In today's lesson we story boarded the synopsis of the novel Frankenstein. If you missed the lesson you need to do this. Here is a useful synopsis or here. Please storyboard the main points in your book before next lesson.

Ms

Hello Y10

Those of you who didn't get 10/10 in the spelling test learn the words you don't know. Every now and then, I'll slip in an old spelling to ensure you have a secure understanding. I hope I don't see those words spelt incorrectly again.

We've got lots of learning to do so I hope the stats increase on this blog. It is here to support and extend your learning. Using it will improve your understanding and grade.

Your homework is to create a super-document about the historical context. Here is the guidance for the super-document, which is due in on Tuesday; a reminder that this document should be information on the eight aspects of the presentations (these can be found in the previous post).

Good luck with the rest of the presentations.

Any problems or concerns then please leave a comment.

See you next week.

Ms

Hello Y10

Today we started one of the texts for our next Controlled Assessment: Frankenstein. The other text will be Macbeth.

As one of the Assessment Objectives is about the historical context, we are starting with presentations on the historical context in which the novel was written (1818).

Each group will include information on:

• Mary Shelley
• Romanticism
• Mary Wolstonecraft
• The Gothic genre
• The status of women
• Science
• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
• Paradise Lost

You should have a detailed understanding of each of these aspects and, even though you're working as a group, you need to have individual notes.

This learning will ensure you have a good understanding and can debate the issues as they come up in the text.

As I said in today's lesson, we are going to start having a spelling test once a week to help secure common spellings. This week's words (for Monday's lesson) are:

• That's
• they're
• their
• your
• you're
• it's
• its
• apparent
• conscious
• environment

Lots of good work today! I'm looking forward to the presentations.

Ms Caldwell

P.S. Remember, if you miss a lesson, you need to use this blog to keep up with what's happening in lesson time. Here then, you'll benefit from researching some of the above topics from home

Holiday Reading

My Goodness! I nearly forgot to give you some guidance for your Christmas reading list - sorry.

The reading list is really a work in progress as I'm hoping to get your feedback on what you like to put something more comprehensive together.

As you know, next term we'll be studying Macbeth and Frankenstein. Any reading you can do around this over the holiday will help greatly. It will be quite intensive once we get back and I advise that you do so. Use these links for Macbeth and Frankenstein for some study around the contexts and literary features. There are also some interesting things on YouTube. Both texts are much studied for GCSE so there are a multitude of resource online.

Any reading helps improve your writing as you learn vocabulary and about sentence structures and have good fun at the same time! Any reading is good; you could read magazines. I recommend about 30mins/day.

Books that I think you will enjoy are (new and old...):

• Lord of The Flies
• Vernon God Little
• The Curious Incident
• Black Rabbit Summer
• Catcher in The Rye
• Jane Eyre
• Waves
• Of Mice and Men
• Witch Child
• Soldier Boy

I've even put a link on each so that you can find out a little more about them (my Christmas present to you!). I've tried to meet the needs of all the class there. Please don't immediately rule out the older books; they become classics for a reason.

There are also reading list available online. This link gives suggestions and reviews of over 300 books for teenagers. Try this interactive book chooser and let me know how it works out.

Hope this keeps you going.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Ms Caldwell

If you missed the Controlled Assessment...

You will have to do it on Wednesday afternoon. The same rules will apply as did in the Citizenship mock.
Go to the gym after lunch on Wednesday. Be there on time.
Ms
P.S You should have finished in time to do your presentations P5!

Hitcher PEE+

This week we've looked at analysing layers of meaning. It's essential we can do this as it is what gets you higher grades and also helps you think critically, which will help you in a range of subjects and skills. Find a line in the poem and develop and extend your response. It may seem, at first glance, that you can't get much out of the line, but we can consider how it presents the speaker and the influence that it has on the reader. As we have found in class, you can extend and develop the smallest quote finding layers of meaning.

Structure is also important. You need to be able structure your paragraphs to show off your understanding. The PEE+ structure is an efficient way to keep writing on task and focused.

Here is the poem with questions and key terms. This is to enable you to extend your learning outside of the classroom. Here is the PowerPoint that we learnt from in class. A reminder then that it is your responsibility for you to keep up with work that you've missed; this blog is a resource to extend your learning as well as keep up with class learning.

Home work is to write a second PEE+ paragraph that incorporates the peer set targets. This is due Friday.

Ms Caldwell

Hello Y10

Hopefully, lots of you will be looking at this after being prompted to after Y10PCE. A reminder then of some of the links that are available to you on this blog. There's a link for: information on semi-colons; there is more semi-colon information here; the poetic devices sheet that you were given is here; if you would like to look at the analysis on YouTube of Island Man that we looked at in lesson click here and for further analysis and advice on a broad range of writing skills click here. (I highly recommend this last link as you can work on skills that are specific to your personalised targets.)

This is a great resource for you that will refine your skills for independent study; skills as an independent learner will serve you well throughout your education and for life!

If you still haven't finished your Controlled Assessment, you will do this in the hall on Wednesday 15th in the afternoon with the Y11 mocks. You will have had some experience of this at this point; you have your Citizenship mock this Wednesday. The same rules will apply.

See you next week,

Ms Caldwell