Most resources I develop are geared towards GCSE 2016-18 (AQA and Edexcel) curriculum and are practical solutions to classroom teaching. I keep most of these black and white for simple/cost-effective print.
I read each novel/play/poem and break down into manageable parts.
I find this most effective within classrooms where students require chunks of information they can order, in sequence. The 'study-packs' I create can apply to any book/play/poem and provide visual tools for memory recall.
Most resources I develop are geared towards GCSE 2016-18 (AQA and Edexcel) curriculum and are practical solutions to classroom teaching. I keep most of these black and white for simple/cost-effective print.
I read each novel/play/poem and break down into manageable parts.
I find this most effective within classrooms where students require chunks of information they can order, in sequence. The 'study-packs' I create can apply to any book/play/poem and provide visual tools for memory recall.
The resource document contains a table of terminology and listed explanations of 20 key performance types including: Abstract; Mantle of the Expert; Narration; Still-Image and Thought-Tracking, breaking down the criteria into manageable chunks/with space for student/teacher notes.
Could be used as part of a discussion/team-building exercise or as an addition to a Lesson Plan. Developed working with students studying this subject in 2015.
Designed and developed in classroom settings by Tor Alexander Bruce.
A Student-Teacher 13-page booklet with a wide variety of questions and tasks relating to the text that really test the student ability to recall and interpret key meanings and terminology. This resource works through the book in order of the chapters and could very much be used across a whole term, or as a revision guide for students to take home. Includes: Grammar, Punctuation, Writing Techniques, Lists, Timelines, On-Line Research.
The strength of this tool is that, once completed, it provides the student with a detailed 'visual' map of the entire book, i.e. most useful for GCSE examination 'recall' purposes. It also provides the English Teacher with a 'very' clear understanding of the learner's level of understanding.
Resource can be used as a natural progression tool towards students reading or watching the play and responding to AO4, i.e. typical teenage behaviour; how Stephen's presents Christopher in the play; how characters deal with loneliness; how characters are presented.
This is SUCH an amazing book on so many levels.
A seven-page resource (prints back to back as four) used in class in 2016, leading to students researching a whole range of topics, from Animal Cruelty to Forest Fires to Homelessness to Bullying. The resource includes sections for students to:
- Compile internet research into their chosen topic/subject/cause
- Create and label the parts of a leaflet they design themselves
- Dictionary research, i.e. words such as Compassion, Sympathy, Empathy
A pack containing combined resources to create a complete study-aid for students which includes:
New Word Chart / Quotation Booklet / Timeline / Visual-Mapping / Internet-Research Booklet
Can be used effectively alongside any Novel or a Play.
Used this resource in class this week - works with fantastic results when students asked to complete second draft using 'Effective Connectives' - found a full table of these online and projected it. The difference between the Year 7 first-draft response compared to the second draft, incorporating 'and' highlighting the connectives was amazing in terms of the fluidity of their writing.
Currently using with Year 7's so they can achieve a snapshot of the entire storyline.
First-page summary used for shared classroom reading.
Then in pairs the students describe their own understanding of the story.
They then feed this information back to the whole class.
Then tackle a first draft - summary writing in their own words.
Finally, they complete a final draft of the summary, introducing connectives.
A four-page resource, printing double-sided 2 pages.
Very effective to achieve an general understanding of the novel through writing and discussion, not solely through reading.
A simple yet effective tool for classroom learning; student-mentoring; counselling; planning.
At a personal-level I have had 'fantastic' results from students and individuals I've worked with in a mentoring-counselling capacity, more often leaving them to their own devices to create the detail.
A highly-effective revision tool for any student, particularly those preparing for exams, to arrange their thoughts in order and gain that ever-so-important visual perspective of their work.
Resource used in class to allow pupils/students to plan and map their own learning outcomes, with additional acknowledgement of on-going targets and understanding and measuring of effectiveness of classroom teaching practice.
A pack containing combined resources to create a complete study-aid for students which includes:
New Word Chart / Quotation Booklet / Timeline / Visual-Mapping / Internet-Research Booklet
Can be used effectively alongside any Novel or a Play
A pack containing combined resources to create a complete study-aid for students which includes:
New Word Chart / Quotation Booklet / Timeline / Visual-Mapping / Internet-Research Booklet
Can be used effectively alongside any Novel or a Play.
A Timeline constructed by Tor Alexander Bruce over several months from research via Books, Websites, Discussions, Library visits and DVD-viewing. The resource is a multi-page Excel-spread sheet, stemming from what we currently regard as the birth of the Universe, through each stage of the evolution of the picture we regard as the natural world, through to educated-views of where our human desire to exhaust all natural resources may lead us and the co-inhabitants of Earth.
The document was originally compiled as a War-Chart, to highlight the varying stages of man's inhumanity to man, but the research led to documenting everything from archaeological discoveries resulting in greater knowledge of human development, to detailed information relating to prehistoric-earth; world leadership through the ages and facts relating to the resources that have allowed the human species to develop in the way they have.
Worksheet used with Year 7-8's in conjunction with 'Gothic Novel Create Your Own' resource, as a feed-in to them exploring The Castle of Otranto and Frankenstein.
SUGGESTION: Circle three from the options and then add three 'unique' adjectives of your own.
Then create a piece of horror-writing with your new words incorporated using the resource associated with this (available by the same author) or develop your own.
Study material originally used to advise/work with parents with children. Compiled by a Qualified Teacher, Tor Alexander Bruce, with a range of experience of having these conditions himself and who has worked extensively over a period of 11 years with young people from disengaged background and the services that represent them. Can be used as part of a Classroom Study project for PSHE or for general insight into Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.
Used with Year 9's this week as a handout in class to show them the literature options at a glance which led to discussion on reasons for departmental choices on each book, play and poetry cluster. Then used to form an interesting group talk based on government dictatorship and freedom of choice, versus what would be the situation in a country with no centralised government. Includes a single lined sheet for student notes.
A simple yet highly effective resource to allow students to develop a visual understanding of their study material. I find that by printing off a couple of hundred of these, A3, prevents time-wasting and student scrawling. This single-page resource creates some form of continuity in student files or exercise books. As a high number of students require some form of a 'visual-assist' in classes, i.e. to get their heads around the study material,
mind-maps are a wonderful, complimentary addition to any classroom.
Resource used in training of Teaching Assistants/Teachers to prepare for Ofsted inspections.
Created in line with two inspections via a local authority and was very well received by teachers in training and the Ofsted inspector.
As a learning tool it assists with overall classroom awareness/knowledge of 'what the teacher prepares for' throughout the course of each working day and leading to an inspection.
Resource was supported by the local authorities own paperwork and the student TA's graded their own lessons in accordance to these guidelines.
Recommended to create combined awareness of the types of items each Ofsted inspection will cover.
See Of(in)ste(a)d resource by same author for a complimentary tool to add to this resource.
This is a 20-page resource, printing as a 10-page double-sided booklet, used in class as a combined resource to examine AQA Paper 1, using MacBeth and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The resource contains the 'full' list (table format) of AQA options for literature and then takes the student through each exam question with the extracts and content broken down. Includes the indicative content notes and AO details.
Has proven useful for current Year 9's compiling a complete 'Study Pack', i.e. so they have specified resources to refer to, in different formats. Highly useful for the purpose of memory recall, where the student can 'see' the journey they have made through each text 'in order'.
MACBETH
How does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a hero in this speech?
How does Shakespeare present Macbeth as a hero in the play as a whole?
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE
How does Robert Louis Stevenson use the setting to create mystery and fear in this extract?
How does Robert Louis Stevenson use settings to create mystery and fear in the novel as a whole?