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The Art Of Saying A Lot About A Little

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It's been an unduly long time since my last blog post and there are a number of reasons for that, chief among them the end of my ITT year and subsequent qualification as a teacher. I found myself really busy in the last few weeks of placement and since finishing, my time has largely been spent reflecting, reading and recuperating.  I was inspired to write this after seeing a number of blog posts emerge on Twitter about various topics, all of which a) I found really interesting / useful and b) encouraged me to share something that I felt had quite a positive impact in the classroom. I'm not sure how much of what will follow is likely to be original or innovative: I don't consider myself a pedagogical pioneer. However, if there is something that someone can take away or even if you just find this an enjoyable read, I'll consider it a win. To offer some background to the post, I'll start by saying that in the final stage of my placement Year 9 were studying  Romeo and
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Ozymandias: An Analysis

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Since I first read it as part of my Subject Knowledge Enhancement course prior to the start of my ITT, Shelley's  Ozymandias  has been one of my favourite poems. In part, this is attributable to the fact that it is featured in  Breaking Bad  (one of my favourite TV shows) but fundamentally - full disclosure - it is because I have a curious fascination with the transience of power and, simply, Shelley's sonnet explores this notion beautifully.  I haven't had the opportunity to teach this poem yet and so, before I do, I wanted to write down some ideas that I could maybe refer to or use at a later date. It's also, I feel, a good way of refreshing or even adding to my subject knowledge. I should say that this is my first time attempting anything this detailed   and I expect there will be things I have overlooked or perhaps not got quite right. I haven't touched upon context or anything like that but I hope what I have covered is useful in some way.  Without further ado,
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Two-Page Lessons

With this being my first blog post, I am keen to preface it by saying that this is simply an opportunity for me to reflect on, record and hopefully clarify my own thoughts. I am not claiming to be an expert in anything (much less teaching, having only done it since September).  Okay, disclaimer written. Now, to the matter at hand... A few days ago, I tweeted an image of a resource I had made for a lesson on Act 1, Scene 2 (A1-S2) of Hamlet . The reaction it generated was far bigger than I anticipated and the comments I had were incredibly supportive, which provided quite the confidence boost.  The image/resource in question was a two-page lesson intended for use with a top-set Year 9 group. I add that emboldened detail because I think it's important to note that the structure of the lesson which is depicted on the image I posted on Twitter is certainly not a one-size-fits-all approach. It would, along with the content of course, need to be adapted so that it is suitable for the t
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