The Know Buzz

11 short tests for 10 marks each based on 11 different advertisements. Questions explore the use of persuasive techniques in copy and visuals to effectively promote products or services. Linguistic techniques, rhetorical devices, wordplay, slogans, imagery, font choices as well as psychological exploitation of human desires feature in the questions. Each test is designed to encourage a thoughtful analysis and critical interpretation. I found that my students often know what the advertisers are

This product is a 45 minute multiple choice quiz designed to test the skills of students at interpreting humour in visual texts like comic strips and cartoons. It covers various strategies in comedy like overthrow of expectation, euphemism etc as well as rhetorical devices like irony, parody and satire. I did this for my year 11 and 12 students as a way to model techniques used to clearly explain humour in images and texts intended to expose, ridicule or make fun of human nature. My students ar

Zipped up poetry program. This resource provides an at-a-glance interpretation of the poem 'The hollow men' by T.S. Eliot. A summary of Eliot's use of diction, themes, allusions, style and rhetorical devices is provided as a basis for a deeper exploration of the multiple meanings signified in this fascinatingly complex poem. The teacher should find this transparency a helpful starting point for discussion and debate. Please ensure that each student has a legitimate copy of the poem. The version

Zipped up poetry. An at-a-glance guideline based on the poem 'Dulce et decorum est' by Wilfred Owen. Notes on background and biography touching on theme, rhetorical devices, imagery, poetic devices, and other relevant aspects of the poem. It is a useful summary of the main aspects of the poem upon which to base a wider discussion. Please ensure that the students (and teacher) have a legitimate copy of the poem for their own use as this version is represented here only as a vehicle for the n

This is a super-useful little unit which provides a fool-proof method for tackling an impromptu speech. My students are given 5 minutes to prepare their impromptus and they basically spend all five minutes panicking. One minute into their speech they fizzle out. I created this as a way to provide a road map for getting the speech going and sustaining it. You will find a video of an award-winning speaker delivering a superb oral presentation which I have annotated with pointers. There is also a f

This resource consists of 7 essay topics based on 'Othello' by William Shakespeare. Each topic is followed by a comprehensive discussion as an example or suggested response. The topics cover major themes of the play including appearance versus reality, jealousy, honesty, race, fate, good versus evil as well as the characters of the major players. These can be used for tests or exams or as a way of teaching approaches to formal writing tasks involving the development of logical arguments, cr

This product is a 45 minute multiple choice quiz designed to test the skills of students at interpreting visual texts like advertisements, posters, infographics, and other messages combining images and words. I did this for my year 11 and 12 students as a way to model techniques used to clearly explain intention, target market, purpose, appropriateness as well as rhetorical and other devices used in persuasive texts. My students are often aware of persuasive strategies used by advertisers or pro

This resource explores the use of fact and opinion in writing and speaking. * It unpacks features of opinion with examples from literature the media and film. * It shows how facts can be deceptive. * It offers guidance on using fact and opinion effectively. * It supplies 8 engaging activities to reinforce the acquisition of new concepts. * It includes a printable workbook. * It provides suggestions/answers for the activities. The aim of the unit is to explore: the strength or

Zipped up poetry program. A teaching resource to enable a discussion of the poem 'Journey of the Magi' by T.S. Eliot. It includes notes on the theme, rhetorical devices, allusion, symbolism, dramatic monologue and other relevant aspects of the poem. It is a very useful product to facilitate a wider interpretation of the subject matter and further debate. Please ensure that the students have a legitimate copy of the poem for their own use as this version is represented here only as a vehicle for

This product includes a 6 minute video exploring jealousy in 'Othello' by William Shakespeare. Both Othello and Iago are discussed in relation to the way that jealousy manifests within them. To get students to think about the many ways in which jealousy can reveal itself I collected a range of examples from the text to show how it surfaces again and again. To relate this to our own lives I chose a range of images which reflect different aspects of jealousy. Why are we jealous of others and wha

This resource consists of 13 short language / grammar tests. Each test is based on a different piece of writing for close reading and critical evaluation. The text might contain errors of expression or grammar for correction. Elements of style are highlighted in this interesting and varied array of passages including newspaper articles, blogs, non fiction and fiction. Questions invite students to apply, or show understanding of, basic grammar rules and sentence structure conventions. An appre

This product includes a 7 minute video presentation discussing Aristotle's model of the tragic hero and how it applies to Shakespeare's drama 'Othello'. There are also slides summarizing the concept. Then there is a group activity in the form of 4 jigsaw puzzles containing 16 extracts each from the play to be arranged according to the classic model of the tragic hero. Students arrange the extracts to reflect Othello's heroic stature, the turn in his fortunes from good to bad, his tragic flaw

This product is a 45 minute multiple choice quiz designed to test the skills of students at interpreting and applying English grammar rules in context. 5 very different texts are provided with 6 questions on each. I do this for my year 11 and 12 students as a way to prepare them for grammar questions in their exams. This way they get a sense of how solid their foundation knowledge is with regard to the structure of sentences, the function of the parts of speech, rules governing punctuation as we

This product consists of a 22 minute illustrated talk on video covering various aspects of Jane Austen's writing style and comic technique. These aspects are addressed with examples from 'Persuasion', her other novels and various other illustrations: * Her use of language. * Irony, parody, caricature, and burlesque. * Her employment of free indirect speech. * The use of humorous characterization. A full transcript is included together with the illustrations used. This resource should be ve

This product includes a 7 minute video introducing features of blank verse like end stops, caesura and enjambment as well as the use of apostrophes and accents to expand and contract lines. Examples are shown on slides. There is also a quick word about the way verse is tightened and loosened to include rhyming couplets, whole poems or prose. An activity is included so that students learn to apply this knowledge to Shakespeare's writing. It takes the form of a game called Feet Beat Bingo. 8 c

10 Cartoons with questions for ten marks each. These engage discussion and analysis regarding the use of language for humor and satire. Strategies and techniques used to convey meaning through both the images and the language in cartoons are explored. Language skills include irony, word play, rhetorical devices, hyperbole, overthrow of expectation and other devices. I found that my students needed practice in articulating the process of making humor which is why these exercises should be very he

Zipped up poetry program. This resource is an at-a-glance analysis of the poem Preludes by T.S. Eliot. It covers structure, style, diction, theme and imagery. It is intended to function as a guide for the teacher from which to initiate a deeper discussion and wider interpretations. Since much of Eliot's work tends to be enigmatic, allow for variations in interpretations as long as they are well substantiated. This is a summary of what is a complex modern poem. Please ensure that students have th

This product consists of 24 sets of questions and answers on each scene of the play 'Othello' by William Shakespeare. Each set of questions is for between 10 and 20 marks/points. They are designed to be completed in 30 minutes and are intended as extension exercises to establish knowledge and understanding. There are two paragraph topics and one exercise requires the student to provide introductory paragraphs to two essay topics on major themes of the play. These short tasks are ideal to f

This resource includes a carefully researched 3 minute talk on appearance versus reality. The question of what is real and what is not highlights a less obvious theme of 'Othello' - that of 'evidence'. Think of how flimsy the 'evidence' of the handkerchief is and yet poor Desdemona is condemned to death, largely on this basis. I thought it would be interesting to explore this theme as if we were CSI detectives sifting through evidence to extract factual information. So here is a a fun CSI theme

This is a 30 minute comedy drama in one act for 6 players - 3 girls and 3 boys or 2 girls and 4 boys. It is a light-hearted farce with a 'beauty without cruelty' theme. Synopsis: French exchange student Pierre arrives at his new school with his host students, Kim and Matt. Kim is the finalist in a beauty pageant and has fallen under the influence of her wickedly ambitious science teacher, Mrs De Villiers who has developed a line of cosmetics which she claims to have formulated herself. In the mi