AN INSPECTOR CALLS PODCASTS.

 

Here are TWO podcasts that I created for the study of Priestley's classic play. They may be useful for teachers or students delivering this fantastic text to GCSE LIT students.

I have found that the creation of AUDIO resources for my students has been extremely beneficial. Students who struggle with literacy skills have found these resources useful. FEED YOUR EARS.

https://soundcloud.com/fishymedia/an-inspector-callspart-one

https://soundcloud.com/fishymedia/an-inspector-callspart-one

HERE WE GO AGAIN....

I have not used this BLOG for a long time because my school uses GOOGLE CLASSROOMS..BUT I AM BACK! I will be posting material for the AQA GCSE ENGLISH/ENGLISH LITERATURE course and the AQA LIT A Level course.

I received a message asking me why I had stopped posting material. I originally created this blog for ALL students, not just the poor souls unfortunate enough to have to endure me as their English teacher....so here we go again. RESOURCES FOR EVERYBODY. 

Below is a link to a film that I made last year to promote A Level LIT study. FEED YOUR MIND.

https://vimeo.com/743871157?share=copy

A CHRISTMAS CAROL...

 The 1951 film....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jnm6RypkmQ

GRETA...

 

Speech at Austrian World Summit..July 2021..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6eQwAi2U18

Speech..Youth 4 Climate summit in Milan 2021..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceIE_ehQhtc

I think these THREE films on the IPlayer are essential viewing. I think they need to be shown in ALL schools.

GRETA THUNBERG: A Year To Change The World.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p099f5jj/greta-thunberg-a-year-to-change-the-world-series-1-episode-1

 

THE MUSIC of V...Tony Harrison..

 

The coal in the photograph above is known as SHILBOTTLE COBBLES....

Herman Darewski...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ6Qo0PrUEA&list=PL1YBeOI62FT9O-ZpQ-Gxko8x2UE8qCocC&index=3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCjB46HmP9Q

Alban Berg...LULU...THIS OPERA IS INCOMPLETE..Berg died before completing the final act..Tony Harrison's wife is Teresa Stratas.. an operatic soprano singer famed for her version of Berg's LULU..This explains the line..' Shillbottle cobbles, Alban Berg, high D lifted from the source that bears your name,..'

I think this section of the poem with Harrison UNITED with his wife, listening to music, and enjoying the heat of a coal fire is quite a significant moment..WHAT SAY YOU??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLuLsFjnCjI

Here is the Alban Berg  LULU suite...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=025dWp9OVYA

HOW IMPORTANT IS MUSIC IN HARRISON'S V? What is the symbolic significance?

In a previous lesson I referred to VAUGHAN WILLIAMS and The Lark Ascending being a pice of classical music that very often makes me cry..and I'm not sure why!! LEND IT YOUR EARS..Read the You Tube comments...Incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR2JlDnT2l8

I also mentioned the SEX PISTOLS and how when I first heard their album NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS in 1978 I found it terrifying and exciting. Here is the track that inspired the fear and engagement...I had never heard music like this before!!! I also include the classic GOD SAVE THE QUEEN that was banned from the radio but still made it to number ONE in the UK charts. I think V is a SEX PISTOLS of a POEM! 

Holidays in the SUN...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ah1JM9mf60

God Save The Queen....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMxqcgBhWQ

In a recent lesson I also mentioned how much i love the music of Bjork..MIGHTY MUSICAL MAGIC..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi4XrAF-Yc8

YEAR 13...Contextual resources for Harrison's V...

 

ORGREAVE...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsRmDLD089M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2jH53e6_jQ

In 2016 Channel Four News looks back at Orgreave...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULZoaR1AxBE

The Miners' Strike..Channel Four News..2014..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA-76QeiuSQ

THATCHER talks about the Miners' Strike...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhsl0QHSDWE

The Miners' Strike..Were the Army at the ready? Channel Four News..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXokFusfPsM

Thames TV documentary linked to Picketing and Police tactics during 84 Miners' Strike..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGeICaYnuo8

Documentary linked to 1972 Miners' Strike...Classic documentary..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gFhxhDdxnY

SKINHEADS....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLHnoiGpyF0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY4pZlP6YtE  [ i can only apologise]

Clockwork Orange...seriously..in the 1970s some of the early football hooligans adopted the dress style of 'THE DROOGS'...funny old world eh?? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtRGeyznv7k

CLOCKWORK ORANGE opening scene...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyUUvKJmmUY

Rival Gang Fight...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuzFLNpKen0

LINKS TO ALL MY TONY HARRISON RESOURCES...

https://becuriouslit.blogspot.com/2019/09/tony-harrison-resources.html

FOR Y12..SEPT 2021..FIRST SESSION..

 

SO..ARE THESE TEXTS EXAMPLES OF CREDIBLE LITERATURE?

WHAT IS LITERATURE??

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LITERATURE?

Hollie McNish:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2z-Cd3luqA&t=28s

John Cooper Clarke:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu4fiRFhC-4

BENEFITS...FLAG..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTsJjKqTR3Y

Maya Angelou..Still I Rise..:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqo50LSZ0

Imtiaz Dharker..Blessing..:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skwo_Wv7Exc

CHALLENGING PEOPLE WITH POWER..

Sometimes people with POWER make horrific decisions and need to be challenged...Think about these examples in the context of Orwell's ANIMAL FARM...

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-57124276

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-56604467

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/apr/16/children-who-organised-pimlico-academy-protest-could-be-expelled

RESOURCES for Y12 LIT..MAY 2021

 

       CAN ART CHANGE the WORLD?

https://becuriouslit.blogspot.com/2019/01/can-art-change-world.html

https://becuriouslit.blogspot.com/2016/11/year-13-monday-28th-november-2016.html

COLD WAR STEVE...Social and Political Protest???? John Heartfield??

BANKSY...

AMANDA GORMAN....

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/20/amanda-gorman-poem-biden-inauguration-transcript

BENEFITS.. FLAG..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTsJjKqTR3Y

SLEAFORD MODS...JOBSEEKER...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEYYI1ii0AU

ART AS SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PROTEST...

WHAT SAY YOU?

SOPHIE SCHOLL...

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-57008360

POETRY....

 Maya Angelou....STILL I RISE..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qviM_GnJbOM

John Agard...HALF-CASTE...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDQf2Wv2L3E

Imtiaz Dharker..HONOUR KILLING...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M04_yMEoecE

BLESSING...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skwo_Wv7Exc

Imtiaz Dharker...discusses Blessing....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g44WplTChA

AMANDA GORMAN'S INAUGURATION POEM...Jan 2021.

So the ignorant regime of the vile fascist is at an end. Here is AMANDA GORMAN'S poem from the US Presidential Inauguration  yesterday. This is a wonderful example of Social and Political protest writing.

THE HILL WE CLIMB.

SOAK IT UP.

BBC article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKxaq9Yi8Cc&pbjreload=101

CBS News article: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePiZc5yP7KA

Article from The Guardian: 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/20/amanda-gorman-poem-biden-inauguration

FULL PERFORMANCE OF THE POEM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp9pyMqnBzk

TEXT OF POEM:

AQA Notes linked to the 'SOCIAL and POLITICAL PROTEST' exam texts.

 

YEAR 12 HARD TIMES related post...LIVE LESSONS..

Now then folks. The LIVE LESSONS are going okay with minimal technical problems and only some slight 'cat feeding' issues providing a barrier to learning. OBVIOUSLY, i have provided a LOT OF NOTES linked to DICKENS' novel and I expect ALL the class to be synthesising the content of the notes and considering the commentary that I have been offering students in the LIVE LESSONS.

The contribution of ROBYN and LEX is tremendous but I want to hear MORE VOICES. Next week I expect every student to offer at least ONE  'unmuted' response.

Next THURSDAY we will be considering the TWO QUESTIONS:

• 'HARD TIMES is an angry novel full of optimism.' To what extent do you agree?
• 'In HARD TIMES, Dickens presents Coketown as a place of unrelenting oppression and misery.' To what extent do you agree with this view?

We will be considering content for the 'angry/optimism' question in the first session and moving into the second question in the second session. One of these essays will be your HOMEWORK...SO you need to consider the possible content for these two essays. I will be expecting a response from ALL students. I expect students to show me that they have been reading my notes, reading the novel, and forming their own critical opinion. I DO NOT EXPECT SILENCE. Consider this a polite educational challenge.

If we have time I will be exploring the character of Sissy and why she is such a significant and symbolic character. For the past FOUR sessions I have been offering a lot of content. NEXT WEEK i expect your contribution to be informed and textually precise. REMEMBER...the big issue with our written work at the beginning of the course was the lack of clear analysis linked to textual reference. We have improved this area of our written work and this improvement needs to continue.

Today we examined GRADGRIND'S TRANSFORMATION and the significance of HARTHOUSE. I believe that some of our contemporary politicians could live inside the pages of a Dickens novel.

Look at Michael 'Wiggy' Fabricant, Jacob Reese-Mogg, and Sir Desmond Swayne! Incredible. Research their voting record. Reese-Mogg is a CHRISTIAN but has consistently voted to reduce benefits for the disabled, continually votes against raising benefits for the poorest people in our society, votes against raising taxes for people earning over £150 000 per year, and voted against financial support for 16/19 year olds still in education. He continually supported the UK leaving Europe whilst at the same time moving some of his own business concerns to Dublin to continue to trade with Europe without restriction. He voted against providing free school meals during the school holidays for children who qualify for free school meals during term time. These children belong to some of the most economically vulnerable families in the UK. He is a millionaire and son of an ex-Tory politician. ARE OUR POLITICIANS JUST AS REPULSIVE AS HARTHOUSE AND HIS BROTHER...???? Would Dickens attack the politicians responsible for guiding our existence?? How would Dickens view Reese-Mogg??? 

Jacob Reese-Mogg and British Fish....Fish are happier for being British....er...see clip below. Whilst we were discussing Reese-Mogg, he was making this comment in Parliament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiKmqY_RNME

Piers Morgan interviews Matt Hancock...begin watching 13 minutes into the interview...Wow..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqQEWlZWhP0

 

UK 2020...

 BBC...Burnley..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-55133081

Channel Four news..

https://www.channel4.com/news/are-politicians-doing-enough-for-britains-poorest-people-its-not-ok-to-leave-that-to-charity

THIS IS HAPPENING IN THE UK in 2020.....

EXEMPLAR COURSEWORK...

Here are some previous examples of LIT Coursework. This resource should allow students to comprehend how we present ideas using the content from the Anthology. When we discussed COURSEWORK last week in our tutorials the most common question was linked to how a coursework response should be structured so the resources below should offer some guidance.

I stated that the DEADLINE for the FIRST DRAFT is Tuesday the 24th November but I do not have a problem with Friday 27th. We will begin conventional 'teaching' lessons on Friday 27th. Students need to keep asking me questions and showing me work in progress. DO NOT LEAVE ALL YOUR QUESTIONS TO THE LAST MINUTE AS I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU. Students will only comprehend the areas that will need discusion by attempting to construct the essay and discovering for themselves the areas of their work that require clarity. I will be available in T1 throughout the construction of the draft. The first draft needs to be detailed and should be a substantial essay. Remember, the word limit is 1500 words. Be succinct and precise. REMEMBER...THIS IS INDEPENDENT STUDY. I WILL OFFER GUIDANCE BUT MY INPUT SHOULD BE MINIMAL. 

I WOULD LIKE COURSEWORK TO BE COMPLETE BEFORE THE BREAK FOR THE WINTER FESTIVAL. SO YOU NEED TO GET CRACKING!

Here is a link to the coursework exemplar I posted at the end of Year 12..

http://becuriouslit.blogspot.com/2020/06/y12-courseworkexamples-of-previous-cwork.html

The resources below should help students comprehend how we structure a coursework response.

This first example is B/C quality:

Here is a section from an A/B response:

Here is another A/B response. Again, note the structure of the argument.

This is a grade A  Shelley response....

ALLEZ...

NEVER WONDER....

Tainted Love..

 https://vimeo.com/user1970479

Adelphi...15 minutes..

https://vimeo.com/user1970479

Mr Benn...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3XVJ17uysM

The Clangers..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok6CoIwcJ-E

Y13 RESOURCES FOR STUDY OF TONY HARRISON. September 22nd 2020.

 

 

Below is an old BE CURIOUS blog entry from last September that is stuffed full of resources that will introduce you to the work of TONY HARRISON. There is a lot of material here so perhaps just watch the Channel 4 film of V and listen to my podcast. On Friday we will be looking at Harrison's THEM and [UZ] and the infamous work of art that is the epic V. We will also be discussing The Kite Runner. KEEP READING FOLKS.

https://becuriouslit.blogspot.com/2019/09/tony-harrison-resources.html

 In our last session I shared some PROTEST music from my childhood. Below is the X-Ray Spex video created to promote their tune 'Identity.' I really was massively influenced by the great Polly Styrene [Marianne Elliott-Said]. Link to video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYoiCStDTQg

They also had a song called 'Germ Free Adolescents' which I still consider a classic tune. This is from Top Of The Pops in 1978..a mainstream BBC music show. Listen to Polly's lyrics. Amazing. Imagine being 13 and hearing this!! RIP Polly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctGzLjUfpag&t=128s

I also played you TYPICAL GIRLS by THE SLITS. Listen to the lyrics. About as far away from The Spice Girls and Little Mix as your mind can travel. Mediocrity is not an option. The Slits played their own instruments and created their own songs. They refused to be objectified and trivialised. This is one of the great 'PUNK' tunes from the late 1970s. Still sounds ace to me.

..' who invented the typical girl..here's another marketing ploy..the typical girl gets the typical boy..'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCk8tEOcwqU  

I also mentioned WOODY GUTHRIE who was the original American protest singer in the 1930s. He is the inspiration for musicians as diverse as Bob Dylan and The Clash. His acoustic guitar famously displayed the message..'THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS.' The tune below is considered to be one of the great American Protest songs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxiMrvDbq3s 

And while I'm here...here is Radio 6 voice Tom Robinson with POWER IN THE DARKNESS. This was released in 1978. Check the lyrics. Unfortunately..still a very relevant protest song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auN0ZLcuvXI

And what about this beast from THE GOATS..'I'm Not Your Typical American'...nailed on hip-hop  social protest classic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_F2FDpU1mM

Billy Holiday [1939]..STRANGE FRUIT..A protest song about the horrific lynchings of black Americans..The strange fruit hanging in the trees are the corpses of lynched humans..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Web007rzSOI 

Nina Simone [1967]..I WISH I KNEW HOW IT FEELS TO BE FREE...A song adopted by the American Civil Rights Movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDqmJEWOJRI 

..And of course..Sam Cooke..' A Change Is Gonna Come..' Another song adopted by the Civil Rights Movement. ABSOLUTE EPIC CLASSIC...makes me weep. A song of suffering, anger, and hope. BEAUTIFUL...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPr3yvkHYsE

Stevie Wonder...'You haven't done nothin..'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SEGHvLElxc 

Elvis Costello..'Tramp The Dirt Down..'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t4-zDem1Sk

And finally...Grandad Punk Rock's trip down Protest Music Memory Lane concludes with THE CLASH playing WHITE RIOT at the ROCK AGAINST RACISM event in Victoria Park in 1978. My Mother would not let me travel to this gig. Probably a good job. This was a moment when contemporary British music attempted to highlight serious social issues that were evident in our culture. PROPER PROTEST MUSIC. Look at that crowd!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqtEl5_JwNU  

Modern Protest songs???? What say you???

Bonsoir.

 

 

NOTES FOR YEAR 12. SEPTEMBER 21st 2020. POETRY OF SHELLEY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When next we meet folks, we will be considering the essay title:

'THE POETRY OF PERCY SHELLEY IS FULL OF ANGER AND HOPE.' To what extent do you agree with this view?

Our class discussion on Thursday will begin with a consideration of the possible content appropriate for this essay. This essay will be your first LITERATURE essay at BGS. I expect to receive this essay on or before Friday 2nd October.

Remember...the Shelley poems that will form the focus of our discussion will be..

THE MASK OF ANARCHY/ ENGLAND IN 1819/ LOVE'S PHILOSOPHY/ OZYMANDIAS. 

Article from The Guardian linked to the content of THE MASK OF ANARCHY:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/jul/08/anarchy-in-peterloo-shelleys-poem-unmasked

In our double trouble sessions on Thursday I also expect to begin the analysis of the first of our exam texts which will be HARD TIMES by CHARLES DICKENS. All students need to have a copy of the text with them on Thursday. If we have time, we will be discussing the significance of the opening chapter.

Some resources you may wish to digest before the lesson...

Below are a couple of brief resources that link to the work of Dickens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9dB9BZWDBU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5czA_L_eOp4 

In the last lesson I offered the belief that ART CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. I referred to John Heartfield, the films of Ken Loach, and Hitler's Degenerate Art exhibition. Below are a couple of old BE CURIOUS blog entries that illustrates this idea that Art can empower.

https://becuriouslit.blogspot.com/2019/01/can-art-change-world.html

https://becuriouslit.blogspot.com/2016/11/year-13-monday-28th-november-2016.html 

Hope you are are all safe and well. See you Thursday.

MLR