FOR SALE! Complete handbook for this blog and its resources

I have recently compiled an Adobe pdf version of this entire Blog site plus some additional materials. The book is 580 pages in length and approx 7.5 Mb in file transfer size. The book spans 2008 - 2012 and covers various aspects of teaching ESL and EFL classes as well as mainstream English. It includes lesson plans, resource links, work sheets, student examples, Exam links (IGSE / IB etc).  I a presently taking pre-orders at € 10 each. The book is printable therefore the resources and examples can be used in your classes. It covers age groups Key Stage 3 -5 / US Grades 8 - 12 as well as college and University under graduate levels. This is a valuable resource for teachers and student teachers.

For more information and how to order your copy please write to me at the below link Thank you

ORDER HERE / More Information

Shakespeare Study Guides – (Cummings)

For everyone who is interested in excellent Shakespeare guides and materials I really recommend Cummings Study Guides. We have recommended these materials in the past and are pleased to pass along that there have been many major updates and expansions to the original materials.

In their own words……

Plays, Sonnets, Poems

Play Summaries and Analysis: Plot summaries of all the plays, including those of doubtful or joint authorship, such as Edward III, The Two Noble Kinsmen, Sir Thomas More (partly written by Shakespeare), and Cardenio (probably partly written by Shakespeare). Criticism, sources, settings, dates, themes, and other information. 
Sonnet Summaries and Analysis: Definition, origin, and development of the sonnet form. Comparison of the Shakespearean sonnet with the Petrarchan sonnet. Analysis of the rhyme scheme of the Shakespearean sonnet. Common sonnet themes. Discussion of the "young man," "the dark lady," and the "rival poet" referred to in the sonnets. Sonnets and sexuality. 
Narrative and Complaint Poems: Background information, themes, style, and summaries of Shakespeare's long narrative poems—Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece—and the complaint poem, A Lover's Complaint (with an annotated text). Analysis of The Phoenix and the Turtle.

This is a

A Free Resource Posted by Michael J. Cummings (mcum.mings@mail.com)
Recommended as a Shakespeare Resource by The New York Times

Free Resources For International Schools

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Primary and Secondary Activities

Updates on international curriculum changes

Lessons plans suitable for international classrooms

Free chapters from books including the Collins Big Cat series

Original video content (see Michael Rosen talk about Collins Big Cat and reading in schools)

Do you have an iPhone? Then look here ..

EducationApps of London is a fantastic resources for those with iPhones and some other Smart phones.

George Burgess has created a series of applications to help students revise and prepare for their different exams. From the UK 11+ through to AS Level and beyond. EducationApps is a fast growing company with new offerings appearing every month.

Visit EducationApps web site and discover the resources available and I strongly recommend that you book mark it as a favourite on your internet browser.

For more details contact EducationApps or George directly.

Lord of the Flies – Plot Overview

William Golding

Plot Overview

In the midst of a raging war, a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down over a deserted tropical island. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, discover a conch shell on the beach, and Piggy realizes it could be used as a horn to summon the other boys. Once assembled, the boys set about electing a leader and devising a way to be rescued. They choose Ralph as their leader, and Ralph appoints another boy, Jack, to be in charge of the boys who will hunt food for the entire group.

Ralph, Jack, and another boy, Simon, set off on an expedition to explore the island. When they return, Ralph declares that they must light a signal fire to attract the attention of passing ships. The boys succeed in igniting some dead wood by focusing sunlight through the lenses of Piggy's eyeglasses. However, the boys pay more attention to playing than to monitoring the fire, and the flames quickly engulf the forest. A large swath of dead wood burns out of control, and one of the youngest boys in the group disappears, presumably having burned to death.

At first, the boys enjoy their life without grown-ups and spend much of their time splashing in the water and playing games. Ralph, however, complains that they should be maintaining the signal fire and building huts for shelter. The hunters fail in their attempt to catch a wild pig, but their leader, Jack, becomes increasingly preoccupied with the act of hunting.

When a ship passes by on the horizon one day, Ralph and Piggy notice, to their horror, that the signal fire—which had been the hunters' responsibility to maintain—has burned out. Furious, Ralph accosts Jack, but the hunter has just returned with his first kill, and all the hunters seem gripped with a strange frenzy, re-enacting the chase in a kind of wild dance. Piggy criticizes Jack, who hits Piggy across the face. Ralph blows the conch shell and reprimands the boys in a speech intended to restore order. At the meeting, it quickly becomes clear that some of the boys have started to become afraid. The littlest boys, known as “littluns,” have been troubled by nightmares from the beginning, and more and more boys now believe that there is some sort of beast or monster lurking on the island. The older boys try to convince the others at the meeting to think rationally, asking where such a monster could possibly hide during the daytime. One of the littluns suggests that it hides in the sea—a proposition that terrifies the entire group.

Not long after the meeting, some military planes engage in a battle high above the island. The boys, asleep below, do not notice the flashing lights and explosions in the clouds. A parachutist drifts to earth on the signal fire mountain, dead. Sam and Eric, the twins responsible for watching the fire at night, are asleep and do not see the parachutist land. When the twins wake up, they see the enormous silhouette of his parachute and hear the strange flapping noises it makes. Thinking the island beast is at hand, they rush back to the camp in terror and report that the beast has attacked them.

The boys organize a hunting expedition to search for the monster. Jack and Ralph, who are increasingly at odds, travel up the mountain. They see the silhouette of the parachute from a distance and think that it looks like a huge, deformed ape. The group holds a meeting at which Jack and Ralph tell the others of the sighting. Jack says that Ralph is a coward and that he should be removed from office, but the other boys refuse to vote Ralph out of power. Jack angrily runs away down the beach, calling all the hunters to join him. Ralph rallies the remaining boys to build a new signal fire, this time on the beach rather than on the mountain. They obey, but before they have finished the task, most of them have slipped away to join Jack.

Jack declares himself the leader of the new tribe of hunters and organizes a hunt and a violent, ritual slaughter of a sow to solemnize the occasion. The hunters then decapitate the sow and place its head on a sharpened stake in the jungle as an offering to the beast. Later, encountering the bloody, fly-covered head, Simon has a terrible vision, during which it seems to him that the head is speaking. The voice, which he imagines as belonging to the Lord of the Flies, says that Simon will never escape him, for he exists within all men. Simon faints. When he wakes up, he goes to the mountain, where he sees the dead parachutist. Understanding then that the beast does not exist externally but rather within each individual boy, Simon travels to the beach to tell the others what he has seen. But the others are in the midst of a chaotic revelry—even Ralph and Piggy have joined Jack's feast—and when they see Simon's shadowy figure emerge from the jungle, they fall upon him and kill him with their bare hands and teeth.

The following morning, Ralph and Piggy discuss what they have done. Jack's hunters attack them and their few followers and steal Piggy's glasses in the process. Ralph's group travels to Jack's stronghold in an attempt to make Jack see reason, but Jack orders Sam and Eric tied up and fights with Ralph. In the ensuing battle, one boy, Roger, rolls a boulder down the mountain, killing Piggy and shattering the conch shell. Ralph barely manages to escape a torrent of spears.

Ralph hides for the rest of the night and the following day, while the others hunt him like an animal. Jack has the other boys ignite the forest in order to smoke Ralph out of his hiding place. Ralph stays in the forest, where he discovers and destroys the sow's head, but eventually, he is forced out onto the beach, where he knows the other boys will soon arrive to kill him. Ralph collapses in exhaustion, but when he looks up, he sees a British naval officer standing over him. The officer's ship noticed the fire raging in the jungle. The other boys reach the beach and stop in their tracks at the sight of the officer. Amazed at the spectacle of this group of bloodthirsty, savage children, the officer asks Ralph to explain. Ralph is overwhelmed by the knowledge that he is safe but, thinking about what has happened on the island, he begins to weep. The other boys begin to sob as well. The officer turns his back so that the boys may regain their composure.

We need a new home

Dr Rod's English Blog has become a huge success, but we are totally frustrated by our limitations of being a Blog. The Blog acted really great in the beginning but as we have grown and our readership increased from 50 to over 19000 in 4 months we realize we need a different format and to offer many other things that we just cannot do.

We have identified areas where students from across the world need to work together - to collaborate, so see other kids work. We have seen teachers crying out for varied resources as well as original ideas. We never thought of our self as UNIQUE, yet we have become so. Every day I get letters asking for help on essays, exams, Shakespeare and hundreds of other things and yet many have to go unanswered.


So we need HELP! We cannot do this by a Blog any longer. I know Front Page and can work well with that. I would love to develop this site into an open resource linking together students of all ages from Year 5 through University. But they cannot search through Blog entries after Blog entries. So please, if there is anyone out there who can help us with a dedicated site - sorry we have NO money! And can help us get going for three months before the new school year begins PLEASE contact us here!


Write today! The possibilities are endless and the audience as you can see in UNIVERSAL not just USA, Europe but from Mongolia to Lesotho, Columbia to Yemen, Russia, Hong Kong, the lists is over 120 different countries. If your company today can help us PLEASE let me know.


Thanks Dr. Rod

Write to me here!

QCA List of Authors every teenager should read.

QCA recently published a list of authors they believe EVERY teenager should - whether it is reading an entire novel or through an anthology examples of their writing. Reading is fast becoming a lost 'art', so often children and teenagers spend more time in front of their computer, DVD or PS3 than they do reading. Yet reading is the essence of the English language and as such must be encouraged. Here is the new list of authors - note the influence of world literature reflecting the need for understanding of different cultures.

How many of these authors have you read or know?

From Meera Syal to Charles Dickens: Ken Boston's list for 14- to 16-year-olds

Contemporary writers

Douglas Adams, Richard Adams, Fleur Adcock, Isabel Allende, Simon Armitage, Alan Ayckbourn, JG Ballard, Pat Barker, Alan Bennett, Alan Bleasdale, Bill Bryson, Angela Carter, Bruce Chatwin, Brian Clark, Gillian Clarke, Robert Cormier, Jennifer Donnelly, Keith Douglas, Roddy Doyle, Carol Ann Duffy, UA Fanthorpe, John Fowles, Brian Friel, Mark Haddon, Willis Hall, David Hare, Tony Harrison, Susan Hill, SE Hinton, Jackie Kay, Harper Lee, Laurie Lee, Andrea Levy, Joan Lingard, Penelope Lively, Liz Lochhead, Mal Peet, Philip Pullman, Peter Porter, Willy Russell, Jo Shapcott, RC Sherriff, Zadie Smith, Arnold Wesker

English literary heritage

Matthew Arnold, Jane Austen, William Blake, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Robert Browning, John Bunyan, Lord Byron, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Congreve, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Wilkie Collins, Joseph Conrad, Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, John Donne, John Dryden, George Eliot, Henry Fielding, Elizabeth Gaskell, Oliver Goldsmith, Thomas Hardy, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Henry James, John Keats, Christopher Marlowe, Andrew Marvell, John Milton, Mary Shelley, Percy Bysshe Shelley, RB Sheridan, Edmund Spenser, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jonathan Swift, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Anthony Trollope, Henry Vaughan, HG Wells, Oscar Wilde, William Wordsworth, Sir Thomas Wyatt

Twentieth century heritage list

Kingsley Amis, WH Auden, TS Eliot, EM Forster, Robert Frost, William Golding, Graham Greene, Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Aldous Huxley, Elizabeth Jennings, James Joyce, Philip Larkin, DH Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield, Sean O'Casey, George Orwell, Wilfred Owen, Harold Pinter, Slyvia Plath, JB Priestley, Siegfried Sassoon, Peter Shaffer, George Bernard Shawe, Stevie Smith, Muriel Spark, Dylan Thomas, Edward Thomas, RS Thomas, William Trevor, Evelyn Waugh, John Wyndham, WB Yeats

Writers from different cultures and traditions

Chinua Achebe, John Agard, Monica Ali, Maya Angelou, Moniza Alvi, Isaac Bashevis-Singer, James Berry, Edward Brathwaite, Anita Desai, Emily Dickinson, F Scott Fitzgerald, Athol Fugard, Jamila Gavin, Nadine Gordimer, Arthur Miller, Doris Lessing, Les Murray, Beverly Naidoo, RK Narayan, Grace Nichols, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Wole Soyinka, John Steinbeck, Meera Syal, Bali Rai, Mildred D Taylor, Mark Twain, Derek Walcott, Walt Whitman, Tennessee Williams, Adeline Yen Mah, Benjamin Zephaniah

Media Studies - GCSE Year 12, 2008/2009

Media Studies - GCSE

There is a powerful force sending its messages to virtually everyone on the planet. It is using every form of communication tool available. It is in your sitting room, your bedroom, maybe even your bathroom. It is in shops, cinemas, libraries and churches. It travels in cars, on buses, trains, planes and ships. No matter how hard you try, you cannot escape it.

The name of this force is ‘the media’ and, whether you like it or not, to a large extent it defines your life and the way you think. ‘The media’ is the name given to channels of communication a society uses to speak to itself. It includes television, cinema, video/DVD, radio, newspapers, magazines, mobile phones, advertising and computer-internet communication.

How influential is the media? Is it a good or a bad force? Does advertising dominate our lives? Do films encourage violence? How are teenagers represented in magazines? Do pop videos influence which CDs we buy? Has the internet really changed our lives?

If you are interested in these questions, or any others related to the media, then this subject might be for you.

What do we study in Media Studies and what skills will you acquire?

50% of the course is evaluated in a final examination where students are expected to critically dissect at least two different forms of media. The first section requires analysis of audio-visual media which may include watching and evaluating television advertisements, broadcast news, film trailers, music videos or as was the case in 2008, animation. The second section requires students to analyse print based media such as newspapers, magazines, film posters or storyboards. Students will acquire a range of skills to critically appraise most aspects of the media.

50% of the course demands three pieces of practical coursework. Previous GCSE students have designed and produced web pages promoting a new animated version of Harry Potter, a front cover and contents page for a new sports magazine, a short extract for a television documentary about terrorism, an advertising campaign for a new clothes item and the opening five minutes of a new radio soap opera. Your options are only limited by your creativity.

Is the course for me?

If you intend to take GCSE Media Studies you must be interested in all aspects of the media. It is not an easy course and requires hard work and commitment. You also need a good standard of written English because the examination requires timed essay writing skills and all pieces of coursework have to be accompanied by substantial written evaluations. If you are prepared to work hard and have an interest in the media, or even a future career in fields such as journalism, marketing, advertising, TV/Film broadcasting, then you will thoroughly enjoy this course.

 

For further Information :

Please see Dr. Rod

English and English Literature at MIST

 

IGCSE – English Language – (OCR 0500)

IGCSE – English Literature – (Edexcel 4360)

During the two year course, all of you will study for two IGCSE qualifications- English and English Literature. Although examined separately, these will be taught as one course during your weekly lessons of English.

IGCSE stands for International General Certificate of Secondary Education. As an international school, with many different cultures and beliefs, we feel that this course offers a greater range of opportunities and challenges that relate well to our students. The IGCSE qualifications are run by Edexcel International and Cambridge University in England and are fully recognised by universities and centres of higher education worldwide.

In the English Language component you will study a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, examining how writers construct texts, as well as extracting information for your own writing tasks. Imaginative, personal and creative writing will also be important elements of the course. You will be asked to write in a variety of ways and for different purposes, ranging from descriptive to informative and argumentative writing. Every piece of work that you complete in English could count as coursework, which makes up 50% of your final mark.

Another area of English Language that you will study is Speaking and Listening. You will be asked to use appropriate language in a variety of situations, including personal anecdotes, speechmaking and debating. You will develop an awareness of how language changes depending on situation in both speech and writing.

In the English Literature component you will read a novel, a play and a selection of poems. You will be asked questions on two of these texts in your final examination, which makes up 70% of your final mark and to write an analysis of poetry for your coursework, which makes up the remaining 30% of your final mark. There will be an emphasis on learning about the literary techniques and language used by authors as well as looking at themes and ideas in a variety of texts. You will be asked to make comparisons between texts and to relate the ideas and issues that are raised to one another.

When you receive your examination marks at the end of Year Eleven you will be awarded three final grades and three qualifications as a result of this. One grade will be for English Language and with this will be a separated Speaking and Listening grade; the third grade will be for English Literature. It is possible to be awarded different grades in all three areas.

English Language and Literature are subjects that both allow a great deal of creativity, imagination and personal writing. However, they also both require hard work and determination. With these pre-requisites we believe you have every chance for success.

 

For Further Information :

Please see Dr. Rod

Teacher Talk for Parents

 

Teacher talk

Here are some of the words and phrases you may hear teachers use - and what they mean.

attainment target

Each National Curriculum subject has one or more attainment targets. Attainment targets help teachers decide how well students have learned what they have been taught. Each attainment target is made up of eight level descriptions and ‘exceptional performance’. They are a kind of measure. Each level is like the rung of a ladder - students should move up through the level descriptions as they grow older and make progress

breadth

National Curriculum subjects have a section about ‘breadth of study’.

This says that your child is entitled to be taught through a range of important learning experiences. For example, in English the National Curriculum says that your child should study drama, fiction and poetry, from classic and contemporary writers, and from different cultures and traditions. These deepen and broaden your child’s experience of the subject.

CATs

Cognitive Abilities Tests. These are tests which we run for all students at the start of year 7 and year 9. They come from the British based National Foundation for Educational Research and give a snapshot of students’ acquired abilities in thinking with number, with patterns and with words. We use these to help us to identify and build upon students’ particular strengths and preferred ways of working and to provide an indication of their potential in various areas of the curriculum in order to set challenging but realistic targets. Broad results of these are reported to parents with the usual school reports.

English as an additional language (EAL)  English as a Second Language (ESL)

Students who speak English as an additional language, rather than as their first language, may need extra help with their reading and writing tasks across the curriculum. They will need lots of opportunities to talk with English-speaking adults and other students about their work, thoughts and feelings. Often what they need most is varied, vibrant teaching that involves visual resources, sound, speaking and writing to make it easier for them to learn in English while developing their academic skills in the language. We may recommend that some students take separate EAL lessons while others receive extra support in their other lessons. Some students for whom English is an additional language may also have special educational needs.

ICT

This stands for information and communication technology, which includes the use of computers, the internet, and video and sound recording equipment. This subject used to be called ‘information technology’.

key stage

A key stage is a block of years in your child’s schooling. Key stage 1 covers the first two years a child spends at school (aged 5-7), key stage 2 the next four (aged 7-11), key stage 3 ages 11-14, and key stage 4 ages 14-16.

levels (level descriptions)

Each level is a measure teachers use to check how much your child knows, understands, and can do. See ‘attainment target’ above.

Programme of study

Every National Curriculum subject has a programme of study. This sets out what your child is entitled to be taught in schools. The main part of this guide summarises the programmes of study and the attainment targets (see above).

‘SATs’

Many people call National Curriculum QCA tests and tasks by the name of ‘SATs’. Some schools use National Curriculum optional tests in other years, to track students’ progress.

Special educational needs (SEN)

Students have special educational needs if they have learning difficulties that make it much harder for them to learn than most students of the same age. SEN includes students with a range of physical or sensory difficulties, emotional and behavioural difficulties or difficulties with speech, language or social interaction. These students may need to be helped more than other students of the same age, and perhaps in different ways. If you think your child has SEN your first step should be to talk to your child’s form Home Room teacher.

year 7, year 8 (etc)

Because students in a school year have birthdays in different months, it is simpler for schools not to talk about the year by referring to the age of the students in it. Instead, they talk about the number of years since students began key stage 1.

Preparing for Next Year Part 2

Useful Guide for Parents Old and New - KEY STAGE 4

 

Key stage 4 - Choices for students aged 14

Around age 14, your child will be able to make choices for study from 14 to 16 (key stage 4). This stage of your child’s education calls for more choices than at earlier stages:

• your child has to make choices about subjects, and might end up studying a unique mix of subjects;
• there are choices to be made about styles of assessment: should your child choose an option with lots of coursework, or will they be better off with exams?
• and at the same time as studying for exams, you and your child will be thinking about the next steps: what do they intend to do after age 16?

This section gives information you will find useful when your child is about 14. It also gives some answers to questions parents have about study and coursework during the two years that follow.

 

Which qualification?

Between 14 and 16, your child will spend most of their school study time working towards qualifications. Memorial International School of Tirana offers mainly GCSE’s and their international equivalent, IGCSE’s at KS4.

The information that follows explains how these qualifications work.

GCSE’s - General Certificates of Secondary Education

IGCSE’s – International GCSE’s

GCSE’s replaced O-levels and CSE’s in 1988. Most students should take GCSE’s in most of their subjects.

It usually takes two years to study for a GCSE. Coursework is part of most GCSE’s: work over an extended period, which could include essays, field work reports, art work, making products, or investigations.

GCSE’s are graded A*-G. The grade your child gets will depend on coursework and exam marks.

Students might take exams only once (at the end of year 11, aged 16) or twice (at the end of years 10 and 11).

GCSE tiers

At some time during year 10, when your child is aged 15-16, teachers will decide which tier they should enter in each of their GCSE’s.

Each tier has a target range of grades that can be awarded. The aim is for your child to take an exam in which their ability will be tested, without their being thrown off course by questions that are much too difficult or much too easy. Some GCSE subjects are not tiered: art and design, history, music, PE and religious studies, for example. Other GCSEs have tiers.

 

Studying from 14-16

Coursework and exams

The descriptions of the various subjects in the KS4 School Booklet will give you an idea of the different styles of study and assessment your child may meet. Some qualifications award more of their final marks through exams - but even for GCSE’s your child is likely to have to present a substantial amount of coursework. Find out what the mix is for each qualification your child is taking.

Coursework is different from homework, although to parents the activity may look much the same. The difference is simple: if it’s coursework, the mark your child gets for it will count towards their final grade.

This guide can’t generalise about the amount of homework and coursework your child will have to do every week because it will vary according to the ebb and flow of individual subjects and qualifications. Your child’s teachers will be able to give accurate advice.

It is very important that students pace and organise their work through the two years. It is tempting to organise your child if you think they are not doing the right amount of work on time, but remember that your child needs to learn to organise their own work, and interference can sometimes be very counter-productive. It is more productive to help your child sort out the big picture. For example, you might look through the scheme for each qualification with your child, noting when they will have to hand in coursework, when they will have to sit exams or tests, and how much each of these is worth. You and your child could draw up a timetable covering the two years from 14 to 16 showing the critical points for each qualification. Your child is then free to organise their work week by week, but can ask for more help from you when they feel they need it.

The homework tips dotted throughout the key stage 3 section of this guide are also relevant for parents of 14-16 year olds.

 

Spelling and punctuation

Some parents who have been asked to look at their children’s work wonder whether they should correct punctuation and spelling if the subject is not English.

When assessors are marking coursework and exam scripts, some of the marks available will be deducted for English errors - typically 5 - 10%. This means that if your child writes incorrectly, they will lose a significant portion of the marks.

So in marking terms there is a limit to how much your child can lose with poor spelling, punctuation or grammar. If your child asks for your help with geography you will need to spend more time talking about the key concepts and knowledge for geography than about incorrect English.

But writing correctly is essential for English GCSE and it plays an important part in almost every job in adult working life. This is why the government has put a lot of emphasis on literacy for every student. So if your child is making a lot of errors they will need to spend some extra time improving their skills. Take advice from your child’s teacher.

 

Help! Answers to questions

Frequently asked questions

‘This guide says that most students reach the ‘target for every child’ by age 14. But I’m worried that my child won’t.’

In the key stage 3 section of this guide, the ‘targets for every child’ in each subject described what children should be able to do and know. Levels 5 and 6 are the National Curriculum target for 14 year olds.

The aim of the targets is to give a level that most students should have reached by a certain age. There will always be some students below and others beyond the target. If your child finds their work easy, talk to their teachers about what target they should be aiming for - they may need to aim higher. If your child is likely to find level 5 or 6 hard when they get to age 14, the school will tell you in good time.

Qualifications taken at 16 are not assessed using National Curriculum levels. Although National Curriculum levels are not used at 16, the levels your child reaches at 14 give schools a good idea of how well your child is progressing towards the challenges of GCSEs and other qualifications.

If the school says that your child is likely to find it hard to reach the target, remember: students develop at different rates. Some may not reach the level at the given age, but will catch up later. At the moment, however, your child may need extra help from their school and from you. Talk to their teacher about how you can help.

‘Where can I find help if my child has health or social problems at school?’

School is about much more than learning: it’s about your child growing up, making friends, growing in confidence. School might bring all kinds of questions: for example, what kind of books and uniform do you need to buy? How can you get through to your child when they are moody, bored or resentful? This guide focuses on learning between the ages of 11 and 16, and there isn’t space to look at many other questions.

‘I see there are tips in this guide, but I don’t have time to do them all - will my child be left behind?’

No. The tips in this guide are there for you to help your child as they plan their homework and coursework, but at this age children need to learn to take responsibility for their own study. So the tips will come in useful from time to time, especially when your child asks for help. The main thing is always to show an interest in what your child is learning at school.

‘My child seems to have difficulty keeping up at school and finds the work difficult. What can I do?’

Talk regularly to your child’s teachers. You don’t have to wait for a parents’ evening: you can ask the school for an appointment with your child’s teachers at any time. Find out more about what your child is doing at school and ask the teacher what your child could do at home to help their learning at school. See also ‘special educational needs’ in the ‘Teacher talk’ section.

‘Will my child be taught sex and relationship education?’

Yes. Find out more in the parent conference.

‘My child just wants to watch television instead of doing homework. Help!’

Television can encourage learning if chosen carefully. For example, some wildlife documentaries are excellent explanations of important topics in science and geography. Schools don’t always have time to show these kinds of television programmes in full. So if your child watches them, this will add to their school learning.

However, homework is important and sometimes it may be demanding. On many occasions it will be best simply to turn the TV off (or record the programme!), and give your child both encouragement and support when they are not motivated.

English Progress Reports

Rationale:

In keeping with the National Curriculum Key Stage 3 and 4 objectives and standards I have created a simple progress report that takes each standard in English KS3 and KS4 so that the teacher can give a report which is comprehensive in nature and probably more useful to parents than the standard semester report card.

In the report the teacher is going to indicate the attainment level of the student within MIST, that is within their class. Additionally there is a mark for where the student would 'fit' or be rated IF they were attending school in the United Kingdom. The second grade is therefore based upon the opinion of the teacher and his/her experience in teaching NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS. It would be anticipated that in many situations the MIST grade would be higher than that of a comparison with a Native English Speaking child of the same age.

The report shows all competancies that are to be covered within year Key Stages 3 and 4. (Other teachers are encouraged to use these forms and your comments would be appreciated. If you want a pdf of these papers please write to me.)