The British Library's Poets and Poetry Page - Great for Unseens

The are several poems by great poets and read by well known actors. For exam preparation it does not come much better than this. Once you click the link scroll down to find suitable poems. Then read and annotate them for Language, Form and Structure for the Unseen section of Unit 3.
http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/poetryperformance/poetryhome.html

This link below leads to a time-line of texts produced in English over time. It's quite spectacular!
http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/evolvingenglish/englishtimeline.html

Benito Mussolini on Fakebook for "Captain Corelli's Mandolin"

Benito's page on Fakebook

But on Facebook the republican figure who was the political inspiration for Dr Iannis: EleftheriosVenizelos 

Creative Revision: how to write a sonnet in iambic pentameter for Unit3

Creative Revision for Unit 3 Exam
(1) Try writing a sonnet in the voice of one of the characters that you read from a novel.  For instance,  you could choose "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" or "The Great Gatsby." You could select an appropriate chapter or passage and formulate your sonnet around the one or more the novels' significant themes: the position of women, history and the past, honour/dishonour, war and waste, parental or filial love, romantic love, madness, etc. Choose a chapter and consider its main theme/idea for your topic! Why not incorporate some the the novel's key images, motifs, symbols, style, etc. from this chapter. Get a friend to see if he/she can apply one or more interpretations of your text for AO3. How would your sonnet be read for AO4?

(2) Alternatively in prose, try your hand at changing the form of a chapter, say writing a letter or journal entry which enables you to produce a character's thoughts as they reflectabout an significant event in a chapter; aim to write in the style of an author you have studied. After changing the perspective in a passage or chapter try to produce a passage of writing which "confronts readers with powerful emotions." How would your passages be read over time? What approaches to your texts by other readers would be most appropriate and why?


(3) In pairs: produce a concept/mind map on at least two exam texts based on a past exam question. Use colour, images and appropriate symbols, etc. and AO3-4 to bring your maps to life.

BBC short videos which look closely at writing

These are great little videos for developing style in your writing. They are also useful for looking closely at writers' methods and techniques in using language. (AO2)

Constructing Sentences
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/constructing-sentences/777.html
Creating Parody
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/creating-parody/773.html

BBC short videos which look closely at writing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/777.nb.wmv

Parody
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/773.bb.wmv

"Captain Corelli's Mandolin" and "The Great Gatsby"

Remember that the share of the  marks for the Edexcel Exam for Unit 3 are as follows:

AO1 - 10 marks.  Understanding the texts, using key terms and producing a coherent, written argument in your essay.

AO2 - 10 marks.  Applying Language Form and Structure as relevant to your argument.

AO3 - 20 marks. Making connections and comparisons between the texts; applying your own and different interpretations of the texts to your chosen passages/chapters/poems, etc. as appropriate.

AO 4 - 20 marks. Applying the historical and literary contexts and the ability to examine how the texts were received by different readers over time from when  published to our time.

These are links to posts which address several AOs on Captain Corelli's Mandolin and The Great Gatsby .


Themes and ideas which connect the novels:

http://goforgold-dog.blogspot.com/search?q=captain+corelli%27s+mandolin

The modern context for CCM

http://goforgold-dog.blogspot.com/2011/01/captain-corellis-mandolin-ao4.html

Various posts on CCM

http://goforgold-dog.blogspot.com/search?q=captain+corelli%27s+mandolin

More notes with concept maps for CCM

http://goforgold-dog.blogspot.com/search?q=captain+corelli%27s+mandolin&updated-max=2009-01-22T21%3A16%3A00Z&max-results=20

Even older notes for CCM but still relevant, even if for the old syllabus

http://goforgold-dog.blogspot.com/search?q=captain+corelli%27s+mandolin&updated-max=2007-09-06T01%3A08%3A00%2B01%3A00&max-results=20

The Great Gatsby notes and links to other resources
http://goforgold-dog.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Great%20Gatsby

Taking notes for personal study (when reading novels)

This is a helpful Prezi  with tips on what to look out for when reading and annotating novels.

Taking Notes for the Personal Study on Prezi

The Challenges of Teaching Poetry by Billy Collins

The Challenges in Teaching Poetry

Three Poems by the US poet, Billy Collins

Here's a couple of poems for unseen practice. When reading them, take some of Billy's advice on how to study poetry: "rather than thinking first on what the poem is about, consider instead the journey by which it got to its ending." In other words, how does it navigate between its points by expanding, contracting, being serious, humorous or ironic as the poem makes its way to its conclusion?

"Child Development"


You can find the full typescript of this poem by clicking this link:
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/child-development/

"The Lanyard"


Click on this link for a typescript of this poem
ttp://www.billy-collins.com/2005/06/the_lanyard.html

"Sweet Talk"


You can find the typescript of this poem, by clicking on this link:
http://poem-a-day.posterous.com/sweet-talk-by-billy-collins