For some reason, Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar can still reduce teachers to jelly – even English teachers. But why? Why is something so simple, the cause of so much stress? Continue reading Teaching SPaG: Every Teacher’s Nightmare?
Tick a job off your to-do list with this comprehensive KS3 English Curriculum Map, resourcing every Key Stage 3 lesson from the beginning of Year Seven, to the end of Year Nine. Continue reading Sorting the September Stress: Beyond’s KS3 English Curriculum Map
Spelling, punctuation, and grammar: the sacred pillars of English. Our resident ex-English teacher Paul Brand loves SPaG so much that we might start calling him DI Brand: Detective Inspector in the Spelling Police. DI Brand’s latest case? The role of SPaG in and out of the classroom… Continue reading Sentenced by SPaG: Grappling with Misspelling
Reading students’ work and finding errors can take you to the edge of sanity. Here’s eight infuriatingly funny grammar mistakes. Continue reading Eight Infuriating and Funny Grammar Mistakes
Teaching Standard 3 includes the following: ‘Demonstrate an understanding of and take responsibility for promoting high standards of literacy, articulacy and the correct use of Standard English, whatever their specialist subject.’ Is this really fair? With everything else you have to include in your own subject lessons, how can you be expected to include literacy standards and a focus on Standard English too? Surely that’s the job of the English department? Actually, this standard is really important. You need to be able to demonstrate your own understanding and accurate use of Standard English in a range of different ways: report … Continue reading Sneak Some Literacy Into Your Lessons
“I can already speak English; why do I need to carry on learning it?” It’s the battle-cry of pupils still confused by commas and semi-colons and fearful that our demanding exam system might label them failures in their native language. Little do they realise, this sentiment is probably not far removed from the apprehension with which many of their teachers approached the QTS skills tests. A quick glance at most Twitter feeds is enough to prove that you don’t need to be a stickler for SPaG to become successful or influential, yet at the same time making such an error … Continue reading Whole-School Literacy: A-B-C, Easy as 1-2-3!
Twinkl content writer, qualified English teacher and sometimes cover supervisor Paul Brand shares his blueprints for surviving cover lessons. The hazy, indeterminate nature of cover lessons makes them a battleground from which nobody emerges with much credit, and I speak as someone who’s fought on all sides. Is there any solution to the age-old conflict that arises whenever the regular class teacher has to temporarily vacate their position of authority? Petty Officers Let’s start with the kids. The eyes of even the brightest and best light up at the sight of a cover teacher trooping through the gates. Looking on … Continue reading Take Cover! How To Survive Cover Lessons
