GCSE English and Maths Revision Day: Part 1

1. GCSE English and Maths Revision Day. Part 1, EnglishHarrow College, 27/4/16johnbald@talktalk.netjohnbald.typepad.com

2. First Principles. Personal organisation – be systematic about time, topics, note-making and review. Cheap 8x5 cards for notes https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004VUU16S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Time before breakfast counts double. http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/apr/19/students-revise-exams-revision-science Know your own strengths and weaknesses. If you can, find a study-buddy. Don’t go past a word you don’t understand – if you learn it, you can use it. If you don’t, you might meet it again in an exam.

3. Specification • inference • exploration • language analysis • deduction

4. Not everything is spelled out in words...

5. Reading on and between the lines: Dickens What, if anything, can we tell from these opening sentences that is not spelled out in the words? Marley was dead; to begin with. Night is generally my time for walking. Mr. Augustus Minns was a bachelor, of about forty as he said—of about eight-and-forty as his friends said. 

6. Writing Criteria - Foundation Mark Scheme i. Write clearly, effectively and imaginatively, using and adapting forms and selecting vocabulary appropriate to task and purpose in ways that engage the reader. ii. Organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts, using a variety of linguistic and structural features to support cohesion and overall coherence. iii. Demonstrate control of a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect. iv. Demonstrate technical accuracy in grammatical structures, punctuation and spelling.

7. Guidance from a writing paper Spend time thinking about the question and planning your ideas Organise your ideas into paragraphs Communicate clearly Spend five minutes checking and editing your writing.

8. How to Write Clear and Accurate English. Write legibly. We can never write as fast as we can think. If necessary, practise using French “Grands Carreaux” paper. Hint – the key to clear writing is starting each letter in the right place. To write in grammatically accurate sentences, use the principles set out in Grammar for Writing. Spell as accurately as you can, but don’t avoid using a word if you’re not sure how to spell it. Use Slimmed Down Spelling to improve your spelling.

9. French lined paper – “grands carreaux”

10. Grammar for Writing 1. • Verb– most verbs “do” things, but not all. The verbs to be (am, are, is, was, were) and to have don’t do anything, and take some practice to identify. • Subject– this is not the topic of the sentence, but whoever, or whatever is “doing” or “being” what the verb does or is. • The dog bit the postman. subject verb • Strong punctuation. . ? ! : ; -

11. Grammar for Writing 2: The Menu. • Main course. Subject + verb. You can’t have two mains in one meal, and you can’t have two main courses (clauses) in one sentence. To avoid this, you need to be aware of the subject, repeating it, and changing it. • Starter + main (include starter word or phrase –usually time) • Main + dessert (include a link word or strong punctuation - ; :) • Starter, main + dessert. • Longer sentences – aperitif, coffee, cheese, liqueurs...Christmas dinner?

12. Grammar for Writing 3. How to avoid the “comma splice”. • If you change, or repeat, the subject of a sentence as you are writing, you need strong punctuation or a link word. • . ? ! : ; - • A comma will not do!

13. Grammar for Writing 3. How to avoid the “comma splice”. • If you change, or repeat, the subject of a sentence as you are writing, you need strong punctuation or a link word. • . ? ! : ; - • A comma will not do!

14. Time Zones • Broadly speaking, time zones are past, present and future. • We spend more time in the present and past than in the future. • We need to take care not to slip from one time zone to another without telling the reader.

15. English Spelling: Fuzzy Logic and its implications. Fuzzy Logic: A mathematical theory in which members of a set share most, but not all of its characteristics.

16. Some Old English (pre 1066)(Examples from D Crystal, Spell It Out 2012) cwen þe Æncglisc

17. the French Connection... table manger fruit, biscuit

18. A little German and Dr Johnson • licht light • haus house • verloren forlorn Ache. Dr Johnson thought it came from the Greek akhos, and “ignorant of the origins of the word” (OED) changed the spelling from ake in his dictionary. But he’s not responsible for • ought, bought, sought. fought, brought, thought, • enough, rough, tough • cough, trough • bough plough • thorough borough • through • although though dough

19. Slimmed Down Spelling 1 – what we can hear. • Most letters represent sounds. Sometimes letters work in groups, some words have an extra letter, and occasionally letters are awkward. • If we hear a sound when we say a word carefully, we need at least one letter for it. This is the phonic element in spelling, and it works around 70% of the time.

20. Slimmed Down Spelling 2 – what we need to learn. • Sometimes letters work in groups – we use a group when we’ve learned we need it, eg, station • Some words have an extra letter, eg made, chaos. We use an extra letter when we’ve learned we need it. There is usually only one in any word. • Sometimes, because of shortcuts in speech, or changes in the way people speak, the letter we need is not the one we think we need. These letters are awkward, and we only use them when we’ve learned we need them. Examples include the final a in animal, and the a after with in was, water, warm etc.

21. ...and a note on vowels. • A vowel is a sound made with the voice. Without a voice sound, we wouldn’t be able to hear the word. • Roi (king) – royal. Voix (voice) – vouielle - vowel. • We have around 24 voice sounds, and seven voice letters a e i o u (single) y w (double) • English vowel letters are often used in combination, and each can produce more than one sound. Therefore, information from vowels often has to be interpreted in the context of individual words. This is “fuzzy logic”.

22. hints... • Most spelling mistakes involve leaving a letter out – children need to learn to say words slowly and carefully when they are learning to spell them. • If a child is stuck on a word, I don’t teach that one straightaway, but go to another that has the same pattern. I return to the original word once the pattern is secure. • The four elements in Slimmed Down Spelling need to be practised, so that children have a reason for deciding to write each letter – they can either hear it, or have learned it. • If they haven’t learned a word needs an extra letter or has a pattern, they don’t use it – then they can learn that the word needs it. • We almost never learn a word without learning another that is like it. • Practice should be systematic, and gradually home in on the words a child is not sure of. • Blank playing cards make professional-looking flashcards that can be tailored to individual needs.

23. Slimmed Down Spelling Summary • The four main features of English spelling are • Sounds • Groups of letters • Extra letters • Awkward features, from history or shortcuts. Only use any of the last three when you’ve learned the word needs it. Always try to find at least one word that is like the one you’ve just learned

24. Don’t just start to write… • The advantages to candidates of planning have been highlighted in many previous examiner reports and yet still, even with an hour for their writing, many candidates do not plan. Of those candidates that attempt to plan, there are some who simply list a range of features which presumably, and mistakenly, they believe must be incorporated in their writing. Such ‘plans’ generally include random items such as similes, discourse markers, semi-colons, lists etc with no reference whatsoever to the intended task or purpose. • Effective planning takes account of the task, the detail and the structure, providing the candidate with a route through their writing. Where candidates had planned effectively, their responses were almost always appropriately structured and detailed. Centres should be aware of the importance of planning and the necessity of teaching techniques for effective planning which can be applied in an exam situation. • No guidance is given with regard to the expected length of the writing, the size of handwriting being such a variable factor. However, it is expected that the essay will be suitably developed and structured. Centres should be aware that candidates who offer very brief responses (3 paragraphs or less as a rough guide) are, inevitably, limiting their potential achievement.

25. Create a Buffer Zone(with thanks to Tony Buzan) PMI Plus, minus, interesting. Take a clean sheet of paper, put + at the top, - in the middle and i at the bottom. As you think of ideas in favour of a proposition, put them under +. Against, -. Interesting, i. This will help organise writing on any question where there could be two opposing views. CAF Consider All Factors. Think about the title for at least a minute before you write anything. There may be more than one idea in it. Jot down, on a clean sheet of paper, the points that occur to you, look at them, and link them, eg with lines. Consider whether they will then fit a PMI format. Try to find a lead point for each paragraph. Then arrange the rest of the paragraph so that it supports the main point. This is the basic idea behind the Point, Explanation, Example approach to answering a question.

26. How to check systematically. 1. Know your own strengths and weaknesses, and use these to set priorities. 2. Don’t try to check everything at once. 3. A possible sequence: • Sentences – have you joined two main clauses with a comma? • Short words – have you missed any out? • Spelling. Have you used any words you’re not sure of? • Phrasing – is there any that you could make more interesting? • Legibility – have you written any words that are not clearly legible?