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Secondary and Gifted and Talented: Ideas Menu
Here are some ideas I have had for projects. If you are interested in any of these, or have an idea of your own that you'd like me to work with, please get in touch using the contact form below.
Poetry Analysis and Essay Structure
(Could be split into two shorter sessions.)
1. Talk about the physical side of words – link to poetic techniques and the impacts they can have e.g. pace (through caesura, monosyllabic/polysyllabic and the effect it has on the emotion of the piece e.g. fast pace can = fear).
2. Brainstorm literary techniques, think of examples. I add any that might be useful.
3. I explain a technique I’ve found useful for poetry – identifying all the techniques and annotating them, then going onto analysing them – are they significant or not and what do we think the impacts are?
4. They do this on a poem e.g. Robert Frost’s Design (or any poem they are currently studying, although ones with more ‘techniques’ in them like alliteration are easier to work with.
5. Together we plan an essay on the poem – what would main answer to the question be, and what points would they say?
6. (If we were doing two sessions in one I would, before point 5, look at the PQA/PEA (etc) paragraph structure, the general aims of essays, title analysis etc first. If these were to be separated I would add in looking at the different Attainment Objectives, and at Grade Boundaries – what makes the difference between them – discuss these, and then plan an essay e.g. on the prose text they are studying right now that seeks, specifically, to cover all the AOs required while at the same time answering the question.)
Exploring a Text
I’ve found that writing short stories from plays can be quite successful in exploring the motivations and emotions of the characters – particularly when writing first person stream of consciousness. For example what is Juliet feeling and thinking when she wakes up after her first night with Romeo. What does Prospero feel and think when he crashes the ship onto his island?
And with prose texts it can be useful to ask the students to write a short story from the point of view of a different character to the main narrator to explore points of view, motivations, and also to look at how the narrative point of view affects the story.
I would be happy to prepare some exercises similar to these based on any of the texts you are studying at the moment.
(I’ve Seen The Future) - Writing and Science
Simple things such as looking at, for example, someone wanting to make a cup of tea in a future where there is very little electricity, and water has salt in it because the sea-levels have risen – for example a conversation between a grandparent and grandchild on how we used to drink tea – have a lot of potential. Students could look at the possible effects of global warming (or population increase, or anything really), and write short stories to illustrate the different impacts. These stories could be aimed at a certain target age groups e.g. writing stories for young children, teenagers, or adults.
Writing and History
In a similar way to science (I’ve Seen the Future), writing can be a great way to explore history, and bring it to life. For example a group could be charged with writing a play that explores why the Germans voted the Nazis in, or imagine Hitler’s life, or other politicians’ thoughts as they’re fighting against him. You could put all the politicians in a room together, Big Brother style, and see what happens. This could be drama or short stories. It could also work with social history – for example the life of a child during the Great Depression or a child gets ill but is saved by penicillin. The Milkmaid and the Smallpox Vaccine...
Poetry Analysis and Essay Structure
(Could be split into two shorter sessions.)
1. Talk about the physical side of words – link to poetic techniques and the impacts they can have e.g. pace (through caesura, monosyllabic/polysyllabic and the effect it has on the emotion of the piece e.g. fast pace can = fear).
2. Brainstorm literary techniques, think of examples. I add any that might be useful.
3. I explain a technique I’ve found useful for poetry – identifying all the techniques and annotating them, then going onto analysing them – are they significant or not and what do we think the impacts are?
4. They do this on a poem e.g. Robert Frost’s Design (or any poem they are currently studying, although ones with more ‘techniques’ in them like alliteration are easier to work with.
5. Together we plan an essay on the poem – what would main answer to the question be, and what points would they say?
6. (If we were doing two sessions in one I would, before point 5, look at the PQA/PEA (etc) paragraph structure, the general aims of essays, title analysis etc first. If these were to be separated I would add in looking at the different Attainment Objectives, and at Grade Boundaries – what makes the difference between them – discuss these, and then plan an essay e.g. on the prose text they are studying right now that seeks, specifically, to cover all the AOs required while at the same time answering the question.)
Exploring a Text
I’ve found that writing short stories from plays can be quite successful in exploring the motivations and emotions of the characters – particularly when writing first person stream of consciousness. For example what is Juliet feeling and thinking when she wakes up after her first night with Romeo. What does Prospero feel and think when he crashes the ship onto his island?
And with prose texts it can be useful to ask the students to write a short story from the point of view of a different character to the main narrator to explore points of view, motivations, and also to look at how the narrative point of view affects the story.
I would be happy to prepare some exercises similar to these based on any of the texts you are studying at the moment.
(I’ve Seen The Future) - Writing and Science
Simple things such as looking at, for example, someone wanting to make a cup of tea in a future where there is very little electricity, and water has salt in it because the sea-levels have risen – for example a conversation between a grandparent and grandchild on how we used to drink tea – have a lot of potential. Students could look at the possible effects of global warming (or population increase, or anything really), and write short stories to illustrate the different impacts. These stories could be aimed at a certain target age groups e.g. writing stories for young children, teenagers, or adults.
Writing and History
In a similar way to science (I’ve Seen the Future), writing can be a great way to explore history, and bring it to life. For example a group could be charged with writing a play that explores why the Germans voted the Nazis in, or imagine Hitler’s life, or other politicians’ thoughts as they’re fighting against him. You could put all the politicians in a room together, Big Brother style, and see what happens. This could be drama or short stories. It could also work with social history – for example the life of a child during the Great Depression or a child gets ill but is saved by penicillin. The Milkmaid and the Smallpox Vaccine...
