Transcript Harrow College English GCSE

GCSE English and Maths Revision
Day. Part 1, English
Harrow College, 27/4/16
[email protected]
johnbald.typepad.com
First Principles.
Personal organisation – be systematic about time,
topics, note-making and review. Cheap 8x5 cards for
notes https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004VUU16S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Time before breakfast counts double.
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/apr/19/students-revise-examsrevision-science
Know your own strengths and weaknesses.
If you can, find a study-buddy.
Don’t go past a word you don’t understand – if you
learn it, you can use it. If you don’t, you might meet
it again in an exam.
Specification
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inference
exploration
language analysis
deduction
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Not everything is spelled out in
words...
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Reading on and between the
lines: Dickens
What, if anything, can we tell from these opening
sentences that is not spelled out in the words?
Marley was dead; to begin with.
Night is generally my time for walking.
Mr. Augustus Minns was a bachelor, of about forty as he
said—of about eight-and-forty as his friends said.
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Writing Criteria - Foundation Mark Scheme
i.
Write clearly, effectively and imaginatively, using and
adapting forms and selecting vocabulary appropriate
to task and purpose in ways that engage the reader.
ii. Organise information and ideas into structured and
sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts,
using a variety of linguistic and structural features to
support cohesion and overall coherence.
iii. Demonstrate control of a range of sentence
structures for clarity, purpose and effect.
iv. Demonstrate technical accuracy in grammatical
structures, punctuation and spelling.
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Guidance from a writing paper
Spend time thinking about the question
and planning your ideas
Organise your ideas into paragraphs
Communicate clearly
Spend five minutes checking and editing your
writing.
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How to Write Clear and Accurate
English.
Write legibly. We can never write as fast as we can
think. If necessary, practise using French “Grands
Carreaux” paper. Hint – the key to clear writing is
starting each letter in the right place.
To write in grammatically accurate sentences, use
the principles set out in Grammar for Writing.
Spell as accurately as you can, but don’t avoid using
a word if you’re not sure how to spell it. Use
Slimmed Down Spelling to improve your spelling.
French lined paper – “grands carreaux”
Grammar for Writing 1.
• Verb – most verbs “do” things, but not all. The
verbs to be (am, are, is, was, were) and to have
don’t do anything, and take some practice to
identify.
• Subject – this is not the topic of the sentence,
but whoever, or whatever is “doing” or “being”
what the verb does or is.
• The dog
subject
bit
verb
• Strong punctuation.
the postman.
.?! :;-
Grammar for Writing 2: The Menu.
• Main course. Subject + verb. You can’t have two
mains in one meal, and you can’t have two main
courses (clauses) in one sentence. To avoid this,
you need to be aware of the subject, repeating it,
and changing it.
• Starter + main (include starter word or phrase –
usually time)
• Main + dessert (include a link word or strong
punctuation - ; :)
• Starter, main + dessert.
• Longer sentences – aperitif, coffee, cheese,
liqueurs...Christmas dinner?
Grammar for Writing 3. How to avoid
the “comma splice”.
• If you change, or repeat, the subject of a
sentence as you are writing, you need strong
punctuation or a link word.
•. ? ! : ; -
• A comma will not do!
Grammar for Writing 3. How to avoid
the “comma splice”.
• If you change, or repeat, the subject of a
sentence as you are writing, you need strong
punctuation or a link word.
•. ? ! : ; -
• A comma will not do!
Time Zones
• Broadly speaking, time zones are past,
present and future.
• We spend more time in the present and
past than in the future.
• We need to take care not to slip from one
time zone to another without telling the
reader.
English Spelling: Fuzzy Logic and its
implications.
Fuzzy Logic: A mathematical theory
in which members of a set share
most, but not all of its
characteristics.
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Some Old English (pre 1066)
(Examples from D Crystal, Spell It Out 2012)
cwen
þe
Æncglisc
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the French Connection...
table
manger
fruit, biscuit
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•
•
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A little German and Dr
Johnson
licht
haus
verloren
light
house
forlorn
Ache. Dr Johnson thought it came from the Greek
akhos, and “ignorant of the origins of the word”
(OED) changed the spelling from ake in his
dictionary.
But he’s not responsible for
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ought, bought, sought. fought, brought, thought,
enough, rough, tough
cough, trough
bough plough
thorough borough
through
although though dough
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Slimmed Down Spelling 1 –
what we can hear.
•
Most letters represent sounds. Sometimes
letters work in groups, some words have an
extra letter, and occasionally letters are
awkward.
•
If we hear a sound when we say a word
carefully, we need at least one letter for it.
This is the phonic element in spelling, and it
works around 70% of the time.
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Slimmed Down Spelling 2 – what
we need to learn.
•
Sometimes letters work in groups – we use a
group when we’ve learned we need it, eg, station
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Some words have an extra letter, eg made,
chaos. We use an extra letter when we’ve
learned we need it. There is usually only one in
any word.
•
Sometimes, because of shortcuts in speech, or
changes in the way people speak, the letter we
need is not the one we think we need. These
letters are awkward, and we only use them
when we’ve learned we need them. Examples
include the final a in animal, and the a after
with in was, water, warm etc.
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...and a note on vowels.
• A vowel is a sound made with the voice. Without a voice
sound, we wouldn’t be able to hear the word.
• Roi (king) – royal.
Voix (voice) – vouielle - vowel.
• We have around 24 voice sounds, and seven voice letters
a
e
i
y
o
u (single)
w (double)
• English vowel letters are often used in combination, and
each can produce more than one sound. Therefore,
information from vowels often has to be interpreted in the
context of individual words. This is “fuzzy logic”.
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hints...
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Most spelling mistakes involve leaving a letter out – children need to learn to say
words slowly and carefully when they are learning to spell them.
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If a child is stuck on a word, I don’t teach that one straightaway, but go to
another that has the same pattern. I return to the original word once the pattern
is secure.
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The four elements in Slimmed Down Spelling need to be practised, so that
children have a reason for deciding to write each letter – they can either hear it,
or have learned it.
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If they haven’t learned a word needs an extra letter or has a pattern, they don’t
use it – then they can learn that the word needs it.
•
We almost never learn a word without learning another that is like it.
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Practice should be systematic, and gradually home in on the words a child is not
sure of.
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Blank playing cards make professional-looking flashcards that can be tailored to
individual needs.
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Slimmed Down Spelling Summary
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The four main features of English spelling are
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Sounds
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Groups of letters
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Extra letters
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Awkward features, from history or shortcuts.
Only use any of the last three when you’ve
learned the word needs it.
Always try to find at least one word that is
like the one you’ve just learned
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Don’t just start to write…
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The advantages to candidates of planning have been highlighted in many previous
examiner reports and yet still, even with an hour for their writing, many
candidates do not plan. Of those candidates that attempt to plan, there are some
who simply list a range of features which presumably, and mistakenly, they believe
must be incorporated in their writing. Such ‘plans’ generally include random items
such as similes, discourse markers, semi-colons, lists etc with no reference
whatsoever to the intended task or purpose.
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Effective planning takes account of the task, the detail and the structure, providing
the candidate with a route through their writing. Where candidates had planned
effectively, their responses were almost always appropriately structured and
detailed. Centres should be aware of the importance of planning and the
necessity of teaching techniques for effective planning which can be applied in
an exam situation.
•
No guidance is given with regard to the expected length of the writing, the size of
handwriting being such a variable factor. However, it is expected that the essay will
be suitably developed and structured. Centres should be aware that candidates who
offer very brief responses (3 paragraphs or less as a rough guide) are,
inevitably, limiting their potential achievement.
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Create a Buffer Zone
(with thanks to Tony Buzan)
PMI Plus, minus, interesting. Take a clean sheet of paper, put +
at the top, - in the middle and i at the bottom. As you think of
ideas in favour of a proposition, put them under +. Against, -.
Interesting, i. This will help organise writing on any question
where there could be two opposing views.
CAF Consider All Factors. Think about the title for at least a
minute before you write anything. There may be more than one
idea in it. Jot down, on a clean sheet of paper, the points that
occur to you, look at them, and link them, eg with lines. Consider
whether they will then fit a PMI format.
Try to find a lead point for each paragraph. Then arrange the
rest of the paragraph so that it supports the main point. This is
the basic idea behind the Point, Explanation, Example approach to
answering a question.
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How to check systematically.
1. Know your own strengths and weaknesses, and use these to
set priorities.
2. Don’t try to check everything at once.
3. A possible sequence:
• Sentences – have you joined two main clauses with a comma?
• Short words – have you missed any out?
• Spelling. Have you used any words you’re not sure of?
• Phrasing – is there any that you could make more
interesting?
• Legibility – have you written any words that are not clearly
legible?
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