I feel like a roof won’t cover me.
I can’t busk under a tree.
Jobs will pass by me.
Nothing here, nothing to see.
The big issue is deep inside of me.
Confidence is my absent key.
I can’t earn this, unreachable fee.
Teaching, reaching and beseeching thee.
Fetch no path my way to feel glee.
Absence and opportunities aren’t free.
The other side: as a rotten wasted bee.
I’m going to explode. There’s a simmering rage. It’s rising up and ever closer to spilling up and out.
The mountain of hills and volume of small plenty is what this is all about.
I sense walls and fences stand only to be broken. Each panel a temptation to clout.
Leaning forward, I imagine a shattered wall, crumbling and littered with flaking grout.
From the wall windows litter with broken glass, alongside a sagging spout.
I look to the sky and beg, “Why? Why? Why?”. Each word grows from whisper to shout.
I stumble. I fall. No one hears my call. I snigger. I grip the trigger. Should I squeeze?
Yes, yes, God please. Do it. Do it. End it. End it all. Time to say goodbye. Time to go.
But, I take a deep breath. I focus my tired eyes. The black dogs snap at my feet. I throw them a bone.
You are not alone. You are not in company. You are not your own. You are not the company.
Twitches replace stitches. I fiddle less. I flick the pages. Reading makes me feel better.
The books are my escape. The escape is what I need. The last legs. The leg. The finale.
The fear never departs. The delay must stay. Keep it all at arm’s length. Control it.
Never ever give in. The black dogs can’t win. Snap all they want. Never give in.
Trapped, twisted and descending; landing seemed so far; never ending. Flushed from on high; plummeting from cold beginnings to the warm decks below.
When it rains, it pours. The heavy hard rain begins as a gentle drop here. And a small drop there. Booming on the surface. Shattering outwards. Explosive force on almost microscopic scale. The end of the flow.
Drifting by influence; winds pull and push; tugging at the deluge and its wild rush; and unending battle of elemental force; tectonics in the sky; ending the moment of dry. Neither fast nor slow.
What started out condensed; freezing and crushed together; slid out and fell; spiraling like a dog fight; drifting and shifting; catching every light; warmer now. Hot snow?
The mind’s eye. Cry. Cry. Cry. Bellow out the yell. Roar in pain. Not now. another again. Victor slain. End of the game. Ended flow.
The Big Book of Literacy Tasks by Nancy Akhaven is targeted for grades K-8. As per the cover, it aims to give teachers 75 activities that are balanced and suitable for students to complete. This reference book is engagingly colourful, well illustrated and concise. It provides instructional plans that can be tailored or differentiated to the need of a teacher.
The book helps teachers to hand off the tasks to the student. It moves very much from, “I” to “You”. The book is well-structured to allow students to be challenged, and reduce teachers from dilly-dallying, which in an era of electronic media and distraction, helps a teacher try to engage a student deeper.
The author Nancy Akhavan, an assistant professor of Educational Leadership draws on her experience and dedication to professional development research to illuminate daily planning. The tasks can be divided into useful everyday skills, weekly practices and a few slightly more complex challenges. They are each applicable to reading circles, workshops or other literacy tasks. The book is loaded with tips, things to look out for and insights to allow English acquisition learners to progress into fully-fledged literacy learners. The author delivers far more than a lengthy book title.
This book offers Guru-like support, with practical advice and encouraging ideas that are easy to drop into the classroom. In a world often flooded by educational text resource, the bright cover with a climbing wall, Akhaven’s guide acted like a beacon for inspiration this week – and shall continue to be picked at until all is imparted and transferred appropriately.
The Big Book of Literacy Tasks by Nancy Akhaven has been published by California’s Corwin Literacy, a sample can be found online here.
As part of our language and literature class at Tungwah Wenzel International School, students have been assigned a piece of holiday homework. Students are investigating and exploring the question: What makes a life worth writing about?
The task is to interview someone who is accessible. The students have prepared for their interview in advance, and did so by brainstorming possible question ideas. Their mind map was created on software called Padlet, owing to the fact that 15 days of online teaching has made gathering face-to-face near impossible. The students must select a good subject (person) to interview. In this case, I suggested my Mum. As such, I volunteered to do the task myself. Great questions have potential to make good biographies, so many open-ended questions will be needed. On top of the answers, we’ll need to probe further to squeeze out the information. This first-hand information will help us all to understand the purpose of biography and bring a real-world taste to the subject content. Students have also explored biographies to generate their own questions.
This isn’t the interview. These are the possible questions. I won’t be asking about how many children my Mum has, how many siblings, or any other question to which I already know the answer. That’d be a waste of time. I can write about that in my own introduction.
origin story
development
adult life
events
outlook
probing
So, that’s a selection of questions. What now? Oh, to conduct the interview… it’s 1:19pm in China now, so that’s 06:19am in Manchester. Wake up call?
Enclosed at the face;
A covering for all;
A covering in part;
Worn as a disguise;
“I am Batman!”
This one is to amuse.
Industrial melanism in evolution;
From one code of darkness to natural selection;
Pollution and solution across generations;
Soot deposits and sulphur dioxide making way;
But, in better times it did not stay.
The fibre, the gauze, the fitting;
Bringing laughter, applause and teeth-gritting;
The wearer or a surgeon, or that of the patient;
Bedraggled non-conformity latent;
Attitudes infect and vendettas follow;
Collaborate via masking tape bridging the hollow.
A shield used to frighten;
This veil;
The shaped false face;
Fancy dress?
The vizard. The visor.
Bound together, hidden from all;
Abducted and placed up against a wall;
The collector hidden, concealed and camouflaged from sight;
Lovell’s telescope uncloaking the night.
Turing screening the enshrouded Enigma;
Overlooked by figures with their stigma;
How did the cell know what to do?
Sent messages of Morphogenesis vertigo.
It is what it is.
It is what it is?
It is what it is.
It is what it is?
It is what it is.
It is what it is?
It is what it is!
It is what it is?!
It is what it is.
Is it what it is?
It is what it is.
What it is, is it?
It is what it is.
It is what it is?
It is what it is.
It is what it is?
It is what it is!!!
It is what it is.
The wall doesn’t keep you inside
nor does it stop you escaping.
The range of the boundary’s grasp sit inside
refusing to ruffle or fold ever slightly like two ever strong shoulders of foundation.
The fences you make prevent you living and pay sacrifice to the freedom out of your longing reach. Barriers change in time and
ruins rise to fall, with temples and churches spilling outwardly, full of prayers for one such deity or another, seeping your skin’s
inward desire to be led and let go,
while forever knowing you carry the
weight of slumping shoulders
bound by boundaries of the mind.
It isn’t the panic
that draws you ever closer
within its tumbling realm of vision or that tremble in your loin,
dancing upon the shaking shoulders of sacrifice.
It is the bite that remains forever itching failing to heal and settle,
a ruin which ever leaks over your skin
intoxicating the inward desire
while forever guilty mite weakens
slumping from shoulders
into the abyss.
It doesn’t take much to trip and slip when the angry dogs are snapping at your feet. They’ve invited wolves this time and they’re agitated in ways you knew as frequently possible m yet could never escape. They howl and snarl drawing nearer without ever getting close enough to sink their sorrowful rabid fangs into flesh. Their dirgeful salivating pus-filled gums drip oozing brown liquids across the foot of the bed. You feel heavy-hearted panic for a moment. Chapfallen fear.
A white hot cold like steel pressing against your mind’s eye, sliding all senses beyond control, the rage simmers and bubbles threatening to erupt to the heavens above, bringing hell to the day’s gloomy sky. Yet it won’t and can’t. You’re in a mediocre state. The best that can happen is average. The worst is equal to the best. Flailing and flat lining just above terrible but far below lugubrious pleasure. A monotonous gray scale of simply not good enough. The dour silent rage.
You know you can’t escape the wretched day that hasn’t come, but woebegone, you know it is soon to arrive. The fed up walls will fold in and the ground will crumble. You’ll slip, fall, down and tumble. The saturnine strives you had and the live you lived will be gone. The forlorn ashes of the fires burning around you will blow in sepulchral raging winds from north, east, south and west before slamming doleful thunderous bolts of lightning into the parched remains of your skeleton. That morose skeleton itself, fused and beyond mobility. Useless mirthless blue.
Hope knocks at your dejected door but the disconsolate door’s hinges have long dispirited rusted and welded to the wall. The wall has been long-covered by grim vines, rotten downhearted hanging nooses, despondent witch trial posters and fragments of a long forgotten camera obscura lens. The crestfallen wall’s dusted windows each produced Pepper’s ghosts no longer. Their cast down faded glass panes are grimed and moulded beyond shape and figure. Faded features hang weary and low, tangled in slim twine macramé. Downcast melancholy.
Life is for living; it’s for seeing; it’s for feeling; it’s for playing;
it’s for kicking a football in a field; it’s for stumbling on stones and slipping and breaking some bones;
it’s for smiling; it’s for crying; it’s for…
…missing home; it’s for feeling that tear. That tear building in your eye; and that moment you look at something so stunning, you’re overwhelmed with feelings.
You try to find the words, but the words aren’t there. They’re out there. They’re in here. In your head. But. You just can’t pick them up and place them in the right position.
Life. Life is beautiful. It’s pretty, it’s witty, it’s exciting, it’s frightening…
It’s staring into the abyss and not knowing where you’re going.
When you want to go somewhere, you go somewhere. Having a plan is all fair enough. Having no plan: just as good.
Just live the way you want to live.
There’s only one way of life.
And that’s your own.
Maybe I should, maybe I shouldn’t.
I wish I could but I feel I couldn’t.
I look deeply into my dreams.
They all don’t seem what they seems.
Parts of the perfection have no direction.
Each and every ambition is littered with defection.
So, I sit back, relax and just float along.
Knowing the words and tunes but making not one song.
My actions, my words don’t let me show it.
There’s music in my soul I know it.
Doubt bites at me, it knifed into my soul.
Black dog edging, tearing away at my lifelong goal.
So, what’s stopping has stopped the beginning.
My head is no longer a fit place for winning.
Stop.
Carry on?
Do you recall Kim? Before her Evangelia. Wasn’t there a Jayne too? Nikki wasn’t too quickly. Shirley not? Wendy house? Didn’t you once meet unrequited love? You said you wouldn’t carry on or try again. But, you did! And, who now? Who do you fancy? Is it that Nancy? Or Daisy who drives you crazy? Or Spring, Summer or Autumn? The seasons of choice? Dance with your dreams.
Do you remember that Karst mountain? It rise from the ground like a camel’s hump. You said to yourself it was the most beautiful mountain you’d ever seen. And then you set eyes on Everest. Then Ama Dablam. Then Annapurna one, two and three. Fishtail Mountain. Snowden again and again. Always Winter Hill, but forever dreams of new peaks unseen.
You said you wouldn’t read after Jon Ronson. Wasn’t Jurassic Park the book to end all books? Then Airframe, the Animals of Farthing Wood should. The Jack Reacher series could. Ian Fleming gave you the spy that ended all spies. Pages of love, lies and cries. Yet, you close your eyes and there’s no disguise. Your bookmark never hides.
Back in the day wasn’t Ghostbusters always your favourite? Gremlins and Goonies, two you’d never forget. Watching Jaws, again, without regret! 007 live and let. Leslie Neilson going on and on, I bet. Movies like Gemini Man and iRobot to watch once – no fret. The minds eye full of Skynet.
Things are said one day. Things come and go away. With each passing birthday I say, never betray your display of child’s play. Each day we find a way to convey the driveway of life. Hooray! The outlay does not outweigh what we repay on our stairway to our breakaway. Fly like a bird of prey.
Written in January 2020, in Nepal, on a notepad. Before COVID-19 became annoying.
Craning my neck: stooped harshly.
Deep inside the bowl: placed hands partially.
Turning the pressure to flow: seeking coolness.
In my Chinese house: undrinkable cruelness.
The water here: causing neshness.
Flowing slow water in Manchester: enhanced freshness.
Upstairs at the bathroom: Broom Avenue childhood.
Drinking fast to slow: glug, glug, should, would and could.
Cooler than air, fresher than fair: my share.
After teeth, before sleep: my answered prayer.
I miss that tap: we were raised together.
The tap of life: water from Lake District weather.
Look. Look closer. Amongst the undergrowth. Spotted it? Felt the life within? Can you sense the kingdom of plants?
Shapes cast shadows across the nearby wall. The silhouette is as broad as it is tall. Light flickers its forms to reform, deform and sojourn without call. Edges of leaves curve up and over like a ball. Some so thin and long they hang and fall.
Some plants tower. Others hide and cower. Some they flower. The plant pots here are full of colour. Each colour deep in power. Life-giving health abound this ground. Giving Earth another hour. Shaking with every rain shower. Under threat of no mower.
Fragrant flavours emit to air. Their treasure chest they do bare. Each plant at war together but living side by side as if fair. They share the same soil. Some dare to have green hair. Some tuck away in a tiny lair. Some dominate their fair share.
Rustling with every breath of the breeze, gently tap tap tapping, dancing like fleas. Wishing-washing and zipping around, on the platform above the ground. The scaffolding climbing frame with a green game. The same tame with toxins that maim. A plant is not always a friend.
Tasting the saps and sucking out all the moisture, bugs creep and crawl, feeding on it all. Worms wriggle and jiggle, deep in the soil, without a giggle. They all feed and breed and distribute many a seed. Some die and what not. They rot. Their end of time slot.
HEAR THE RUSTLING! The pitter patter of drops of rain bouncing on each leaf. The scraping and brushing if bending stalks and branches side by side. The air expands Nd contracts. It moves between each plant without care. It lifts a leaf here, and drops one there.
The kingdom of the plants. Come visit us. Watch out for the ants! Bring out your best buzz!
Is it guilt biting away inside my gut? Am I but a projection of unfinished business? I wander far and wide searching but seldom finding. I stumble. I fall. I get up again. I dream by night. I dream by day. I dream to find that elusive other way.
Do I know the answers are deep in side me? Do they hide behind a cloud of misjudgment? Are they tucked under a rock of class hope? How do I drill down into the well of dreams? I so very much want to mine them.
Hope arrived on a wind of change. As soon as it came, it departed. In the blink of an eye the Universe unravelled and left me praying for more. I know it will come, yet insecurity claws away at my dearest hope. Did I let my guard down too soon? Would it be better to burrow down into the cold earth and hide my heart?
Yet the moon rises after sunset, and the sun rises the next day. Sometimes the moon sneaks into daylight. There’s rarely a day without one or the other. One as a heart. The other as a mind. Both giving energy. Both giving freshness to the day. The winds of change and the light of belief.
Here I stand. You’re out there. I know it. You know it. We both want it. We both need it. It beats from hearts into the air and through all it passes. The message is clear. Have not one fear, for you and I are here, my dear.
Always hope.
Dear all, interested or not, especially Blues,
I’ve known Waits since I joined Shenzhen Blues way back in 2014-ish. The oddity of it all, is that he and I hadn’t met in person until July 2021. Arriving in the old Zhangye Railway Station I spot Waits by the railway station entrance immediately. His sky blue t-shirt emblazoned with MCFC was exactly what I had expected to see. Us Blues stand out. What amazed me most is that Zhangye is 2865km from Shenzhen. There are no direct flights, and certainly no direct trains. The quickest flights via Lanzhou are 5 hours and 50 minutes.
Waits has been following Manchester City for years. We’re not talking about a glory-seeker at all. He latched onto the singers of the blues on the back of a certain Sun Jihai. He’s endured seasons of toil and mid-table football, before the good times came along. He even said he preferred watching City from 2001 to 2009. Most City fans have that romantic lust for those times. The expectation and the angry eye of the media these days can be all-so-consuming. He’s sat up at all hours of day to see the famous sky blue and white team play umpteen teams over land and sea… and Stretford. He’s one of our own.
Over the years I have acted as his football jersey mule, occasionally sourcing one or carrying his Classic Football Shirt orders from my Mam’s house to China. His collection, his famed home-office (man cave?) is full of City. Tencent and QQ media have interviewed him. He was interviewed for Shenzhen’s live fan gathering at the end of the last season. He’s featured on City’s Inside City shows and other places too. Sometimes, I wonder why Manchester City’s China office hasn’t offered him a position (of remote working). His passion for teaching English and his love of City is for all to see.
Waits reply to his best goal: “SWP nearly zero angle shot”
Waits has translated the poem This Is The Place by Tony Walsh, with permission. The Chinese edition featured in Dongguan’s defunct HubHao magazine and online. Shenzhen Blues also published it to Manchester City fans in China. For years Waits has translated Manchester City’s On This Day information, statistics, facts, stories and tales of City folklore. He’s encouraged young and new fans alike, giving advice, passion and fairness accordingly. He has championed the Champions before they won leagues, cups and trophies (this century). Recently, he translated an interview between Mark McCarthy (Manchester City Match Worn Shirts, MCMWS) and Pete ‘The Badge’ Berry.
这是我和@Waits 还有@二蛋💭 一起运营的公众号，会发一些曼城相关的好玩内容。欢迎订阅！
Miranda, @Waits and @二蛋 are running this public account. It will share some interesting content about City on it. Come and subscribe！Go on!
His favourite game remains City beating Tottenham Hotspurs having gone 3-0 down to come away 4-3 winners. Considering the games that have passed since, he’s sticking to that one game. He even chooses Kevin Keegan as top gaffer over the elite leaders that have managed the Citizens since. He told me once that he translated subtitles for There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble! Hey Manchester City China, “Go on, give it to Waits!”
Waits has much more to him than football. Whilst he plays it with students and local Zhangye folk, he can often be found strumming his guitar. A few renditions of Blue Moon have been heard over the years. And, in recent years he has welcomed Amos to his family alongside Mrs Waits. The family can enjoy tales of how Waits was raised on a cavalry base by his mother and father. They can discover their Sichuanese heritage, without taking a panda! Whilst Waits asked more questions, than I asked him, when he spoke, he spoke in an articulated way about all manner of things. I learned about Zhangye’s three Buddha statues. One standing, one crouching (tired) and one resting.
One thing, I can say about Waits is that his English is fantastic. He asked me, “What do you think of my English accent?” I think I hurt him, with my joking response, “It sounds Chinese.” In actual fact, his English is very clear and follows a British tone similar to that found on Downton Abbey and other TV drama shows set in England. I probably have only met a dozen Chinese-born people who have such a great spoken English accent. Obviously, Waits is not speaking Mancunian-nasal tones but his heart is definitely in it! Innit.
Ode to Hart
Time, flows in passing days,
Memories, flashes now and then,
And my tears, reluctantly falling,
Falling like I’m faking falsely by no means.
No more you on the pitch
No more your passion, your shouting and your encouragement
No more your commitment, no more your fighting, your joy and regret
Because I know, gone is gone
Like your waving to us
Your clapping, and your farewell words
“We are all grown man, we get over with it.”
Happy 30th, my HART. Happy everyday
It’s not something I won’t let go
It’s you.
They may forget, but I won’t
They may laugh, and I won’t
Neither will I forget nor will I laugh
I will keep it in my heart and keep you my SOUL AND HART
Waits [April 19th, 2017]
I hope that the next time I see Waits, we can enjoy a good old chinwag and I’ll get to know more about him. It was good to hear him talk with enthusiasm about how my Mum with Paul visited him on his trip to Manchester to see his first City game. I liked his response to how a City steward offered him tickets to Old Trafford swamp to see that lot play and he flat out refused, pointing to his badge. Pride in battle indeed. Until next time I meet Waits, I consider him a great friend and a wonderful person to know (with great English).
如需提交您的问题或者答案，请发送电子邮件至 acton28@hotmail.co.uk，或者联系微信：acton28
To submit your questions and answers, please e-mail acton28@hotmail.co.uk or send a WeChat message to: acton28.
Can’t you feel it? The constriction as the noose tightens and the drop comes closer. The darkness is consuming the light, casting a deep shadow over hope. The smell of victory blew away in a storm’s gust. The sound of a clock’s hands tick ever louder and the pendulum swings with urgency raising your heart’s beat to higher peaks. Chalky dry dust whips up to the lips, parched, cracked and dry in the moonlight. Will another day bring a new sunrise?
I breathe deeply yet have no air.
I shuffle and jiggle not in a chair.
I play hard, read well but do not share.
I’m round, long and not a fair fare.
I’m the riddle that you tweak and fiddle.
I’m the sound of the tinkling-rinkling piddle.
I’m the puzzle that at night you diddly diddle.
Giggle all you want, I’m the wink at the tiddle.
I’m the value of the bat’s shadowy wings.
I’m the voice the icy valley sings.
I’m the rhyme at a time that brings.
I’m all manner of great abundant things.
Scribbled whilst trekking in 2017.
Parent page: IB Learner Profile
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Four – Individual Oral Assessment
IB Course Creator Tim Pruzinsky started his introduction video by saying this final module would be unique and no easy task. Armed with a floppy left arm (following my second installment of the COVID-19 jab yesterday) and a nausea (last weekend’s sickness has caused my appetite since to be largely under the requirements of a half-giant), I set on my studies. To baldly go… (shiny-headed pun intended)
Parent page: IB Learner Profile
Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Three – Assessing the Higher Level Essay
What is a 4? What is a 5? The line between the two is foggy and at times completely a blur. So, here, I use the benefit of the doubt. My reasoning is simple. The overall piece was well written, clearly thought of in detail and delivered in an informative way. I still had some question. So, I went looking. I found that Calvin and Hobbes ran from 18/11/1985 to 31/12/1995 as a daily comic strip in the U.S.A. and across the world. I’ve certainly never stumbled on this strip, despite it landing in over 2400 newspapers! Humour, satire, politics, and family life mix well with philosophy and judging by the Wikipedia write-up, a dozen of so academics have touched on it too.
| Criterion | Examiner marks | Examiner reasoning | ||
| A | Understanding & Interpretation | 5/5 | Broad understanding of Calvin & Hobbes. Strong appearance and understanding. Clear persuasive interpretation. Some focus on satire shows deeper interpretation. Implications of text explained well bit could have had more detail. Demonstrates a passion for the text. Reference use is strong. Portrays the comic’s intent and purpose well. Line of inquiry allows for development &/or relevant/focus. Some openness of interpretation may be conveyed from the chosen language features of the student’s works. Who, when, what and how answered. The why is a little under-supported. | |
| B | Analysis & Evaluation | 4/5 | Graphic aspects needed a little further contextual depth. Would have benefitted from more language analysis. Consistent flow with convincing analysis. Insightful analysis of the text. Is the reader intended to be active or an observer? Clear that: Language + style + technique = meaning. Evaluation of author’s choice clear & concise. Further development of points possible. Accurate use of technical terminology. | |
| C | Focus & Organization | 4/5 | Organised/cohesive, but a little complex. Integrated example usage. Adequate development of a line of inquiry. Paragraphs clear and linear, however some back and forth to the appendix is needed. | |
| D | Language | 5/5 | Clear and well-chosen. Appropriate register (effective/concise). Vocabulary strong and supportive. Literary terms deployed. Grammar usage largely accurate. Some sentence structure errors. | |
| Total | 18/20 |
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Three – Added Extras (Extended Essay)
Firstly, the score weighting is different to previously marked papers, so it allows for flexibility in awarding a final mark. Deciding between a score from four or five is tougher than that of one from six or twelve. An in depth extended essay offers more chance to digest and deconstruct before reviewing and offering feedback. Overall, it is much more demanding. However, for candidate and examiner the process is more exacting and testing. It isn’t a short time task! A cup of steaming cappuccino was required!
| Criterion | Examiner marks | Examiner reasoning | ||
| A | Focus & Method (a reader should see the beginning to the end) | 5/6 | Effective speech chosen. Culture/context/target language show connection. In depth analysis versus that of a broader range of speeches. Good usage of secondary sources as way of support. Displays good intelligence. | |
| B | Knowledge & Understanding (a reader should be informed) | 5/6 | Social/political understanding of the speech fully demonstrated. Subject-specific terminology deployed. Primary and secondary sources support context. No digression. Public opinions over-generalised? | |
| C | Critical Thinking (a reader should see thoughts) | 9/12 | Research, analysis and evaluation evident and of a high value. Exploration of the speech could have been furthered more accordingly (to gain full marks). Concentrating their interpretation would be of more benefit to the writer. | |
| D | Presentation (a reader needs it to be clear) | 3/4 | Clear. Some over-general citation use. | |
| E | Engagement (a reader should be engaged) | 5/6 | Initial topic starts and is abandoned. Further two topics engage deeply. Candidate’s voice lacks full bite. | |
| Total | 27/34 |
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Three – Reflection
How can you use the assessment components, the learner portfolio, and more, to help achieve the IB mission?
Papers one and two offer opportunities for student encouragement and development. Each offers skillsets for life. The IB learner profiles can be explored and reinforced. The issues of identity, culture, class, environment and representation, amongst other matters can be explored through non-literary and literary study. Literature is a rich vein for exploration. It offers voices and opportunity to use effectively the approaches to learning skills. Drawing a connection beyond the non-literary and literary gives rise to language exposure and expansion.
Through paper one students can explore global issues across a broad range and bring them to the classroom for debate. Global thinking inquiring minds can be founded within the realm of paper one.
Paper two has a traditional feel to deliver in a form of written communication. That. construct must include balanced analysis, evaluation and be organised in a way that shows complete organisation through good time management and and thorough language use.
Parent page: IB Learner Profile
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Three – Reviewing Examiner Marked Papers
Part One
| Criterion | Examiner marks | Examiner reasoning | ||
| A | Understanding & Interpretation | 4/5 | Demonstrates full literal understanding. Insightful interpretation. Fully supported/referenced to text. | |
| B | Analysis & Evaluation | 5/5 | Convinced analysis of textual/visual features. Supports how features/choices shape meaning. Effective use of website provision. | |
| C | Focus & Organization | 5/5 | Coherent organisation of analysis. Growth shown from writing’s beginning to end. Conclusion is strong. Supports itself. | |
| D | Language | 4/5 | Clear/carefully selected language. Adequate register/style. Accuracy in vocabulary, grammar and structure. Ideas expressed clearly enough, but could benefit from more oomph. Some grammatical endings likely prevented full marks. |
Part Two
| Criterion | Examiner marks | Examiner reasoning | ||
| A | Understanding & Interpretation | 4/5 | Demonstrates full understanding of literal text, when combined with visual text elements. Individual aspects highlighted. | |
| B | Analysis & Evaluation | 5/5 | Conveys meaning & evaluation of features. Highlights choice of word use; drawing details; story development; character choice. | |
| C | Focus & Organization | 5/5 | No focus on the story’s moral. Paragraphing very clear. | |
| D | Language | 4/5 | Appropriate use of terminology for graphic novel/comic strip formats. Notes inconsistencies. Some tough misuse of punctuation. Tenses/clauses incorrectly used. |
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes – Latin for: “Who will guard the guards against themselves?”
Parent page: IB Learner Profile
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Three – Marking Rewards Content
Before tackling this, I hate red pens. I refuse to use red pens. I like to highlight in sky blue, what needs to be praised. I use orange (or pencil) to draw attention to something that needs reflection and evaluation. I use pencil where corrections can be made. So, my marking is looking to reward what happens to stare outwards and not what is missing. Marking should encourage students and not destroy their confidence.
| Knowledge, understanding & Interpretation | Criterion A | 7/10 | Shows knowledge about works. Evidence of narration. Experience of characters evident. Comparatives used. Contrasts clear. Evident connection. Linked clearly to the question. Generalisation overpowers specific areas of closer comparison. |
| Analysis & Evaluation | Criterion B | 8/10 | Includes textual features. Analysis connects technical features to texts. Analysis shows connection of different perspectives. Evaluates the chosen text. Encourage use of explicit answers. Encourage analytical terminology. |
| Focus & Organisation | Criterion C | 4/5 | Not very smooth in flow. Few conjunctions in use. Focus seems to lack sharpness. Overall Conclusion: vague. Sentence length and structure needs revision. What exactly is etc? |
| Language | Criterion D | 3/5 | Some repetition of key points. Some repetition of key points. Register appropriate. Some spelling, punctuation and grammar faults. Proofreading would have removed these errors. Encourage a wider range of vocabulary and terminology. Lacks evaluation voice. |
| Total marks: 21/30 |
EDIT: Following the above work, I was allowed to read the below (which gives more guidance):
Parent page: IB Learner Profile
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Two Wiki
Notes: It is important to use questions: WHO / WHEN / WHAT / WHY / HOW / WHICH / DO / DID / etc.
| Concept | Identity Who is Boris Johnson? What was his political background? How did he rise to power? What roles did he have? How do you measure his success? Based on your analysis of several magazine and newspaper covers, is it possible for you to comment on his character? To what extent do these covers reflect his identity? Has he stylised his approach to that of Sir Winston Churchill? Communication Political parties and their members need communication methods. A voice within a newspaper column can have a great effect on the potential electorate. Every word is carefully written, edited, drafted and calculated. How do people remember words from speeches? How do people see written text and compare this to spoken dialogue through various sources? Culture Negative campaigns and advertisements are characteristic of certain cultures. Some cultures take these techniques much further than others. § How do texts in this unit compare to the election & political culture in your country? § Are they more negative or less negative than what you are used to seeing? § How are trends in negative advertising changed over the years in your country? Why is this? |
| Global issue | Political landscape – battles of power |
| Area of Exploration | Readers, writers, texts What are the different ways in which people are affected by texts and their attached imagery? Time and space What is the influence of cultural contexts on how texts are written and received? Intertextuality: connecting texts Which diverse texts have features in common? |
| Assessment Objectives | How are notions of political power constructed by the media? (Local, regional or international influence?) How do newspapers play a role in shaping public opinion? (Or, to try to remain unbiased?) How do politicians use language to persuade voters? (Or to dissuade?) What kinds of debate techniques and argumentation fallacies are common in televised and political debates? (Is it civil? Or, closer to that of a talk show? Or, akin to that of Jerry Springer?) In what ways do politicians use language to tear down their rivals? Is it respectful to the viewing audience’s collective maturity and intelligence? Respond to non-literary texts to demonstrate an understanding and develop a personal interpretation (Paper 1) 1. Gather ten political figures on different magazine or newspaper covers. Review the presentation, first impressions and back-up their opinion using the material evidence. 2. Observe a debate video. Discuss their answer. Refer to their arguments. Discuss fairness and tactical language usage. |
| Non-Literary texts | Magazine covers Front pages Debates (ITV News: Corbyn v Johnson) (BBC Newsnight: Johnson v Corbyn debate analysis) (Johnson declines debate) (Debate regarding Bexit deal) Ads (Love Actually parody) (12 Questions) (Greenpeace: Wasteminster) (Boris vs. Obesity) |
| Overview & Procedure | Text types | How to develop activities / expansion ideas / Links to TOK | things to consider |
| An introduction. See column 4. Link to oral exam: YES/NO. | Video Social media source News feed Article magazine piece Speech Transcript | Discuss the connection between: Discuss the relationship between: Compare the differences between: What/how do we differ between right & wrong? How do we know information is clear and accurate before voting at an election? Do politicians lie? How can you be certain your vote counts? What are objective facts? Is there an appeal to emotions in order to shape public opinion? Do we have an ethical obligation to understand political issues/events/global issues? Should language be simplified for the benefit of voters or the general public? Should language and campaign materials be fact-checked and cross-referenced before being made public? Is misinformation legal? How far does freedom of speech go before it becomes libel? | audience diction mode genre register rhetoric purpose linguistic relativity stereotypes receptive interactive |
| Wrap-up/reflection | What aspects of this activity resonated strongest with you? How could I have improved this Non-Literary Unit of Study inquiry? Has anything changed the way you look at the world? How important is it to know what is fair or unfair? Is there an aspect you would like to explore further? Why? |
Review examples (1) (2) (3) (4)
Created by: Ahmed, Acton, and Olivia. Published at: INSERT LINK Submitted to: IB PD website on 21st JUNE 2021
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Two Reflection
The debate opened up new avenues of exploration, exposure to other influences shared by other teachers around the globe and created a wider lens to look at teaching options. The wider the scope of texts, the broader the issues that can be covered in comparative assignments.
Turning negatives into positives, examples of adversity can be shown to create inspirational and deep characters. I believe I can highlight equality and inequality as a stepping stone from their comfort zones to the wider world around them, using relatable issues and examples. Trying to make students feel part of something or connect is a challenge and one that needs to be handled compassionately with complete empathy, and not through a patronising lens. We’re not trying to feel sorry for others. We can relate and encourage critical thinking and higher order thinking that seeks change for the better. We don’t want every issue or problem to overshadow the mood and emotion of study.
Diverse foods create good tongues. Diverse music taste influences good listening skills and music knowledge. Diversity in reading creates a reader that can handle texts from numerous countries, cultures and backgrounds.
I am most excited to get students lifting new unfamiliar texts, through their own choice and confidence. In turn, I want to see each student set unique challenges and bring their own interests, choices to the classroom.
The little man darting up the tree.
The kid with stings, bites and bruises.
The joy at finding spiders and beetles to see.
The sad face when his team loses.
The dancing girl we could all look up to.
Singing about butterflies and happy times.
Telling stories through and through to me and you.
Whistling words with witty rhymes.
Proud teachers and parents gazing onwards.
The strumming rumbling tuneful times.
Their journey goes on and onwards.
The walks, the runs, the climbs.
This isn’t a time of sadness or madness.
You’ve touched us all, including me.
This is a moment to feel collective gladness.
The books passed around silently.
Your departure may come with haste.
Jet off, carry on the journey of life and love.
To the future, you go, do not waste.
Look back, look up, down, left, right and above.
We were here. We were now. We were one group, at one place, in one time. We were lucky.
Get out there. Carry on to share. Bring that spark of sunshine, in another place, in another time. You’ll be lucky.
Hey!
They’ll be lucky.
(Unless Mr Lee makes coffee again: for the love of God and all the holy characters, stay away from the coffee machines)
Farewell and Bon Voyage Shawver tribe.
I wanna follow you.
I wanna follow you.
I wanna follow you, wherever you go, whenever you know.
I wanna follow you.
I wanna go there. I wanna be there. I wanna feel there.
I wanna follow you.
I wanna show myself to you. I wanna be completely true.
I wanna follow you.
I wanna open up and let myself go. I wanna give you all my show.
I wanna follow you.
I wanna find the path together. I wanna ride through stormy weather.
I wanna follow with your shadow. I wanna run with you in a meadow.
I wanna follow you.
I wanna go wherever you may go. I wanna see ourselves grow.
I wanna follow you.
I wanna follow. I wanna follow. I wanna follow you.
I wanna follow you.
I wanna.
I want you.
I will follow you.
Inspired by the opening music and poetry of ARGH KiD‘s Never Drinking Again. ARGH KiD is the official poet for the NSPCC, UEFA and Man Utd.
Hasn’t it been a long time since the wind whistled lightly down the valley? Hasn’t it been so long since the book’s pages flipped over gently in the breeze? Hasn’t it been so long since the smell of a campfire spun on smoke from a place unseen to the eye? Isn’t it a pity that these places seem so far away? If only I had more memories to sit back and unwind with. Where’s the next mountain? Where’s the next wander? Where?
Parent page: IB Learner Profile
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Four Syllabus Construction – (draft II)
English A: Language and literature (Cat.1): Module Two Syllabus Construction – A checklist for language and literacy (draft I)
See Guide, pages 20-21. Use: Prescribed Reading List.
| HIGHER LEVEL (6 works) STANDARD LEVEL (4 works) | concepts | place* (3 / 2) | period* (3 / 2) | literary form* (3 / 2) | Areas of Exploration |
| PRL (English) 1: William Shakespeare | representation | England/ Europe | 16th/17th century | literary text: poetry | readers, writers & texts |
| PRL (English) 2: Nurrudin Farah | perspective | Somalia | 20th/21st century | literary text: prose fiction / drama | time & space |
| PRL (translated) 1: Persepolis & Persepolis II (Marjane Satrapi) | Cultures & identity: How does a text bridge a cultural boundary and create an insight? How do we approach texts from different times and cultures to that of our students? | Iran /France /Austria | 21st century | literary text: graphic novels | connecting texts |
| PRL (translated) 2: Hanqing Guan / The Ballad of Mulan, anonymous / Njal’s saga, Óþekktur höfundur | communication: How can texts offer multiple perspectives of a single issue, topic or theme? | China/ Iceland | 13th century; 4th century onwards; 12th-14th century | literary text: drama / poetry / prose fiction | readers, writers & texts |
| Free choice 1: The Levellers | creativity: how does the listener understand the meaning of a song and its lyrics; How are we affected by texts in varied ways? | UK/ Europe | 20th/21st century | literary text: music lyrics | time & space |
| Free choice 2: Tash Aw | why & how do we study language and literature? | Malaysia | 21st century | literary text: prose fiction/novel | |
| various | all | global | 21st century | non-literary text: websites | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various | all | global | various | non-literary text: opinion columns | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various | all | global | 20th/21st century | non-literary text: magazine and newspaper covers | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various | all | global | pre-21st century; 20th century | non-literary text: public information texts | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various | all | global | pre-21st century; 20th century | non-literary text: propaganda pamphlets | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various | all | global | pre-21st century; 20th century | non-literary text: advertisements | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various | all | global | 21st century | non-literary text: blogs | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various | all | global | 20th/21st century | non-literary text: self-help guides | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various | all | global | various | non-literary text: photography | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various (some translated) | all | global | various | non-literary text: speeches | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
| various (some translated) | all | global | various | non-literary text: quotations | readers, writers & texts; times & space; connecting texts |
The Levellers were chosen for their breadth and depth of lyrics. I absolutely agree that I would be focusing on an exploration of the lyrics (as a form of poetry) more than any other aspect. The subculture of music videos, album art, posters, and instruments representing voices would supplement a non-literary body of work.
“Your daddy, well he died in the Falklands; Fighting for another man’s cause; And your brother he was killed in the last war; Now your mother’s, well she’s lying home alone” – Another Man’s Cause, The Levellers
There are songs within their 12 (or so) album catalogue that cover topics like human rights (food roof family), refugees (The Shame), peace (Exodus), anti-war (The Recruiting Sergeant), the 1917 Étaples Mutiny (Mutiny), homelessness (Cardboard Box City), identity (England My Home), nuclear trouble (Belaruse), being human (Julie), inequality (Dirty Davey), class and humanity (This Garden), a dived world (Generation Fear) and huge range of emotions, personalities and periods of time. There are many songs that mark a journey and an exploration of the individual. Some are simple. Some are deep.
“My father when I was younger; Took me up on to the hill; That looked down on the city smog; Above the factory spill” – One Way, The Levellers
The indie folk rock genre that The Levellers have inhabited for over three decades. They formed their own festival in opposition to the increasing numbers of festivals of a highly commercial nature. At first I was thinking about bands that are highly accessible like Coldplay and U2, but then I thought why not go off the beaten track?!
“The year is 1991, it seems that freedom’s dead and gone; The power of the rich is held by few; Keep the young ones paralysed, educated by your lies” – Sell Out, The Levellers
The Levellers were formed in the 1990s and were not afraid to speak and sing the truth. They’ve been on a musical revolution for over three decades. They edged on the fringes of pop in their early days but have found their home more across genres than any other British band. They have likely influenced more musicians disillusioned by the commercial and closed state of the music industry. Their lyrics have been heard by musicians, writers and poets. The alternative scene to as establishment has a voice that can echo far. This is a band named after a political movement during the 17th century, formed in the years of the late William Shakespeare’s growing influence (on the English language).
“They’re sending in the elite, complete with guns; To advertise the way to go; Faxing through the fax to make it clear; That they’re the ones who know” – Liberty Song, The Levellers\
ACTON28: AGAINST THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC 