Teaching Secondary English As If The Planet Matters

‘This is an important book for all concerned with the teaching and learning of English, exploring new and hugely significant areas in a scholarly, thought-provoking and eminently practical way.’ – David Stevens, University of Durham, UK Drawing together ideas from a range of disciplines in the study of texts which explore nature, the built environment and issues of climate change and environmental stress, this book shows how English is well placed to develop the cultural, aesthetic and emotional response to environmental themes – both as part of everyday practice and within wider curriculum innovations. Features include: critical reflection on the teaching of secondary English connections with the academic study of ecocriticism and/or key environmental issues suggested teaching activities and/or reflections from classroom practice sources of further reading and information. The true worth of a school subject is revealed in how far it can account for and respond to the major issues of the time. This timely textbook breaks new ground in showing how English teachers can have a pivotal role in responding to the environmental crisis.

'Teaching Geography as if the Planet Matters provides a timely outline of powerful knowledge and arguments that will be needed to counter a strengthening of current curriculum orthodoxies. Not until school geography undergoes the revolution that this book outlines can it honestly claim to be contributing to more sustainable futures.' - John Huckle, Visiting Fellow at the University of York and was formerly Principal Lecturer in Educaton at De Montfort University. We are surrounded by images and warnings of impending environmental disaster. Climate change, famine, population growth and urban crisis coupled with more recent financial chaos all threaten our sense of what it will be like to live in the future. This thought-provoking text looks at how Geography teachers can develop approaches to curriculum and learning which help students understand the nature of the contemporary world. It sets out a model for teaching and learning that allows teachers to examine existing approaches to teaching and draw upon the insights of geography as a discipline to deepen students’ understanding of urban futures, climate change, ‘geographies of food’ and the ‘geographies of the credit crunch’. Features include: examples of suggested teaching activities questions and activities for further study detailed case studies sources of further reading and information The true worth of a school subject is revealed in how far it can account for and respond to the major issues of the time. The issue of the environment cuts across subject boundaries and requires an interdisciplinary response. Geography teachers are part of that response and they have a crucial role in helping students to respond to environmental issues and representations.

‘This book moves us beyond a theoretical pondering of the issues and makes concrete suggestions for teachers and students for how things can be different in mathematics classrooms. This is long overdue.’ Peter Gates, University of Nottingham Teaching Mathematics as if the Planet Matters explores how Mathematics teachers can develop approaches to curriculum and learning which help students understand the nature of the contemporary world. It sets out a model for teaching and learning that allows teachers to examine existing approaches to teaching and draw upon the insights of mathematics as a discipline to help students relate classroom mathematics to global issues such as climate change, the economy, food supplies, biodiversity, human rights, and social justice. Including practical examples, suggestions for teaching activities and detailed further reading sections, the book covers: the mathematics of description in the measuring, recording and statistical analysis that informs our knowledge of climate change, consumption and sustainability; the mathematics of prediction in the modelling used by governments, scientists and businesses to plan roads, power stations and food supplies and their effects; the mathematics of communication in the news reports, blogs and environmental campaigns, incomplete without graphs, charts and statistics. The true worth of a school subject is revealed in how far it can account for and respond to the major issues of the time. The issue of the environment cuts across subject boundaries and requires an interdisciplinary response. Mathematics teachers are part of that response and they have a crucial role in helping students to respond to environmental issues and representations.

Making Poetry Matter draws together contributions from leading scholars in the field to offer a variety of perspectives on poetry pedagogy. A wide range of topics are covered including: - Teacher attitudes to teaching poetry in the urban primary classroom - Digital poetry and multimodality - Resistance to poetry in Post-16 English Throughout, the internationally recognised contributors draw on case studies to ensure that the theory is clearly linked to classroom practice. They consider the teaching and learning challenges that poetry presents for those working with learners aged between 5 and 19 and explore these challenges with reference to reading; writing; speaking and listening and the transformative nature of poetry in different contexts.

The book brings together key extracts from classic and contemporary writing and contextualises these in both theoretical and practical terms. The extracts are accompanied by a summary of the key ideas and issues raised, questions to promote discussion and reflective practice, and annotated further reading lists to extend thinking.

In an age when national identities are a subject of popular debate, along with issues of place in relation to immigration, displacement and mobility, it is particularly important that educators are supported in their reflections on how best to respond to such pertinent issues in their daily practice. This book accessibly and sensitively explores the ways in which teachers can work with places and identities in English and related expressive arts to create a rich experience for students in schools and beyond. A team of carefully selected contributors present practical ideas and critically examine diverse contexts and viewpoints. Exploring the significance of identity and place in education, the central notion is that language and arts are vital to enhancing understanding and empathy. The book provides an approach that offers teachers and other professionals ways to engage critically with these themes, as well as practical strategies for opening up debate and creative work in a broad range of curriculum areas. This insightful book will be of interest to teachers, teacher educators, training teachers and researchers in education.

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.

This book brings together a range of scholars from 10 different countries to address the contemporary state of play in national standard language education – i.e. the L1 subjects. It seeks to understand the field from within a comparative-historical and transnational frame. Four thematic threads are woven through the volume: educationalisation; globalisation; pluriculturalism; and technologization. The chapters range over various aspects of L1 as a school subject: literature, language and literacy; reading and writing; media and digital technology; the dialogue between curriculum inquiry and Didaktik studies; the continuing relevance of Bildung; the significance of history and nation; and new challenges of culture and environment in the face of climate change. The book concludes with a reflection on the prospects for L1 education today and tomorrow, in a now thoroughly globalised context and, accordingly, deeply implicated in a necessary new project of nation re-building.