Over the past few years, we have been working on how we can use booklets effectively. With Literature texts, there is so much you can do. That is the beauty and also the problem with it. How do you ensure students get a similar experience but allow the teacher some level of freedom to teach how they want? That’s why we have worked on our booklets that work alongside what the normal teacher does. We’ve said that regardless of the class, they will cover the same three or four components. They can adapt / amend or tweak but there’s a level of consistency around the teaching but teachers are free to teach a poem how they like, for example.
The problem I have seen is a step by step guide of teaching a text in some cases. That might be fine for a non-specialist, but it is completely reductive if you are an experienced English teacher. Let me just clip those wings of yours. Now, you can teach ‘beigely’!
I think curriculum leaders should look at how we can foster that level of balance in teaching. Let me take away some of the difficulties and let me give you some opportunities to do the things you like to do. That’s why I think we have to be really careful with how we structure a curriculum. Tom - it is Wednesday Week 2 of Term 3 so you should be on lesson 1.2342244xi and not lesson 1.2333462ii. That’s why I think leaders should be looking at what tools do teachers need rather than constructing identical teachers. I will say this again and again - I have yet to see the perfect textbook for English lessons. That’s because there isn’t one. English is a nebulous subject. It changes, adapts or combines with other things. It is more a virus or strain of bacteria than a mountain to climb. As soon as you think you’ve cracked it, it changes again.
Below are the links to my booklets:
The booklets allow me to address common problems across the department. If necessary, I can change a component as we go through the year. Yes, there are other things for the teachers to think about, but collectively these are the big ones we are going to focus on. The components are common problems, elements that students struggle with or limiting elements.
The further benefit is it allows me to add breadth and scope in the curriculum with texts. All too often, people get caught up with the ‘big texts’ and they forget the benefit of having splinter texts or small texts to squeeze next to the bigger ones in the curriculum.
If useful, I will add my language and other literature booklets over time.
Thanks
Xris
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