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coombeamy

Jun 18, 20236 min read

Putting the subject’s heart at the centre of GCSE English Language planning

Bringing heart into English Language I thoroughly enjoy reading Chris Curtis’s blogs on creative writing. They’re packed full of...

465 views

coombeamy

May 20, 20234 min read

What knowledge is most versatile?

‘We must ensure that we hand down our great literary heritage to our pupils, explicitly and carefully, so that even the most...

329 views

coombeamy

Apr 1, 20238 min read

Sequencing an English Literature Unit

‘Curriculum, ultimately, is (metaphorically) a narrative, a journey, a conversation… a development of meaning over time. Our overarching...

2,105 views

What do students most need to know for the English literature GCSE?

coombeamy

Mar 11, 20236 min read

What do students most need to know for the English literature GCSE?

‘Time is finite, and so curriculum can never include all the knowledge, or anything close to all the knowledge in the field. As such,...

3,478 views

A paired approach to the poetry anthology

coombeamy

Jan 21, 20239 min read

A paired approach to the poetry anthology

GCSE English literature: a head-scratching conundrum As English teachers, we repeatedly grapple with the complexity of the literature...

326 views

coombeamy

Sep 2, 202215 min read

Rethinking English Revision Booklets

Too many students revise ineffectively or not at all, which is a source of huge frustration for teachers and parents. We might assume...

245 views

Infinite possibilities without infinite time

coombeamy

Feb 7, 202210 min read

Infinite possibilities without infinite time

How to prioritise knowledge when creating a GCSE English Literature unit plan ‘Memorable knowledge is the best route to academic...

252 views

coombeamy

Dec 20, 20217 min read

The Brilliance of the Booklet: Part 2

In Part 1 of this two-part blog series, I explored these four advantages of booklets: They avoid duplication in planning and reduce...

985 views

coombeamy

Dec 6, 202110 min read

The Brilliance of the Booklet - Part 1

Booklets are, in my view, simply brilliant. The concept of the booklet is a simple one, yet the impact of their use in the classroom can...

3,167 views

coombeamy

Nov 23, 20219 min read

The Multi Paragraph Outline: a logical sequence for extended writing

As explored in my previous blog posts here, writing in any subject is an extremely complex task, and one that we must break down into...

1,881 views

The Single Paragraph Outline: a roadmap to better paragraphs

coombeamy

Nov 3, 20215 min read

The Single Paragraph Outline: a roadmap to better paragraphs

‘Athletes, architects, artists, playwrights, chefs, physicians, lawyers, and members of countless other professions rely on plans to...

9,647 views

coombeamy

Oct 18, 20215 min read

The Art of the Topic Sentence

‘A sentence is a complex and powerful thing, the mastery of which is often overlooked.’ (Doug Lemov: https://teachlikeachampion.com/blog/...

965 views

What ‘The Writing Revolution’ taught me about teaching different sentence structures

coombeamy

Oct 4, 20214 min read

What ‘The Writing Revolution’ taught me about teaching different sentence structures

One of the key principles of Hochman and Wexler's 'The Writing Revolution' is that sentences are the building blocks of all writing. Even...

775 views

coombeamy

Sep 13, 20214 min read

Why do we need to plan a sentence?

In the first post of this series, I explained how I came across 'The Writing Revolution' and its key principles. This post will look at...

553 views

The text that revolutionised my approach to writing in the classroom

coombeamy

Jun 6, 20215 min read

The text that revolutionised my approach to writing in the classroom

Like many other English teachers across the country, I have often agonised over how to demystify and break down the ever-complex process...

2,636 views

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