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Summary for Lesson 1
In our first lesson together, we focused on descriptive writing, thinking about the three fundamental building blocks: high level vocab, literary techniques and sensory language. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the descriptive pieces assigned for homework. It also contains some really important and helpful links on Slide 11 such as the online thesaurus and vocab lists, the inspiration for the gorgeous work the class did on up-levelling their vocab to an even more vivid and sophisticated level, and finally our discussions on sensory language, creating atmosphere, avoiding cliche and using unique and original literary techniques to grab the reader’s attention. The class were absolutely brilliant in today’s class, everyone was super engaged and full of fantastic ideas. The vocab and language being used in today’s class was outstanding, and the unique and unusual examples of figurative language the students came up with were really beautiful. I was particularly impressed by their ability to critique and improve upon their own work, and also absolutely loved the sensory language they used in order to create a tension and suspenseful atmosphere for their reader. They also demonstrated a very adept grasp of the concept of cliche and why they are important to avoid in writing. Really well done everyone, it was a joy to teach you all today! Keep up the fantastic work, make sure you remember your three crucial building blocks of descriptive writing, and I will see you all soon 🙂
P.S. Remember to check out that video about creating unusual and quirky metaphors. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wrq6AnYuxI&feature=youtu.be
Homework
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Here is the video on how to create unusual metaphors and original literary techniques: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wrq6AnYuxI
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The invigorating wind was pure as the air could take it. The wind oscillated the grass, dancing. The old ferris wheel was populated with frolicsome ivy as if a corral vitiated with swerving fish. The purity of the atmosphere around the ferris wheel was eerie, a bit too pulverized. The pulchritudinous view was dumbfounding. The frigid metal was overwhelmed with rust, though the vines embraced the ferris wheel with life and joy. The trees scrutinized the bare ferris wheel with stern eyes. Their cantankerous branches withered in plethora amount, trying to reach the ferris wheel. The sky was shining with phosphorescent light beaming down with incredulous abundance of light. The immense number of dense fog circled and augmented with lustiness. Daises sprout haphazardly around the ferris wheel as if an idol. The old colours of the ferris wheel withered in depression, dying in laceration and old age. The altitudinous mountains sight the ferris wheel, depressed of all feelings jump in joy from now to then. His place limits in an area barricaded in a fence, sundered from freedom and life. Depression surrounds the area in filth and in the fall. His fellow inmates wither into weak, pathetic and mortant creatures prowling as if parasites gathering a clambake of nutrients from the anemic soil the ferris wheel’s foundation is on. Clouds gathered in the centre, feeding the ravenous plants that sheathes the ferris wheel. His energy escalated as it is spring, his friends, ivy strengthens and grasp him into his base like an concrete. When storm strikes, the ferris wheel could get stricken and lay there is agony and in deduction. The sun is like a chandelier, circumscribing the profound brilliance of the ferris wheel’s existence. In the winter, the ferris wheel is frigid with friends that are weak and mortal, he has even stiffer metal as if he was put in a refrigerator for a year. He has no accompany no strength, not even animals say a ‘good morning’ to him, what is left is a substantial, tight-packed bulk of snow covering from his head to toe. The Ferris wheel was abandoned, he was lot in hope, he has suffered year to year. A table, abandoned with the Ferris wheel, nearby wailed from day to night, it’s moisty wood got more soused every day. Wild parasites and plants were roaming around sucking nutrients and water, more day and day, once the whole plantation had withered, the Ferris wheel and the table will wither with them. As time goes by, the Ferris wheel get weaker and pathetic and is speechless, emotionless. His profound knowledge was enough to give him support , flaws overcome knowledge, as so does the Ferris wheel. The trees rise and luxuriate, and as they watch the Ferris wheel, they also desiccate. As new plants arrive, the Ferris wheel greets them in merry manner, as it always has been. He was like the chief, an monument, a figure of respect. He was to be the greatest survivor ever!
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The Ferris wheel just stood there, glaring at the land scape just up ahead, well, he could call that lush, as the field he was in, was barren, and unable to support life. The only thing that ever grew there was just ivy, obstinate and lithe, thick and thin, and as you know that ivy likes to grow on things, so the Ferris wheel was covered in an impenetrable layer of ivy, all reaching forward, every vine was trying to get hold on one of the Ferris wheels bones.
Day by day, Night by night, the Ferris wheel would plot a revolution plan, to revenge the humans for abandoning him, but the problem was, he could not move, so he would just sit there and bemoan and show discontent about his luck, his fate, and most of all, his life. Later that night, the field was getting misty, and the night sky was being concealed by the mist, it seemed darker than usual, and the ivy was growing more and more and being a bit vexatious sometimes, tickling the Ferris wheel half to death.
The Ferris wheel, on the other hand, was overwhelming with rust, after the past few weeks of ran and wind, and the Ferris wheel was hoping that it was the last wave of bad weather. The rusty parts were itchy, and when he itched it, it hurt, a lot. So he could just stand there, and stare at the horizon, like normal. -
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The Forsaken Ferris Wheel
A forsaken, geriatric Ferris wheel, covered in ivy and gnarled branches, stood its ground on the sodded meadow. The tracks curled above me like the rigid spines of the aged. The metal was rusted and it creaked in the gale. An overgrown tree grew in the middle of the Ferris wheel and its branches supported the Ferris wheel’s whole weight, so that it wouldn’t have the chance to topple. The gaudy, colourful lights were gone, and bazars disappeared. People rarely come here anymore, except for the workers, who would come to check the Ferris wheel was still in one piece. All around, oak trees and coppices grow, their leaves were viridescent and rich.
I came here to see the Ferris wheel I used to go on. This meadow used to be a theme park, but now, because people began to lose interest in coming here, it closed.
From time to time, crickets would chirp merrily in the fescues, and then to be answered by another. Small creatures such as hedgehogs, squirrels, mice and shrews would turn around and stare at me with inquisitive eyes; they do not fear men, as they see so few. In the distance, the mountain was capped with haze. Birds fluttered past my vision, and they sang together like an orchestra. The saffron-yellow sun beamed down at me, the sky was azure, and I felt the tranquillity of this place.
I thought back to this theme park I used to go. People flock here with beaming smiles, bright eyes and excited voices. The merry-go-round was packed, if not overflowed, by zealous children. Rollercoasters, Pirate Ships were full of screaming teenagers and adults. The Ferris wheel, the one before me, used to gleam brightly in the darkness with kaleidoscopic lights. But now, it was decaying slowly.
I sat up, and drifted away from my recollections. The sun was setting, casting a long silhouette behind my back. Birds flew back to their nests to feed their young. It was getting cold; the wind tore at my face, and I need to put my coat on. I began to walk back the way I had come, ducking under the low-sweeping vines and stepping away from stray logs that had fallen down. The coarse grass reached as high as my thigh, I trekked my way through. A cricket jumped in front of me, and I dived for it. I laughed merrily as it squirmed in my gentle grip. When I released it, the cricket bounced away as quick as a peregrine falcon.Autumn leaves crunched under my feet, and I began whistling a tune. I turned around and shielded my eyes from the sun. The forsaken, geriatric Ferris wheel, the one children used to love, was only a tiny dot in the distance.
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The Ferris wheels were lustrous, its lights gleaming with resplendent hues, changing from red to yellow to blue to green, and so on. The enclosing area was lavished with people and blithesome laughter that permeated through the calm, refreshing air. The people were rushing in and out of the entrance like the waves of an ocean. Shopkeepers were shouting at the people who were rushing by, “ Come buy the newest merch! Buy 3 get one free!” It happened for every store, except for the cotton candy and popcorn shops. The lines went all the way across. There was no room, or need, to shout. The kids were invariably asking their parents for a “tiny” snack. The clamoring of the people drowned out the fun activity noises. The fair was especially beautiful at night, considering all the marvelous lights. The hot dog stands were also very attractive, regarding their changing lights and wonderful smells. It was exhilarating, with the fact that the place beyond the fair was uncommonly boring. There was only a field if you could call it a field. It was a piece of land shaped like a field but had muddy waters and only a few ears of wheat growing in it. Just staring at the fair would want you to pay any price to get in. Nobody wanted to go out. The fair was so extravagant; they would want to live in it. The thing is, your eyes might hurt when you look into the blazing lights.
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Henry 23022021
As the apparition drew closer the breeze came to an abrupt halt, every movement seemed like a disturbance to the deafening silence that hung over me like an invisible mist in this outlandish world. The blue-green moss was right in front of me now, I stretched out a trembling hand to touch it: it seemed to drift away from me as if it was able to move. Alas, I managed to take a firm hold of this rough, itchy ivy but I never knew what compelled me to do it anyways, the piece of lime foliage lay in my hand writing about but helpless in this situation. All of a sudden, the wind gathered up again and blew into my face like freezing knives, but it also brought a pungent odour that was inexplicable. I reached out my hand once again and touched the railing of the Ferris wheel like object, it was very rusty and cut my skin, I brushed the ivy out of the way to be met with a mysterious mist that obscured my vision. All I could see was a blue fog, when suddenly the ivy swung back into its place and voices started drifting from outside.
“Hey, you know the myth about the abandoned portal, rumoured to be here somewhere with magical powers about summat transfiguration.” Came a muffled voice.
“Probably just some rubbish, you know like the Lochness monster in Scotland,” replied another.
While I was listening, I didn’t notice the gradual change in my vision because of the darkness and the concentration I was putting into trying to hear the voices the change in size and shape of my body, the gradual decrease of the volume of the voices. Once I could hear the voices no more, I decided to look out from under the curtain of moss, I knew this was a risky move, I went down onto the ground (Where was that buzzing sound coming from?) under the foliage (Is there a mosquito or something that is annoying me?) and looked out to the source of the voices (but still ignoring the buzzing). I viewed two towering figures as tall as skyscrapers communicating with each other but they lacked in one thing that all voices need, sound. As soon as I noticed this, I knew something was wrong and that I was going to be spotted, just then they glanced at me, but they didn’t seem to care. I moved behind one of the men and saw something in the mirror that made me draw a silent scream…
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It was a scorching hot summer’s day: perfect for a day at the fair. The sky was dotted with a few fluffy clouds that looked like candy floss.
The entrance to the fair could be seen in the distance and the long queues edged forward slowly.
Visitors were becoming increasingly excited and impatient as they took a few steps forward every so often.
Faint music could be heard from beyond the tall gates with the occasional happy scream suddenly piecing the air. Closer to the entrance and the massive structures of the rides could be seen: a rollercoaster, a big wheel, a heater skelter. They were steel giants reaching for the sky.
Once inside, the braver kids ran towards the first rollercoaster.It zipped back and forth the queue as fast as a bullet.Those sat at the front screamed the loudest , their eyes bulging like frogs , as the wind howled into their faces.hands gripped the safety bars like a vice as the shuttle suddenly flipping upside down.
One formerly cocky boy , immediately felt nauseous his confidence knocked and his turned face a sickly green color.
Below younger children stood watching , eating their sweets and snacks. Ice cream wobbled perilously over the cones and dripped down their small fingers as they watched. Some munched on brightly colored balls of candy floss.the strands dissolved on the tongue and the sweet sugar stuck on the teeth like glue.A few ate too much and complained to their parents.
The natures wild theme park stood in the dark isolated and in the middle of nowhere. The vines stuck to it and never let it go , the people doesn’t like the destitute place and so thought to know it down because it isn’t used for a long time (around two years).
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Summary for Lesson 2
In our second lesson together, we focused on narrative writing, thinking about the different stages to writing a narrative story that we could use to create compelling and capitvating stories. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the narrative stories assigned for homework. It also contains the step-by-step process of story-planning, focusing on the seven elements of narrative writing such as plot, point of view, symbolism and theme. We completed work on how to hook the reader- for which the students came up with some particularly impressive ideas regarding the technique in media res- and on the importance and definition of story pacing. I was really impressed by everyone’s work today, they planned their narratives meticulously, thinking about a multitude of different elements to include. I also loved their discussion of how to fit themes and morals into their stories, something which would bring their work to the next level of sophistication. I loved hearing about their visions for their stories, and thought that their grasp of concepts such as pacing was excellent. Really well done everyone, keep up the fantastic work and I will see you all next week! 🙂
P.S. Here are the videos I mentioned that you should watch if you have some spare time:
Symbolism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR9VbSXxouM&feature=youtu.be
Pacing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krpMNLRhM_4&feature=youtu.be
The video from the beginning of the lesson (the GCSE one): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee-3qumk6E0&feature=youtu.be
Homework
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The sky was unusually blue, the kind that no color could exemplify. As I walked down the street, I had a strange feeling that someone, or something, was watching me. I looked back, just in time to see a blur of a person. I decided to follow them, and as I ran, an abominable stitch began in my side. I jerked as the pain started to engulf my body like a sudden wave like a contagious disease. I could barely make out the shape of the person ahead of me, for he was like an ant running away from a human. I stopped for five seconds, and all the pain went away. I ran at full speed, trying desperately to catch up with him. But right when I got within a meter from him, the unfathomable man disappeared. And as I stepped into the exact spot he disappeared on, I saw my neighborhood run away, leaving me behind. I was too dizzy to see myself land in this mysterious place, and once I opened my eyes, I had been presented to a green wonderland, with no houses or shops, just tiny straw huts right before my eyes. I noticed that the sky in this world was the same as back home, unusually blue. I heard relaxing flute music, the sound as strange as the place I was in. I drifted off with wondrous dreams. I was woken up by a girl, no older than me and with long, long hair. “ You’re awake. Thank god you’re awake.” She said in a soft voice. “ Where am I?” I demanded. “ In the world of Iravile.” She answered. “ We all arrived here the same way you did,” she informed me as we walked back to her hut. “ Is there a way to go back?” I questioned her, desperate. “ Yes, but a hazardous way,” She said. “ We found you on the ground, unconscious. I believe you appeared here from the portal,” “ We? You mean that there are more of you?” I asked. “ Yes, many more of us. But as I told you, we are the same. So you should be using ‘us’ instead of ‘ you,’” She pointed out. “ After all, we are all from the same place, aren’t we?” “ I guess so,” I mumbled, still half-unconscious. By the time we reached her hut, I had already asked more than 100 questions, and amazingly, all of them with an answer. She had also told me that she went to the same school as me when she was still in the ordinary world. Eriam Elementary was the name. “ Why don’t you go back?” I challenged her. We were making friends very quickly. “ I…I’m afraid of what my parents have got to say because I’ve been away too long. A stranger was staring at me and ran away. I followed him and landed here. When I was just five. It’s been six years since,” “ That’s the same way I got here! There must be someone doing this on purpose, for some reason,” I exclaimed. “ Well, I want to go back, and I would like you to come with me,” I said, and that was my final decision, and it was never changing. Her decision was a secret, and a secret it will remain.
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Mashed potato pizza
My grandparents always tell me that people who laugh at their own mistakes will get everyone else to laugh along with them. Yesterday, I leaned that they were right.
“Stay in line,”Mrs Right said. I knew right away that my friend North wouldn’t be able to cut. I looked at North and frowned. Soon, the line began to move faster, and I followed along hoping that there would still be pizza.
When I reached the counter, I looked at the choices. I could only see chicken and mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese , and fish. I could hear the rumbling of my very disappointed stomach.
Then, out of the corner of my eyes, I saw one last piece of pepperoni pizza. I got so excited.
“Pepperoni pizza please,” I said politely. Mrs right handed me the pizza. I took the paper plate so quickly that the pizza slid off the plate. I tried to save it , but the pizza landed in the pan of hot, buttery mashed potatoes.
I could feel my face turning redder and redder. All I could hear was laughter from the kids in the line.
As I looked at the upside-down pizza, I heard Mrs rights voice. ”south would you like a side of mashed potatoes with your pizza?”
I looked up and saw North . She was laughing too. With a nervous smile, I said, “of course.”
Mrs Right smiled and scooped the mash potato pizza on my plate. I looked around at my friends ,and we all laughed again.
I never really believed my grandparents until I saw my friends laughing with me. The laughing made me feel good instead of just clumsy.
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Summary for Lesson 3
In our final creative writing lesson, we focused on emotive writing, thinking about how to use language to evoke an emotional response from the reader and play on their heartstrings. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the diary entries assigned for homework. It also contains our work on the importance of word choice and connotations to evoke emotion, thinking about how to use adjectives, adverbs, nouns and verbs to subtly suggest ideas to the reader, and our work on character creation, looking at how to get inside the pysche of a fictional character. We used a diary entry from Captain Robert Scott as inspiration, analysing his language and interpreting the emotions on display, and thought more generally about the conventions of diary writing, the details of which are on Slide 11. Finally, the class participated in a fantastic discussion about the way in which humans speak about their emotions figuratively, and the consequent importance of figurative language and literary techniques in emotive writing. Everyone worked brilliantly today, I really enjoyed hearing about the fictional explorer characters that created profiles for, and was particularly impressed by their anaylsis and interpretation of positive, negative and neutral words in our exercise on word choice. They dealt with the themes of Scott’s diary with amazing maturity, considering some really difficult emotions that Scott presents the reader with and reflecting this in their own work. They also used some stunning high-level vocab to communicate their ideas, up-levelling their work with the help of the wheel of emotions. As ever, this class was a joy to teach and they all produced some outstanding work today. Really well done everyone, I look forward to reading your diary entries! Keep up the lovely work 🙂
Homework
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Here is the video about Captain Scott’s diary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZACkCPQJ4mw
Here is the video on creating complex characters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ftx0xhGOTc
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the interesting lesson!
This is my homework for emotive writing about Sahara Desert.I hope you like it,
🏜️Kai🏜️ -
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Linxi’s Homework
Dear diary,
It’s just bearable, my oxygen tank is getting low and I only have one more left. I’m nearly reaching camp and then I will get lunch and an nice break and go to sleep. I just came to camp, it’s frigid and my toes are shivering, I think I have frostbites or something. I got a packet biscuits and think that it will restore my energy and strength for now. Oh! I forgot to tell you that I was climbing the newly discovered mountain and that I will become the first tourist to climb it! I, James would become famous for measuring this newly discovered mountain and become famous! Now, I just need to get into camp, then I would be done…
Morning:
Hi! I just awoke from an satisfying dream, I felt as i I was swayed like an baby and must be God raising my spirit to be famous! Though now I got a new oxygen tank, I would be ready if I hadn’t forgot my goggles. Now I set of and I tasted bitterness in my mouth, it is strange, and my experience of climbing every mountain, there was something different about this one…
Afternoon:
I reached Camp 6, still 4 more to go and I will know the exact height of this mountain and go down in history! Though in the stories, they say don’t celebrate too soon. I got bruised and I had to limp until I fell in the middle of Camp 6 and Camp 7, I had no strength, and if I stay like this, I could die; My oxygen tank is really low, then I see a glimmer of light, I shouted, and they came to rescue me. This must be my lucky day.
Evening:
I am going back to claim my victory! I have successfully discovered the exact height of the mountain, it had a total of 193456.7896 meters! Now all I need to do is, my head was banged, then came the pain into my tummy. I had no strength, I can’t move, nor can I talk. This is the end of my life. I know it and the blizzard is really pushing in. It’s unbearable. I have no breath. I think I passed ou..out.
Morning:
I am okay! Thank lord to save me! I knew it, although I had to end up into hospital it was worth it. I decided to go to the mountain one more time to celebrate my victory, if I could survive the first time, I could do it again!
Afternoon: I’m back homies, and now I would be famous and rich for life! Right now I am climbing to the Camp 1, NOOOOOOOO!!! I dropped into an abyss of about 7 meters deep and I forgot my pickaxe. I lost my oxygen tank and I’m sure that I am going to die, I predicted it all wrong, what a fool of me! GRRR! I kicked a big ice chunk and now I can’t move. Whoever find this diary. Please… uh….ahhh.
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s lesson we completed our creative writing mock exam, spending the first ten minutes of the lesson to quickly revise the core components of the three types of creative writing we have studied: descriptive writing, narrative writing and emotive writing. We also looked at some top tips for exam practice, and thought a bit about planning and time management. The class then spent twenty minutes completing their writing, using an additional five minutes to plan. They all worked in a really engaged, focused and mature way today and all seemed to have prepared wonderfully for the exam. They also then self-evaluated their work beautifully, thinking about what went wells and even better ifs and then thinking more deeply about whether they had included all the necessary elements such as literary techniques and advanced vocab. We planned a story together as a class which will hopefully help the students think about the different ways in which they can use the planning process to their advantage, and also thought a bit about tips for effective time management. Really fantastic work today everyone, I am very excited to read and mark your exams. Have a great rest of the week and I will see you all next week for the beginning of our essay writing classes 😊
Homework
No homework this week as you’ve just done an exam so you can take this week to consolidate your thoughts about creative writing. However, if you’d like to you can have a think about your even better ifs and have a think about how you could improve on your exam (after I’ve marked it). Read through your feedback when you get it and have a think about what you’d do differently next time or what other elements you could include (i.e. add some literary techniques etc.)
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Here is the video on exam skills: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-mQ4jhsbm0
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Summary for Lesson 5
In our first essay writing lesson together, we focused on persuasive writing, thinking about building on the students’ knowledge of persuasive writing and thinking about advanced techniques. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the persuasive letters assigned for homework. It also contains our thoughts on the conventions of formal letter writing, the persuasive techniques thought up by the students and our work on creating an argument using logos, pathos and ethos. We spoke about authoratative voice and how to build it, and also looked at and marked example pieces of persuasive writing- all of which is on the powerpoint. Everyone worked fantastically today, I was so impressed by the class’s knowledge and skill in using persuasive devices effectively. Well done everyone, I will attach the video below that you can watch to help revise. Keep up the brilliant work! 🙂
Persuasive Techniques Revision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRVOLqvXNmg
Homework
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Here is the video we watched on hyperbole, anaphora and pathos (you can only access this one from the UK): https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08c9y4j/bitesize-1112-year-olds-week-4-7-teacher-talks-persuasive-writing?seriesId=p089g4gh
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156 Mayor Road
Town Kings Way
KW156MR
678 Godford Street
Goldling City
GC678GS
Dear Mr Laterna
I have noticed on the school boards that our school have been donated 1,000,000 Pounds. It also said that the students, us, has been given the right to decide what to do with this wonderful abundance of money. I will tell you what we should use it for.
I think that Limos should be replaced with school buses, I mean, the school bus was absolutely disgusting! Didn’t you ever notice the ignorant and abusive children who put there bubblegum and gum over or beneath the bus! I mean this is a disgrace, is this what a school bus for?
If you buy a limo, then instead of all that cleaning from the staff, it would be treated better, wouldn’t it? Like if you go on a normal car, it is normally dirty, but if you have a limo, then people would treat it with more care. Like who would eat a gold bar? So that would prevent daily mess abouts and other things that are mischievous.
Also, I need to tell you about the conditions about how crowded the bus is. I always have to stand and it is like an atom bomb in there! This is a huge problem, because I always come late for the bus. You cant sit and it is like as if you have frostbite and you can’t fell you legs. I often he sick of it!
Although, if you buy a limo, then space would be much more plentiful, we could even store our backpacks much more easily, they take a lot of space you know! Then if your late or not, you will be comfortable and make yourself at home. This would solve students being tired. Then students will be ready early in the morning!
Another problem is that we can’t get ready for the lessons ahead of us, why? Well because of there is no tables and people stack on each other as I said before. Then, like homework for instance, we will get detention for not preparing earlier. It is just a waste of time and the bus drivers is always late, don’t ask me why. Maybe you had this problem when you were st school.
If we have a limo, then the retractable tables would be perfect and a save of detention duty’s time too. Then we can prevent tables breaking, because of all the retractable tables around. This will be handy and we will start the day, fresh and new. This will come in handy and useful, even for staff members when they need to prepare a power point to the class, or video for our understanding, etc…
This is why I think that we should remove school buses into limos, after all my reasons, did you think of all the advantages? Do you understand my concerns that helps you and beyond? I think that you must agree. I hoped I haven’t concerned you , if you don’t mind, would you send me a letter back? I t would be much appreciated.
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1 Woodly Crescent
Berkshire
Wokingham8th August 2021
Reddam House School
Hermes close
Berkshire
WokinghamDear Mrs Howard,
I am writing to you because I wish to tell you what I think the school should spend on the government grant of 1 million.
I think that we, as Reddam House, should spend the money on installing a ski lift, so the students don’t have to walk the horrible, up-hills, 100-mile journey to our homes on Woodly Cresent ( most of the schools pupils live there ). the up-hills travel is hot, humid, and sweaty, especially after P.E. The road is usually busy, which means that the students need to be ubiquitously diligent, and watch out for vehicles, rummaging through the road. This is challenging labour, after a day’s hard study.
the ski lift can reduce the effort of going to school, and coming home, while not making pupils late. the effort of installing one will probably not be enormous, so it is a huge benefit for the helpless, exhausted students.
will you be able to install a ski lift for us?yours faithfully,
Jihan Deng -
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Summary for Lesson 6
In our second essay writing lesson together, we focused on argumentative writing, thinking about how to build logical and watertight arguments using a seven-step format. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the argumentative essays assigned for homework. It also contains our thoughts on how to structure a piece of argumentative writing, our work on logos, ethos and pathos, a check-list for how to ensure your argument is successful (slide 6) and our thoughts on the types of evidence that can be used in a piece of argumentative writing. Everyone worked brilliantly today- they conducted a debate on the question of whether it is better to learn from books or experience and delivered some really interesting and in-depth arguments on the subject. I was also really impressed by their understanding and utilisation of the seven step argument structure, and thought that they were all super energetic and engaged throughout our lesson. Well done everyone, you were a pleasure to teach today. I look forward to reading your homework essays and will see you next week 🙂
Here is the video from class if you would like to revise the key elements of writing to argue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA5yIXCX4iA
Here is an extension video to watch if you have time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKEhdsnKKHs
Homework
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These days, books and the internet are conquering the minds of the generation. Books don’t deserve to be so well treated, as when you’re looking at a book, you’re merely looking straight into a devil’s cold, dark eyes, with some weird symbols printed on the page. What could you learn from that?
The things with experiences are much more different, as experiences are like life lessons. learning from your mistakes is usually the best way to learn. the hardest lessons to understand are ubiquitously easily delivered by experiences because you feel the sensation of experiencing the lesson (which is what you did wrong). This way, you can avoid doing the wrong thing over and over again.
while with books, you just read but the real lesson doesn’t get sucked inside, and be remembered. Recent researches said that information that a person understands after reading a book is only 10%, and they remember 95.94% after a real experience.
But I think that you should experience things, and read booksa as well, as in a book, things might get serious, like a book set at the bottom of the Mariana trench.
I have had lots of experiences as well like when I realised in a competition, you need to stay calm, the same goes for unexpected trouble.
At last, I would hope that the schools encourage life experiences as well as books, as they help students to understand things more thoroughly, I mean the world would be blind if people only read books! And if they do encourage students, then they will be helping to make this generation get stronger, smarter and more powerful. -
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Good Evening Beth,
I hope you are ok.
This is my homework for lesson 6.
Thank you,
KaiP.S. Can you mark my work out of twenty again?
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I personally think that getting a life experiance are better than books. Why? Well simply. Let me give you an explanation of my understanding between the two contrasting points. Books or Life encounter. Although they both have reasonable, equal and useful points, there are positive and negative sides on both sides. It will be explained as I stand here now.
A life encounter can give you a deep understanding and helps you learn from your mistake. For example, if you went to a jungle and was lost on the way, it wouldn’t help in a book to tell that they were lost on the way. Although that might be true in a book, it is a different story in a life encounter. Take you, if I could. You are in the middle of the Amazon, a book would tell you about the description, but would you really be thinking of a description when you haven’t eaten anything for six days and didn’t drink water for two days? Of course not. A useful book would tell you how to get out of the action. It wouldn’t tell you the description, would it. I am not saying that none of the books do it, just a few.
Now we said about a life encounter, what about a book? Well here is a brief understanding of all you need to know about a book in this scenario.
A book could give you a deep understanding of crafting, it gives you the every detail you need. This is unfortunately not possible in a life encounter, not like nature will do it for you. This is so far one of the most advantageous point on the books list. Though wait! We aren’t done yet. You see, we can learn from are mistake, like everyone does, but a book basically does it for you. That is why I recommend that you read a advantageous book before setting of to your adventure. You see, if a book’s adventure goes wrong. Then you can learn from that mistake and you don’t make it on your adventure. This is exceedingly useful and prevents any fatal mistakes from happening. Another advantage that a book could have is how you could take it with you. You don’t get to take a experiance with you (unless you got a camera, tape recorder, etc). This is good, first that is is light, not like a whole camping kit, and second is how you can read it multiple times without wasting batteries on a electronic device, in case of an emergency.
Although it may seem I have written more the books and that I probably choose the books, I choose the life encounter. Here are some reasons.
. You get to feel the fun and all the wonders that are hidden in the world. It is better to get some fresh air. Also it is more exciting than looking through a piece of fiber aka paper.
. You could take picture with you . What is the point of reading the extract instead of going into the adventure? You wouldn’t know how to feel when you could’ve been in the best time in your life!
. Finally, enjoying the nature, or where you are, instead of looking at a piece of paper that has some letters that you don’t know, or you’re not interested in. In the case of when there is no pictures to see in the book.
That is why I think that you could learn and enjoy more when you have a life experiance instead of staring in to a printed block of paper. Thanks for your accompany and see you next time!
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Nowadays, there are many ways for people to learn about the world. In my opinion, the knowledge which we gain from our personal experiences is more important than that which we gain from printed sources. I feel this way for two main reasons, which I will explore in the following.
First of all, books are not always accurate and often contradict what we can find in the real world. This is a result of the fact that books are often written by unqualified authors, but also because even respected and trained academics are subject to their own biases and personal shortcomings. Even if a diligent professor writes a book with the best of intentions and tries to avoid factual errors, his research might be faulty as a result of major shifts in world affairs. My own experience visiting the Republic of Sokovia several years ago is a good example of this. Before I took my trip, I read a great number of textbooks, articles and guide books about the region. All of these informed me that Sokovia was a very conservative place, and suggested that the people there might be unwelcoming. However, when I actually arrived, I encountered a very welcoming, progressive culture. Though the books I consulted were only a few years old, they were wholly out of date and did not match my personal experience. This example demonstrates some of the problems with depending too much on books for our knowledge.
Secondly, the knowledge which we gain from personal experiences stays with us longer than that which we gain from reading. Books are often put away and forgotten about shortly after we read them. For example, I was a university student for four years and I read hundreds of books during that time. However, it is now a decade since my graduation and I can only remember just a few of those books. The rest of them all blend together and the knowledge I gained at the time is lost to me now. In contrast, I still have very vivid memories of the aforementioned trip to Europe. What I learned there about culture, people and society is burned into my memory and I will never forget it. This is because I had a personal connection to my trip, while I had only a temporary academic connection to my university studies.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that knowledge gained from experiences is more important than knowledge gained from reading books. This is because books are sometimes inaccurate, and because our personal memories stay with us longer than the facts we read about in print.
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Summary for Lesson 7
In our final essay writing lesson together, we focused on informative writing, thinking about how to write informatively in the context of newspaper writing. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the articles assigned for homework. It also contains our thoughts on how to structure a newspaper, how to create an eye-catching and effective headline, the students’ ideas about the important features of newspaper writing, and their thoughts on who their role models are and why. On the final few slides, there are also some really great examples of articles written on different people’s heroes from The Guardian, which will be super helpful to the students when it comes to writing their homework. Everyone worked really nicely today, really well done guys. I loved hearing about the people who inspire you and why- fab work! I look forward to reading your articles all about your personal heroes. See you soon 🙂
Here is the video on newspaper writing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flq29zwRrZA&t=59s
I’ve attached some templates below to use for homework (or you can create your own)
P.S. Remember to revise for our exam next week!
Homework
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Hi Beth,
This is my newspaper article on Edward Elgar.
I am not sure because you gave us so many pages and are you meant to fill them all in?
Thank you,
Kai
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This is my homework for the Essay writing Lesson 3.
PS. I have left lots of blank pages because I couldn’t delete them, hope that’s OK with you.
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Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s lesson we completed our essay writing mock exam, spending the first ten minutes of the lesson to quickly revise the core components of the three types of essay writing we have studied: persuasive writing, argumentative writing and informative writing. We also looked at some language techniques in advance of the exam, and thought a bit about planning and time management. The class then spent twenty minutes completing their writing, using an additional five minutes to plan. They also then self-evaluated their work fantastically, thinking about what went wells and even better ifs. Everyone worked beautifully in today’s lesson, I really enjoyed hearing all their thoughts on their progress and thought that their summaries and understanding of the three types of essay writing was outstanding. I have been so impressed with all of you over the last few weeks and really look forward to reading your exams. You should all be very proud of the work you have done in our lessons together, keep up the fantastic creativity! Congratulations everyone, and I will hopefully see you all again soon! 🙂
Homework
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P.S. Here is a video with some top tips for exams and studying. Give it a watch if you get a spare minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unijc3z6X9U
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Summary for Lesson 1
In our lesson today we focused on using advanced literary techniques, thinking about how to understand the effect of literary techniques and practicing using them in the right context. The PowerPoint with all of the resources is attached, which should be used to help write the pieces assigned for homework. I was really impressed by the class’s knowledge of a range of literary techniques, all of which they brainstormed fantastically at the beginning of the lesson, defining the techniques beautifully and thinking about their effect. They then completed some work on writing advanced literary techniques themselves, specifically focusing on hyperbole, oxymoron, and pathetic fallacy. We then moved on to thinking about literary techniques in context, acknowledging that not every technique is appropriate for every situation, using the context of suspense writing to demonstrate that fact. The class worked beautifully on foreshadowing as a technique, giving their opinions on ‘Chekov’s gun’ and completing a worksheet identifying whether a technique was foreshadowing, flashback or suspense, and they were also able to transfer their skills from last week’s lesson on cliché really well. Excellent work everyone, you should all be super proud of your work today. Keep it up and I’ll see you next week 🙂
Homework
P.S. Here is the foreshadowing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE0ISlj8wo8&t=2s
Here is the suspense writing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjKruwAfZWk
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Also, here is the link for the different types and methods of foreshadowing. Give it a read if you have time because it is really interesting: https://www.novel-writing-help.com/examples-of-foreshadowing.html
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Hi Beth,
Thank you for the lesson 🙂
Here is the link to my homework:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19Ne35i3Zuz0xjmcQP1Re9eetH7YP59h_XSkch3FDCMk/edit?usp=sharing
Thank you 😀
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s lesson we focused on the concept of writer’s voice, thinking about how to create a definitive and unique authorial voice using ideas of tone, inspiration and experimentation to help broaden the class’s understanding of their own personal way of writing. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the free-writing pieces assigned for homework. It also contains our work on the six tips for exploring your own writer’s voice, thoughts on taking inspiration from other authors, our work on tone and the article we studied in class as an example of using different kinds of tone (serious, sarcastic, angry and optimistic) in writing. Finally, it also has the prompts for the students’ free-writing, thinking about which genres they tend to gravitate towards and how they can break those barriers down and experiment with genres they feel less comfortable with in order to expand and develop their penmanship, voice and style. Everyone worked beautifully today, really well done guys! I particularly loved hearing about how you found the free-writing exercise, and thought your analysis of your inspirations and your ‘perfect reader’ was fantastic. Keep up the superb work and I will see you all next week! 😊
Here is the video we watched about author’s voice in class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt7XCO0f4EI
Here is another video you can watch if you have the time with tips to help you develop your voice from another professional author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z-zd72dgRQ&t=1s
Here is the music I was playing for the free-writing exercise. You can use this to help with your homework: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIYzp5rcTvU&t=592s
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Thank you for the lesson:D here is my homework:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bzcw7rKuQ7_vjmRSo2sIq2QB1zdLu7tj3F_VXCefw50/edit?usp=sharing
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s lesson we continued our deconstruction of some of the key components of writing, focusing on grammar and structure with particular reference to creative writing, or ‘putting the fun back into structure’!. We considered how to use different structural devices to create interest for the reader, thinking about seeing structure in the same light as language in terms of importance. We then moved on to looking at punctuation and grammar, focusing in particular on advanced punctuation such as colons, semi-colons, hyphens and parentheses. The class all considered the purpose and effect of different grammatical and structural features, completing some really excellent work using more complex grammatical forms of writing. They also learnt about some more unusual and interesting structural devices such as temporal references, contrast, repetition, and shifts in focus and perspective. They took on this information very well and produced some really fab examples of these advanced features being used (the resource we looked at was designed for fifteen years olds so this is very impressive!). Finally we considered some overarching tips for good grammar, such as consistent tenses and avoiding contractions, and analysed a piece of writing by Samuel Pepys, focusing on how his structure mimicked the Great Fire of London he was writing about. Everyone worked beautifully today and I was really pleased with their work on what can often be a dense and convoluted topic. I was super impressed by their usage and understanding of complex structural devices, and loved hearing the examples they had written for them. Really well done everyone, fantastic work on a difficult topic! Keep up the amazing work and I’ll see you all next week 😊
Here is the video from class on the top 10 structural devices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mod08aLaFNA
Here is the twelve minute video I said was really, really good to watch if you get a chance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp80ZUvnCiY
Homework
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s lesson we completed our second creative writing mock exam, spending the first ten minutes of the lesson to quickly revise the core conventions of the three components of creative writing we have studied recently: advanced literary techniques, writer’s voice and grammar & structure. We also looked at some top tips for creative writing and the process of imagining oneself as a writer, experimenting with new forms and getting the imagination flowing. The class then spent twenty minutes completing their writing, using an additional five minutes to plan. Everyone worked fantastically today; they were all incredibly focused, hard-working and tuned into their unique writer’s voice. They self-evaluated their work beautifully, thinking more deeply about whether they had included all the necessary elements such as literary techniques and advanced vocab, and should hold on to their self-evaluations to help them think about what they could improve on with their next exam. Beautiful work today everyone, you should all be really proud of yourselves! I am endlessly impressed with all of your progress and am looking forward to reading the gorgeous work you came up with. Keep it up and I will see you all soon! 😊
Homework
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s lesson we studied advanced vocab, thinking about how to work on delineating the meaning of complex vocab using ‘word attack’ strategies, practicing some up-levelling to get a sense of how to choose appropriate words for the context, and finally considering some etymology. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help write the pieces assigned for homework. This lesson also marked the beginning of our weekly vocab lists which the students should use in their homework to practice expanding their lexical range. We looked at how a knowledge of prefixes, suffixes and roots can help the class build the sophistication of their vocabulary, and considered what the history behind words can tell us about the English language. The class worked fantastically today and I particularly loved how they were able to craft the connotations they desired in the up-levelling exercise, really analysing the effect they wanted the passage to have and the imagery they wanted to reference. Their knowledge of etymology was fabulous, as was their ability to define and utilise unfamiliar words using several different strategies. Really well done today everyone, I really enjoyed hearing all your ideas about linguistics and language today. Keep up the amazing work and I’ll see you all next week! 😊
Videos from the lesson:
Using Context to Determine the Meaning of Words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm5d7c0xGt0&t=82s
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the magnificent class! I have attached my homework below ,
The best of luck with your exams!
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s lesson we studied rhetorical devices, thinking about the different ways in which rhetoric is used. We considered the structure of classical rhetoric, a tradition descended from Ancient Greece, and thought about how to use the pathos/ethos/logos structure to add a crucial sense of purpose to our writing. The class also considered the concept of the ‘ton of the powerful’, thinking about how ethos is important in establishing the speaker’s authority. Finally, we studied the famous I Am Prepared to Die speech by Nelson Mandela, thinking about how he masterfully used rhetoric to convey his message. We analysed his use of language, his tone and the content of his words, thinking about the notion of sacrifice for a cause. We also read his favourite poem Invictus, considering the power behind the words of the poetry. Everyone did some fantastic work today, I was super impressed with how hard they all worked! Keep up the amazing word everyone and I’ll see you next week! 🙂
Video on rhetoric: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3klMM9BkW5o
The full video of Nelson Mandela’s speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xg-E0LclYg
The abridged version of his speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQvlxnWELHM
Homework
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s lesson the students were introduced to a new type of essay writing: analytical essay writing. The class were expected to use the three key components of language analysis- word choice, language techniques and structure- to help them in analysing a passage from Lord of the Flies by William Golding. They then fantastically self-evaluated their own work, and marked some example answers to the question, commenting on what the author of the examples had done well and what they needed to improve on. We focused a lot on the central concepts of author intent and word choice, thinking about how to analyse the connotations of words and appreciating the author’s active role in choosing the language used. The class came up with some really interesting ideas about the different components of an author’s writing that can be analysed and were able to apply this brilliantly when thinking about powerful language in the extract we focused on. Wonderful work today everyone, keep up the hard work and good luck for our mock exam next week! 😊
Video from today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMgDesVu-x4&t=4s
Homework
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The extract to write an analytical essay on for homework is attached to this summary (it’s the picture labelled extract above, just below the PowerPoint)
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Summary for Lesson 8
In our final lesson we completed our last essay writing mock exam, spending the first ten minutes of the lesson to quickly revise the core components of the three types of essay writing we have studied: advanced vocab, rhetorical devices and analytical essay writing. The class then spent twenty minutes completing their writing, using an additional five minutes to plan, and then wrote a mini-essay analysing a speech they were given. They also then self-evaluated their work wonderfully, thinking about what went wells and even better ifs. Really excellent work today everyone, you should all be super proud of yourselves! I look forward to seeing you all again in lessons in the future, until then well done and keep up the beautiful work! 🙂
Here is the exam skills video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoDvBTRe7U4
Homework
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