Nicholas McGuinn

Covering all of the key topics in BA Educational Studies, this book is uniquely structured to render it of great advantage for discussion groups or seminar use.

Planning to become a secondary English teacher? This must-have guide contains everything you need to know before embarking on your training programme. From your reflections on your chosen course and your preparations for interview to thinking about the demands of school-based training, this book encourages you to engage with the challenges of teaching in a realistic and enthusiastic manner. It aims to answer the question: What should trainees know, understand and be able to do before they start the training programme?Written in a practical, accessible and thought-provoking style, each chapter is packed full of reflective points, discussion questions, and a wealth of activities and examples. It explores key aspects of practice, including target setting and progression, as well as observing and being observed, and offers advice on tricky topics such as how to accept and build upon criticism and how to take responsibility for your professional development. There are numerous opportunities to reflect upon your subject knowledge, in order to help you celebrate what you know already as well as to identify what you still need to find out before you begin. Above all, the book encourages you to think about what English teaching means to you. You are invited to engage with core issues related to theory, curriculum and assessment, before exploring these issues in the context of the school.Although Take Off into English Teaching! is written for trainee teachers and teachers of Secondary English, many of the issues it covers will be highly relevant for school and academic staff, trainees and training staff involved in secondary education generally.

Planning to become a secondary English teacher? This must-have guide contains everything you need to know before embarking on your training programme. From your reflections on your chosen course and your preparations for interview to thinking about the demands of school-based training, this book encourages you to engage with the challenges of teaching in a realistic and enthusiastic manner. It aims to answer the question: What should trainees know, understand and be able to do before they start the training programme?Written in a practical, accessible and thought-provoking style, each chapter is packed full of reflective points, discussion questions, and a wealth of activities and examples. It explores key aspects of practice, including target setting and progression, as well as observing and being observed, and offers advice on tricky topics such as how to accept and build upon criticism and how to take responsibility for your professional development. There are numerous opportunities to reflect upon your subject knowledge, in order to help you celebrate what you know already as well as to identify what you still need to find out before you begin. Above all, the book encourages you to think about what English teaching means to you. You are invited to engage with core issues related to theory, curriculum and assessment, before exploring these issues in the context of the school.Although Take Off into English Teaching! is written for trainee teachers and teachers of Secondary English, many of the issues it covers will be highly relevant for school and academic staff, trainees and training staff involved in secondary education generally.

The English Teacher’s Drama Handbook is a rich, thought-provoking introduction to teaching drama within the English classroom. Divided into two sections, the first part of the book explores deological influences that have shaped drama's relationship with English over the past 250 years and aims to help you locate your own practice within a theoretical and historical context. Starting with Rousseau's seminal text Emile, it considers the theories of key thinkers and practitioners and a range of complex issues including the construction of ‘childhood’, children’s play, the teacher and student relationship, the implications of linking drama and English and the impact of national curricula on drama and English teaching.The second half of the book offers a collection of comprehensive, practical schemes of work to inspire and support you and your students to realise the power of drama in bringing English language and literature vividly to life. Suitable for a range of ages and abilities, each activity makes explicit links to the key thinkers and issues explored in the first part of the book and explores a particular aspect of work in English - from grammar and spelling to poetry and play texts. Together with guidance on how to begin and progress the activities, each sequence includes ideas for exploring issues further in the English classroom. Written for English teachers at any stage of their career, The English Teacher’s Drama Handbook offers new ways of looking at drama and English that will ensure meaningful and enjoyable teaching and learning.

The English Teacher’s Drama Handbook is a rich, thought-provoking introduction to teaching drama within the English classroom. Divided into two sections, the first part of the book explores deological influences that have shaped drama's relationship with English over the past 250 years and aims to help you locate your own practice within a theoretical and historical context. Starting with Rousseau's seminal text Emile, it considers the theories of key thinkers and practitioners and a range of complex issues including the construction of ‘childhood’, children’s play, the teacher and student relationship, the implications of linking drama and English and the impact of national curricula on drama and English teaching.The second half of the book offers a collection of comprehensive, practical schemes of work to inspire and support you and your students to realise the power of drama in bringing English language and literature vividly to life. Suitable for a range of ages and abilities, each activity makes explicit links to the key thinkers and issues explored in the first part of the book and explores a particular aspect of work in English - from grammar and spelling to poetry and play texts. Together with guidance on how to begin and progress the activities, each sequence includes ideas for exploring issues further in the English classroom. Written for English teachers at any stage of their career, The English Teacher’s Drama Handbook offers new ways of looking at drama and English that will ensure meaningful and enjoyable teaching and learning.

Using their tried-and-tested English Method training, the authors unpack the core learning issues, such as differentiation and the development of thinking skills, essential to all initial teacher training programmes. Linking theory and practice, with direct links to key theorists and ideas about learning, each chapter includes: a modelled analysis of a pupil's writing or talk on a particular theme; an exploration of the learning challenges within a specific age range or modality of English; focussed, practical activities centered upon a specific text, including oral, written, visual, multi-modal, print-bound and electronic material; and follow-up activities, including immediate questions for reflection, guided reading and ideas for use in the classroom. This is the complete guide that every trainee English teacher planning for learning in the secondary classroom needs.

Using their tried-and-tested English Method training, the authors unpack the core learning issues, such as differentiation and the development of thinking skills, essential to all initial teacher training programmes. Linking theory and practice, with direct links to key theorists and ideas about learning, each chapter includes: a modelled analysis of a pupil's writing or talk on a particular theme; an exploration of the learning challenges within a specific age range or modality of English; focussed, practical activities centered upon a specific text, including oral, written, visual, multi-modal, print-bound and electronic material; and follow-up activities, including immediate questions for reflection, guided reading and ideas for use in the classroom. This is the complete guide that every trainee English teacher planning for learning in the secondary classroom needs.

At a time when school-based English is in danger of becoming reductive and mechanistic, the authors of this book reconsider the fundamental philosophy of English teaching, evaluate current practice and offer a practical framework for new approaches to teaching this important subject.The authors draw on recent initiatives in the area, including the National Literacy Strategy, but also offer wider perspectives on the formation and development of both English and English teaching in a modern society. This will help teachers develop both a personal philosophy and a critical perspective on the various traditions of English teaching as well as on current initiatives and reforms. The book includes:provocative quotations from writers, artists and thinkersresponses to key figures in modern educational thoughtexploration and development of the principle areas, illuminating key issues, tensions and opportunitiespractical possibilities for classroom practice.The Art of Teaching Secondary English is a practical and accessible resource for everyone involved in English teaching.

At a time when school-based English is in danger of becoming reductive and mechanistic, the authors of this book reconsider the fundamental philosophy of English teaching, evaluate current practice and offer a practical framework for new approaches to teaching this important subject.The authors draw on recent initiatives in the area, including the National Literacy Strategy, but also offer wider perspectives on the formation and development of both English and English teaching in a modern society. This will help teachers develop both a personal philosophy and a critical perspective on the various traditions of English teaching as well as on current initiatives and reforms. The book includes:provocative quotations from writers, artists and thinkersresponses to key figures in modern educational thoughtexploration and development of the principle areas, illuminating key issues, tensions and opportunitiespractical possibilities for classroom practice.The Art of Teaching Secondary English is a practical and accessible resource for everyone involved in English teaching.