to enter!

House Play Review Contest

A few guidelines:

You will need to choose one house play to review—it doesn’t have to be the play performed by your house. Choose a performance that interests you in some way.

We’re not interested in reading a plot summary—merely retelling the plot of play will not ‘cut it’!

Your opinions and perceptions should be front-and-centre. What did you enjoy/ not enjoy about the performance?

Criticism should be constructive—not vicious.

On the other hand, hagiographical writing (“Oooooo! Everything was simply spiffy!”) doesn’t make for a good review. Don’t be afraid to point out things that, from your point of view, didn’t work.

Make comments on a variety of aspects—acting, lighting, costumes/props, directing, etc.

Your review should be an enjoyable piece of writing—don’t drone on and on! (Appropriate) humour is always welcome.

Aim for about one side of A4 in length. Ensure your name, year/form, and house are clearly marked on all pieces you submit.

Hand it in by Friday, December 14th. Entries will not be accepted after that date.

If you need some additional inspiration, check out these websites. WARNING: some are for University-level writing, so they can be a little bit high-falutin’—but they can give you a range of things to think about!

http://www.ehow.com/how_172543_review-play.html

http://classes.midlandstech.edu/the101/THE101/how_to_write_a_play_review.htm

http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/PlayReview.html

Travel Writing Online -- Year 9

Hey kids!

The following is a list of links to the 'travel' sections of the major broadsheet newspapers:

The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel?CMP=KNC-GUtravel&HBX_PK&HBX_OU=50

The Times
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/

The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/index.jhtml;jsessionid=DKYVA0OH340KTQFIQMFCFFWAVCBQYIV0

The Independent
http://travel.independent.co.uk/

...and an online magazine!
http://www.travelmag.co.uk/

Look around these sites: take time to read several articles, especially (hint, hint!) ones that describe visits to major cities!

Mr H

Grammar Site Revisited

Since so many of you have indicated your unease with the analysis of grammar, can I recommend the following website to you:

http://www.englishbiz.co.uk/grammar/index.htm

This site is geared directly at English A-level students, with a focus on how to analyse grammar.

Warning: it’s very extensive (18+ sections), so printing off pages is pretty daunting!

There is, in addition, some online analysis activities for you to do at various points.

For L6 students, there’s an attached Adobe document—a “style guide”—that relates directly to EnB1 and EnB2 papers.Hope this helps!

Year 10 Media Coursework Resources

The following sites should help you to craft a review that scores highly!

http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/

This is the website of Sight + Sound magazine-- your style model. Look through the archive at several film reviews to get a 'feel' of the house style.

http://www.imdb.com/Glossary/

This is a huge glossary of film terms-- the sort of references a film buff reading S+S might appreciate. Search it for half-remembered words and phrases, or to find la mot juste for describing a feature of your chosen film.

http://academic.sun.ac.za/forlang/bergman/tech/glossary/ebert_glos.htm

This is more tongue-in-cheek-- Roger Ebert is a long-standing film reviewer in the United States, and this site outlines some of his (rather cyncial) terms for film conventions.

http://ks.essortment.com/writingfilmrev_ralk.htm

A general guide for writing film reviews-- some advice for what aspects of the film to note when viewing, etc.

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/gramtv.html

A good visual guide to the technical language of shots, angles, camera movement, sound, etc. A must for Dennis the Menace fans!

Year 8F: punctuation websites

To help you with your 'Target' work:

http://www.correctpunctuation.co.uk/

http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/department/docs/punctuation/node00.html

http://www.uefap.com/writing/punc/puncfram.htm

While some of these sites are American (the last one features some on-line exercises, if you follow the instructions!), they should be comprehensive enough to help you focus on the specific target I set you. There are also other websites available. Good luck!