tAyLoR sWiFt: FiFtEEn & UnSeeN PoEtRy

JCNovember 11, 2021

Being a teenager is hard! But one thing we know for sure - listening to Taylor Swift makes us feel way less alone! Here's 'Fifteen'... https://youtu.be/... Read More...

Poetry Analysis 2

sOuNd oF pEn: AcHiEvEmEnT AwArDs

JCAugust 28, 2021

We want to support AND recognise your dedication and development. Thus the Sound of Pen achievement awards! There are three different categories and you will b... Read More...

Pen Gen 2

yOnAkA: WoRmHoLes

JCJuly 18, 2021

The 3 purple links below serve as wormholes. They'll take you straight into the pages of the texts you're studying at school. Use YONAKA's ideas to develop your understanding of 'A Streetcar Named Desire', light imagery and gender inequality! As ... Read More...

A-LevelGCSEWormholes 2

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE: WoRmHoLeS

JCJune 15, 2021

The purple links in this article serve as wormholes. Click on them and you'll find yourself walking through the pages of Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture Of Dorian G... Read More...

A-LevelGCSEWormholes 2

SoNgS oF 2021 So FaR: MaKiNg pOinTs & DeVeLoPiNg VoCaBuLaRy

JCJune 14, 2021

We've heard so much amaaaaazing music in 2021 already! Here are the songs we've enjoyed most. Each mini-review includes a word that you can try to use in your ... Read More...

A-LevelGCSEMaking PointsVocab 2

tAyLoR sWiFt: LaNgUaGe aNaLySiS

JCMay 28, 2021

So, you KNOW we love it when our favourite artists offer us a way into the texts we’re studying in class. We especially love it when that artist is TAYLOR SWIFT. And so it was impossible not to start feeling just a little bit dizzy when, in 2020... Read More...

A-LevelGatsbyLanguage Analysis 2

30sTm & GiRLfRiEnDs: TeXt MeSSaGeS

JCMay 10, 2021

A story isn't just a story. It's a message. From the writer to US. But what exactly is the message? Well, let's find out... Watch: Video Watc... Read More...

A-LevelGCSEText Messages 2

yUnGbLuD, nF, aTc & mOrE: LaNgUaGe aNaLySiS & QuOtE rEViSiOn

JCMay 4, 2021

Iago gets to Othello because the eponymous 'hero' has got a head full of voices. The men in charge of Gilead are absolutely ruled by the chattering that only t... Read More...

A-LevelGCSELanguage AnalysisQuote Revision 2

A-LeVeL: KiM PeTrAs & uSiNg qUoTaTioNs

JCApril 2, 2021

Listening to the music of the world's greatest pop star, Kim Petras, might be our absolutely favourite thing to do. And now that we know we can improve our essay skills while we listen - well, we're just too excited for words x Here's a video int... Read More...

A-LevelCore SkillsEssay WritingReadingRevisionUsing Quotations 2

A-LeVeL & GcSe: RhYmE

JCFebruary 20, 2021

This is the second part of a lesson which started here. Last time, we looked at approaching unseen poetry questions and we concentrated on that idea of taking ... Read More...

A-LevelConflict PoetryPen GenPoetry AnalysisPre-1900 PoetryUnseen Poetry KS4Unseen Poetry KS5 2

ThE hAnDmAiD’s TaLe: WoMeNrCooL

JCFebruary 20, 2021

womenrcool. YOU do not need telling. If only there'd been someone with your good sense running Gilead. Thankfully, the future IS in your hands - and the wor... Read More...

A-LevelHandmaid'sRevisionText Specific 2

mAcHiNe GuN KeLLy & aNaLySiNg qUoTaTioNs

JCFebruary 18, 2021

When I started designing this lesson, I was thinking it would be most useful to my A-Level students. But actually these activities will prove just as purposeful if you're studying for GCSE assessments. I'm not saying you ALWAYS have to dig into EVER... Read More...

A-LevelCore SkillsGCSELanguage AnalysisReadingRevision 2

A-LeVeL & GcSe: UnsEEn PoEtRy

JCFebruary 15, 2021

I asked my Sound of Pen students to let me know which songs they were loving right at this moment. I then started to create a series of classes in which we tre... Read More...

A-LevelConflict PoetryGCSEPen GenPoetry AnalysisPre-1900 PoetryUnseen Poetry KS4Unseen Poetry KS5 2

aLiCe: aRt iS tHe jOuRnEy oF a FrEE sOuL

JCJanuary 31, 2021

Alice is an amaaaaaazing digital artist. Her A-Level study of 'The Handmaid's Tale' inspired these incredible pictures - we are IN AWE. The pictures are inters... Read More...

Pen Gen 5

eLLie: bEsT K-pOp Of 2020

JCJanuary 1, 2021

It's impossible to pile all the music we LOVE at Sound of Pen into one genre. And yet there IS a thread that joins all our favourite music together. It's something to do with the intent of it - the way it feels as if it says something about what it'... Read More...

Pen Gen 4

A-LeVeL: SoNgS oF tHe YeAr & VoCaBuLaRy

JCJanuary 1, 2021

We LOVED so much of the music released in 2020. Here are our top 50 songs. Each mini-review includes a word that you should be using when writing your A-Level ... Read More...

A-LevelCore SkillsGCSEVocabWriting 2

SeNd Us YoUr BeSt

JCDecember 22, 2020

In our last class, we reviewed Sound of Pen's best songs of 2020. Who made it to number 1? YUNGBLUD maybe? Or Against The Current? Taylor Swift perhaps? Have a... Read More...

A-LevelCore SkillsGCSEVocabWriting 2

aDeLa: iNtO ThE WooDs

JCDecember 8, 2020

The first piece of student work has arrived! Adela was tasked with summarising her A-Level 'Love' learning. No one could have expected what came next - this BEAUTIFUL painting! Inspired in part by the Taylor Swift lessons, but mostly fuelled by t... Read More...

Pen Gen 4

A-LeVeL: AgAiNsT ThE CuRRenT & ReDeMpTiOn: eSSaY

JCNovember 22, 2020

Listen to YUNGBLUD's god save me, but don't drown me out, Bring Me The Horizon's One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest... or Against The Curr... Read More...

A-LevelEssay WritingEssays KS5Handmaid'sText MessagesText Specific 2

A-LeVeL: bRiNg Me tHe HoRiZoN & ThE hAnDmAiD’s TaLe

JCOctober 11, 2020

If you've already listened to the groundbreaking Bring Me The Horizon's 'Parasite Eve' a million times, you'll know what a huge and important song it is. But d... Read More...

A-LevelHandmaid'sText Specific 2

iNtRoDucToRy ViDeO: tHiS iS wHo We ArE

JCOctober 3, 2020

https://youtu.be/FeFf7I4A0zA ... Read More...

Pen Gen 2

A-LeVeL: MaGGie LiNdeMaNN, dESdEmOnA & tHe PrEsEnTaTiOn Of WoMeN

JCSeptember 21, 2020

Shakespeare's 'Othello' may have been written just a few years earlier than Maggie Lindemann's 'Pretty Girl'! But if you're a female living in the 21st Century... Read More...

A-LevelLanguage AnalysisOthelloText MessagesText Specific 2

A-LeVeL: yUnGbLuD & SoNNeT 116

JCAugust 27, 2020

YUNGBLUD really is the Shakespeare of our generation. Deepen your understanding of 'Sonnet 116' by exploring the lyrics to 'Weird!' - one of the best songs of ... Read More...

A-LevelEssays KS5Pre-1900 PoetryText Specific 2

A-LeVeL: LiL PeeP & ErNeSt dOwSoN

JCAugust 21, 2020

Lil Peep knew how it felt to get his heart broken. And because it's definitely way easier to relate to the rapper's romantic issues than it is to those of Ernest Dowson, we thought this lesson would be especially useful. Because Ernest's yearning fo... Read More...

A-LevelPre-1900 PoetryText SpecificUnseen Poetry KS5 2

A-LeVeL: KaTe NaSh & FeMiNiSm

JCAugust 15, 2020

It's helpful to look at so many of the texts you're studying through a feminist lens. To do that, you need to really understand what feminism is. Kate Nash wil... Read More...

A-LevelGatsbyHandmaid'sOthelloPre-1900 PoetryStreetcarText Messages 2

A-LeVeL: tAyLoR sWiFt & LoSS oF LoVe

JCAugust 13, 2020

So many A-Level Literature texts deal with what it means to lose out in love. If you look closely at Taylor Swift's 'Exile', you'll realise our favourite pop ... Read More...

A-LevelEssay WritingGatsbyLanguage AnalysisLoveOthelloPre-1900 PoetryUnseen Poetry KS5 2

YoNaKa: LeT Me SpEak

JCJuly 15, 2020

Whenever we record one of our Wormholes podcasts, we use the artist in question's ideas as fuel for a series of related classes. Theresa Jarvis of YONAKA spearheaded this session on equality! Use some of the critical quotes below to support and shar... Read More...

A-LevelClassContextText Messages 4

YoNaKa: ToNe

JCJuly 15, 2020

YONAKA's delivery is key. Theresa and the gang use different tones to convey a whole range of emotional states and ideas. https://youtu.be/HnkY2oTwnm8 ... Read More...

Class 4

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE: LaNgUagE

JCMay 1, 2020

We LOVE this simile. Choose the task that feels more relevant to you: TASK 1: Does the bug imagery feel relevant to any of your texts? Perhaps you're stu... Read More...

Class 4

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE: ReLiGiOn

JCMay 1, 2020

The Holding Absence singer's attitudes to religion feel more typical of 2021 than, maybe, 1821. Consider the texts you're studying. What were the typical attitudes towards God and religion at the time each text was written? Why is it important to... Read More...

Class 4

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE: LoVe

JCMay 1, 2020

It's pretty hard to find a text which doesn't explore ideas about love in some way or other! Where - in the texts you're studying - can you recognise the ch... Read More...

Class 4

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE: dUaLiTy

JCMay 1, 2020

You might have discussed duality once or twice (or a thousand times) in class!! In which texts, can you spot both the quieter and louder sides of a person's... Read More...

Class 4

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE: fLoWeR MoTiF

JCMay 1, 2020

Sooooo interesting to hear Lucas talk about flowers in this way. A real 'lightbulb' moment for us! Where do you spot flowers - either in the foreground or the background - of your own course texts? What are those flowers representative of? What i... Read More...

Class 5

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE: OpeNiNgS

JCMay 1, 2020

We love that Lucas so clearly wants his music to take us on a journey. And maybe you won't even realise how significant Holding Absence's starting point is unt... Read More...

Class 4

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE: sTrUcTuRe

JCMay 1, 2020

Some of our course writers have also employed the dark/light structure that Lucas makes such powerful use of. Oscar Wilde knew the darkness well. Victorian ... Read More...

Class 4

HoLdiNg AbSeNcE: FoRm

JCMay 1, 2020

So we've heard a bit about why the rock song structure fitted Holding Absence’s needs PERFECTLY. Now, it's time to think about how Lucas Woodland's ideas serve as doorways to a deeper understanding of our GCSE/A-Level texts. Why did Oscar Wilde’s... Read More...

Class 4