Let's listen to some brilliant songs and then write a poem with real focus on rhyming for effect!
ACTIVITY 1
We can start by hearing what the experts... Read More...
When we read a text, we have to consider the time at which it was written. We need to understand whether the author's ideas aligned with the majority - or if t... Read More...
Let's make sure that practising the skills needed to complete AQA's Language Paper 2 is fun for us!! Today, we're going to listen to Louis Dunford's 'North Lon... Read More...
Madonna's music a made an enormous impact. Let's think about how her songs hit even harder than they might have otherwise because of the world - Ronald Reagan'... Read More...
Here's a list of our favourite Against The Current tracks! See if you agree with our choices, then have a go at using the different techniques used in each sho... Read More...
Back in 2023, there were soooo many albums that made our hearts whoosh! Here's a list of our favourite releases of that year. Within the mini-reviews you'll fi... Read More...
So many of our favourite songs are as multi-layered as any of the texts we study in school 'The Cave' is a perfect example. Let's look at how To Kill Achilles ... Read More...
When you're asked to explore the 'significance' of something, what are you being asked to think about? This is a chance to figure that out. With a little help ... Read More...
Let's spend today's session thinking about exactly why we would love to live at Glastonbury Festival FOREVER AND EVER - and why we would rather never go to Gil... Read More...
Ellie Goulding lit up Camden's KoKo with a kaleidoscopic show! Now she can help you add some spark to your own GCSE Language Paper 1 work!
ACTIVITY 1
... Read More...
Like so many of our course writers, Ellie Goulding is OBSESSED with love. Which makes her the perfect person to lead a study of our favourite, conundrum-filled... Read More...
To rhyme or not to rhyme, that is the question!
ACTIVITY 1
Match each of the lyrics below with the relevant type of rhyme. Choose from:
absent: n... Read More...
Before going on, you could listen to this clip from the session I ran with in 'real life' with the Sound of Pen students. It goes some way to summarising w... Read More...
The Sound of Pen students spent a session exploring the significance of love in Taylor Swift's 'dorothea'. Here's an essay built from the ideas discussed durin... Read More...
Trophy Eyes, ‘Suicide and Sunshine’ (Hopeless Records)
Think about the truly important albums: Nirvana’s raw yet resplendent ‘Nevermind’; Biffy Clyro’s hear... Read More...
We went to Slam Dunk and it was the PERFECT day. Read our review, then write about your own perfect experience.
MUSIC FOCUS: Enter Shikari; Malevolence; PVR... Read More...
Accelerate your ability to analyse poetry - and deepen your appreciation of the female position - with a quick study of 'Better Man'.
MUSIC FOCUS: Ellie Go... Read More...
Sound of Pen classes use music as a doorway to a deeper understanding of GCSE & A-Level English texts.
Sound of Pen is home to original, unique free les... Read More...
Glastonbury! Exactly the kind of important event we should write about when asked to write about something important!
MUSIC FOCUS: Glastonbury Festival.ACTI... Read More...
Ava Max sings songs that dissect the concept of power whilst making you feel like you can take on the world. Perfectly meta.
MUSIC FOCUS: Ava Max.
ACTIV... Read More...
It's been a while since Robert Louis Stevenson and Oscar Wilde wrote their novels about humanity's duality. But the conversation is NOT over...
MUSIC FOCUS:... Read More...
"Music ignites all areas of child development... particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills." (UNICEF)
MUSIC FOCUS: MASSIVE ATTACK... Read More...
Sometimes the world can feel slightly too angry. Let's use today's persuasive activity as an opportunity to channel our positive energy!
MUSIC FOCUS: Zurich... Read More...
Sometimes, when studying English Literature, it can feel like the experience of love will be utterly joyless. Soooo much pain!
ACTIVITY 1
Read each l... Read More...
Our top ten songs about rain are all GORGEOUS. But what do they mean? What does the rain symbolise?
Typically, rain is used to signify sadness. Perhaps ... Read More...
The texts we study are so full of dreams. Which sounds lovely. But - like love - dreams are complicated, unwieldy things. Listen to the songs below if you want... Read More...
Walls aren't simply walls. They're symbols of power, traps within which we confine ourselves - and that's not all. Our favourite artists are here to help us in... Read More...
Before starting any essay, the first thing we need is a good idea!
ACTIVITY 1
Many of our A-Level questions are structured something like this: 'Expl... Read More...
MUSIC FOCUS: Yellowcard; Kids In Glass Houses; Underoath; Charlotte Sands; Creeper; Boston Manor; Trash Boat; The Menzingers; Maggie Lindemann; Enter Shikari; ... Read More...
MUSIC FOCUS: PVRIS.
ACTIVITY FOCUS: Review an album or live show and practise writing about structure!
PVRIS, Hammersmith Apollo
PVRIS have never be... Read More...
PVRIS are back in England (well, almost!!) - and they're bringing the ludicrously brilliant Maggie Lindemann and Charlotte Sands with them!! Life hasn't been t... Read More...
Think about where your favourite songs are 'located' and develop your understanding of setting within your GCSE/A-Level texts - and your own writing!
It's e... Read More...
Think about where your favourite songs are 'located' and develop your understanding of setting within your GCSE/A-Level texts - and your own writing!
... Read More...
Read Sound of Pen's essay about Maggie Lindemann's 'SUCKERPUNCH' and fuel your own investigations into the literature of love.
MUSIC FOCUS: Maggie Lindemann... Read More...
Read Sound of Pen's essay about YUNGBLUD - and prepare to get very excited about the links between 'weird!' and Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 116'!
MUSIC FOCUS: YUN... Read More...
Read Sound of Pen's essay about Against The Current's 'That Won't Save Us'. The song underlines ideas that will feel so relevant to your A-Level Lit study.
... Read More...
Our brainstorm activities don't so much focus on one idea as collate a whole stack of thoughts - all of which will feel absolutely relevant to one or other of ... Read More...
Read Sound of Pen's essay about Taylor Swift and develop your ability to make interesting points + to address context/typicality + to incorporate critical quot... Read More...
Lots of our texts examine the importance of self-belief. Let's listen to the music of Bush and work out what we'd say if asked to explore that very theme.
M... Read More...
While you may well be working on a Sound of Pen activity at home, I do run classes in school. We are thinking about how to make these live sessions more widely... Read More...
How do the best songs of 2022 help us make sense of the texts we're studying at school? Look at the list of our top 75 tracks of the year - then have a go at t... Read More...
Jay Gatsby (aka James Gatz). Dignified? Desperate? Deluded? Here are the songs to help you make sense of Fitzgerald's most famous character. Okay, so they migh... Read More...
Looking at writers' use of colour is a worthwhile exercise - how many pieces of writing don't refer to a colour of one sort of another at some point?! Today, w... Read More...
In most stories, there's a letter being posted... or a phone ringing... or an email being sent. Characters are communicating and - whatever the era - they're u... Read More...
A lot of songwriters make use of colour in their lyrics - and some of those artists employ blacks, whites, greens, pinks etc. as potently as actual painters. H... Read More...
This is the final part in a series we created so that you can indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetry ... Read More...
This is the fourth part in a series we created so that you can indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetry... Read More...
This is the third part in a series we created so that you can indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetry ... Read More...
This is the second part in a series we created so that you can indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetry... Read More...
This is the first of a five-part series which will allow you to indulge your love for the inimitable Taylor Swift AND develop your confidence with unseen poetr... Read More...
Is there anything more fun that writing about the things you REALLY love? And is there anything any of us love more than going to a festival?!
MUSIC FOCUS:... Read More...
Get ready for the best hour of your day. A class soundtracked by the beautiful Years & Years. What more could you ask for?
MUSIC FOCUS: Years & Year... Read More...
Listen to lots of artists inc. Olivia Rodrigo, Maggie Lindemann, MGK, Holding Absence - and secure your ability to analyse any text (seen or unseen) about love... Read More...
If you’re looking to finetune your use of symbols, you’re in the right place. This class works brilliantly all on its own, but you might also want to think of ... Read More...
Special thanks to my Year 8 class for providing the musical inspiration for this class!
Check out their favourite songs here.
You may wish to download th... Read More...
