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Special Issue: Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Classroom

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Developing Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Classroom Larry Cotter and Frances Cotter

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50 Recommended Novels for First & Second Year [First published winter 2008]

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Report on Project: Developing Approaches to Teaching and Learning in the First Year English Classroom Catherine Leddin and Nessa Toomey

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Reviews of Suggested Novels for Whole Class and Group Reading

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Report on Project: Developing Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Classroom [First published autumn 2009] Una Smith and Catherine O’ Sullivan

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10 Film Choices for First Year and Junior Cycle Alicia McGivern, Irish Film Institute [First published autumn 2007]

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Report on Project: Developing Approaches to Teaching and Learning in the First Year English Classroom Frances Cotter and Joan Colbert Fourteen Ideas for Working on a Class Novel [First published winter 2008]

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Developing Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Classroom [First published autumn 2009] Niamh Martin and Martin O’Neill

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11 Ideas for Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Classroom [First published winter 2008]

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Write a Poem Competition 2010 – Call for Entries Cover image: Le Jeune Bretonne (c.1895) by Roderic O'Conor

The Teaching English magazine is published by the Second Level Support Service.

Co-ordinator of English: Dr Kevin Mc Dermott Navan Education Centre, Athlumney, Navan, Co. Meath.

Phone: 046 907 8382 Mobile: 087 293 7302 Fax: 046 907 8385 Email: english@slss.ie Administrative Officer: Esther Herlihy SLSS Regional Development Officers: Della Meade Mobile: 087 293 7311 Pauline Kelly Mobile: 087 293 7293 Alec MacAlister Mobile: 087 202 7138 Design by Artmark.

The English Support Service under the Second Level Support Service is funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013

Developing Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Classroom Larry Cotter, St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny and Frances Cotter, Presentation Secondary School, Loughboy, reflect on the year.

TEm What worked well in First year English this year?

LC A number of things: • Student Profiling. Student feedback questionnaire • Drama in the classroom – I used Edward Denniston’s sketches the students’ own dialogues.

• Private reading for pleasure.

Texts were selected by each individual after reading ten pages and sharing personal Larry Cotter response in small group.

• Students said they loved riddles and puzzles so we did more game style exercises and had lots of fun.

FC The priority placed on knitting their knowledge into the class. What enabled this to happen, initially, was using the students’ names more consciously in referring to insight that came from the class. For example, I put their names under their opinions as recorded on the blackboard. I Frances Cotter could see them growing in confidence as their contributions were given more recognition. In one instance of class discussion the students decided that fear was like fire. I wasn’t sure about this but the students had the confidence to stick to their guns and I went with it. And the work they produced was all the more enthusiastic and convincing having persuaded the teacher to their point-of-view.

• Media studies using “ Bridge to Terabithia” to introduce shots, angles, soundtrack, editing.

We then developed storyboarding as an aid to planning a short story.

• Blogging in response to Kilkenny Rhyme Rag # 4 http://rhymerag.blogspot.com/2008/11/launchof-rhyme-rag.html

TEm What most surprised you?

LC Accidental ideas – For example, mock interviews replaced individuals presenting solo review to the whole class. There were other things:

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• Movement – I used pair work and rotation of partners to get students engaging with a wider variety of responses to a set task.

• Profiling. The amount of useful information I gleaned.

• Peer feedback – students read and commented on a number of their colleagues short stories.

These comments informed revision of first draft. They loved the idea of offering a critical view on the work. All were told to identify what works well in the piece.

• My own creativity – I’m already quite inventive but with this project I felt I had licence to do more and to allow to students to influence my decisions more than in the past.

had kept feedback on work as something private.

TEm What might you do differently?

LC I might arrange the room like a primary classroom, with groups of four at each table and then rotate groups after three weeks. I see this as a way of promoting group work, project work, drama activities.

I had hoped to do debating but ran out of steam.

Next year I will make it more of a priority. I also intend to invite a colleague to observe my class and help me to maximise the possibilities for more independent learning by the students. And I would like to avail of any opportunities to learn from my colleagues in a similar way.

FC How little traditional input I provided! Yes, I covered grammatical points and the various pointers that are necessary, but there were only peripheral learning. Typically, at the beginning of a unit of work or a new learning phase, I began by getting their opinions on the topic.

The work, the teaching, lay in providing good material to glean their knowledge. For example when we were looking at the short story form, I asked them why the following three sentences were not a story. “ I walked into the park. I walked through the park. I walked out of the park.” In answering the question they generated the necessary criteria for writing a short story and I recorded their observations and insights.

FC Even though I was aware of the need for structures to be established, I didn’t lay down ground rules strongly enough at times. I thought I had, but after Christmas, I spent a lot of time working hard to keep the students on task. I also think that a more student-centred style of teaching makes the arrival of “hormones” in the classroom more difficult to accommodate! So I suppose I would lay down the ground rules more thoroughly.

TEm What two things you would like to see all teachers in your school do?

LC Profile the students to find out what they think about their own learning in English class and promote active listening by developing the notion of a ‘ talk partner’, that is have students listening actively to each other. Rotate these partners every three weeks by means of a random mix.

Another thing that surprised me was the degree to which they were comfortable critiquing each other’s work. They ‘got’ the idea of commenting on what was good and how it might be improved much better that I would have imagined. It wasn’t perfect, and needed positive interventions at times, but overall it surprised me. They were confident about it. Previously, I

FC Debating skills and the Reading Factor.

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Fiction for First and Second Year Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett When three mysterious letters are sent to three strangers, a set of events are set in motion that bring together two young students on a quest to find a missing painting.

Petra and Calder are both clever students who love school and their new teacher, Ms. Hussey. Inspired

by Ms. Hussey’s ability to shirk rules and explore the unexplainable, Petra and Calder set out to solve the mysterious disappearance of Vermeer’s ‘A Lady Writing’. Filled with secret puzzles, encrypted text, colourful characters, and a surprise ending, Chasing Vermeer is a brilliant story, told from the ingenious perspectives of its two 12-year-old protagonists. The story’s hidden clues and interesting plot twists leave the reader in eager anticipation for Petra and Calder’s next adventure.

Would you like to create a new class library for your first or second year students? Here are fifty suggestions. Many of these titles have been used in Irish classrooms and have proved popular and successful with students and teachers alike. The reviews are taken from the website of Booktrust (www.booktrust.org.uk) a UK-based charity which promotes reading. The Teaching English magazine is grateful for permission to use the reviews. Thanks to the teachers in Manor House School, Collinstown Park Community College and Gorey Community School for their feedback on individual titles. Thanks also to Statia Somers for her advice and to Aileen Ivory and SLARI for their help.

Please note it is always recommended that you read a novel before deciding to use it in class. A theme, situation or reference that I deem appropriate for my class might not be deemed appropriate by you for your class.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level: 9-12

Skellig by David Almond Michael and his family move to a new home. Exploring a ramshackle garage with his new-found friend, Mina, he discovers a strange, part-human ‘creature’. Skellig, as the creature likes to be known, is illmannered, with questionable personal hygiene, but, persevering in their kindness towards him, Michael and Mina find a bond forms between them that will change their lives forever. This is an unusual, intriguing and captivating winner of both the Carnegie Medal and Whitbread Children’s Book Award (both 1998).

Granny the Pag by Nina Bawden Catriona lives with her chain-smoking, motorbikeriding grandmother. However, as she gets older, her career-minded parents soon realise that she might be more of an asset than a burden and want her home – but Catriona isn’t so sure. A witty and ingenious story, superbly illustrating the way it is possible to love the relatives one also finds infuriating and embarrassing.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 9-13

Playing Against the Odds by Bernard Ashley As soon as Fiona joins his class, Chris can’t stop thinking about her, and blushes every time she is near. However, as people’s belongings start to go missing - a gold ring, a personal organiser and an expensive flute - all suspicion falls on the new girl.

How can Chris ask her out, when all the evidence points to her being a thief? An intriguing tale of conflicting teenage emotions, ideal for older reluctant or dyslexic readers.

Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks Martyn Pig leads a fairly dismal life, living alone with his drunken, abusive father. During a violent outburst, Martyn pushes his dad in self-defence and accidentally kills him. When his friendly neighbour, Alex, discovers his awful secret, she takes charge, helping him to dispose of the body, and entangling Martyn in an increasingly complicated web of deceit. In his debut novel, Brooks successfully combines suspense, humour, and an unexpected twist, to create a darkly comic thriller that will grip readers right up to the final page.

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level 12-16

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 12+

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 11-14

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Sara’s Face by Melvin Burgess Sara is a beautiful but troubled teenager, desirous of fame at any cost. Despite her good looks and the attention of a boyfriend who loves her for who she is, Sara is riddled with insecurity about her appearance. During a stay in hospital, Sara is visited by the legendary pop star, Jonathan Heat, whose constant experiments with plastic surgery have destroyed his face. Heat invites Sara to live at his mansion, offering her plastic surgery and the chance to gain her own singing career and the fame she craves. The narrative, told through a series of journalistic interviews and extracts from Sara’s video diary, soon reveals Heat’s motivation is more than simple altruism; he wants Sara’s face for himself. A chilling, sometimes shocking, tale of contemporary obsession with beauty and celebrity.

from Holly Short. The formerly disgraced Holly has now been recruited to a covert organization designed to keep tabs on Fowl. Once more Colfer combines wit, humour, action, folklore and fantasy in a riproaring spy story, which nonetheless encourages readers to debate some serious issues. Fowl’s move into full-blown adolescence adds extra interest and possibilities to this enthralling instalment.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 9-13

Replay by Sharon Creech This wonderful book uses the genre of drama to explore the adolescent world of Leo and how, as individuals, we come to understand ourselves.

Leo finds refuge from a big family and teenage reality by playing at being someone else, through acting and his fantasy life as a hero.

Using theatre as a metaphor for life, Creech shows how, as in rehearsals, we repeat patterns of behaviour in our lives, both in the way we relate to people and in the traits we inherit from our parents. A book that looks at all the elements that make us who we are: age, gender, family and experience, whilst exploring the impossibility of ever completely knowing someone. The novel values remembering, reminiscing and storytelling in all its forms.

Reading Age: 12+ Interest Level: 13+ All American Girl by Meg Cabot Teenager Sam is the All American Girl of the title, a privileged youngster with caring parents and two sisters, all of whom live in comfortable, middle-class Washington D.C. One day, quite by chance, she just happens to save the life of the President. This brings her instant fame and changes her life in ways she never imagined; in the process she learns a lot about herself and those around her. This very ‘girly’ book is full of talk about clothes, hairstyles and pop stars, but it also tackles the serious issues of loyalty and consideration of others. Fluffy and fun.

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 11+ The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson For generations, a spell cast by a powerful wizard has protected the Valley from the Emperor’s destructive army. However, when the magic begins to weaken, Tilja and Tahl, along with their respective grandparents, embark on a dangerous journey in an attempt to restore it. Tilja gradually comes to learn that she has magical powers, which can be used to counterbalance the evil magic that they encounter on their quest. This rich fantasy adventure takes the reader on an exciting, magical journey, with many surprises along the way.

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level 12+ Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer A fifth episode in the ongoing saga of Colfer’s teenage criminal mastermind, in which the renegade fairies, the Demons, begin popping up in unexpected places, and Artemis feels the first stirrings of adolescent emotion for (and meets his match in) another juvenile genius, Minerva Paradizo. As ever, Artemis sidesteps trouble, with the help of his bodyguard Butler, and fairy assistance

Reading Age: 12+ Interest Level: 12+

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The Cinnamon Tree by Aubrey Flegg Stepping on a landmine remaining from a civil war, Yola loses her leg below the knee. In her culture she has become unmarriageable. Then Yola meets Hans, sent to de-mine the area, and travels to hospital in Ireland for treatment, where she meets Fintan, and discovers the extent and power of the international arms trade, controlled by ruthless and dangerous people thousands of miles away from the conflicts. A deeply thought-provoking and compassionate novel, with a powerful and engaging heroine whose experience underlines how little we understand about the values and sophistication of African culture. Readers will also realize the high degree of involvement of European arms dealers in distant wars, and the terrible outcomes resulting from their selfish actions.

Holly Starcross by Berlie Doherty Holly Starcross is having an identity crisis. She lives with her mom, Henry (her mother’s partner) and her halfbrother and sisters. She has a great best friend and a crush on the cutest boy in school, but she keeps asking herself the question, ‘who am I?’ When her long last father turns up out of the blue, Holly is forced to face up to her past and reassess her future. This is a beautifully told story about the confusion of growing up and the pain caused by family separation and torn loyalties.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 10-14

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 10+

Wilderness by Roddy Doyle Teenage Gráinne is meeting her mother for the first time since she walked out when she was a child. To allow her some space for this momentous encounter her step-mother and step-brothers Tom and Johnny have left for a holiday in the Finnish wilderness. Whilst Gráinne comes to terms with her own conflicting emotions, her brothers are forced to grow up quickly when the excitement of their Finnish adventure turns sour with the disappearance of their mother on a sleighing expedition. As ever, Doyle’s tone is warm and inviting; the juxtaposition of the parallel stories works well, with believable, realistic exchanges between the cheeky young brothers and the inner-conflict of their sister adding emotional depth to the story.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman One day Coraline unlocks a mysterious door that opens onto another world, a twisted parody of Coraline’s own dimension. She discovers something very sinister about her ‘other mother’, who has trapped her real parents and plans to keep the family there forever. As Coraline tries to escape, she is faced with a fantastical series of macabre and bizarre situations.

Excellently written, and superbly original, Coraline is well suited to those who enjoy reading about the weird and the wonderful with a dash of horror and humour. It is destined to become a classic modern fairytale.

Reading Age: 10+ Interest Level: 11+ The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis This timely novel is simply and effectively written for readers in senior classes of primary school and junior classes in secondary school but is worth reading by everyone.

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 12+ The Bull Raid by Carlo Gebler From early boyhood Cúchulainn knows he will die young, but he doesn’t mind, because he knows he is destined to become a legend. As he grows up, the young man performs heroic deeds, singlehandedly defending Ulster against an invading army. But he isn’t all good: he won’t listen to advice, treats his wife badly, and kills his own son. Gebler’s subtly humorous retelling of the Táin can be read simply as an exciting yarn, but this portrait of a flawed hero is also a moral tale that addresses the obsession with celebrity, as well as the consequences of arrogance and greed.

It makes very clear why women, at least, have reason to rejoice at the overthrow of the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan. Parvana is eleven, and, unlike her older sister Nooria, has not yet begun to develop sexually, so, when the family comes to the edge of starvation because her father is in prison, and women are not allowed to leave the house without a man, she has to dress as a boy and go out to earn money and buy food.

Her adventures in the market and the graveyard, where she and a friend dig up bones to sell, are alarmingly believable, and the feelings expressed – her mother’s paralysis of grief, the quarrels with her sister, the importance of her baby brother - are deeply familiar.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 10-14

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 11+

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Tales of the Otori I: Across the Nightingale Floor

by Lian Hearn This is the first novel in the outstanding Tales of the Otori trilogy. An epic fantasy story set in a feudal Japanese society, it is an exciting tale of treason, violence and death. Tomasu is a young boy from the Hidden clan, all but wiped out by Iida Sadamu, the cruel Lord of the Tohan clan. Saved, then adopted, educated and renamed Takeo by the good-hearted Otori Shigeru, the boy grows up to love and respect his guardian. However, when Shigeru plans to marry, in order to promote peace between the two clans, Takeo has an opportunity to avenge himself on Iida. This is a taut, compelling tale in the Samurai warrior tradition.

difficult and dangerous, so it’s a relief to have the help of some unusual and mysterious allies. This is an engaging and light-hearted thriller about issues that matter: justice, family and the environment.

The Paine family are well-drawn and likeable, the pace easy and flowing and the villains not quite as wicked as we suspected.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 10+ Coming Home by Gaye Hicyilmaz Elif is thrilled when she and her brother are allowed to live with their relatives in Turkey. However, she has difficulty adjusting to the unfamiliar culture, and fears for her young brother’s safety as he is drawn into a right-wing political group led by their fascist brother-in-law Refik Bey. A gripping and thought provoking read.

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level: 12+ Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse This hauntingly beautiful verse novel describes the experiences of the Aleutian people who were evacuated from their island during the Second World War and made to live in camps on the mainland. The teenage narrator describes the difficulties of being in a totally alien environment far removed from her way of life: ‘abandoned in the dark suffocation of the forest … we cannot, from any corner of the camp, catch a glimpse of open water.’ Many Aleutians fell sick or died, and almost all were unhappy, unable to earn their livelihood, deprived of their culture, and unpopular with the ‘white’ people. Karen Hesse tells her tale sympathetically and realistically without resorting to sentimentality. Her language is simple, but the imagery of her loose verse is rich, and enhances the description of the islanders’ stoicism, patience and courage.

Reading Age 13+ Interest Level 12-14 Raven’s Gate by Anthony Horowitz In trouble with the law and facing prison, Matt Freeman opts for an experimental fostering programme. But Lesser Malling is eerie, the villagers decidedly hostile and his new ‘mother’ emanates menace. Desperate to escape, Matt finds everyone he turns to ends up unpleasantly dead. Matt slowly uncovers a story of ancient dark powers held at bay by the mysterious Raven’s Gate, the villagers hellbent on releasing them. Only Matt, the four shadowy others he encounters in recurring dreams and the shadowy Nexus group can stop them.

Horowitz aimed for ‘shivery horror’ and he’s succeeded! Suspense pervades Raven’s Gate, with its snaking plot of sinister twists and unpleasant deadends. Matt is likeably believable and the final pages definitely leave the reader wanting more!

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level 12 -15

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 11+

Flush by Carl Hiaasen Noah’s dad can be very impulsive and when he finds out someone is illegally dumping sewage in the sea, spoiling the beaches and endangering the wildlife, he sinks the boat responsible. With their Dad in prison, it is up to Noah and little sister Abbey to put together a plan to clear his name and stop the dumping. Noah’s plan proves to be both

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A Nest Of Vipers by Catherine Johnson We meet Cato Hopkins in Newgate Prison in September 1712, on the morning of the day he is due to be hanged for fraud. Cato is a boy criminal, part of Mother Hopkins’ adopted family, and as he relates the story of how he came to be on the verge of paying for his sins with his life, Cato takes us on a journey through the underworld of London in the eighteenth century. Poverty, slavery and social injustice are just a few of the issues to which Cato exposes us, but this is not a sad story. On the contrary, a lively writing style, plenty of humour and the bad guys getting their comeuppance make this a cracking read for both boys and girls.

Hana’s Suitcase: A True Story by Karen Levine When Fumiko Ishioka, curator of a Holocaust Education Centre in Japan, received an old suitcase with the name Hana Brady written on it, she became determined to find out more about its owner. She discovered that Hana was born in a small town in Czechoslovakia and that her parents and brother were taken to concentration camps. But what happened to Hana? The book interweaves chapters about Hana’s life with the story of Fumiko’s search for the truth. Suitable for readers not yet old enough to appreciate The Diary of Anne Frank, this book, which is illustrated with black-and-white photographs. will help children to understand concepts of hate, xenophobia and intolerance.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 9+

The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean Haoyou feels powerless when the man responsible for his father’s death demands to marry his mother.

Determined to support her himself, the young boy joins a travelling circus. Strapped to a kite, he takes to the skies and amazes audiences across the land, including the feared Kublai Khan. Set in thirteenth century China, this is a fascinating and exciting adventure about greed, loyalty and friendship.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 9-13

The View from Saturday by E.L.Konigsburg ‘The Souls’ are a group of friends, brought together by a madcap wedding, a mission to protect sea turtles and by a mysterious invitation to afternoon tea. But how they were chosen to be a quiz team, is a question that their teacher (who uses a wheelchair) answers differently each time she is asked. As Noah, Nadia, Ethan and Julian correctly answer questions for the Academic Bowl Quiz, the story shifts to their personal narratives, to show the moments when they acquired the knowledge for their answers. And so we piece together the quirky, amusing and vulnerable twists of their lives. This Newberry Medal winner is a wonderful, complex book brilliantly told. It has memorable characters and themes: life is a journey, no part of our experience is lost, and our friendships are our salvation.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 11+ My Funny Valentine by Karen McCombie For Shaunna, the whole conventional ‘engaged/married/2.4 children’ thing is a no-no.

When her sister, Ruth, gets engaged to Boring Brian and the wedding is planned for next Valentine’s Day, Shaunna is horrified to realise that the bridesmaid is going to be her!

Shaunna wants romance to be unpredictable, dangerous, exciting: and when she glimpses The One, star-gazing in the park, she’s convinced life’s got more in store for her than a Tesco’s Club Card. But, as Shaunna’s diary reveals, for her, for Ruth and her friends, the course of true love never did run smooth… By turns funny and honestly self-aware, McCombie captures the emotional roller coaster that accompanies first forays in the quest for love.

Hugely readable and entertaining!

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 11+ Apache by Tanya Landman Fourteen year-old Siki is an orphan of the Black Mountain Apache tribe. Her father failed to return from an ambush in Mexico, while her mother was killed by raiding Mexican soldiers. Siki already has a fierce hatred for the Mexican warriors but when her little brother Tazhi is brutally slain in front of her, she vows with all her heart to become an apache warrior and avenge his death. This is a moving and powerful story of one woman’s determination and courage in a world of great suffering and hardship. It is a fascinating view of the Native American struggle and makes for a thrilling, if at times uneasy, read.

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 13 +

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 12+

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Saffy’s Angel by Hilary McKay Families don’t come much stranger than Saffron’s.

The children are all named after paints on a colour chart, their mother spends most of her time locked in the garden shed, and the family home (inexplicably named ‘ Banana House’) is teeming with guinea pigs. A few years previously, Saffy discovered that her brothers and sisters are actually her cousins ( her real mother died when she was small), but it is her grandfather’s death that suddenly triggers distant memories. Aided by her wheelchair-using neighbour Sarah, Saffy starts to investigate. This is an uplifting story about an eccentric family encased in chaos, but also full of intense warmth and loyalty.

landscape. Passionate, beguiling and moving, the book is also an unflinching examination of the horrors of war and the injustice surrounding the execution of soldiers by firing squad, on the – often false – grounds of desertion or cowardice.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 10-13

The Wind Singer by William Nicholson This is a stunningly original fantasy, set in the mythical city of Aramanth, where every household is judged solely on its members’ ability to perform in examinations. Only one family has the strength to rebel, fighting the system, and, in doing so, risks all. Leaving their parents and baby sibling behind, Bowman and his sister, Kestrel, embark on a dangerous journey in search of secrets which will make the ‘wind singer’ sing once again, thus restoring normality to their world. Their epic quest is depicted with a perfect balance of drama, tenderness and a touch of humour.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 9-13 The Worm in the Well by William Mayne In a story which constantly confounds expectations, Robin and Meric set off into the forest on a fishing trip that has profound implications on their lives, as Robin’s son, Alan, finds himself battling with the Worm to undo the past. Mayne writes with power and wit, creating an imaginative story with elements of horror, magic and fantasy, set in medieval times. Mayne’s style is deceptively simple, making this a challenging story for younger readers.

However, the richness and originality of the writing makes it an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 11+ Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates Matt Donaghy has always been a big mouth but it has never got him into trouble – until one day when two detectives escort him out of class for questioning. The charge? Matt has been accused of threatening to blow up Rocky River High School.

Ursula Riggs has always been ‘an ugly girl’. In other words, she has no time for petty highschool stuff like friends and dating. Ursula is content with minding her own business. And she doesn’t even really know Matt Donaghy. But Ursula knows injustice when she sees it and she’s not afraid to speak out.

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 10+ Billy Elliot by Burgess Melvin Billy Elliot’s not like his Dad. He doesn’t want to learn boxing or be a miner. Instead, he is fascinated by the grace and magic of ballet and is determined to dance. Set at the time of the miner’s strike, the story traces Billy’s fight against the prejudice of a northern community and family.

Interest level 12+ Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo Set in the First World War, Private Peaceful charts eight hours in the life of Tommo, a young soldier at the Front, as he looks back over the formative events of his life: his father’s early death, his relationship with his loving mother and brothers, Big Joe and Charlie, and their beloved schoolfriend Molly – all set among an evocative and beautifully realised rural

Reading Age 12+ Interest level 12-15 Something Invisible by Siobhan Parkinson Jake likes encyclopaedias. He also likes thinking, talking, football and fish. So he’s really not at all prepared for the changes in his world when a new baby sister arrives, making his step-dad a father. Neither is he prepared for meeting Stella, her eccentric and numerous family and their neighbour, old Mrs Kennedy. Hanging out with Stella leads to unexpected, uncharacteristic, things happening to Jake – like heroically saving a child from drowning.

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But then something truly dreadful happens, and Jake realises he doesn’t really know anything at all.

Siobhan Parkinson’s elegant, constantly surprising language perfectly captures Jake’s personal interior life in this thoughtful, delicately devastating and beautifully paced novel. The book ultimately explores what it means to discover “something invisible” that connects you to family or friends.

food on the table, the resourceful Skiff hatches a bold but risky plan, pitting himself and his tiny skiff against a mighty fish, and even against the treacherous ocean itself. In this gripping tale about a boy who faces life’s challenges with determination and skill, Philbrick movingly delineates the harsh beauty of life in a fishing community.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 9-13

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 11+ Bridge to Terabithia by Katharine Paterson Jess Aarons’ greatest ambition is to be the fastest runner in the fifth grade. He’s been practicing all summer and can’t wait to see his classmates’ faces when he beats them all. But on the first day of school, a new girl boldly crosses over to the boys’ side of the playground and outruns everyone. That’s not a very promising beginning for a friendship, but Jess and Leslie Burke become inseparable. It doesn’t matter to Jess that Leslie dresses funny, or that her family has a lot of money – but no TV. Leslie has imagination. Together, she and Jess create Terabithia, a magical kingdom in the woods where the two of them reign as king and queen, and their imaginations set the only limits.

Reading Age 11 Interest Level 11-14

Shylock’s Daughter by Miriam Pressler Set in the 16 th century and based loosely around characters from The Merchant of Venice, this is an engaging tale which focuses on the miser’s 16-yearold daughter, Jessica. In love with a young Christian, Jessica yearns for the glamour and freedom of life outside the Jewish ghetto - but soon finds that it does not bring all she has hoped for. A memorable and highly original read.

The Penalty by Mal Peet Carnegie winner Peet reintroduces us to Paul Faustino, South America’s top sports journalist, who is reluctantly drawn into investigating the disappearance of San Juan’s teenage football prodigy El Brujito. As the story of corruption and murder unfolds, he discovers the bitter history of slavery, and the continuing power of the occult in a twenty-first century world. A gripping thriller, aimed to engage a teenage male audience, this novel addresses historical and cultural issues which underpin the heritage and attitudes of vast areas of the world today. Faustino encounters not only evil, but prejudice, superstition and ignorance, and Peet shows that these are powerful forces against rationality and justice. A taut narrative with a tough, and thought-provoking message.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 11+ Witch Child by Celia Rees This is the gripping tale of Mary, the granddaughter of a witch. After seeing her grandmother burned at the stake, Mary is rescued and sent overseas to America to live amongst a Puritan community.

However, with her background and gifts, this is not always the safest place to be. Set in the mid-seventeenth century, this well-written, powerful story is perfect for confident readers.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 11+ Lobster Boy by Rodman Philbrick Since the death of his mother, Samuel ‘Skiff’ Beaman’s father has spent his days lying on the sofa, drinking, immobilised by grief. A fisherman by trade, he is unable to rouse himself even when his boat sinks, taking his livelihood with it. In order to keep

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level 13+

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The Alchemyst by Michael Scott A fantasy adventure narrative that follows the destiny of 15-year-old twins, Josh and Sophie Newman, who are the subjects of an ancient prophesy. Scott weaves his mesmerizing and energetic plot around a mythological framework.

Just In Case by Meg Rosoff Fate is watching David Case and the fifteen year-old soon becomes consumed by the fear that it is going to catch up with him. David feels doomed and even changing his name to Justin and adopting an edgy new image does not seem to protect him entirely from its clutches. In trying to escape fate, Justin embarks on a voyage of self discovery, finding solace in the company of beautiful and eccentric photographer Agnes, his baby brother Charlie and his imaginary dog, Boy. But will he find the strength to fight fate in one last terrifying encounter? This quirky, off-beat novel acutely depicts the feelings of pain and alienation felt by many adolescents. At times both surreal and existential, this is a gripping second novel from the acclaimed author of How I Live Now.

Interest level 11+ Undercover Angel by Dyan Sheldon Twelve year-old Elmo is embarrassed by his environmental activist mother and wishes he had a ‘normal’ family. He is excited when the Bambers, their wealthy neighbours, adopt a child from South America, but his dreams of befriending the child and persuading the Bambers to also adopt him are shattered when Elmo discovers that, not only is she a girl, but she is an undercover angel sent to ensure Elmo helps his mother to save the planet! A very funny tale with an environmental message.

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level 12+

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 9-12

The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar

Feather Boy by Nicky Singer Robert is having a tough time at school, being bullied

by Nicker; he’s also trying to deal with the break-up of his parents’ marriage. He feels like it’s just his luck to be landed with ‘a spooky old bat’ called Edith, when his class takes part in a project with the local old people’s home. However, in attempting to solve the mystery of her son’s death, he confronts both the bully and his own fears. The reader is drawn through this novel by some wonderfully moving moments of humour, tension and sadness.

Reading Age 11+ Interest Level 12-14 Desperate to be accepted by the ‘in-crowd’ David helps to steal Old Mrs. Bayfield’s cane, but is immediately wracked with guilt. When everything in his life starts to go wrong, he becomes convinced that Mrs. Bayfield has put a curse on him. He is taunted by his classmates, and his best friend, Scott, makes fun of him to gain popularity with the bullies. To make matters worse he is smitten with classmate Tori Williams, but unable to ask her out in case the curse strikes again. Luckily his new friends, Larry and Moe, are on hand to help him confront the ‘bullies’ and overcome the ‘curse’. This is a funny thought provoking insight into the mind of an anxious teenager. David is an immensely likeable protagonist and his relationships with his family, friends and enemies is thoroughly convincing.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli Stargirl Caraway arrives at her new school with a unique dress sense and a ukulele. After some debate, the bemused students decide that she is actually quite cool and for a while she even becomes something of an idol. However, the book deftly predicts the fickle side of human nature and its suspicion of anything which refuses to conform.

Despite her contemporaries turning against her, Stargirl’s innocent appeal and consideration for others never falters. Meanwhile, narrator Leo struggles with his deep affection for the captivating Stargirl and his need for acceptance from his peers.

A memorable read, which leaves the reader with a lasting sense of having been touched by someone very special.

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level 12+

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 10-12

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The King Arthur Trilogy by Rosemary Sutcliffe

Hitler’s Canary by Sandi Toksvig Ten-year old Bamse is asleep on Henry the V’s throne when the German’s invade Copenhagen. Son to one of Denmark’s most famous actors, Bamse grows up in a world of drama and make-believe, but during the Nazi occupation everything that was once comfortable and familiar is threatened, and his way of life is changed forever. This story uniquely portrays the war through the eyes of a child stuck between the need for safety and the desire to help.

Hitler’s Canary, ultimately, is about the courage and heroism of ordinary citizens in a time of danger and strife. Bamse himself stands as a metaphor for the extraordinary efforts of the Danes to save their Jewish countrymen: in the face of courage and goodness, power and size will remain fallible.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 9-12 The Wind Eye by Robert Westall The Studdards go on holiday to Northumberland.

Each member of the family nurses a need, a fear or a hurt that needs resolution and as a result they are

One volume combines Rosemary Sutcliffe’s three classic books about King Arthur and his knights.

Beginning before Arthur’s birth and ending with the disintegration of the brotherhood of the Round Table, this mystical retelling of the ancient legends takes readers on a magical journey through the England of the Dark Ages. The story of the Sword in the Stone and of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight may already be familiar to young readers but how many will know the tragic tale of Tristan and Iseult or recognise Beaumains the Kitchen Knight?

Positively bursting with heroic quests, damsels in distress and chivalrous deeds, along with a fair smattering of magic, courtesy of Merlin and the Lady of the Lake, this is an ideal introduction to the Arthurian stories from a respected author whose work has stood the test of time.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 9-16 Annan Water by Kate Thompson Michael leads a bleak, unhappy existence, working for his parents’ horse-dealing business, occasionally attending school and trying to come to terms with a family tragedy. Then he meets the vibrant and rebellious Annie, who lives the other side of the mysterious River Annan, and the two become close.

This novel evokes a strong sense of place and is a compelling exploration of the issues of young adulthood: the search for love, loyalty, independence and meaning.

all unhappy - constantly arguing and provoking each other. Some of the family find a very old boat, like a small Viking ship. This boat has the power to take them back thirteen hundred years into the past, to the time when St Cuthbert lived. Many stories surround this ancient character and each of them must meet Cuthbert in their own way. Will they survive the encounter? Will he help them or destroy them? This apparently simple mystery becomes an unpredictable and intriguing mix of the supernatural, history and human nature.

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level: 13-16

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 11+

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Report on Project: Developing Approaches to Teaching and Learning in the First Year English Classroom that many students develop a reading habit in primary school. However that habit must be encouraged if it is not to be lost under the weight of the academic and extra-curricular demands of secondary school. This year, students benefited from having the time to read their novel at their own pace.

Students were given two weeks of class time to read their chosen novel. This worked brilliantly. The students had time to reject novels which didn’t appeal to them and to choose ones which did.

Confident readers read as many books as they wished, while less confident readers managed to finish at least one book. During this two week period, homework involved reading the novel for at least ten minutes and keeping a brief, response journal in which they noted their feelings and expectations as the plot progressed.

Becoming involved in the First Year English Project with the SLSS was initially a little daunting – just look at the title of the project! However, it grew to be an exciting and rewarding adventure thanks to the resources we received and the challenge to experiment and to explore different learning and teaching methodologies in First Year English.

We planned a programme based on our new resources and supplementary material from the textbook, Dive In. We were conscious of developing our role as facilitators rather than instructors, and of observing how students learned.

Essentially, students learned by doing it for themselves, by being granted more independence and by taking responsibility for their own learning.

A beneficial corollary of the project was that it necessitated co-operation and teamwork between the two participating teachers. We had to allocate time to chat, share ideas, make suggestions and generally assess what was working well and what wasn’t. Three areas that were particularly rewarding were Drama, Reading Time and Film.

Reading fiction provided ample scope in terms of student activities. Students debated the top five best reads and argued over the choices as if the Booker Prize were at stake! They also discussed the

Drama We used scripts from Edward Denniston’s book Interacting and drama extracts from Dive In. Students selected the scripts they wished to work on and then were free to organise themselves into groups, assign roles and produce their ‘play’ with a minimum of guidance from the teacher. We were amazed at how well they performed and at the understanding they developed of the scripts. The majority of students adore drama. Not only is it a great way to learn, it is also great fun. It releases students from the monotony of the classroom and creates a great ‘feel good’ factor amongst the class.

In our case, the student productions coincided with the annual Oscars and we presented a series of parallel awards.

Reading Time We allowed class time to our students to read.

Research suggests that reading in class is invaluable in encouraging students to become engrossed in a good book. For ‘ reluctant readers’ giving whole class periods to reading, and having a range of ageappropriate material, allows them time to find a book which interests them. There is nothing like a good book to rekindle a love of reading. We believe

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merits or otherwise of film adaptations of novels and it was interesting to hear their debate. They wrote their own blurbs for books, designed new covers, and wrote reviews. In addition, they illustrated the plot of the class novel Private Peaceful. Not only did they learn but they had great fun in doing so. Their work was put on display in the classroom and in the school library.

Film We showed the classes two films, Bridge to Terebithia and Save the Last Dance. These really suited the age group of the students. We discussed

the language and cultures depicted in the films and compared them to our own. The students enjoy film and when the films concerned are less mainstream, less ‘Hollywood’, they encourage broader and deeper thinking and debate.

In addition we showed two short films, The White Dress and Janey Mary, two heartbreaking Irish films which shocked and moved the students. We used these short films as a prompt for creative writing.

Students were invited to consider the next piece of action and continue the story. This produced a huge variety of responses .

The Year Plan We planned our year around an interesting and stimulating set of resources which give us more freedom and generated more fun for us. The following is an outline of our First Year Plan of Work. Reading comprehensions, spelling and grammar tests, dictation and so on were interspersed with the material below. May was given over to personal writing and drama.

Students practiced writing dialogue. Then they wrote short scenes. Finally they dramatised them.

And then we revised for the summer tests!

Thanks to the English Second Level Support Service for the refreshing in-service and for inviting us to pilot the resources. We enjoyed liberating ourselves from the mundane road of tradition and the textbook!

Catherine Leddin and Nessa Toomey Castletroy Community College, May 2009.

September

October/Nov

December

January

February

March/April

Reading Time Box of 50 mixed novels or a class set of one novel such as ‘Private Peaceful’ which has wide appeal

Poetry and Reading MS Readathon

Film The Last Dance

Children’s Books Ireland promote reading festival

Personal Writing The Aesthetic Use of Language and the Language of Information

Drama Extracts from ‘Dive In’ and from Denniston’s book

Film/Media Studies/Functional Writing ‘Dive In’ Bridge to Terebithia

Devote 2/3 weeks to reading in class time

Poetry: Metaphors/Similes

Two weeks

Three Weeks

Two/Three weeks

Two/three weeks

Students bring in film reviews

Students write rules for a game/or instructions

Freedom for students to organise drama themselves

Write character descriptions and reviews for tabloids and broadsheets

• Homework: Reading Use film clips, audio Response Diary, i.e. brief novels/plays/radio podcasts, notes in copy. to give examples of •Read for a minimum of ten similes/metaphors Il Postino minutes at night.

The Life of Pi Under Milkwood Classwork •Write Blurbs •Design Book Covers •Write Reviews •Write letters to the author •Draw the plot on A3 posters •Reading Comprehensions •Identify 1st/3rd person narration

Classwork Students write their own similes/metaphors and display them

Homework is to learn their lines Students write their own reviews

Students dramatise Poems, freeze frames etc

Students practise Creative Modelling of poems

Try the Reading Comprehensions from exam papers on the extracts

Write an introduction to the film Design Promo Posters Write letters to the director

Students write their own acrostics, limericks etc

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Review of Suggested Novels for Whole Class and Group Reading 1 Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman This exceptional offering from Malorie Blackman is possibly her best novel yet. The population is divided into two main groups; the white Noughts are second-class citizens, and the black Crosses are highly-revered and perceived as the superior race.

Class Novel Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo Set in the First World War, Private Peaceful charts eight hours in the life of Tommo, a young soldier at the Front, as he looks back over the formative events of his life: his father’s early death, his relationship with his loving mother and brothers, Big Joe and Charlie, and their beloved schoolfriend Molly – all set among an evocative and beautifully realised rural landscape.

Passionate, beguiling and moving, the book is also an unflinching examination of the horrors of war and the injustice surrounding the execution of soldiers by firing squad, on the – often false – grounds of desertion or cowardice.

15-year-old Callum is a Nought, and his best friend, Sephy, as well as being a Cross, is also the daughter of one of the most influential politicians in the country. The story focuses on their relationship, which is frowned upon by society, and explores the discrimination they encounter at every turn.

By reversing traditional racial stereotypes and presenting the White population as the oppressed race, Blackman has cleverly shown racial prejudice from a different perspective. As well as being a compelling tale of love and friendship, this is an outstanding and thoughtprovoking exploration of the futility of prejudice.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 10-13

Group Reading

Each Title by 5 Copies

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level 12-16 2 Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates 'Matt Donaghy has always been a big mouth' But it has never gotten him into trouble – until one day when two detectives escort him out of class for questioning. The charge? Matt has been accused of threatening to blow up Rocky River High School.

'Ursula Riggs has always been an ugly girl' She has no time for petty high-school stuff like friends and dating. Ursula is content with minding her own business. And she doesn't even really know Matt Donaghy. But Ursula knows injustice when she sees it and she's not afraid to speak out.

Reading Age 12+ Interest level 12-15 3 Annan Water by Kate Thompson Published by Bodley Head Michael leads a bleak, unhappy existence, working for his parents' horse-dealing business, occasionally attending school and trying to come to terms with a family tragedy. Then he meets the vibrant and rebellious Annie, who lives the

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5 The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis This timely novel is simply and effectively written for readers in senior classes of primary school and junior classes in secondary school but is worth reading by everyone. It makes very clear why women, at least, have reason to rejoice at the overthrow of the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.

Parvana is eleven, and, unlike her older sister Nooria, has not yet begun to develop sexually, so, when the family comes to the edge of starvation because her father is in prison, and women are not allowed to leave the house without a man, she has to dress as a boy and go out to earn money and buy food.

other side of the mysterious River Annan, and the two become close. This novel evokes a strong sense of place and is a compelling exploration of the issues of young adulthood: the search for love, loyalty, independence and meaning.

Reading Age 12+ Interest Level: 13-16 4 Hana’s Suitcase: A True Story by Karen Levine When Fumiko Ishioka, curator of a Holocaust Education Centre in Japan, received an old suitcase with the name Hana Brady written on it, she became determined to find out more about its owner. She discovered that Hana was born in a small town in Czechoslovakia and that her parents and brother were taken to concentration camps. But what happened to Hana?

Her adventures in the market and the graveyard, where she and a friend dig up bones to sell, are alarmingly believable, and the feelings expressed - her mother's paralysis of grief, the quarrels with her sister, the importance of her baby brother are deeply familiar.

The book interweaves chapters about Hana's life with the story of Fumiko's search for the truth.

Suitable for readers not yet old enough to appreciate The Diary of Anne Frank, this book, which is illustrated with black-and-white photographs, will help children to understand concepts of hate, xenophobia and intolerance.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 10-14

6 Billy Eliot by Burgess Melvin Billy Elliot's not like his Dad. He doesn't want to learn boxing or be a miner. Instead, he is fascinated by the grace and magic of ballet and is determined to dance. Set at the time of the miner's strike, the story traces Billy's fight against the prejudice of a northern community and family.

Reading Age 9+ Interest Level 9-13

Interest level 12+

7 Shylock's Daughter by Miriam Pressler Published by Macmillan Children’s books Set in the 16th century and based loosely around characters from The Merchant of Venice, this is an engaging tale which focuses on the miser's 16year-old daughter, Jessica. In love with a young Christian, Jessica yearns for the glamour and freedom of life outside the Jewish ghetto - but soon finds that it does not bring all she has hoped for. A memorable and highly original read.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 11+

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Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Classroom class in the computer room they came back together as a group and shared their results. Each student kept a copy of what they had found in their research. We felt this would allow students a way into the world of their novel and help their understanding of the backdrop. Next, pupils were given their books. ( But not allowed to touch them! They had to sit on their hands if they couldn’t resist temptation.) We used “I see, I think, I wonder” to allow them to get full value from the cover. Then, each individual student read the blurb of the novel assigned to his or her group and then joined a group discussion on their expectations of the novel. Students were given two weeks to read to the mid point. This time period took into account all levels of reading ability. On reaching the midpoint they were given guidelines for a group presentation. Each group was to produce a power point or poster and oral presentation to the class it was to include: plot outline, character descriptions, the world they inhabit, writing styles and group opinion.

They also had to predict what would happen next. Students made a selection as to the most appealing novel based on these presentations.

(Hana’s Suitcase and Billy Elliot were the most popular.)

Catherine O’Sullivan and Una Smith of Virigina College Cavan recount their involvement in the project, Developing Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Classroom. The project was co-ordinated by the English Support Service. The aim of the project was to develop and disseminate ideas for teaching English in First Year. A full report on the project will shortly be available on the English page of the SLSS website along with audio recordings of the teachers involved.

Introduction The Virginia College first year English journey has been hugely successful.

Taking our first year students through a range of books, poems, drama and films they have experienced the joy of reading, creative writing, film analysis, observation on several levels and, most importantly, a love for English.

As teachers we have deployed several new teaching strategies to enthuse our eager first years. The student profiling gave an insight into each student and their individual needs. This informed our choice of teaching methods highlighting the preference for kinaesthetic learning.

Group Reading Titles (Each Title by 5 Copies) 1 Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman.

Reading Age 12+. Interest Level 12-16 2 Annan Water by Kate Thompson.

Reading Age 12+. Interest Level: 13-16 3 Hana’s Suitcase: A True Story by Karen Levine.

Reading Age 9+. Interest Level 9-13 4 The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis.

Reading Age 10+ Interest Level 10-14 5 Billy Eliot by Burgess Melvin.

Interest level 12+ 6 Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates.

Reading Age 12+ Interest level 12-15

Again, two weeks were allowed to finish reading.

End of book exercises included intervention pieces based on main character and significant events ie: diary, letter of advice, newspaper article and visual summary of novel.

In their groups, the students discussed the changes to the character and also their experience of reading the novel. We felt it was a good idea to introduce, on a basic level, the idea of cultural context: “Would you like to live in the world of the novel?” “Why would it be or not be a good time or place to live?” These questions allowed them to use all they had learned about the society portrayed in the novel to support their opinion.

Finally, we reviewed their “I see ... I think ... I wonder” to evaluate the success of the novel in answering their initial questions and ideas.

We put our new resources to good use, getting straight into group reading early in the year.

Classes were divided into groups and assigned one of the group novels. Before we began to read each student was given a set of research instructions, related to their book. Following a

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write a variety of material in a variety of styles.

• Private Peaceful offered the opportunity for diary writing and letter writing in character. Newspaper front covers were created on Microsoft publisher and were proudly displayed in our English cabinet.

Spider diagrams recorded character quotes and vocabulary to keep track of character thoughts and feelings.

Both classes enjoyed the reading experience. Pupils got “ to do” a lot more. They enjoyed the group work and presentations whilst producing some great examples of creative writing and opinion pieces.

We intend to use this module again next year and have already edited the choice of books to make all novels as enjoyable as possible.

Poetry The class novel Private Peaceful offered the opportunity to introduce two war poems ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’. Both poems were presented and discussion work arose from that. Students became aware of the importance of imagery and language, work, which otherwise would seem difficult in first year, here seemed accessible.

• Vanessa Gildea’s ‘ The White Dress’ was a poignant short film (4 minutes) that led to thought-provoking written work. Students were asked to write the girl’s prayer when she sat in church. They were encouraged to use all the evidence in the film to create the prayer. Following this, students wrote the story of the white dress in first and third person narrative using the “ show not tell” method.

Students were also invited to create a freeze frame image of the poem ‘ My Father’. This was particularly memorable as other class members had to interpret the frame and it led to interesting discussion.

• Story writing in groups worked well as this alleviated the pressure of writing alone. A story entitled “Telling a lie” followed the reading of the drama script ‘The Gold of Lies’.

We enjoyed listening to all the lies told before putting pen to paper! It was inspiring listening to students argue over the order of sentences and the use of vocabulary.

The method of reading a poem aloud, asking students to write down key words and phrases worked exceptionally well. Without the weight of words on the page, students engaged with the poems and gave either an individual or group response. This activity also highlighted the importance of listening and allowed the class the opportunity to piece the ideas of the poem together on the board.

Drama The textbook Dive In offered many drama extracts which were read in class and also allowed for comprehension practice. Particular favourites were Blood Brothers and Sive. In addition, students particularly enjoyed transferring a prose piece on the “ wrong label” shoes into a drama script. Characters, setting and stage directions were expertly incorporated and made for fun viewing as the dramas unfolded.

Another successful activity was when students were asked to bring in suitable images to create poetry posters. In groups, students took charge of one poem and displayed the images around a new typed copy of the poem. Questions on theme, tone and language features were given to each group who then presented their answers on the poster. Students were also asked if any images were missing from the posters. This we found to be particularly effective as it ensured that the students focused on all stanzas and ideas of the poem.

Poems we used included: ‘Tich Miller’, ‘Woman Work’, ‘Daffodils’ and ‘The Eagle’ all of which were interpreted in visual form.

Class Reading For many years, we had both read a novel with our first years. This year we were to depart from the ‘read chapter and answer questions’ method.

The novel we read was Private Peaceful by Micheal Morpugo.

Our initial foray into the novel was a prop box. A few items related to a young male of that period, Photos, matches, marbles , a bullet etc. This got students thinking of characters. When students were given their book they were not allowed to touch it, in an attempt to heighten the anticipation.

Writing Prompts Every opportunity was given to the students to

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was set of at least three books in the course of the year. We also set out a list of end of book activities, ranging from reviews, rewritten blurbs and news articles to dress up, prop boxes, musical accompaniment and story boards.

To round off the year the classes held dress up day. Each student had to dress up or bring in a prop to illustrate their favourite character in a novel. They had to present to the class to convey their enthusiasm for the character and the novel. A fun and interesting way to conclude our library reading.

They were asked to write down ‘what I see, think wonder’ to catch their initial impression of the novel. These intial thoughts were turned into decorated posters to be used in the final review. The novel was read in class, aloud.

Sometimes by ourselves, mostly by students. We used the tapping method. Each student could read as much or as little as they wanted, when they were finished they tapped the desk and the next student took up. This allowed reluctant readers to read an amount they were comfortable with. (We did try to set a minimum of a page of text.)

Film We used film in our classes to stimulate writing and to begin to give students the tools with which “to read” film. Using Bridge to Terabithia we used the opening section as a springboard to create a character and, from that, a scenario. Another exercise was to divide the class into groups and assign them aspects of the film to observe. The areas included: setting, costume, facial expression, lighting and sound effects/music. Each group watched the opening and made notes on their aspect, they then discussed their findings and came up with a presentation for the rest of the class. By its conclusion each student had a more detailed insight into all aspects of film language. We used the close-up shot of Jess’s teacher to discuss the creation and presentation of a character and this lead to interesting discussions re teachers! The film shorts we received from The Irish Film Board were excellent to use with the classes. In relation to The White Dress students were full of insight and ideas. The classes brainstormed possible scenarios and backgrounds. Through this film short we explored 1st and 3rd person perspectives.

Students generated excellent work with interesting prayers, diaries and conversations.

We got students to write intervention pieces at various stages in the narrative such as diary writing, character description, letter writing and newspaper reports. We also looked at language analysis and the choosing of apt quotes.This provided support and reassurance for students in doing comprehension and pieces of creative writing. We used the poem ‘The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke, just before the boys in the novel went to war, to examine the mindset of men going off to fight in World War 1. Using the internet, we looked at propaganda posters from that era to supplement the ideas on recruitment we encountered in the novel. Another poem we read was ‘ Dulce Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen, following the reading of the gas attack episode in Private Peaceful. This enhanced the experience of a gas attack for the student and allowed us to examine the graphic images portrayed. On finishing the novel we got students to write articles, newspaper front pages, reviews and conversations twenty years later. We also produced a new prop box, containing a gas mask, and chapter summaries with only pictures. We revisited our initial ideas on the novel and evaluated whether they had been fulfilled. A great novel and a great way to read it, teach it and learn about it.

Conclusion Participating in this project was worthwhile. We found it very interesting and we benefitted from the teaching resources and ideas generated from the various inservices. Working closely with a colleague provided necessary support and encouragement.

Overall this year has revived our enthusiasm for teaching first year English. A special word of thanks to Della Meade, Regional Developement Officer for the Second Level Support Service, for her direction, encouragement and enthusiasm throughout.

Library Reading Many kids don’t have the opportunity to read for pleasure. As part of our first year course we decided to give our classes this opportunity. The school library is not up and running yet so we used our class libraries. We tried to give over one period a week to quiet reading. The teacher also read at this time.

Students were free to read from the class library, take the novel home or read their own book. A goal

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Ten Film Choices for First Year and Junior Cycle Alicia McGivern, Irish Film Institute Roman Polanski’s

Oliver Twist (2005) Polanski’s take on the classic tale is grippingly atmospheric. Sir Ben Kingsley excels as the sinister Fagin in an adaptation that brings the story vividly to life again for a new generation.

Classroom focus: stimulus for creative writing on characters or setting.

Audience: Year 1 - 2

Phillip Noyce’s

Rabbit-proof Fence (2002) Another Australian story, this time concerning the forced adoption of Aboriginal children into white families, a practice that continued up until the 1950s.

Themes: family, injustice, human rights, determination and decisions, friendship; Audience: Year 1 – 4 Siddiq Barmak’s

Niki Caro’s

Osama (2003)

Whale Rider (2002)

12-year-old girl forced to dress as a boy in order to work during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

When she is forced to join the school and military training she the boy Espandi comes to her aid.

Beautifully photographed and heart-rending story of life during this extreme time.

Unique story of a young girl growing up within a community in which elders seek to hold onto language, culture and traditions that the younger generation are leaving behind.

Themes: Modernity versus the environment, generational conflict, identity, tradition, intercultural awareness; Audience: Year 1 – 3

Themes: identity, law and order, gender politics, human rights.

Target Audience: Years 2 - 4

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Gurinder Chadha’s

Thomas Carter’s

Save the Last Dance (2001)

Bend it Like Beckham (2002)

Julia Stiles is great in this coming-of-age tale about a teenage girl who moves to a poor area of Chicago after a family tragedy. Her only friend in the mostly black school is a hiphop dancer, Derek who teaches her new moves as she trains to be a dancer and realises the healing power of dance.

Keira Knightley came to our attention in this small tale of two very different girls who both want to play on the football team. Jesminder is the daughter of orthodox Sikhs who has no desire to toe the family line, instead developing her considerable football skills.

Themes: growing up, racism, coping with loss, peer pressure, friendship, expression through art.

Target Audience: Years 1 – 3

Themes: growing up, race, family and society, gender; Target Audience: Years 1 – 3

Gabor Csupo’s

Bridge To Terabithia (2007) Adaptation of Katherine Paterson’s much loved novel. This is a terrific film, a boy-girl story where both characters on the verge of adolescence struggle with their sense of self and their family demands, escaping to a magical kingdom when life becomes difficult. An unexpected turn of events leaves the young boy coping with grief and loss.

Themes: growing up, friendship and love, family, grief and loss, fantasy, competing.

Target Audience: Years 1 – 2 Andrew Davis’

Holes (2003) Adaptation of popular Louis Sachar novel. Stanley Yelnats is accused of stealing a pair of famous trainers. He is sent to Camp Green Lake detention centre where he and the other boys are forced to dig large holes in the desert each day. The malicious warden (Sigourney Weaver) is secretly looking for buried treasure, things go badly wrong when Stanley and friend Zero escape.

Themes: friendship, punishment, secrecy, bullying and peer pressure, forgiveness.

Target Audience: Years 1 – 2

Byambasuren Davaa’s

The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003)

Ken Loach’s

In the Gobi Desert, a nomadic family of shepherds has troubles when one camel rejects new offspring. The family try everything and when there is no further hope of saving the animal, they send their two sons to bring a musician from the nearest town to perform a ritual and save the " baby camel". Hard to believe that such an unfamiliar story and culture would have become such a hit film.

Kes (1969) Modern classic, adaptation of Barry Hines novel.

Loach’s film set a marker for subsequent stories about growing up in troubled families and its legacy can be seen in recent Irish film, The Mighty Celt. Tender and evocative, the school football game brings a welcome relief from the often heart-breaking mood of the film.

Themes: growing up, bullying, family life, escape, identification; Target Audience: Years 1 – 4

Themes: Family, culture, tradition, survival; Target Audience: Year 1 – 4

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Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Classroom Frances Cotter and Joan Colbert of Presentation Secondary School Loughboy relate two teaching ideas from the project.

they spoke.

Each of these prongs were introduced gradually over the unit of work. But we had a fun exercise where students tried different combinations. Each student was given a mood and asked to present the sentences. ‘Many ate the cake’ using all five aspects. It was a bit like word- juggling! When a student managed to choreograph all points in a fluent way, it was not lost on the rest of the class and the cheered the success of their classmate.

DEVELOPING DEBATING SKILLS Frances Cotter We did a debating unit for approximately five weeks.

During that time students worked on their presentation skills. I pulled them together under the title the Mary Ate the Cake Principle. It consists of 5 prongs.

OTHER ACTIVITIES USED IN DEBATING UNIT Working with Advertisements I brought in an advertisement and invited students to compile a list of reasons why the advertisement works. As the list was compiled I emphasised the idea of convincing a target audience. Students highlighted the key persuasive skills that were being used. In selecting an advertisement, I kept in mind it the kind of skills that might be used in debating, for example, playing on an audience’s fears or desire; using rhetorical questions; incorporating anecdotes and so on. I found that this worked well when the advertisement was comical and over-the-top.

1 Emphasis Mary ate the cake Mary ate the cake Mary ate the cake Mary ate the cake Simply by changing the emphasis, students hear how the meaning is changed. Students were encouraged to think about where to place the emphasis in making the argument on a motion.

2 The Pregnant Pause We wanted students to appreciate the effect of the pause in debating so they were encouraged to pause at different points in the statement and note the dramatic effect.

Visualisation I asked students to identify the teacher who holds their attention when s/he speaks. I gave them a moment to remember him/her in action. The students then made a list of the qualities that captured their attention.

Mary – ate the cake Mary ate – the cake Mary ate the – cake

Two Sides of the Coin For this I divided the class into pairs. I gave each pair a set of opposing statements, for example, “Pasta is delicious. Pasta is disgusting.” Each student worked one side of the argument.

Students were given a few minutes to write as many points as possible in support of their statement. Then the students set out to argue their points. This worked well when it was done like ping pong. Every point made by one student was countered by her opponent. The contest was really between the student who produced the most points versus the student who dried up first.

3 Mood Students were encouraged to experiment with delivering the lines in different moods: Angry, Happy, Threatening, Tragic and so on.

4 Gesticulation/ Body Language A simple gesture can add dramatic impact to a speech. Students were encouraged to incorporate gestures and movement into their delivery: use of hands; griping the desk; taking a pace or two; or introducing a prop.

Developing Substance I presented the students with a motion that had some substance to it and to which they could relate: It’s Better to be a Teeny than a Teenager.

Students were asked to make three statements for

5 The Rainbow Sweep We wanted the students to appreciate the impact of making eye contact with their audience. We encouraged them to sweep around the room as

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2.

3.

4.

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or against this assertion. Each statement then built into a persuasive paragraph.

Rapping Working in pairs, I asked the students to write a rap on a given subject. They practiced their rap and then presented it to the class. The activity was fun but it helped to build up presentation skills such as confidence, eye contact, gesticulation, voice projection, emphasis on key words and so on.

The plot so far The main character Other significant characters The most enjoyable moment What might happen next

This very simple overview required that each student in the group focused on a single area of the text and arranged their team accordingly, swapping roles each week as The Reading Factor progressed. It also meant that everyone in the class spoke before their peers. As a class we agreed that speaking before your peers was good, but speaking well was an important skill to develop. We zoned in on three key elements: (a) Voice – Good Level with Variation in Tone (b) Eye Contact with Audience (c) Content – Clear and Relevant.

Soap Box When the students had developed some of the skills outlined above, I introduced the soap box. (It was literally a box that they stood on.) We brainstormed topics. Each student was given three minutes to let rip. The rest of the class commented on the performance from the point-of-view of the debating skills they had learned.

It was also agreed that teams would award points based on these criteria. We used a simple scoring scheme: 3 points = Excellent 2 points = Very Good 1 point = Could Improve

These ideas worked well as an introduction to debating for my students, a mixed ability group of girls. The students developed good presentation skills and learned the rudiments of creating an argument.

This demanded that students not only spoke but also listened in a focused manner. Ultimately the girls were engaging in peer assessment and grew in confidence in offering feedback. If for example, Team Hana were presenting, not only would they get a score from the other four tables, but they could also ask for specific feedback from one table.

Each person at that table offered at lease one piece or feedback identifying the strengths and/or weaknesses of the presentation, the emphasis being on the ‘why’/rationale behind their assessment. As critical thinkers and commentators the girls proved both honest and supportive of each others endeavours. There were of course teething issues but once we had found our feet and ‘terms and conditions’ had been agreed, The Reading Factor almost ran itself.

THE READING FACTOR – Joan Colbert I began the year with six copies each of Noughts and Crosses (Malorie Blackman), Hana’s Suitcase (Karen Levine), The New Policeman (Kate Thompson), Big Mouth and Ugly Girl (Joyce Carol Oates) and Wings Over Delft (Aubrey Flegg).

I divided the class into five reading groups/teams who later adopted the title of their novel as their team name. Frances and I decided to use these texts as a springboard to teach a variety of writing tasks in keeping with the first year syllabus, such as letter writing, diaries, dialogue and so on but, like Frances, I was particularly interested in developing public speaking skills with the girls.

Because there was a good deal of independent reading involved in the project, I needed some way of monitoring the students’ progress through their perspective novels while giving the other groups an insight into the world of the texts.

Thus, The Reading Factor was born.

The Reading Factor was successful in generating interest in the girls in reading the other books circulating in the class. There were many other positives but I am most proud of how the girls confidence and ability has improved in relation to public speaking. We have since negotiated our way through reading our short stories and poems aloud, tackled speech making and debating head on and on Monday look forward to a collaborative poetry reading with another first year class.

The Reading Factor took place every Tuesday and involved each team organising their thoughts on their novel according to:

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Fourteen Ideas for Working on a Class Novel “Narrative is a primary act of mind, transferred from life to art.”

culture, or identifying the emotions at the heart of a text in a way that everyone can understand.

Barbara Hardy

The following ideas may help you meet the challenge of making the pleasure of reading a novel available to everyone in your class. There are not ‘new’ ideas but they have been tried and tested by different teachers in different contexts.

Hopefully, you will find something here that interests you. You might find something that you used to do but have forgotten about. Now is your chance to remember. Have fun!

Introduction What happens when we read a novel?

One answer is that we create a world in our imagination in response to the words on the page. Within that world we respond to characters, their situations and dilemmas and their feelings. When a novel grabs out attention, we enter into its world and lose ourselves in it.

When the spell is broken, when we stand back, we can consider how the illusion was created.

1. Response Journal

If this is the case, then the questions we ask students might usefully concentrate on a) the imagined world; b) our response to that world; c) the means by which the world is created.

Encourage each student to keep a response journal, a growing, changing, tentative account of their response to the novel as they read it. The entries in the journal are like diary entries – essays at understanding. The style is personal.

Entries can be condensed – written versions of inner speech – questions, or snatches of creative or imitative writing.

Often, as readers, we don’t have an immediate response to a novel and it takes some time for us to settle on one. If this is true for experienced readers, it can be doubly so for younger ones. For many students it is only when they engage in imaginative tasks (drawing, painting, talking, acting, story-making, freeze framing …) arising out of a novel they have read, that they begin to find their own response.

You can direct the students with a small number of general questions: Were you surprised by what happened?

What do you think will happen next?

What were your feelings at that moment?

Experienced readers make sense of the book they’re reading by reference to other reading experiences – we read a book and recognise it as an example of a particular genre; we recognise the human emotion being explored and compare it to the way it is explored in another book we’ve read; we encounter a situation in a novel and understand it by reference to a foundational myth, like the story of Oedipus. These frames of reference enable us to encounter a book with confidence. Experienced readers are also conscious of the way in which the rhetoric of a book tries to force us to read it in a certain way and we either allow ourselves to be led or we resist the leading.

You can use one of the thinking routines associated with Teaching for Understanding: What do you see?

What do you think?

What do you wonder?

You can invite students to respond by taking a word, or a related series of words phrases, image(s), moment(s), or piece of dialogue and writing in response to it. This can be free writing in any form they wish, responding in an intuitive way to what they have read.

You can also offer areas to consider:

Students will not have the same depth of reading experience that we experienced readers have but they do have wide experience of ‘reading’ from fairytales to film and television. One of the challenges of teaching is to help our students find a frame of reference within which their reading of a text makes sense. This can involve the teacher moving nimbly between popular and literary

Emerging Ideas or Themes The Relationship between Writer and Reader Relationships in the Novel The Central Character Key Moments/Turning Points Powerful Symbols The Writer’s Art

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The response journal is not something to be assessed – it is a means by which a student explores and engages with a novel.

students can prepare boxes as part of a group exercise. Each prop must be relevant to the character and to the story and have symbolic value. Prop Boxes can be used to develop scenarios for the students’ creative writing. A simple homework is to invite the students to speak in character about the items or props in their bag, and explain their significance. This can be done in diary or letter form.

2. Spider Diagrams

5. Late Late Show

Spider Diagrams (Tree Diagrams) can be used to chart relationships in a novel, and can be developed as the novel unfolds. The diagram begins by recording the basic relationship, between two characters, but other adjectives can be added to fill out the description of the characters and the relationship.

This is a good activity for reviewing a central character. The classroom becomes a TV studio.

The teacher may choose to play the TV Host. The ‘programme’ is a celebration of the life of the central character, or an investigation into the life (depending on the plot of the novel). The students must decide on the guests to invite.

Each guest is interviewed by the host. There is scope for creative dialogue, but characters must stay true to the spirit of the novel. Guests can interrupt and challenge each other, or make accusations against each other, based on the contents of the novel. Characters who did not play an honourable part in the life of the central character may try to change their story, to show themselves off in a good light. It is up to the host or the other characters to set the record straight.

Encourage an explorative approach – writing in character, or addressing a character; creating a parallel text to the original. Anything that strikes an imaginative chord with a student and keeps him or her engaged.

Spider diagrams are very useful for revision and for assembling information in a simple way. They are also good for building up a descriptive vocabulary for characters and relationships.

3. Freeze Frame Take a chapter (A scene) and invite students to freeze frame a moment that gets to the heart of the chapter. Students are invited to read the image. The students who create the image can speak in character, if requested to do so. The group who creates the image can add their comments and explanations after the other students have interpreted what they have seen. The students’ response to the image and the issues raised can be incorporated into the response journal or written up as homework. The freeze frame should not be overdone. However, it is a useful way of exploring students’ understanding, and it extends the ways in which students make meaning and create ‘text’.

Another version of this technique is to set up a trail situation, with witnesses called in the defence or prosecution of a character.

6. Blame Game Honour Game Another device for establishing honourable characters and disreputable characters is to create a set of character cards, which groups of students must arrange in order of honour and disrepute.

The different groups compare the way they have arranged the cards, and explain their choices. This is an interesting way of generating a moral or ethical interpretation of a text and of opening up the degree to which literary interpretation is linked to moral and ethical values. It lays the groundwork for more sophisticated discussion around aesthetic judgement.

In this, as in all class and homework, the purpose is to allow students to show what they understand in as interesting and imaginative ways as possible.

4. Prop Box

7. Plot Line/Journey Line

A good way to introduce or revise a novel is to create a Prop Box for a number of key characters.

The teacher can create the boxes and invite the students to read each of the entries, or the

Invite students to chart the journey/plot of the

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novel using a river/snake diagram or a graph, drawn on the horizontal axis. This allows for a visual representation of the turning points in the journey of the central character, as well as allowing the student to chart the trajectory, upwards or downwards, of the novel. If the river diagram is used, the students can invent names for various episodes and fill these in on the ‘map’.

The river diagram can form the basis of an allegorical version of the novel, with different topographical features being used to symbolise different events in the story.

11. Character Diary

8. Plot Summary

Re-write key scenes in the form of a newspaper report, with headlines and sub-headings. There is scope here for exploring the limits of the language of information. You could encourage two different versions of the same event, by asking students to select different pieces of information for inclusion in their article.

Encourage students to create diary entries for a character. Sometimes it is useful to use a minor character, who can give a slightly different perspective to the one provided by the narrative focus in the novel. Sometimes an entire novel can be read and commented on through this device.

12. Newspaper & Newspaper Reports

Invite the students to tell the story of the novel in ten sentences. When they have done this, they select a short quotation of image from the novel to match individual sentences. This kind of exercise may help students to distinguish between commentary on a text and overlong and unnecessary summary in their response to novels.

You can also encourage students to make causal links in their summaries. Dad died. Jim left. These are two statements of fact. When Dad died, Jim left. These two statements are now linked by time and put in sequence. They are heading towards a plot. It was because Dad died that Jim left. Now we’ve established a plot.

Another way of creating a class response to a text is to create a newspaper based on that text. The news items can include articles based on the plot of the novel; the horoscopes can be referenced to characters; the photographs can capture the setting of the novel; you can also include an agony aunt page; a page of reviews that fill in social background.

13. Alternative Scenes/ Dialogues

9. Empty Chair If only. Things happen in novels which the reader would wish otherwise. Things turn out in ways that disappoint a reader. Encourage the students to become the writer, to devise alternative scenarios, to write different endings, to compose alternative dialogues. Keep tasks short and specific. This is an excellent way to explore different writing styles in a novel and to practice creative imitation.

The central character is represented by the empty chair. Groups of students (up to a maximum of 7) circle the chair, while the teacher sets the scene.

Each of the circling students is a character in the novel. When the commentary is finished, the characters speak about the central character, moving clockwise at all times. As they circle, the students create a parallel, creative text, based on the text of the novel.

14. Short Stories & Poems

A follow-on homework can be to write up some of the parallel text they have created. This is another way of developing ‘creative modelling’.

Novels create a richly textured imaginative world.

Use the exploration of this world to encourage your students to create similar worlds in their writing, by creating parallel stories, drawing on characters, settings or situations. Take key moments and invite your students to turn them into short stories, changing the narrative voice or the narrative perspective. Invite students to respond to key moments through composing a poem. Encourage free responses, striving as much as possible to take away students’ inhibitions about writing.

Encourage them to let rip imaginatively.

10. Design a Cover Give students an opportunity to create a cover and write a blurb for the novel. An excellent way of demonstrating the power of symbols and the nature of semiotic codes, without labouring the point.

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Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the First Year English Project Here two of the teachers involved in the project, Niamh Martin of Cardonagh Community School and Martin O’Neill of St Kieran’s College Kilkenny, reflect on the year.

MON I was most surprised by how well my academically weak 1st year group responded to the novel Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo and how reading it aloud, without any initial written exercises, grasped the attention of the group.

What worked well in First Year English this year?

What might you do differently next year?

NM Student profiling was a useful insight into the students’ thoughts on the subject and provided a good starting point. It was refreshing to use new texts, particularly visual texts, with first year classes.

NM Aim to structure more definite units of work which cover all aspects of English syllabus and make sure that students are aware that they have covered these aspects.

Independent research was productive. It encouraged an awareness of current affairs and students responded well to having the end result of a project to work towards. It was also possible to incorporate other elements of the syllabus such as poetry and fiction extracts.

• Increase collaboration between classes.

• Encourage more activity based learning.

• Examine possibility of some type of simple introduction to basic comparative work.

MON Instead of having copies which the students take home at night (and often lose or forget) I would have an individual folder of their work that would be kept in the classroom. I would use the textbook much less.

MON Two things worked extremely well with this particular group. Firstly the film, “Bridge to Terabithia” was a wonderful resource in introducing film in this age group. I had never studied a film with First years before. Secondly I felt that using creative writing to teach the ideas and skills relating to poetry worked really well. Each student had to write his own poem and then share this with the class via the white board. Later we put all the poems into a broadsheet and gave each student a copy.

Some things that you would like to see happening in your school next year.

NM Make increased use of the school library, perhaps structure a timetable among first year classes or look at possibility of introducing a special first year library card.

What most surprised you?

Establish an ongoing book review board. Each teacher takes responsibility for the board for a month and it is updated regularly.

NM The results of the student profiling showed that students generally had a keen interest in improving their literacy skills.

MON Read aloud a novel collectively as a class, enjoying it for its own sake.

Every first year class to get an opportunity to observe the debating team in action and then attempt the art of debating themselves.

The use of freeze-frame and key word recognition in poetry was more successful than anticipated.

Independent research projects and group work during reading classes gave students a chance to take responsibility for their own learning and they reacted well to this.

The study of film to become part of First Year English for every student.

Every class in First Year produce an anthology of their own poems.

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11 Ideas for Teaching First Year English As a pedagogic approach Teaching for Understanding describes what many teachers do and the ideas which underpin their practice. Presented as a series of steps, it reads something like this:

1 Work with a Colleague Work with a colleague and share ideas and resources. Select a new novel and discuss your ideas on teaching it. Keep notes on what worked well and discuss questions and issues which arise, such as, setting work for gifted students. Don’t treat your collaboration as a cosy chat but push yourselves to develop ideas and record what happens. We’ll be happy to publish ideas and insights generated by your work together. ( A useful website address for ideas on professional collaboration is: www.prodait.org/approaches)

● Select

interesting material. ● Ask interesting questions that are worth pursuing. ● Give students time to consider these questions. ● Make sure that work has through-lines that connect one idea to another. ● Invite students to respond in creative forms. ● Give feedback to students on how they are doing, on an on-going basis.

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Exploratory Talk Use exploratory talk to help students develop their ideas and gain access to their insights.

Exploratory talk is a conscious attempt to develop thinking in the classroom in a way that is both public and communal. Obviously it is closely linked to Teaching for Understanding. Two features are worth emphasising: using extended exchanges to help students clarify and express their ideas; and acknowledging students’ ideas by recording them (on the blackboard, for example) and attributing authorship, by putting the student’s name after the idea.

Use a Film Build a unit of work around a film. Some good titles are: Bridge to Terabithia; Bend it like Beckham; Stand

by Me; Rabbit-Proof Fence; Holes; Whale Rider.

Make use of the film’s narrative to help students follow the journey of the main character(s). At the end of the journey the character is older and more experienced (time has passed, things have happened) and usually wiser (he/she has found out things about themselves and the world). In other words, the journey is always one of growing up. A simple way to begin exploring a film is to look at the key moments or points on the journey. The study of film can also help students to write better short stories. For example, if you are studying Bridge to Terabithia, you might invite the students to write a short story in which two friends find a secret location and decide to make it their private world.

Carefully plot the story using the structure of Situation, Revelation or Discovery, Conflict or Dilemma and Resolution or Aftermath.

5 Variety of Reading Use a variety of whole class, small group and individual reading. This can range from the traditional class novel, where everyone reads the same novel, to individual reading and reading sets, where five or six students read the one title and discuss as part of a reading group. The latter can be useful in a mixed-ability class where you want to match material to the reading age and the interest of different sets of students.

3 Teach for Understanding Try a Teaching for Understanding approach.

Developed by Howard Gardner and David Perkins at Harvard, along with hundreds of teachers with whom they have worked, Teaching for Understanding pretty much sets out to do what it says on the tin. Check out the Project Zero website for more information and ideas : (www.pz.harvard.edu)

6 Multi Media Project on ‘My Place’ Many primary schools do local history projects so avoid repetition. However, using digital cameras or disposable cameras, the students can capture

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images of their local place and use headline-style captions in labelling them. The photos can also inspire poetry, as in the example of Dermot Bolger’s ‘Girl Fifteen Walking in Ronanstown’, one of a suite of poems he wrote as writer-in-resident for South Dublin County Council. (http://incontext.southdublin.ie). The project can also include short interviews with a local resident, or a report with photos on a local news item. Last year a number of teachers incorporated work on Horoscopes into their media project and the students had fun learning about genre and register.

7 Improvise Give students a starter and encourage improvisation in pairs or small groups. Encourage students to develop scripts for short scenes and give them an opportunity to act then out. You can start with all kinds of things: A Teenager wants to go to a party with a friend.

A parent does not like the new friend the teenager is hanging around with and refuses permission.

A new boy or girl arrives in the school. You think the new student is terrific and want to include her in your group of friends. Your best friend doesn’t like the new student.

Two people sitting at a table. Neither will look at the other.

A Prop This can be as simple as a photograph or a key ring.

A Line You have some nerve.

Who do you think you are?

Who let you in here?

We might as well give up!

As one teacher of first-year said: The students absolutely love doing improvs and all kinds of interesting work comes out of it, whether it be creative writing or responding to a novel, short story or film.

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know using graphic forms of organising their content – spider diagrams, graphs of a narrative, venn diagrams. Avoid summary work. Research carried out in England by the Institute of Education at London University found that students believed that: Homework should be clearly related to class work There should be a clear pattern to class and homework ● Homework should be varied ● Homework should be manageable ● Homework should be challenging but not too difficult ● Homework should allow for individual initiative and creativity ● Homework should promote selfconfidence and understanding ● There should be recognition for work done ● There should be guidance and support. ● ●

10 Assessment Encourage students to do self assessment and correct recurring mistakes.

There is growing acceptance that peer and selfassessment is important in helping students improve their standards of writing and presentation. However, helping students to get it right is no easy task.

Teaching the mechanics of language is something I’m continually trying to make enjoyable. I try to incorporate it into what else is going on in class but this is not always successful. However, if it is taught separately, students … tend to see it as a completely separate item

11 Shadow the Bisto Awards Scheme Children’s Books Ireland have a terrific scheme that allows class groups to read the shortlisted titles in the annual Bisto Awards. CBI have prepared support material and a range of suggested activities.

Full information is available from: www.childrensbooksireland.com

Reading Read a short story or a novel aloud to the students just for the pleasure of it. The students love just to sit and listen to the story.

(These ideas arise from a pilot project on teaching First Year English. The English Support Service would like to thank the English teachers in Manor House School; Collinstown Park Community College; and Gorey Community School. Thanks also to Statia Somers, Aileen Ivory and SLARI.)

9 Presenting Work Give students opportunities to present what they

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★ WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM

Teaching English Magazine National Poetry Competition

WRITE A POEM COMPETITION 2010 Last Year, the Teaching English magazine Poetry Competition attracted over 1000 entries. This year the Teaching English magazine is again inviting students to Write a Poem. There are two categories: Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle. We hope that the competition will encourage young writers to compose poetry and encourage teachers to support the writing of poetry.

Prizes For the Writers The winning poets in each section will receive a cash prize, a commemorative plaque and their poem will be printed in the Winter 2010 issue of the Teaching English Magazine.

Prizes will be presented at an award ceremony organised in association with Laois Education Centre and Poetry Ireland.

Rules of the Competition Each entrant may submit one poem.

Each entry must be typed or written clearly in legible handwriting Each entry must contain:

For the Teachers The teacher of the winning entrant, in each section, will receive a copy of the poetry anthology, Being Alive.

The Title of the Poem The Name of the Entrant The Name and Address of the School The Category

For the Schools The school of the first and second place winning poets, in each section, will be invited to participate in Poetry Ireland’s Writer-inResidence Scheme.

Each entry must be stamped by the school or signed by an English Teacher.

Closing date for receipt of entries is Friday, 23rd April, 2010.

Where an entry is modelled on, or written in response to, a poem, the name of the poem and the poet must be clearly stated on the entry and, where possible, a copy of the original poem should be enclosed.

All entries must be sent to Joan Shankey, English Administrator, SLSS, Navan Education Centre, Athlumney, Navan, Co. Meath.

Please note that entrants should keep a copy of their poems, as no poems will be returned.

Senior winners from Autumn 2009

WRITE A POEM ★

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★ WRITE A POEM

WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM

★ WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM ★ WRITE A POEM ★