A practical guide to Sylvia Plath's works for middle and secondary school students One of the most dynamic and admired poets of the 20th century, Sylvia Plath wrote work about war, motherhood, jealousy, rage, grief, death, and mental illness that challenged preconceptions about what poetry should be about. The enduring power of Plath's poetry and prose continues to attract and fascinate a multitude of readers. Best known for her poems "Daddy" and "Lady Lazarus" and the novel The Bell Jar, Plath starkly expressed a sense of alienation closely linked to both her personal experiences and the to the wider situation of women throughout mid-twentieth-century America. With an eye towards demythologizing Plath and focusing on her achievements, Breaking Down Plath aims to contextualize Plath's work in the larger scheme of Cold War-era gender politics, debates about mental health, and anxiety about global conflict. Breaking Down Plath informs readers of essential facts about Sylvia Plath's life and explores the works of the influential and controversial American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Author Patricia Grisafi contextualizes and clarifies important underlying themes in Plath's works while providing insight into how interest in Plath's work developed, how the story of Plath's life has been told, what we still need to discover about her, and why her life and art matter. Breaking Down Plath: Presents a critical biography of Plath's life Offers a thematic tour through Plath's, short fiction, journals, and letters Explores the recurrent themes in Plath's poetry Features an overview of the reception of Plath's work Discusses the role of Plath in contemporary popular culture This book is a primer for younger or new Plath readers and a welcome addition to the toolbox used by educators, parents, and anyone interested in or studying Plath's life and work.

This brilliant Targeted Question Book is packed with Reading Comprehension practice for Year 6 pupils! It contains fifteen engaging texts - including fiction, non-fiction and poetry - that cover a diverse range of styles and eras, from well-known classics to modern authors. Each text is accompanied by practice questions to help build pupils' Reading Comprehension skills, and there are full answers at the back. There are also handy online extras, including a pupil progress chart. For more Year 6 Reading Comprehension practice, we also have a Book 2 (9781782947028) and challenging Stretch Book (9781782947899).

English teaching and learning Teacher Guide for Year 7 (age 11/12) Works with the Student Book and Teacher Guide from the Inspire English series Full coverage of the KS3 (11-14) National Curriculum in English and the iLowerSecondary Curriculum Designed for International Schools around the world but also suitable for the UK Supports the mastery of specific skills in English through a rigorous curriculum-linked approach

In this Text Guide, we've explained everything students need to know to write smashing essays about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet - and it's fully up-to-date for all major GCSE English exam boards! Inside, you'll find clear, thorough notes on the play's context, plot, characters, themes and the writer's techniques - plus quick warm-up activities, in-depth exercises and realistic exam-style questions at the end of sections, alongside challenging questions for students aiming for Grades 8-9. Not only is this book packed with essay advice and engaging activities, it'll also gives you access to our online Sudden Fail quizzes - ideal for putting your skills to the test! To round it all off, we've rustled up a classic CGP cartoon-strip summary of the text to help remind you of all the important plot points. What's more, there's a free Online Edition with even more activities - ideal if you're on the move. For even more practice, check out our matching Workbook (9781782947783), Revision Question Cards (9781789083460) and our wonderful Romeo & Juliet - The Complete Play (9781841461229).

Reclaiming Literature is designed to give its readers the capability to grasp a novel adequately enough to teach it. Seven classic American novels are examined: "Moby-Dick," "The Portrait of a Lady," "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," "The Turn of the ScreW," "The Red Badge of Courage," "A Farewell to Arms," and "The Catcher in the Rye." Each of these novels has brought forth from its many readers a multitude of contradictory responses, not simply to different aspects of the novel, but to the most basic experience it conveys.

Teachers face an intensifying need to present these works to their classes and resolve that critical confusion. When they turn for help to literary theorists, the confusion is compounded. Theorists have moved away from the primary text to dwell upon and give value to each reader's response to that text, however variant or contradictory it might be. This approach ignores, if not denies, the author's specifically crafted accomplishment. Glasser shows how teachers and general readers can reclaim each literary work from the current critical confusion. To grasp each of these novels firmly enough to teach it, teachers must focus upon each author in the act of practicing the fiction writer's craft. This is essential reading for teachers of literature from secondary school onward, and for general readers of literature.

Exam Board: SQA Level: National 5 Subject: English First teaching: September 2017 First exams: Summer 2018 Understand, analyse, evaluate, succeed. This study and revision guide takes you through every aspect of Tally's Blood, with exam advice for the National 5 English Critical Reading paper. Fully up to date with SQA's latest exam requirements, this book is written by an expert who knows what exam success looks like. > Develop understanding of plot, structure, characterisation, themes and language. Clear explanations and detailed commentary are supported by definitions of key terms and unfamiliar words > Build critical and analytical skills. Students are encouraged to think more deeply about the text and consider the writers' ideas, choices and techniques > Receive advice on the Scottish Texts section of the exam. Sample questions with model answers and examiner-style commentary are supported by additional practice questions for students to do > Prepare for the Critical Essay section of the exam. With tips and examples for planning, structuring and writing a top-grade essay, plus practice essay questions for students to answer > Remember key quotations. A selection of quotes are highlighted throughout, so students can use them in the exam to make comparisons between different parts of the text > Review your learning. Quick questions at the end of each chapter check students' understanding of the text

York Notes Advanced offer a fresh and accessible approach to English Literature. This market-leading series has been completely updated to meet the needs of today's A-level and undergraduate students. Written by established literature experts, York Notes Advanced intorduce students to more sophisticated analysis, a range of critical perspectives and wider contexts.

Hairdresser Rita feels that life is passing her by. She wants an education. But does Frank have anything to teach her? Willy Russell's play gives a hilarious - and often moving - account of a young woman's determination to change her life.

The Heinemann Plays series offers contemporary drama and classic plays in durable classroom editions. Many have large casts and an equal mix of boy and girl parts. In this dramatization of Barry Hines's novel, 15-year-old Billy trains a kestrel for whom he learns to feel great affection.

This book explores poetry and pedagogy in practice across the lifespan. Poetry is directly linked to improved literacy, creativity, personal development, emotional intelligence, complex analytical thinking and social interaction: all skills that are crucial in contemporary educational systems. However, a narrow focus on STEM subjects at the expense of the humanities has led educators to deprioritize poetry and to overlook its interdisciplinary, multi-modal potential. The editors and contributors argue that poetry is not a luxury, but a way to stimulate linguistic experiences that are formally rich and cognitively challenging. To learn through poetry is not just to access information differently, but also to forge new and different connections that can serve as reflective tools for lifelong learning. This interdisciplinary book will be of value to teachers and students of poetry, as well as scholars interested in literacy across the disciplines.

'Here's a knocking indeed ' says the Porter in Shakespeare's Scottish play (Act II, Scene 3) and immediately puts himself into role in order to deal with the demands of such an early call after a late night of drinking and carousal: 'If a man were porter of hell-gate...'. But what roles does the porter of curriculum-gate take on in order to deal with drama's persistent demands for entry? Ah, that depends upon the temperature of the times. We, who have been knocking for what seems to be a very long time, know well that when evaluation and measurement criteriaare demanded as evidence of drama's ef cacy, an examiner stands as gatekeeper. When the educational landscape is in danger of overcrowding, we meet a territorial governor. And how often has the courtesan turned out to be only a tease because the arts are, for a brief moment, in the spotlight for their abilities to foster out-of-the-box thinkers? In this text, we meet these 'commissionaires' and many more. The gatekeeping roles and what they represent are so familiar that they have become cliches to us. We know them by their arguments, ripostes, dismissals, their brief encouragement and lack of follow-up. And we know that behind each one (however rmly they think they keep the keys) is a nancial and political master whose power controls the curriculum building and everything in it."

What is the je-ne-sais-quoi? How-if at all-can it be put into words? In addressing these questions, Richard Scholar offers the first full-length study of the je-ne-sais-quoi and its fortunes in early modern Europe. He describes the rise and fall of the expression as a noun and as a topic of debate, examines its cluster of meanings, and uncovers the scattered traces of its 'pre-history'. The je-ne-sais-quoi is often assumed to belong purely to the realm of the literary, but in the early modern period it serves to articulate problems of knowledge in natural philosophy, the passions, and culture, and for that reason it is approached here from an interdisciplinary perspective. Placing major figures of the period such as Montaigne, Shakespeare, Descartes, Corneille, and Pascal alongside some of their lesser-known contemporaries, Scholar argues that the je-ne-sais-quoi serves above all to capture first-person encounters with a 'certain something' that is as difficult to explain as its effects are intense. When early modern writers use the expression in this way, he suggests, they give literary form to an experience that twenty-first-century readers may recognize as something like their own.

The Heinemann Plays series offers contemporary drama and classic plays in durable classroom editions. Many have large casts and an equal mix of boy and girl parts. This play is a dramatization of Daniel Keyes's story about a retarded adult who desperately wants to be able to read and write.

York Notes offer an exciting and fresh approach to the study of literature. The easy-to-use guides aim to provide a better understanding and appreciation of each text, encouraging students to form their own ideas and opinions. This makes study more enjoyable and leads to exam success. York Notes will also be of interest to the general reader, as they cover the widest range of popular literature titles. Key Features: How to study the text - Author and historical background - General and detailed summaries - Commentary on themes, structure, characters, language and style - Glossaries - Test questions and issues to consider - Essay-writing advice - Cultural connections - Literary terms - Illustrations - Colour design. General Editors: John Polley - Senior GCSE Examiner Head of English, Harrow Way Community School, Andover; Martin Gray - Head of Literary Studies, University of Luton.

The complete and comprehensive way to support your studies and assessments in 2021 and exams in 2022. Get straight to the heart of the text with crystal-clear notes, focused analysis and expert summaries. Quickly demystify historical contexts and get to grips with the text's form, language and structure. Efficiently unpick plots, contexts and themes and sharpen your memory of key facts, quotations and characters. Power up your essay-writing skills, learn how to write top-grade answers and feel fully ready and equipped to excel in any test or assessment. York Notes are the long-established experts in English Literature, and we take your success seriously. So whether you're studying The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare for GCSE at home, online or in the classroom, York Notes is your best bet for the best grades. Packed with more powerful features than any other guide, this essential The Merchant of Venice study companion is easy to use, brimming with essential info and will quickly become your go-to buddy as you navigate your GCSE course, build your confidence, stay motivated and get ready to impress in any test, assessment or exam. To make sure you feel really ready for the unique challenges of assessment and to get the grades you know you deserve, why not use this Study Guide with the York Notes Workbook for The Merchant of Venice? Just search for 9781292236810.

Encompasses the poetry requirements in National Curriculum programmes of study for Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing. The text identifies eight ways for children to experience poetry: listening; speaking; reading; memorising; conversation; through the arts; writing; and performing. It then shows how teachers can use all these modes to develop pupils' perceptions and responses to poetry, including planning programmes and assessing outcomes.

Which exam? AQA GCSE (9-1) English Literature First teaching: September 2015 First assessment: June 2017 A targeted way to build key skills for the new AQA GCSE (9-1) English Literature exams (assessment from 2017). To create this workbook, we identified the most common barriers that students face when they're studying A Christmas Carol. Target's structured approach develops the key skills you need to overcome these obstacles and work towards your expected grade at GCSE. Target workbooks' unique approach builds, develops and extends key exam skills. Step-by-step exercises get you exam-ready, with each book providing 70+ pages of structured practice. Full of ready-to-use examples and activities. Designed for those working towards Grade 5, but with stretch to reach Grade 6. See your progress easily, with step-by-step exercises and exam-style questions that build key skills. Focus on the parts of the text that you find difficult - each workbook addresses a range of common problems and misconceptions. Use the workbooks in class or at home - the exercises are easy to use independently. Visit our website for the full range of Target English and English Literature workbooks.

Key features of this text: How to study the text Author and historical background General and detailed summaries Commentary on themes, structure, characters, language and style Glossaries Test questions and issues to consider Essay writing advice Cultural connections Literary terms Illustrations Colour design

Which exam? AQA GCSE (9-1) English Literature First teaching: September 2015 First assessment: June 2017 A targeted way to build key skills for the new AQA GCSE (9-1) English Literature exams (assessment from 2017). To create this workbook, we identified the most common barriers that students face when they're studying Romeo and Juliet. Target's structured approach develops the key skills you need to overcome these obstacles and work towards your expected grade at GCSE. Target workbooks' unique approach builds, develops and extends key exam skills. Step-by-step exercises get you exam-ready, with each book providing 70+ pages of structured practice. Full of ready-to-use examples and activities. Designed for those working towards Grade 5, but with stretch to reach Grade 6. See your progress easily, with step-by-step exercises and exam-style questions that build key skills. Focus on the parts of the text that you find difficult - each workbook addresses a range of common problems and misconceptions. Use the workbooks in class or at home - the exercises are easy to use independently. Visit our website for the full range of Target English and English Literature workbooks.

This brilliant book is the ultimate guide to the Love and Relationships cluster from the AQA GCSE English Literature Anthology of Poetry! The full text of every poem is included, with clear, concise notes on the meaning, form, structure, language and context - plus questions to help students develop their personal responses. Since it's crucial to be able to compare the poems, we've included in-depth sections dividing the poems by the themes and poetic techniques found in the cluster. There are practice questions and exam-style questions at the end of each section, and the book is rounded off with plenty of detailed exam advice, including a section specifically focused on targeting those top 8-9 Grades. What's more, we've also included top tips based on real Examiner's Reports, so students know exactly what markers are looking for! As the cherry on top, the CGP wizards have concocted some brilliant online extras to give their revision a super-boost - audio recordings of the poems, insightful discussions about every poem and a digital quiz. Plus, it can all be taken on the road with the free Online Edition included too! Just use the code printed in the book to unlock. For even more practice this Poetry Guide matches our Love and Relationships Poetry Workbook (9781782948209) and Revision Question Cards (9781789083705).

The Heinemann Plays series offers contemporary drama and classic plays in durable classroom editions. Many have large casts and an equal mix of boy and girl parts. This is an adaptation of Dickens's popular Christmas story for reading aloud and performing.

The course of true love never did run smooth... A magical retelling of Hermia, Helen, Demetrius and Lysander's classic story - and of the impish fairy Puck, who meddles in their tangled web of love with hilarious consequences... With notes on Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre, and Love and Magic in A Midsummer Night's Dream. The tales have been retold using accessible language and with the help of Tony Ross's engaging black-and-white illustrations, each play is vividly brought to life allowing these culturally enriching stories to be shared with as wide an audience as possible. Have you read all of The Shakespeare Stories books? Available in this series: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, and King Lear.

Matt Simpson adopts a thematic approach to the analysis and appreciation of one of Shakespeare's best comedies, which draws out the reality of the characters of the play, even though their setting is fantastical. The issues of wit, madness, gender, love, and deception are handled with insight.