YEAR 12 LESSON FOUR..20th Sept 16

Today's session began our journey through F.Scott Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY. The focus of the session was the narrative voice of NICK CARRAWAY. Students must UNDERSTAND HOW and WHY FITZGERALD uses Carraway to shape meaning. This is the starting point of our journey through the novel.

HOMEWORK: Complete the poetry essay and read the opening chapter of Gatsby. Digest the resources that I posted to the last Y12 blog entry.
http://becuriouslit.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/year-12-opening-three-lessons-sept-16.html 

YEAR 13 LESSON TWO..19th Sept 16

The aim of this session was to illustrate some of the key ideas being explored within the 'canon' section of the critical anthology. The session also aimed to provide students with an idea of the content that will be expected to produce when creating coursework. Students need to be aware of the different critical approaches to notions of literary value beyond the narrow boundaries of the traditional literary canon.
The poetry of SHELLEY was used to generate a discussion linked to the concerns that will be explored within the poetry coursework.

HOMEWORK: READ HUGHES and DHARKER as the work of these two poets will be the focus of next week's session. I may also refer to Eliot's PRUFROCK and if I have time I will discuss the work of LARKIN. Please read the texts as an informed and sophisticated A Level discussion is only possible if students have bothered to engage with the texts.
Below are some resources that students should digest as they will inform the content of the poetry coursework:
Simon Armitage on the purpose of poetry...'Poetry is a form of dissent':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvFcbedyQ0A
Imtiaz Dharker...'HONOUR KILLING':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M04_yMEoecE
Interview with Imtiaz Darker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpdeqEzAKJg
Anais Nin..'WHY I WRITE':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-dRf7Zxf8Q
George Orwell..'Why I Write':
http://orwell.ru/library/essays/wiw/english/e_wiw
Eliot reads Prufrock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAO3QTU4PzY
Maxine Peake discusses The Mask of Anarchy on BBC West Local News:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx6SHg1FDnw
The Peterloo Massacre...BBC TV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-ln4p4mWu0
Sleaford Mods interview on Channel Four News:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4G_UYK0Rkk

YEAR 12 Opening three lessons Sept 16..

The first three sessions looked at the poems Lovesong and Wind by Ted Hughes and Daffodils written by William Wordsworth. The sessions involved analysis and class discussion. The quality of student response has been superb.
However...now is the time for the first essay. In today's session I gave students an essay structure to follow for Daffodils and Wind. The essay should be succinct and detailed.

After discussing the essay, students were introduced to our first exam text...THE GREAT GATSBY. Students were introduced to the VALLEY OF ASHES and an extract from Gatsby's Party at the beginning of Chapter Three.These two locations are incredibly significant and students were asked to consider why Fitzgerald might represent these two areas of  New York as being almost two different worlds. Class discussion was ok but was not as impressive as previous lessons.

HOMEWORK: Complete the essay. If you would like your essay marking before next Friday, give me the essay on Tuesday.
Students also need to be reading THE GREAT GATSBY. On Tuesday we will be discussing the opening chapter and we will consider the character of NICK CARRAWAY.

Here are some resources to aid understanding:
John Green discusses the novel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw9Au9OoN88 
Living the DREAM in the Valley of Ashes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VhYMdnAsyM
Historical Context Resources:
http://becuriouslit.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-great-gatsby-historical-context.html
Documentary...America 1920-29...BOOM to BUST:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN7ftyZigYs
Baz Luhrmann discusses why he made a film of the novel:
http://www.channel4.com/news/baz-luhrmann-the-great-gatsby-film-director
Trailer to Luhrmann's GATSBY:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rARN6agiW7o

YEAR 13 LESSON ONE..13th Sept 2016

The first session of the year will consider the Poetry Coursework component of the course. Students will be expected to discuss the content of two poems through the filter of the AQA Anthology. Our Anthology focus will be LITERARY VALUE AND THE CANON.

The three poets below are not considered to be worthy of canonical status and students may wish to use this content to construct their coursework.
HOLLIE McNISH:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJX5XHnONTI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiS8q_fifa0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc0VqwKuJHY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5-BNFKkz9M
KATIE TEMPEST:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv5fggapRwQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NRYLzWovtk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPIubZRkI6A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWbilDsEwbA
JOHN COOPER CLARK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qN9pduox0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37QUUwp9xIs
SLEAFORD MODS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEYYI1ii0AU

I will also be offering students the work of..

• Shakespeare
• Ted Hughes
• Simon Armitage
• Philip Larkin
• Imtiaz Dharker
• T.S.Eliot
• Percy Shelley

Your task is to select the work of one poet and use two poems from this poet to construct coursework.