The examiners were pleased that students had been well prepared for the specification, and had gained considerable knowledge. There were some concerns about the accuracy of material students are coming across online, and it’s important that we should guide them towards more reliable sources, and teach them to be critical and check facts. There were […]
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Revision. A word which probably conjures up memories of the anxious weeks before exams, frantically reading through notes wielding a highlighter in an attempt to get vaguely remembered knowledge into your head. Perhaps you did some practice questions, or maybe you felt so overwhelmed that you ended up doing nothing. Whatever your approach, you would […]
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Macbeth is often presented as a villain and it is difficult to defend him without taking the obvious route of blaming Lady Macbeth for his actions. In my view, it is not all about her manipulation of him. As I said in a previous blog , I think he has made his mind up to act on […]
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Themes that are understood Romeo & Juliet is sometimes perceived as ‘just too silly’. I disagree. In my experience teenage students relate to R&J and enjoy it. Why? Because the themes are themes they understand. The characters are people they can to some extent relate to. Although it’s a tragedy (and I must admit I […]
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Exams are just around the corner, and your students are probably hard at work revising. We asked you to send us some of your top revision tips earlier this year – we loved them so much that we thought they’d be useful to share so that you can pass on to your students. Here are […]
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Banquo – Mr Nice Guy? Banquo, I admit, is a character I have never considered in much detail – any notes, character profiles of him simply present him as loyal, sensible etc. He is Macbeth’s friend, Duncan’s supporter, a sort of all-round good guy who is horribly betrayed and murdered by his bezzie. Rarely is […]
Read moreAs we all know, revision is the key to exam success and repetition is the key to revision. And, according to Sergio Della Sala, Professor of Human Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, as quoted in The Guardian, ‘The best revision is continuous revision, started as early as possible.’ This gives you maximum opportunities […]
Read moreJill Carter shares her advice for making the most out of quotations during this revision period. Students, teachers and parents worry about quotations or as they are now acceptably known quotes (in my day that was a verb…). ‘Eek – Macbeth – how can I learn a quote for every possible essay scenario?’ I hear. […]
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For the first few years of my teaching career, I would set revision lessons without much expectation. If you were going to do a test, you should at least give some chance of success by providing the lesson before for ‘revision’. I would often provide a list of suggested activities that students could pick from: […]
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When I ask my students what they particularly struggle with when it comes to exam preparation I frequently hear the exasperated reply: “case studies!” Some of the geographers I teach, especially in years 10 and 11, feel overwhelmed when they reach the end of a topic (or an entire course) with the realisation that they […]
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