JC

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

GcSe: AgAiNsT ThE CuRReNt & uNsEEn PoEtRy

JCFebruary 19, 2021

Okay, it's unlikely you'll be asked to analyse the awesome Against The Current's lyrics in your exam! The skills you'll use to investigate 'Gravity', though, are exactly the same ones you'll need to explore whatever poem does end up on your English ... Read More...

GCSEQuestion SpecificUnseen Poetry KS4 3

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 purposefu... Read More...

A-LevelCore SkillsGCSELanguage AnalysisReadingRevision 2

A-LeVeL: AgAiNsT ThE CuRRenT & ReDeMpTiOn: pArT 2

JCFebruary 18, 2021

In our first live lesson with real students in an actual classroom, we talked in more detail about redemption and Against The Current! It was SO much fun. If y... Read More...

A-LevelEssay WritingHandmaid'sText MessagesText Specific 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 treat those songs as poems (because that is ABSOLUTELY what they are when you mute the drums ... Read More...

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

eLLa: DiScOnnEcT fRoM tHe WiReD wOrLd

JCFebruary 6, 2021

After looking at Kate Nash's blog, Ella realised she had something equally crucial to say. This is Ella's own beautiful and brilliant blog entry. Read it and b... Read More...

Pen Gen 4

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

BeLLa: bEsT ArtIsTs eVeR

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 somet... Read More...

Pen Gen 4

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 look then start making your own list! Read on for more info. And don't forget to send us ... 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... Read More...

Pen Gen 4

A-LeVeL: AgAiNsT ThE CuRRenT & ReDeMpTiOn: pArT 1

JCNovember 29, 2020

MUSIC FOCUS: Against The Current.ACTIVITY FOCUS: Explore ATC's ideas about redemption, then apply those same ideas to 'The Handmaid's Tale'. Read our analysis ... Read More...

A-LevelHandmaid's 2

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 Current's that won't save us and you'll notice that lots of our favourite artists in 2020 are... Read More...

A-LevelEssay WritingEssays KS5Handmaid'sText MessagesText Specific 2

GcSe: KiM PeTrAs & LaNgUagE pApEr 1

JCOctober 20, 2020

Some people think listening to the unstoppable Kim Petras isn't the answer to EVERYTHING. Which is obviously ridiculous. All you need to do to improve your ... Read More...

GCSEQuestion SpecificReadingWriting 2

tHiS iS WhAt We LiStEn To

JCOctober 19, 2020

If you say you LOVE Kim Petras as much as you LOVE Enter Shikari, some people look at you like you're craaaaaaaaazy. When, of course, what they should be doing... Read More...

Pen Gen 2

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

JCOctober 11, 2020

MUSIC FOCUS: Bring Me The Horizon.ACTIVITY FOCUS: Link BMTH lyrics to quote from 'The Handmaid's Tale' - then create a bookmark to help you remember Atwood's key lines. If you've already listened to the groundbreaking Bring Me The Horizon's 'Para... 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

Maggie Lindemann Cleopatra and the Presentation of Women

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

JCSeptember 21, 2020

MUSIC FOCUS: Maggie Lindemann!ACTIVITY FOCUS: Examine techniques used in Maggie Lindemann's 'Pretty Girl' and then see how Shakespeare uses those very same tec... Read More...

A-LevelLanguage AnalysisOthelloText MessagesText Specific 2

A Level Literature YUNGBLUD and Sonnet 116

A-LeVeL: yUnGbLuD & SoNNeT 116

JCAugust 27, 2020

Sharpen your ability to deal with unseen poetry, develop your understanding of 'Sonnet 116' and learn to write about love! MUSIC FOCUS: YUNGBLUD.ACTIVITY FOCUS: Write an essay comparing YUNGBLUD and Shakespeare. YUNGBLUD really is the Shakespe... Read More...

A-LevelEssays KS5Pre-1900 PoetryText Specific 2

GcSe: CrEEpEr & BlOOd BrOtHeRs

JCAugust 22, 2020

Punk dramatists, Creeper, explore themes of loss, struggle, friendship, class, hopelessness, anxiety and free will. Explore how they do it in order to deepen y... Read More...

Blood BrothersGCSEText Specific 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

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

50 BeSt SoNgS oF 2020 So FaR

JCJune 28, 2020

How is it even possible to sum up the experience of living through 2020? Here are the songs that have helped us through the first 6 months! Listen to all 50... Read More...

Pen Gen 2

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 studying John Donne's 'The Flea'. How do Lucas Woodland's thoughts help to develop your ideas... 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 at... 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 nature? Which quotes really highlight that duality? Send us your ideas and we will inc... 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 t... 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 'morality' made sure of it. Can you think of moments - in the texts you're studying - d... 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... Read More...

Class 4

SoUnD oF pEn’s 75 bESt SonGS oF 2019

JCJanuary 3, 2020

We've already charted our top 20 albums/EPs of 2019, but here are our favourite individual songs. Each track stood on its own two feet as a one-off TUUUUNE x ... Read More...

Pen Gen 2

fTrE: tHe StOrY sO fAr

JCJanuary 1, 1900

If you simply want to read the 'fTrE' story, you'll find the text below. We'll add the new chapters in at the same time as each respective class is posted. fTrE 1. Cynthia The radio’s on. I’ve heard this Bright Star song a million times. It... Read More...

Language AnalysisPen Gen 4