7 of the Best KS3/4 Teaching Resources from #TeamEnglish
Whether you're looking for resources for a class novel, ideas for writing exercises or just general teaching support, the #TeamEnglish community has you covered…
- by Teachwire
Teaching communities have always been helpful and supportive, and social media has amplified this, bringing educators from all over the world together.
But it’s not just the sheer number of people who can now connect, it’s the smaller, more-specific groups that can collaborate on websites, in Facebook groups or by using hashtags on Twitter and Instagram.
One of the most successful online gatherings that sprung up this way has been Team English, which you can follow at @Team_English1 (hosted by @noopuddles and @shadylady222) and search for posts using the hashtag #TeamEnglish.
There are events and meetups across the country all year round, so if you fancy getting involved, head to the website at teamenglish1.wordpress.com to see what’s happening.
In the meantime we’ve picked out some of the best resources recently posted using the #TeamEnglish hashtag.
1 | Facebook writing task
Paper 1 Q5 Writing Task: Facebook @Team_English1 @books4kooks @Tes_English #teamenglish #FacebookDataLeaks #FacebookSaysSorry #gcse #gcserevision #writingtips pic.twitter.com/fatnHejSsc— Educated Minds (@MissCRevision) April 11, 2018
This very timely idea from @MissCRevision (you can find more of her excellent English resources here) uses an image of Mark Zuckerberg’s Congressional hearing as practice for the GCSE writing task questions.
Students are asked to describe things like the atmosphere/mood and the setting, use onomatopoeia, express the thoughts of the photographers and of Zuckerberg and use speech.
2 | Gather Filter Learn Test revision ideas
Mrs T’s Revision Strategy https://t.co/DKds84s7Cc pic.twitter.com/jLKL46e0Wn— Amy Thompson (@Ladbroa01) April 5, 2018
Another timely resource is this approach to helping students revise more effectively, from @Ladbroa01.
3 | 80 language and literature questions
This is the one resource you should be sharing with you GCSE students this week! 80 fantastic language and literary questions…https://t.co/qwXY4spfgq #teamenglish #edchat pic.twitter.com/Bd1nwseiru— Alex Middleton (@WaysWith_Words) March 29, 2018
Not one, not two, not…OK this could go on a while. This resource from @WaysWith_Words does what it says on the tin, with 80 English language and literature questions to ask GCSE students.
4 | Using learning questions to shape lessons
Life after the ‘Learning Objective’: Using LQs to shape lessons – English Teacher Scribbles #teamenglish #ukedchat https://t.co/imM2jyYaBI— Ian O’Brien (@OB1Ian) March 30, 2018
Here’s a teaching approach from OB1Ian that talks about life after learning objectives. He talks about how by starting each lesson with an overarching question, and spending the rest of the lesson looking for an answer to it, his students are more actively involved in constructing the lesson itself.
Click the link in the tweet to find out more.
5 | Word carpet
Word Carpet by @TillyTeacher (Before she was famous!) https://t.co/x0tiBbPoAD
🙂#TeamEnglish— Amjad Ali (@ASTsupportAAli) March 26, 2018
This idea from @TillyTeacher involves giving students a big pile of scrap paper and asking them to imagine a place.
They then write the first words that come into their heads, one word per piece of paper, and you can help by asking questions such as ‘what can you see in front of you?’, ‘How do you feel?’ or ‘What can you smell?’.
Spread these around the floor, creating your word carpet which them forms the basis for a series of writing exercises.
Click the link in the tweet to check out what you can do with your word carpet in class.
6 | Love and relationships poetry
*NEW resource* 3 SLICE for each poem in the @AQAEnglish Love and Relationships anthology. https://t.co/Ksw8cPa6MI Hope it’s useful. #teamenglish #litdrive pic.twitter.com/zgckgFhe43— Amy Forrester (@amymayforrester) April 9, 2018
This poetry resource from @amymayforrester features SLICE (structure, language, ideas, context, effects/explore) content for key lines from poems included in the AQA Love and Relationships anthology.
And it all comes as a clear and easy-to-use slideshow that you can download on Dropbox.
7 | Speech writing planning grid
Here’s a planning grid I’ve created for writing speeches: https://t.co/RhN7IccJSY
Originally designed for IGCSE S&L but I’ve also adapted and used it for @AQAEnglish S&L and general speech-writing practice. @Team_English1 #teamenglish #engchatuk @ITTteamenglish— Catherine (@CatherineLT) March 24, 2018
If you’re looking for something to help your students structure effective speeches, this resource from @CatherineLT might be just the trick.
Download our AQA English Language Paper 1 ultimate revision booklet.
