Relaunch October 2009

Due to popular demand (well two people) I am going to begin updating the blog on a weekly basis. If you want to have any thoughts on the type of things you would like on it please let me know.

Homework

How important is homework? Why do teachers insist you do homework each week?

English Language A Level

Want to learn about swearing, how men and women use language differently and how children can learn English in 3 years, yet adults find it so difficult to learn a foreign language? These are just a few of the things that A-level English Language covers.

English language A-level encourages you to develop your interest in and enjoyment of English, through learning about its structures and its functions, its development and its variations. It also allows you to develop your ability to express yourself, both in speech and writing, with increasing competence and sophistication; to encounter a varied range of reading and to develop your skills of critical and attentive listening.

Reading Suggestions

Here are some ideas for books you may want to try. Most of these are aimed at Year 10, but that is just a rough guide.

Amy Tan The Bonesetter's Daughter

Adeline Yen Mah Falling Leaves

Joanne Harris Chocolat
Blackberry Wine
Five Quarters of the Orange

Sebastian Faulks Birdsong

Charlotte Gray Louis de Bernieres Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Robert Westall Falling into Glory
The Machine Gunners

Michelle Magorian A Little Love Song
A Spoonful of Jam
Goodnight Mr Tom
Cuckoo in the Nest

Penelope Lively Moon Tiger
City of the Mind
Cleopatra's Sister

Lynne Reid Banks L Shaped Room

Melvin Burgess Loving April
Junk
Bloodtide

H E Bates The Darling Buds of May

Anita Shreve Fortune's Rocks

Rose Tremain Music and Silence
Restoration

Iris Murdoch A Severed Head

Ian McEwan Atonement

Tracey Chevalier Girl with a Pearl Earring

Alice Sebold Lovely Bones

Bernard Ashley Little Soldier

Tim Bowler Shadows
River Boy

JRR Tolkien The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings

Benjamin Zephaniah Face
Refugee Boy

Bernard Cornwell The Sharpe novels

Robert Harris Fatherland
Enigma

Phillip Pullman Dark Materials Trilogy

Terry Pratchett Discworld books

Frederick Forsyth Day of the Jackal etc

John Grisham The Client
The Chamber
The Firm

Tom Sharpe Wilt
Blott on the Landscape

Douglas Adams Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Nick Hornby High Fidelity
Fever Pitch

Ernest Hemingway Death in the Afternoon

Julian Barnes A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters

Nevil Shute A Town like Alice

C.S. Forester The Hornblower books

Aldous Huxley Brave New World

Tom Clancy The Teeth of the Tiger
Red Rabbit

What are your favourite books? Leave a comment to let everyone know!

Are you bored of using a normal dictionary?

If you are a visual learner you may find the link below useful.



http://www.visuwords.com/?word=visitor


What do you think?

Is Romeo believable?

At the start of the play Romeo is so in love with Rosaline he is miserable. One glance at Juliet and he forgets Rosaline and falls in love with Juliet!

After meeting Juliet he follows her home and waits outside her bedroom window! He talks about marriage after knowing her no more than a few hours.

The next day he marries her!

What do you think about Romeo?

How does Shakespeare use dramatic devices in Act 3 Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet in order to make it such an interesting, exciting and important scene?

Introduction Give some brief details about:
· the plot of Romeo and Juliet;
· how the play fits into the tragedy genre;
· the general themes of the play;
· the social and historical context of the play;
· where this scene fits into the play as a whole.

Main Part You need to explain how and why Shakespeare uses dramatic devices within the scene to interest, involve and affect the audience. Comment on:
· the methods Shakespeare uses to create mood and atmosphere at the start of the scene (character, language);
· the way he contrasts the mood of this scene with the romantic atmosphere of the previous scene (Act 2 Scene 6);
· how the scene links to previous events in the play (the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, previous public brawls, the Prince's warnings);
· the use and effects of dramatic irony within the scene (when Romeo refuses to rise to Tybalt’s challenge);
· the conflict between various characters and its impact on the audience;
· the dramatic impact of any entrances and exits, (particularly those involving Mercutio’s death); · the use of Benvolio as a narrator;
· the way the plot development in this scene is used to create suspense, including the repetition of the phrase “a plague on both your houses”.

Conclusion Finally, sum up why this is such a dramatic and important scene:
· overall, how does this scene affect the audience?
· what makes Act 3 Scene 1 the turning point in the play?
· how do the Prince's words at the end of the scene interest and involve the members of the audience?
· what do you think of the scene and why?