YEAR 12 LESSON TWENTY-ONE [28th Feb 13]: Homework.

This session involved students receiving a verbal assault from an irritated teacher who was perturbed by the poor quality of a recent batch of Gatsby essays. Students were directed towards the mark scheme and made aware of why CHIMPNIMSKY was a tad disappointed. Exemplar material was provided in the hope that the class develop complete awareness of the intellectual expectation and assessment demands of the 'even numbered' Section A exam question.
The heart of the lesson was a reading of ACT THREE of Jez Butterworth's JERUSALEM. The class were then pushed towards a consideration of the following questions:

• How does the content of Blake's poem relate to the content of the play?
• What is the aim of Butterworth?
• What are the themes and issues being explored by Butterworth in this play?
• How is the adult world represented in this play? Why?
• In what sense can this play be considered a comedy?

Then we all went home to our own versions of England.

HOMEWORK: Read the coursework essay titles as next week we will be exploring issues relating to the play and trying to create some awareness of the content required to construct a decent piece of coursework. This will be a BIG lesson. Bring some wisdom. READ THE PLAY.

Students also need to provide a two paragraph and conclusion response to the Gatsby essay that so disappointed your teacher!! REMEMBER, THESE ESSAYS MUST:

• Offer an argument that is supported with precise textual reference.
• Provide evidence that a feature of the text may be interpreted differently by different readers. For example the symbolic meaning attached to the characters of Gatsby or Daisy.
• Provide evidence of how historical context may shape meaning.
• Provide clear question focus.

I will accept two paragraphs and a conclusion if the argument is detailed and all assessment objectives are being addressed. Three paragraphs and a conclusion may provide a more meaningful revision resource. The choice is your own!! In the exam students will only have 30 minutes to answer this question so two paragraphs and a coherent conclusion may still be enough to access the top grades. Refer to the exemplar material as this will provide a clear understanding of how this task should be approached.Only two students are exempt from this repeat task.

Good Luck.