Here is a model response to a passage from Frances Harper's Iola Leroy, written in 1892. I wrote this in 55 minutes and offer it as a starting point in discussion of the techniques required for A level unseens. All …
Tag: #revise2019Alevel
On racism and the banning of Huckleberry Finn
Two essays on the topic of banning Huckleberry Finn: one for, one against. The task is the kind of task I like to set to draw ideas together from the teaching, whilst challenging the boys to explore and respond personally. …
On race and the critical arguments about the ending of Huck….
This is a 45 minute class discussion of race and critics - based on the resource attached. It does start slowly -we are beset by illness at school... but warms up into an interesting discussion which could be used for …
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‘Characters in pursuit of money lie at the heart of much american Literature’…
Two sound files of essays presented in my y13 classes today. There is a genuine attempt to engage with a range of literature and the whole is quite elegantly written. As we discuss the essays, several strong threads are created …
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The age of loathing?
Bill Bryson, in his excellent book 'One Summer...1927' offers this on the era of the 'roaring twenties': I would love to show more, but it is worthy of consideration when we read Gatsby- so many deeply unpleasant people in a …
Judge Thatcher – saint or sinner?
Noticing that there are many new readers of this blog in the USA, I am asking for help with something which bothers me. Judge Thatcher in Huckleberry Finn is often referred to in notes and study material as helping Huck, …
Money in American Literature is the root of all evil… an essay submission
This is a presentation of an A level essay by one of the Upper 6th. He explores the question in terms of Huckleberry Finn (read as far as the Feud at this point) and Gatsby. Native Son is mentioned in …
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Huck Finn: beginning to track themes….
My upper 6th are beginning to track themes in Huck - there are their board notes from today... themes board 1 Read More "Huck Finn: beginning to track themes…."
An article on F.Scott Fitzgerald: contexts for OCR A level
My thanks to my colleague Jonathan Pepperman for this. He had it all Alex Harvey Paradise Lost: A Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald by David S. Brown Harvard, 424 pp, £21.95, May 2017, ISBN 978 0 674 50482 0 ‘I’d Die for You’ and Other …
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Frontier Literature: An introduction
Curtis, An Indian Kindred Spirits, Durand A powerpoint to engage students with exploration of the Frontier in American Literature. As often, I use art as a starting point for a discussion of historical contexts. I have explored music …
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