Blog
The Value of Storyboards in the English classroom
It Began with Disney. In the early 1930s, when Disney was at the height of its creativity in cartoon animation, it was common practice for the artists working at the studio to pin their rough sketches onto bulletin boards. They would do this in order to visually...
Why are Archetypes Important in Film?
An archetype is an original model of something, what we may call a prototype. According to television producer Aaron Spelling there are only 5 stories and they have all been told. The job of the modern producer or filmmaker is to find new ways of telling them. These 5...
How Much of What We See Is Real?
This post is a little shorter than the last ones have been, but the subject matter is critical to teaching film in our classrooms. It is important to remember that our students have never lived in a world without television and film. For them the visual mediums are...
What Makes a Film a Classic
I don’t know about you but I get really peeved when people use the word ‘classic’ as a synonym for ‘old’ or ‘dull.’ People arguing against the inclusion of classic literature in English courses invariably infer that if a text is a classic then it is old and...
Reading Film in the English Classroom.
Just as literacy is the ability to read, understand and make meaning from written texts, visual literacy is the ability to do that with visual texts.
Proven ways to get students reading.
How do I get my students to read? That is one of the enduring issues that teachers of English and literature everywhere constantly struggle with. Decades of teaching have shown us that there are things we can do to help engage our students with the wonderful world of literature.
A Confession, an Apology and Bright Shiny Objects
Bright Shiny Objects (BSO): Any new, interesting, intriguing, colourful idea, strategy or possibility. Designed to excite, stimulate, side-track, deviate and beguile. Guaranteed to deflect focus. Confession Long before it was diagnosed many of my students labelled me...
6 Strategies for Building Rapport with Students.
Imagine you walked into a cafe and saw a friend. When they noticed you they frowned or looked gloomy. You would probably feel pretty dismal. You certainly wouldn’t feel confident that they were happy to see you. On the other hand if, on seeing you, they looked...
What my Naughty Dog taught me about Students.
I have a very naughty dog. He was adopted from the SPCA in Singapore when I was teaching there and was about 2 years old at the time. For the first few days he was quite tentative and unsure of me, but that did not last long. By the end of the first week he would race...
For Teachers -The Times They Are A Changin.
Why teachers didn’t get a mention in Bob Dylan’s 1964 hit song is a mystery to me. Writers, parents and politicians are mentioned and of course they are important, but surely great teachers are significant instruments of change. That teaching as a profession has...