Before you start - English
I am very much looking forward to seeing you all in September. In the meantime, here are some things to do before you start.
Writing
1. Your strengths and enthusiasms. I am asking you to write a short piece (a side or two, typed; no more). Tell me about your strengths and enthusiasms in the subject ‘English’. Note the inverted commas. One of our first sessions asks the question: what is ‘English’? Try to convey, as clearly as you can, what you think English is, what it is about English that excites you and why you want to teach it. There are no right or wrong answers but it is good to make your views explicit at the outset and at various points in the programme reflect on ways in which previous opinions have been reinforced or challenged.
This is also an opportunity for you to introduce yourself as a writer, as during the year you will be asked periodically to write reflectively and analytically about how your knowledge and understanding are developing. The organisation and presentation of the writing are important. The writing needs to be in the first person. For some of you perhaps, the strong personal - almost autobiographical - emphasis may seem very different from the kind of writing you did at university but we positively want you to use ‘I’!
Please email this to me by Monday, 18 August. The remaining tasks should be ready for the beginning of the English course.
2. Developing your subject knowledge.Please have ready for the beginning of the course an electronic version of your updated subject audit. For the purposes of interview, you may well have ‘bigged up’ the state of your knowledge. This is perfectly understandable and reasonable. Well, you have got a place now. In the cold light of day, what do you know? How confident would you be about teaching a particular topic? Don’t be too humble; have proper confidence in what you know, but at the same time be realistic.
3. Self-audit of prior experience - see the attached form.
4. CV: have this ready for the beginning of the course.
Reading
During the English ITE programme you will obviously develop your subject knowledge by encountering new areas of ‘English’ and/or deepening your knowledge in areas with which you are already familiar, particularly through teaching. It is important to realise, however, that the emphasis of the English ITE programme is on bringing your knowledge to bear in a way that is ‘pedagogically useful’ – in a way that helps others to learn - rather than on directly teaching you the kinds of themes or topics that you studied during your degree. It is important, therefore, that you yourself take responsibility for developing your subject knowledge, and begin this process before the programme starts in September.
At the beginning of the course, I would like you to give me an updated subject audit, adding in a different colour the reading that you have undertaken since your interview.
Essential pre-course reading
Here is some reading to be getting on with. PGCE trainees will be given a substantial bursary to spend in the UEL bookshop once they are enrolled on the programme in September. They should also get two free books. If you can, buy Davison and Dowson and one of the grammar books before you start, and borrow the rest for now.
Children’s literature
- David Almond*Skellig
- John Boyne*The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
- Henrietta Branford *Fire, Bed and Bone
- Maurice Gleitzman*Two Weeks with the Queen
- Beverley Naidoo: *No Turning Back
- Louis Sachar*Holes
- Robert Swindells: *Stone Cold
Shakespeare
Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet. Any edition will do, but if you are buyingcopies choose the Cambridge Schools Edition - general editor Rex Gibson. Try to read at least one play in this edition to get an idea of the sort of activities a teacher could use in teaching.
Other literature
- Charles Dickens: Oliver twist
- Arthur Miller: A View from the Bridge
- John Steinbeck:Of Mice and Men
Grammar
Most of you have to brush up your knowledge of grammar and linguistics. This will be an ongoing concern during the year but it is best to do a little, often. While we will devote some time to grammar during the course, we cannot ‘teach you grammar’ in the time available. It is important, therefore, that you teach yourself. Studying grammar is essentially linguistic consciousness-raising. It is not really a matter of mugging up rules to be applied inflexibly; it is about understanding how language works as a system, and how you make meaning. For background, read The Grammar Paper 1 (pdf, attached). Different grammarians may have different approaches or terminology. Find one you like and stick to it. Have a look at:
- Crystal, D (2004) Making Sense of Grammar Longman.
- Cameron, D (2007) The Teacher’s Guide to Grammar OUP
- Dick Hudson’s grammar site:
Teaching English
- Davison J & Daly C (eds) (2014) Fourth Edition Learning to Teach English in the Secondary School: the first three chapters.
London: Routledge. A good general book on English teaching. Worth buying.
(To Be Published May 23rd 2014 by Routledge)
More children’s literature
One of the joys of teaching English is the excellence of much fiction for young people. We will focus on novels marked with an asterisk* early in the course but read as many others on the list as possible. Develop your own tastes and read a lot of what you enjoy. Go to the Carnegie Medal Website and look up the list of recent winners and add them to this list.
David Almond*Skellig
David AlmondKit’s Wilderness
Bernard AshleyLittle Soldier
Julie BertagnaExodus
Terence BlackerTransfer
Malorie BlackmanNoughts and Crosses
Valerie BloomSurprising Joy
John Boyne*The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Judy BlumeTiger Eyes, Forever
Tim BowlerRiver Boy, Starseeker
Henrietta Branford *Fire, Bed and Bone
Theresa BreslinWhispers in the Graveyard
Kevin BrooksLucas
MelvinBurgessJunk, Lady, Bloodtide
Alyssa BrugmanWalking Naked
Betsy ByarsThe Eighteenth Emergency
Gennifer CholdenkoAl Capone Does My Shirts
Sharon CreechRuby Holler
Gillian CrossTightrope
Kevin Crossley-Holland The Arthur Trilogy (beginning with The Seeing Stone)
Tanuja Desai HidierBorn Confused
Berlie DohertyGrannie was a Buffer Girl, Dear Nobody
Jennifer DonnellyA Gathering Light
Virginia Euwer WolffMake Lemonade
Anne FineFlour Babies, The Tulip Touch
Catherine Forde Fat Boy Swim
Neil GaimanCoraline
Graham GardnerInventing Elliot
Alan GarnerThe Owl Service
Susan GatesDusk
Jamila GavinThe Wheel of Surya
Maurice Gleitzman*Two Weeks with the Queen
Rosa GuyThe Friends
Mark HaddonThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Laurie Halse AndersonSpeak, Catalyst
Anthony HorovitzStormbreaker
Lesley HowarthMaphead
David KlassYou Don’t Know Me
Michelle MagorianGoodnight Mr Tom
Jan MarkUseful Idiots
Adeline Yen MahChinese Cinderella
Geraldine McCaughrean Forever X, A Little Lower than the Angels
Hilary McKaySaffy’s Angel
Michael MorpugoPrivate Peaceful
Beverley Naidoo*No Turning Back
William NicholsonThe Wind Singer series
Gudrun PausewangThe Final Journey
Ann PillingBlack Harvest
Philip Pullman His Dark Materials Trilogy: Northern Lights,
The Subtle Knife,The Amber Spyglass
Bali Rai(Un)arranged Marriage; Rani and Sukh
Celia ReesWitch Child
Philip RidleyScribbleboy
Meg RosoffJust in Case
Louis Sachar*Holes
Rosemary SutcliffBeowulf
Jerry Spinelli Milkweed
Theresa ThomlinsonMeet Me by the Steelmen
Robert Swindells*Stone Cold
Robert WestallGulf
Jacqueline WilsonPopular with primary and lower secondary pupils
Benjamin ZephaniahRefugee Boy, Face
Richard Quarshie, Programme Leader, Secondary English Initial Teacher Education
2 May 2014