Aiming High?
Additional Study Materials
Unseen Poetry

Give yourself no more than 30 minutes to do this task. We will have an additional follow up Intervention session on this on the first Wednesday back at lunchtime in my classroom 1.15-1.45 where we will spend 30 minutes reviewing the poem and you will be able to check your understanding.

I will be doing more of these types of Interventions where part a will be on the blog, and you will arrive to the Intervention session for the follow up.

Read the poem and consider it carefully. Look for its main ideas, language features, consider the effects of the language features used and write down 10 statements showing your consideration of the above and which show your interpretation of the poem.
For example:

One of the main ideas present in the poem is that...
One techniques present in the poem is the use of...we seen this in the line: "..." The effect of this is to...

Do not research the poem. Only write down your own thought (you will not be able to research the unseen poem in the exam).

Don't worry if you 'don't get it', get what you can from it. No matter how small you feel your understanding of it is.

AFTERNOONS (by Philip Larkin)
Summer is fading:
The leaves fall in ones and twos
From trees bordering
The new recreation ground.
In the hollows of afternoons
Young mothers assemble
At swing and sandpit
Setting free their children.

Behind them, at intervals,
Stand husbands in skilled trades,
An estateful of washing,
And the albums, lettered
Our Wedding, lying
Near the television:
Before them, the wind
Is ruining their courting-places

That are still courting-places
(But the lovers are all in school),
And their children, so intent on
Finding more unripe acorns,
Expect to be taken home.
Their beauty has thickened.
Something is pushing them
To the side of their own lives.

The Four Minute Mile

In the sport of athletics, the four-minute mile is the act of completing the mile run (1,760 yards, or 1,609.344 metres) in less than four minutes. It was first achieved in 1954 by Roger Bannister in 3:59.4.^[1] The "four-minute barrier" has since been broken by many male athletes, and is now the standard of all male professional middle distance runners. In the last 50 years the mile record has been lowered by almost 17 seconds.

Before Roger Bannister did this, it was a common belief across the world that a mile could not be run in under four minutes. Indeed some even believed it was harmful to your health to do so.

Interestingly, in the year that Roger broke this record, and with it the belief, many more athletes did the same.



What is your current belief about your ability in English Language and Literature?
What belief do you need to break in order to reach your potential?

At Last! Holiday Homework

Apologies all, I did not upload the homework and have had a rethink.

In preparation for your Mock exams and the final exams (we are always playing the long game remember), you will return to school and complete an exam style, timed question on 'An Inspector Calls', one of our primary texts.

Therefore this holiday remaining, please study the text/ characters/ themes/ key quotes ad consider the texts and its messages carefully. You will want to be knowledgeable also about the author, his motivation for writing the book, his message, Capitalism, Socialism, the issues in Britain after the war in society and the similarities between the time of the books conception and the time it is set in (which are of course very different).

This homework is better preparation for the real exam as you will not know what aspect of the text you will be asked about in the final exam.

Remember: knowledge is power, and power leads to great results.

Ensure you have detailed and in depth knowledge of the entire book and all its threads of ideas.

To be successful, what ore could you be doing in addition to our school work just now???

Some suggestions:

• Re-reading 'An Inspector Calls' - each time you read a text you 'see' things you previously were blind to. You need to remember that the exam question could be on anything so you need to be very confident on understanding (particularly of implicit details) regarding: characterisation/ themes/ contextual knowledge/ knowledge of author and author's motivations/ capitalism and socialism/ key quotes/ good examples of language for effect/ key themes
• Read new poems and try to gather the gist of them (try on-line poetry sites or refer to a different section of your AQA Anthology) - what is the poem about/ who is the poem about?/ what are the main themes?/ what quotes are interesting and are contain a literary device?
• Re-read 'Of Mice and Men' - again the exam question/extract could be from any part of the text
• Write notes on different topics - this is a clear indicator of what you know and what gaps you have in your learning

Exemplar Answers with method shown. January 2013 AQA English Language

Read Source 1, the online newspaper article called Images bring life of lost Amazon tribe into sharp relief by Dom Phillips.

 1 What do you understand about the Amazon tribe and the issues it faces?

(8 marks)

Advanced

Live differently

Remaining isolated

Remaining alive (illnesses)

Firstly I understand that the tribe are very advanced. This is shown in several ways, firstly with the list of the many ingredients in their “vivid gardens”. Many of the ingredients are known in the West and also used such as “pumpkins” etc. The fact they have gardens shows that they care about nature, cultivate nature and also if these are “vivid” then they take pride in their surroundings –similar to our culture it could be argued. They also wear clothes made of cotton just as we do too.

Secondly I understand the tribe do have some different habits that our culture would perhaps view negatively. They do not wash often as the writer uses litotes to tell us: “They don’t have intimacy with water”, therefore some of their customs are different.

One issue that the tribe face is to remain alive as any contact with outside humanity could prove fatal as we are told: “Illnesses such as the common cold can kill up to 50% of its population”. This shows also that the tribe are not advanced in their resilience to bacteria, germs and diseases and in this way are very ‘basic’.

Finally another issue they face is to remain as they are: isolated. We are told their: “isolation is increasingly threatened”, so their very way of life may not continue unhampered for much longer.

Now read Source 2, the article and the picture which goes with it called Slimezilla! Monster jellyfish armada threatens divers and nuclear plants by Richard Lloyd Parry. 2

 Explain how the headline and picture are effective and how they link to the text. (8 marks)

Provokes intrigue from the reader

Provokes disgust/ strong reaction (just like ice cream)

Pic is just like text – humans being hampered/ threatened by jellyf

Firstly the headline is effective as it begins with “Slimezilla” – this reference to slime is disgusting and evokes in the reader a strong reaction and also harbours curiosity. It also links to Godzilla (referenced in the text) – due to the similar sounding names. Also slime is again referenced in the text thus linking the headline and text..

The pun in the title: “Monster jellyfish” again evokes a strong reaction of fear and disgust in the reader and we wish to read on to find out the threat posed by this ‘monster’ – or if it is simply large in size. The title highlights the issues between the jellyfish and humans/ society as does the picture which shows literally the jellyfish is much larger and encompassing the human being who is precariously dangled above but looks like he is in danger of being consumed. This also links to the text as we are later told that humanity is at its mercy as we are told of its: “assault on a helpless Japan”. SO just like the picture shows the human in danger from the huge jellyfish, so humanity is in a perilous situation also due to the tyrant jellyfish.

The tile provokes disgust in the reader towards the jellyfish due to words such as slimezilla/ monster and threatens and this disgust in continued in the article, heightening at the end as we are told of the “vanilla and jellyfish ice cream” further evoking a feeling of illness in the reader.

The title is also hyperbolic in nature as we are left to wonder if the jellyfish really have the power to “threaten …nuclear plants”. This content in the title intrigues the reader and makes them want to read on, this links to the content as again hyperbole flows through the entire article with phrases such as: “a huge jellyfish typhoon will hit the country”.  Finally we are informed half way through that indeed they do disrupt nuclear plants.

Now read Source 3, Bear Encounter which is an extract from a non-fiction book written by Bill Bryson. 3

Explain the thoughts and feelings the writer has during his encounter with the bear. (8 marks)

Firstly the writer feels scared. This is shown is shown when we are told he “reached instinctively for his knife”.  Clearly he thinks he is threatened and in danger and must prepare for this.

Furthermore the writer thinks that he is going to be hunted and eaten by the bear, this is shown when he describes the “ravenous bear”. Clearly he thinks that the bear is desperate for food and that he will suffice as a meal.

In addition the writer feels as if he is dealing with the situation alone, this is shown when he physically moves his tent closer to his relaxed partner: “it brought me a tiny measure of comfort to be nearer him”. This shows he feels scared and alone, and needs to move closer to his companion to assuage these feelings and thoughts.

Also the writer feels unprepared for this event which terrifies him as he describes his knife as being good only for “buttering pancakes”. Clearly this humorous aside shows that the writer feels vulnerable and unprepared for a possible attack from the bear, and that he won’t be able to defend himself.

Now you need to refer to Source 3, Bear Encounter, and either Source 1 or Source 2. You are going to compare two texts, one of which you have chosen. 4 Compare the ways in which language is used for effect in the two texts. (16 marks)

Firstly Source  3 is a descriptive piece in which the writer describes his encounter with what turned out to  be a bear. The description is rich in humour and word choice which creates a negative portrayal of the bear. Source 2 is an informative piece about the threat caused by jellyfish. It contains hyperbole throughout and also, as source 3 does, portrays the animals negatively.

Both sources use imagery to portray the animals as scary and threatening to humans. Indeed both description are hyperbolic also. Firstly source 3 describes the bear as having eyes “like eyes in a cartoon”. Just as eyes in a cartoon glow and are huge in size, so too do the bear’s eyes stand out obviously in the scene and are large and imposing. Clearly through this use of language, the author is scared of the threat and size of the bear. Similarly imagery is used in source 2 to portray the animals as scary. This time to show the devastating consequences the jellyfishes arrival inland could have, the image we are given is of a “jellyfish typhoon”. Just as a typhoon has devastating consequences, is unavoidable and very obvious so the jellyfish could have disastrous consequences for humanity and their arrival would not go unnoticed. Hence portraying them as scary and very threatening to humanity, just as the bear in source 3 thanks to imagery.

Humour is used in source 3 to highlight the unusual situation the writer finds himself in, and it also then shows the lack of safety felt by the writer. This humour is evident in the cartoon reference but also in the description of his knife as: “wimpy” and good for “buttering pancakes”, this use of humour and euphemism engages the reader and brings them in to the passage.

Source 2 engages the reader, not necessarily through humour but through evoking their disgust with repeated reference to slime. Repetition of this word occurs throughout highlighting again and again the grotesque nature of the jellyfish – it also reminds readers of childhood and does to some extent bring in a light hearted tone – which is shared with source 3. Another childlike reference, furthering the lighthearted tone of source 2 is the reference to the children’s classic, albeit in a new flavour: “vanilla and jellyfish ice-cream”. This is a childhood classic and once again reminds readers of childhood but with a grotesque twist so also evoking their disgust.

DUE: Monday 16th November

Task:
'It has been said that: 'People who save lives or help improve the lives of others are the role models of today'.
Write an article for a newspaper in which you argue you view about what makes a good role model. Q6 English Language Exam
(24 marks)

Success Criteria:
- complex structures
- complex punctuation
- variety of sentence forms and short sentences
ambitious vocabulary
accurate spelling
using standard english

Belfast Confetti

Suddenly as the riot squad moved in, it was raining exclamation marks,
Nuts, bolts, nails, car keys. A fount of broken type.
And the explosion

 Itself – an asterisk on the map. This hyphenated line, a burst of rapid fire …
I was trying to complete a sentence in my head, but it kept stuttering,
All the alleyways and side-streets blocked with stops and colons.

I know this labyrinth so well – Balaclava, Raglan, Inkerman, Odessa Street –
Why can’t I escape? Every move is punctuated.
Crimea Street. Dead end again.
A Saracen, Kremlin-2 mesh. Makrolon face-shields.
Walkie-talkies. What is
My name? Where am I coming from? Where am I
going? A fusillade of question-marks.

Conflict Poetry: Identifying Writer’s Ideas and Analysing Language for Effect

Task: Read carefully the poem you have been given from the Conflict cluster. Once you have read and considered the poem:

Create 10 developed statements. Each statement must contain a ‘starter’ phrase, ‘main course’ phrase and a ‘dessert’ phrase.

Starter: An idea present in the poem is that… One of the main ideas evident… Another message contained within the poem is…

Main Course: The writer uses… A technique deployed by the writer is… The use of…

Dessert: This suggests… Another interpretation of this could be… It could also be interpreted… The effect of this is… In additional, it could also suggest…

Due: Tuesday 3rd November

Help: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/poetryconflict/belfastconfetti1.shtml

Key quotes

“I’ve beaten the hell outta him, and he coulda bust every bone in my body jus’ with his han’s” and “If I tol’ him to walk over a cliff, over he’d go. That wasn’t so damn much fun after a while”

“Never seem to give a damn about nobody”

“he jus’ wanted to touch that red dress” / “Strong as a bull” / “Girl in a red dress” References to Lennie.

“you know what I can do to you if you open your trap” (Curley’s wife to Crooks)

“little stocky man” and “he wore high heeled boots and spurs to prove that he was not a laboring man” Description of the boss

“prince of the ranch” and “like the others he wore blue jeans and a short denim jacket” Description of Slim

“i never see one guy take so much trouble for another guy”

Repetition of “old”

“small, square windows” and “solid door with wooden latch” Description of the bunkhouse.

“he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen” Candy’s dog

“hide in the brush” Foreshadowing Lennie’s actions.

“a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn” Crooks’ room

URGENT reminder:

Last week I held several Intervention sessions to help those who have been given the opportunity to resit and improve their grade on the Creative Writing section of Unit 3 (15% of your English Language grade). The first Controlled Assessment piece MUST be completed by Friday.

I will be providing rewriting Controlled Assessment conditions this week on:

Tues 8.00-840

Tues 130-200

Tues 4.00-445

Wed 800-840

Wed 130-200

Thurs 800-840

Fri 130-200

You must take this opportunity to improve your grade.

All 3 aspects of Unit 3 (4 Controlled Assessment tasks) MUST be finalised and completed by October Half Term.

Miss Lynch

Our statements on the society depicted by Steinbeck:

·         The society in Steinbeck’s book ‘Of Mice and Men’ is unjust, as every man exists in solitude and is relentless in the pursuit of the American Dream even if this results in trampling on other fellow marginalised people.

·         Steinbeck present the workers as the secret leaders of society; George is presented as the messiah of the marginalised.

·         Not even Slim “prince of the ranch" could achieve Truslow Adams’ American Dream.

·         The society in Steinbeck’s book ‘Of Mice and Men’ is presented as hierarchical and movement within the hierarchy for those at the bottom is prevented by those at the top of the hierarchy, namely landowners.

·         Within ‘Of Mice and Men’ the marginalised of society go head to head using the minimalized power they possess to attempt to climb the hierarchy of society.

·         The society in ‘Of Mice and Men’ will never fail to protect the hierarchy.

·         ‘Of Mice and Men’ screams of injustice, but most poignantly of man’s inhumanity to its fellow man. The friendship between George and Lennie, and then of Slim and George, despite providing hope in humanity and society actually, due to its sharp contrast with all others, highlights the lack of empathy in this society – a fundamental ingredient.

Homework Task - DUE Monday 5th.

Choose the statement above that you agree with most. Write a detailed essay in which you show the statement to be true. In your essay you should show you can:

-     Read and understand texts, selecting material appropriate to purpose

-     Develop and sustain interpretations of writers’ ideas and perspectives

-     Explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic, grammatical, structural and presentational features to achieve effects and engage and influence the reader

Of Mice and Men

Class Notes

Soledad – loneliness in Spanish, the name of the setting.

American Dream: that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.

·       In our first meeting with Lennie, Steinbeck makes it clear that he is inferior to George and to most other human beings. This is achieved through the repetitive use of animal imagery when Steinbeck writes of Lennie. He is compared to a ‘bear’ and a ‘horse’ in the very first few lines of our introduction to him. Just as a bear is an animal, considered wild and can cause serious damage so Lennie is an animal, untamed and has the potential to hurt those around him.

·       From what we know of society at that time there was a lot of poverty and unemployment, yet the environment is described as a sort of paradise with: “golden foot slopes” and “yellow sands”, etc. Contrasting this are the willow trees described as “recumbent” which means to be lying down. Perhaps Steinbeck is suggesting through his word choice of “golden” and “yellow” the idea of wealth, richness and gold – hence he is saying that there is wealth in the area, but as he points out in the text, this wealth was not shared and enjoyed by all. Perhaps also Steinbeck hints to the idea of the American Dream, yet also contrasts the idea of its presence with the reality that his text provides of it not being a possibility for all in society.

·       “On one side of the river…strong rocky mountains” are contrasted with “golden foothills”, this contrast in the surroundings lends to the idea that nature can be beautiful but also dangerous.

·       As we are slowly introduced to Lennie, he seems to look up to George and within the pairing, George is highlighted as the leader of the two: “even in the open one walked behind the other”. When we are introduced to Lennie we see him as childlike, primitive and simple minded, due to his weak mental state he looks up to George as a parent. The relationship between them is introduced and maintained throughout as a parent child relationship with clear hierarchy involved.

·       George is portrayed as Lennie’s father figure, as when going over instructions for meeting the boss, George comments to Lennie: “Good boy, that’s swell”, using language that is parent like and patronising, however Lennie does not pick up on the patronising nature further highlighting the power imbalance between them.

·       Whenever Lennie speaks to George he always addresses him by name, perhaps this highlights the respect Lennie has for George.

·       The word choice of “dabbled” when describing Lennie at the water has connotations of childlike behaviour, further highlighting Lennie’s role as the child, he is also fascinated by the water’s movement – showing his lack of understanding and basic knowledge. This evokes in the reader a caring and pity towards Lennie.

·       The relationship between the two protagonists is clearly unbalanced as George reminds us: “I could get it so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail.”, this shows that George must look after Lennie and that Lennie is a hindrance to George achieving the American Dream. However this also shows that George clearly loves Lennie, as he does look after him despite Steinbeck informing the reader at the start of the text of the great difficulties and responsibilities endured by George in order to protect Lennie.  The relationship between Lennie and George contains so many elements that were devoid from society: love, care, protection. The two were not the norm, it was not normal that two people travelled together and looked after each other.   Lennie’s desperate attempts to follow George’s orders show Lennie’s love for George.

·       Even though Lennie is childlike and primitive, he is not necessarily stupid as shown through his cunning behaviour with the mouse. This also highlights his desperation for human kindness and affection, at the same time this highlights the coldness of the society in which the characters (and Steinbeck) found themselves in.

·       “He paused in relish of the memory”: the word choice of relish suggest the enjoyment of gratuitous violence. Highlights the cruelty and barbarity of the bunkhouse and therefore society at large. Again highlights that the margins of society do not help each other, but rather abuse each other.

·       “the guys went into Soledad and raised hell”. Reference to hell suggests evil but also further highlights the barren and hopeless world they live in.

·       “he wore high heeled boots and spurs to prove he was not a labouring man”. Highlights the hierarchical society and literally he towers over the other men, and metaphorically does also. There is also something humorous about this though as Steinbeck is highlighting the ridiculousness of the situation as he is a: “little stocky man”.

·       Milton – John Milton. Author of Paradise Lost and one of Steinbeck’s favourite writers.

·       “playful finger” – suggests it is a game to the boss, and that he is toying with Lennie. This further highlights the cruelty of the world inhabited by the characters.

·       “Strong as a bull” – more animalistic imagery, highlighting Lennie’s lowly place in society but his potential danger also. Just as a bull is…

·       Candy’s dog – the description evokes sympathy from the reader. This is important as Steinbeck wants the reader to have sympathy for the marginalised. The dog is a symbol of all of the marginalised.

·       “I’ve had him ever since he was a pup” – loyalty is not rewarded in this cruel, capitalist society. Even though the dog performed his duties well and contributed, now that he deserves society’s respect and care he will not get it, instead the dog is now useless and so will be shot. The dog and its fate highlights the cruel, unjust and hardened society of the text and of America in real times. His description evokes sympathy in the reader showing Steinbeck believed this treatment to be unjust.

·       The juxtaposition of “thin” Curley and “huge” Lennie and their initial interaction highlights the unfairness of society and ridiculousness of the situation, where Curley  - simply due to his position on the ranch and his familial connections, is able to quickly reduce a large man to twist “with embarrassment” and “squirm”. Their interaction shows the callousness between those in power and those powerless, their physical makeup indicates Steinbeck’s belief that those in power were undeserving.

·       Those on the margins of society are not easily united, the environment in which they live is full of fear and mistrust, and so lacks hope for change. There is a lack of unity and human empathy between the marginalised factions of society. This is highlighted when Candy and George:

                           

Of Mice and Men Controlled Assessment
This is worth 15% of your overall grade. You will have  3-4 hours in class to complete the assessment question:

Explore the ways Steinbeck present ideas about society.

You must evidence the following Assessment Objectives:

-     Read and understand texts, selecting material appropriate to purpose

-     Develop and sustain interpretations of writers’ ideas and perspectives

-     Explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic, grammatical, structural and presentational features to achieve effects and engage and influence the reader

Reminder: Creative Writing CA Intervention
This week Intervention will be on Tuesday lunchtime (1.15-1.45) and Thursday 4.00 -5.00

Homework

Due Friday 19th June Write on A4 lined but single sided please.

Topic: Unseen Poetry

We will be making our first foray into Unseen Poetry this week. In the Literature exam, you will be given a poem you have not read or studied and an essay question. The mark is out of 18 and you need to identify the ideas in the poem, language techniques used and also the effect of these. Roughly you only get 25 minutes to respond and create a critical essay.

This homework task is also building your skills in being independent learners capable of researching and creating an independent and perceptive(band 5 language) response to texts.

Task - Read and research the poem below and then write a critical essay in response to the following question:

What are the main ideas considered in the poem?
Your essay should show perceptive analysis of the ideas and also exploration and analysis of language used for effect.

Revelation (Liz Lochhead)
I remember once being shown the black bull
when a child at the farm for eggs and milk.
They called him Bob - as though perhaps
you could reduce a monster
with the charm of a friendly name.
At the threshold of his outhouse, someone
held my hand and let me peer inside.
At first, only black
and the hot reek of him. Then he was immense,
his edges merging with the darkness, just
a big bulk and a roar to be really scared of,
a trampling, and a clanking tense with the chain’s jerk.
His eyes swivelled in the great wedge of his tossed head.
He roared his rage. His nostrils gaped like wounds.

And in the yard outside,
oblivious hens picked their way about.
The faint and rather festive tinkling
behind the mellow stone and hasp was all they knew
of that Black Mass, straining at his chains.
I had always half-known he existed -
this antidote and Anti-Christ his anarchy
threatened the eggs, well rounded, self-contained -
and the placidity of milk.

I ran, my pigtails thumping on my back in fear
past the big boys in the farm lane
who pulled the wings from butterflies and
blew up frogs with straws.
Past thorned hedge and harried nest,
scared of the eggs shattering -
only my small and shaking hand on the jug’s rim
in case the milk should spill.