Specifically designed for GCSE coursework assignments, this collection contains pre-20th- and 20th-century stories arranged in thematic pairs. Activities and coursework have been pitched at the right interest range and level for GCSE.

I stand for simple justice, equal opportunity and human rights. They are indispensable elements in a democratic society and well worth fighting for.' Helen Suzman (1917-2009) is an example of courage and integrity. Throughout her 36-year career in Parliament, she stood up for what she believed was right, campaigning fearlessly against laws such as the Immorality Act, Forced Removals, the Pass Laws and the Death Penalty. By raising critical issues that would have been kept from the public, she gave a voice to those who had been silenced. Her actions went beyond the walls of Parliament too. She visited prisoners, including Nelson Mandela; met with activists, like Oliver Tambo; and sympathised with ordinary people suffering under the laws of apartheid. Read about Suzman's life of determination, wit and honesty, and how she earned the trust of the country and the respect of the world. They Fought for Freedom tells the life stories of southern African leaders who struggled for freedom and justice. In spite of the important roles they played in the history of southern Africa, most of these leaders have been largely ignored by the history books. The series tells their stories in an entertaining manner, in clear language and aims to restore them to their rightful place in history. Endorsed by the Helen Suzman Foundation

Professional poets spend many hours crafting a finished piece of work, yet we expect children in school to sit down and write when they are told to, whether they feel inspired or not. This series of four books is a toolkit to help you build a positive framework for children to read, write, understand and enjoy poetry - to bring a creative spark to the poetry classroom. A combination of featured poems, creative ideas, structured lesson plans and differentiated photocopiable activity sheets gives the series a uniquely flexible approach - which means you can use the materials in any classroom context. If you're wary of poetry, if you think it's boring, or if you're nervous about teaching poetry, then you've chosen the right book. Key themes covered in BOOK 3: Style, Shape and Structure are style and structure, addressing regular and standard forms, the impact of layout, free form, 'found' poetry, and concrete poetry. Other books in the series are: BOOK 1:Words and Wordplay; BOOK 2: Rhymes, Rhythms and Rattles;and BOOK 4: Language and Performance.

Each of the 12 extracts from contemporary children's literature is accompanied by eight sets of questions based on the Key Stage 2 (KS2) Reading Content Domains and National Curriculum. This book provides opportunities to tackle more complex vocabulary, explore how authors use language to impact their readers and develop endurance for longer passages. The clear structure and the author's passion for literature make Developing Reading Comprehension Skills Years 5-6: Contemporary Children's Literature invaluable for everyone working with pupils in Years 5 and 6. Support for teachers and parents is built in with guidance for how to teach the different question types, plus suggestions for embedding these texts in the wider English curriculum. This series is suitable for new and recently qualified teachers as well as those who are more experienced and wanting to expand the range of texts they use. If you're looking for a comprehensive resource to enhance reading provision and teaching in your classroom or to support home education, this is exactly what you need. Look for other books in the Developing Reading Comprehension Skills series.

The Reading for Real Handbook was very well received by both teachers and literacy specialists when it was published in 1992. Since its first publication there have been significant changes in the field of 'reading', not least of which has been governmental demands for higher standards in reading and the resultant National Literacy Strategy (NLS).
As well as providing invaluable help for teachers struggling with the National Literacy Strategy and the Literacy Hour, several other new topics of interest are also addressed, including teaching fiction/non-fiction inside and outside the Literacy Hour, integrating reading, writing and spelling work, involving parents, assessment and working with slower readers.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203079132

Although Beowulf is a masterpiece of early English literature, the unfamiliar dialect makes this epic poem difficult to understand. Thanks to this translation, placed right near the original text, readers can now appreciate the battle of good and evil that unfolds between the wise and heroic Beowulf and his enemies - the monstrous Grendel and a fire-breathing dragon. This guide contains: the complete original text; a line-by-line translation that puts the text into everyday language; a complete list of characters with descriptions; and plenty of helpful commentary.

Rockfist Slim's enemies have just plunged him into yet another desperate situation when Kevin has to close his detective book and go to sleep. But his own adventure is only just beginning. Fast-moving, fun and full of special effects, Ayckbourn's wonderfully inventive play for children brings alive several well-known children's books as Kevin and Rockfist Slim escape the baddies and plunge into many different worlds. The Boy Who Fell into a Book premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, in December 1998.

Sir David Lyndsay's A Satire of the Three Estates is the earliest complete Scottish play on record, dating from the middle of the sixteenth century. By turns funny and formal, obscene and ceremonial, and filled with sharp social commentary, it is a confident expression of dramatic prowess. John Corbett's SCOTNOTE study guide examines the historical background, explores the play's language and style, and gives a concise introduction to this key work in the Scottish theatrical tradition. These notes are suitable for senior school pupils and students at all levels.

This major new edition of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy of love argues that that play is ultimately Juliet's. The play text is expertly edited and the on-page commentary notes discuss issues of staging, theme, meaning and Shakespeare's use of his sources to give the reader deep and engaging insights into the play. The richly illustrated introduction looks at the play's exceptionally beautiful and complex language and focuses on the figure of Juliet as being at its centre. Rene Weis discusses the play's critical, stage and film history, including West Side Story and Baz Luhrmann's seminal film Romeo + Juliet. This is an authoritative edition from a leading scholar, giving the reader a penetrating and wide-ranging insight into this ever popular play.

Closely examining the relationship between the political and the utopian in five major plays from different phases of Shakespeare's career, Hugh Grady shows the dialectical link between the earlier political dramas and the late plays or tragicomedies. Reading Julius Caesar and Macbeth from the tragic period alongside The Winter's Tale and Tempest from the utopian end of Shakespeare's career, with Antony and Cleopatra acting as a transition, Grady reveals how, in the late plays, Shakespeare introduces a transformative element of hope while never losing a sharp awareness of suffering and death. The plays presciently confront dilemmas of an emerging modernity, diagnosing and indicting instrumental politics and capitalism as largely disastrous developments leading to an empty world devoid of meaning and community. Grady persuasively argues that the utopian vision is a specific dialectical response to these fears and a necessity in worlds of injustice, madness and death.

Containing one of each of the titles in the Magpie playscripts at Stage 8, the plays in this pack are based on the Magpies storybooks at Stage 8. Ideal for consolidation and reading practice, they can be used with groups or individuals. They teach the conventions of drama and develop skills in reading aloud and shared reading. Each play has a cast list of between four and six characters including one or more narrators. There are six lines of text per page and suggestions for sound effects. The words are close to the original story and the artwork is completely re-drawn to show similar scenes to the original storybooks.

What is narrative? How does it work and how does it shape our lives? H. Porter Abbott emphasizes that narrative is found not just in literature, film, and theatre, but everywhere in the ordinary course of people's lives. This widely used introduction, now revised and expanded in its third edition, is informed throughout by recent developments in the field and includes one new chapter. The glossary and bibliography have been expanded, and new sections explore unnatural narrative, retrograde narrative, reader-resistant narratives, intermedial narrative, narrativity, and multiple interpretation. With its lucid exposition of concepts, and suggestions for further reading, this book is not only an excellent introduction for courses focused on narrative but also an invaluable resource for students and scholars across a wide range of fields, including literature and drama, film and media, society and politics, journalism, autobiography, history, and still others throughout the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

Each of the 12 extracts from contemporary children's literature is accompanied by eight sets of questions based on the Key Stage 2 (KS2) Reading Content Domains and National Curriculum. This book provides opportunities to tackle more complex vocabulary, explore how authors use language to impact their readers and develop endurance for longer passages. The clear structure and the author's passion for literature make Developing Reading Comprehension Skills Years 3-4: Contemporary Children's Literature invaluable for everyone working with pupils in Years 3 and 4. Support for teachers and parents is built in with guidance for how to teach the different question types, plus suggestions for embedding these texts in the wider English curriculum. This series is suitable for new and recently qualified teachers as well as those who are more experienced and wanting to expand the range of texts they use. If you're looking for a comprehensive resource to enhance reading provision and teaching in your classroom or to support home education, this is exactly what you need. Look for other books in the Developing Reading Comprehension Skills series.

This stimulating and accessible book is intended for instructors at the junior high school, high school, and undergraduate levels who present Shakespeare's most familiar tragedies to students who are largely unfamiliar with them. Acclaimed teacher of drama Victor L. Cahn begins with a general introduction, then examines six of Shakespeare's tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. With attention always directed towards inspiring student interest and response, Professor Cahn provides an overview or "spine" for each work, then proceeds scene by scene, focusing on salient characters, details of language, and major themes. The volume not only is entertaining and clear, but also raises provocative points of interpretation as well as numerous questions for discussion. Underlying the project is the conviction that although the plays are most effective in performance, they can nonetheless prove compelling in the classroom, where students can appreciate that although these works are set in a distant time and place, their issues and implications remain universal.

Each book in the "New Longman Literature" series provides the complete, original text and a full range of support materials. The study material includes: the writer on writing - a section by or about the writer, exploring the process of writing; an introduction; guidance on keeping a log; a National Curriculum study programme; and a glossary.

This anthology contains a range of pre-20th-century and contemporary poems for Key Stage 3 students. Old and modern poems are juxtaposed to give students a route into pre-20th-century poetry. Activities such as group discussion and role play help make the poems accessible.

To accompany The Canterville Ghost graphic novels from Classical Comics and to help with their application in the classroom, this book is spiral-bound, making the pages easy to photocopy, and includes a CD-ROM with the pages in PDF format, ideal for whole-class teaching on whiteboards, laptops, etc or for direct digital printing. Written by a teacher, for teachers, helping to engage and involve students in the novel. Suitable for teaching ages 10-17, this book provides exercises that cover structure, understanding and character as well as key words, themes and literary techniques. It includes tasks that focus on the use of language and comprehension, there are also many cross-curriculum topics, covering areas within history, ICT, drama, reading, speaking, writing and art. An extensive Educational Links section provides further study opportunities. Devised to encompass a broad range of skill levels, this book provides many opportunities for differentiated teaching and the tailoring of lessons to meet individual needs. It includes a CD-ROM. This resource can be used alongside the Classical Comics adaptation of The Canterville Ghost as well as any traditional text. In fact, many of the activities can stand on their own as introductions to the world of Oscar Wilde.

This series of unabridged Shakespeare titles is based on the premise that students can reach a clear understanding of their work only through a close and careful reading of the text. The commentary facing each page of the text has been designed to suggest a critical interpretation of the play.

This series of unabridged Shakespeare titles is based on the premise that students can reach a clear understanding of their work only through a close and careful reading of the text. The commentary facing each page of the text has been designed to suggest a critical interpretation of the play.

To accompany the Henry V graphic novels from "Classical Comics" and to help with their application in the classroom, this book is spiral-bound, making the pages easy to photocopy, and includes a CD-ROM with the pages in PDF format, ideal for whole-class teaching on whiteboards, laptops, etc or for direct digital printing. Written by a teacher, for teachers, helping to engage and involve students in Shakespeare's play. Suitable for teaching ages 10-17, this book provides exercises that cover structure, listening, understanding, motivation and character as well as key words, themes and literary techniques. Although the majority of the tasks focus on the use of language and comprehension, there are also many cross-curriculum topics, covering areas within history, ICT, drama, reading, speaking, writing and art. There is an extensive Educational Links section that provides further study opportunities. Devised to encompass a broad range of skill levels, this book provides many opportunities for differentiated teaching and the tailoring of lessons to meet individual needs. It includes a CD-ROM. This resource can be used alongside the Classical Comics adaptation of Henry V as well as any traditional text. In fact, many of the activities can stand on their own as introductions to the world of Shakespeare.

La Place looks at a daughter's relationship with her father. In a fragmented and retrospective way the narrator describes her feelings of separation and betrayal that arise when education and marriage place her in a social class with different values, language, tastes and behaviour. She explores the ways in which individual experience is related to class and group attitudes and at the same time tells us a great deal about French society in general since the turn of the century. It is a concentrated text, cut through with irony and may be read in different ways. La Place will be an accessible and exciting addition to French studies courses.

Tseke flies through the skies fixing the country's problems with her superhero powers. But when she's not in her lime-green suit, she is Thato Lekoko, just an ordinary teenager... and she's late for school. While dealing with the school bully, caring for her younger sister and doing her chores she also needs to find time to finish an environmental project without letting down her best friend Wanda. But when strange things start happening in the village, Thato decides to investigate what's really going on at Siane Gold Mine. And for this job there are no superpowers; just the power of being Thato Lekoko.

'Clever, comprehensive and current... a book I'll be returning to again and again.' Stuart Pryke 'Every English teacher will get huge value from this timely book.' Alex Quigley The ultimate guide to teaching English in a secondary school, this book supports you on your journey from trainee to head of department - and everything in-between. Succeeding as an English Teacher provides practical guidance in an accessible format to help you teach English at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5. It covers key topics, including: - planning a knowledge-rich and diverse curriculum and schemes of learning - delivering engaging and effective lessons - advancing your subject knowledge - supporting students with revision - applying the science of learning in your English classroom. This book is perfect for any newly qualified or experienced teacher looking to develop their practice and progress in their career. Featuring the varied perspectives of 12 English teachers, this unique compilation offers invaluable advice and top tips for making every English lesson count, as well as real-life examples, opportunities for reflection and a foreword by Jill Berry. The Succeeding As... series offers practical, no-nonsense guidance to help you excel in a specific role in a secondary school. Including everything you need to be successful in your teaching career, the books are ideal for those just starting out as well as more experienced practitioners looking to develop their skill sets.

On a school trip to research the history of a graveyard, a group of students unearth a lot more than they bargained for! This excellent adaptation retells Theresa Breslin's timeless, Carnegie medal-winning story. Solomon is bullied by his teachers and let down by his parents. His refuge is the graveyard in the shadow of the rowan tree, the only thing that grows there. When workmen uproot the tree a strange and terrible power is unleashed. It seems a lust for revenge is spanning the centuries...* A thrilling adaptation of a Carnegie medal-winning novel. * Packed with social and historical themes. * Perfect for exploring character.