LESSONS

SECTION 1: SPEAKING AND LISTENING

Clear communication:

• 7 CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS Students recognise what makes a good set of instructions and evaluate their own success at instructing others.

Standard English:

• 9 RAISING THE STANDARD Students identify the main features of Standard English and the situations in which it is appropriate to use it.

Understanding varied speech:

• 11 MANY WAYS TO ARGUE THE CASE Students consider how language can be adapted for different purposes.

Participating in discussion:

• 13 NOW YOU'RE TALKING! Students identify the roles they take in discussions and are encouraged to set themselves targets for improvement. (This will aid performance in EN1 coursework.)

SECTION 2: READING

Reading with insight:

• 15 READING BETWEEN THE LINES… Students read a text with insight and interpret its meaning.

Developing interpretations:

• 17 DO YOU GET THE PICTURE? Students are encourage to read beyond literal meanings in poems and to interpret the meaning of imagery. (This will aid performance in EN2 examination and coursework.)

Distinguishing between fact and opinion:

• 19 DO YOU KNOW THAT FOR A FACT? Students improve their reading skills for the examination, by learning how to distinguish between fact and opinion.

Evaluating presentation:

• 21 LOOKING GOOD ON THE PAGE Students are encouraged to recognise presentation features and devices, and analyse their effect.

Following an argument:

• 23 FOLLOWING AN ARGUMENT Students learn to identify emotive language and to recognise the importance of discursive markers when reading a text under examination conditions. They also learn about the structure of an article.

Selecting appropriate material:

• 25 SNIFF OUT THE EVIDENCE This page is designed to improve students' ability to select appropriate quotations to back up their ideas when writing about literary texts.

Collating material:

• 27 COLLATING MATERIAL Students develop the skill of collating material from different texts and sources.

Evaluating writers' use of language:

• 29 A WRITER'S USE OF LANGUAGE Students are encouraged to analyse and evaluate writers' use of language.

The ways language varies:

• 31 PARTY INVITATIONS This page improves students' ability to identify the way language can change through time.

SECTION 3: WRITING

Three pages on clear communication (EN3 examination and coursework):

• 33 AIMING TO ENTERTAIN This page aims to improve students' descriptive writing, and they are encouraged to consider how different styles of writing can affect the reader. (Writing to explore, imagine and entertain.)
• 35 STACKING UP THE EVIDENCE Students learn the importance of structuring their extended writing. (Writing to inform, explain and describe.)
• 37 PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE Students practise using discursive markers in written work to improve their use of language to persuade, argue and instruct (both for coursework and the final examination).

Three pages on adapting writing to a specific audience and purpose:

• 39 PREPARING A PRESS RELEASE Students focus on adapting writing to make it appropriate to a specific audience and purpose - in this case, press releases and summaries.
• 41 LETTER WRITING Students focus on how to adapt their writing, making it appropriate for writing a letter to a specific recipient.
• 43 WRITING REVIEWS Through review writing, students focus on how to adapt writing to make it appropriate to the audience and purpose.

Three pages on adapting writing to different forms and genres:

• 45 TARGET AUDIENCE: TEENAGE Students learn how to adapt their writing to make it suitable for a teenage audience.
• 47 TARGET AUDIENCE: FAMILY Students learn how to adapt their writing to make it suitable for a family audience.
• 49 A LETTER OF COMPLAINT Students learn how to adapt their writing to make it suitable for a letter of complaint.

Two pages on organising ideas into sentences, paragraphs and whole texts:

• 51 CHAIN OF THOUGHT Students learn to improve the structure of their written work, both in coursework and in examinations, by using paragraphs more effectively. They also learn the importance of ordering written work logically.
• 53 GETTING THE MESSAGE ACROSS Students find out about the structure of a sentence, using the terms 'subject', 'object' and 'action'. The page also focuses on punctuation (in particular, full stops and commas). (This work should improve students' performance in coursework essays and when writing under timed conditions in the examination.)

Two pages on spelling and punctuation:

• 55 SPELLING SOLUTIONS Students learn a strategy for avoiding making common spelling errors.
• 57 USING COMMAS Students consider the purpose of commas and learn how to use them appropriately in written tasks.

Presentation:

• 59 MAKING A GOOD IMPRESSION Students think about how their written work is presented when completed under timed conditions.

Grammar and vocabulary:

• 61 BIGGER AND BETTER WORDS Students widen their vocabulary, focusing specifically on their use of adjectives.

Appendices:

• 62 APPENDIX 1 Role cards (for use with page 13).
• 63 APPENDIX 2 Fact file (for use with page 25).
• 64 APPENDIX 3 Additional useful websites for students and teachers.
• 65 APPENDIX 4 Movie-mania press release (for use with pages 45, 47, 49).