Individual Oral Commentary

The Individual Oral Commentary is assessed on four basic criteria. Now there are PowerPoint presentations and a workbook which includes activity sheets to address each of these. The digital presentation allows images, movement, internet links, colour and sound to be combined while the workbook complements with practical activities that illustrate the concepts being discussed. Students can now address the key concerns of assessors before they actually present.

Knowledge and Understanding

Depth of knowledge is achieved by establishing a context for the passage being discussed. An awareness of the excerpt’s position in the text is further enhanced by an understanding of when the text was written and how it fits and reflects the period, the style of the day and the author’s development. Our own knowledge is enhanced when we can establish how a passage is representative of an author’s canon of work, how it reflects the author’s style and how it complements, or challenges, the conventions of the period in which it was written.

Organization and Presentation

The key to a good presentation is a well structured and considered delivery that is clearly signposted. In this way, anyone listening can follow your ideas and better appreciate your understanding. A presentation is given shape and form though good organization and allows the content to be contained, compartmentalized and given due consideration.

Language

How you speak is best indicated by the language you chose to use. There is a repertoire of literary terms that can enhance and show your appreciation and understanding of the writer’s craft. There is also an appropriate language associated with the subject matter that should be at your command. The language chosen will be an indication of the command you have over the conventions of presentation and of the affinity you have with the chosen topic.

Writer’s Choices

An awareness of how an author has constructed a work shows that you, as a reader, have gone beyond simply retelling the story. You have reached a level of seeing how something is shaped and patterned. You are balancing the story, the writer’s style, and the writer’s use of literary devices which combine to generate the shape of the work in question. Your handling of these elements shows your command of the work as a whole.

Four Powerpoint Presentations and Workbook – £79.99 (£95.99 inc. VAT) Order code 19051

To see sample pages please email sales@classroom-resources.co.uk quoting the order code H19051

You can order the Individual Oral Commentary in any of these ways:

• On our website
• By phone on 0117 940 6409
• By email (quoting a school order number, if required) to sales@classroom-resources.co.uk
• By post to: Classroom Resources, PO Box 1489, Bristol, BS99 3QJ

Classroom Resources
PO Box 1489
Bristol
BS99 3QJwww.classroom-resources.co.uk
sales@classroom-resources.co.uk
Tel: 0117 940 6409

A major part of any Media Studies course is learning how to analyse or deconstruct media texts. For students new to Media Studies, the most difficult aspects of this are the terminology and concepts of the subject, many of which will be new to them or will have a slightly different meaning in the world of media.

This 119 page, photocopiable book will explain the terminology and concepts of the media to your GCSE students in simple terms and will provide them with a logical structure for evaluating media texts. The content of the book is applicable to both the English GCSE courses and examinations and the Scottish Standard Grade. Each chapter of Media Studies deals with a specific area of analytical inquiry: categories, language, narrative structure and conventions, representations, audience, institutional influences.

The book includes practical and theoretical exercises and an exemplar of an essay response to each area of inquiry. Frequent references are made to well-known media texts in order to clarify meanings.

Media Studies: an Introduction to the Terminology and Concepts by James Rigg; ISBN 978 1 86083 780 7.
Order code: T1685EMN. Sample pages may be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/media/T1685.pdf

Prices

• Photocopiable book, £29.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £29.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  
• Both the Ring Binder and the CD £37.94 plus £3.95 delivery
  

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report…

• By post from First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct, Earlstrees Rd, Corby, NN17 4HH
• By fax to 01536 399 012
  
• On-line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=52&products_id=499
• By phone with a school order number or a credit card to 01536 399 011

When ordering the book please quote the reference T1685EMN.

IS THERE A CATCH ?

No, there’s no catch. You’ll be pleased to know that it’s all completely above board. (No, they didn’t fall off the back of a lorry !)

Even in our digital age the use of a dictionary can help students by encouraging independent study and developing literacy skills, while a thesaurus is particularly useful in developing a wider range of vocabulary for essays, articles and reports etc than might otherwise be the case.

The Webster’s “Wordpower” dictionary has a clear, easy to read typeface, 384 pages and a database of approx. 15,000 words. It’s the usual paperback size and is an excellent choice for your KS3, 4 and GCSE students.

There are two particular benefits with these titles that are currently available to schools and colleges………

1. Although the cover price is £5.99 if you order on behalf of a school or college, the Webster’s dictionary may be obtained for just £1.99…. that’s a substantial saving on every copy.

What about the free copies ?

2. Simple. Just order 100 or more copies and you’ll get 50 % extra free.

e.g. Order 200 and you’ll get another 100 copies free….order 500 copies and get an extra 250 completely free. There’s no limit to the quantity you can order and you’ll always get 50% extra free with orders of 100 or more copies.

You can “mix and match” orders for dictionaries and thesauri and still get free copies, as long as your total order is for 100 or more copies. You are welcome to order fewer than 100 copies but the free offer only applies to orders of 100 or more copies.

What’s more you can get the same deal with the Webster’s thesaurus which is also £ 1.99 (cover price £ 5.99). In fact you can combine your orders and your free copies to include both dictionaries and thesauri.

You can view the Webster’s dictionaries and thesauri on the website of Signpost Educational Ltd. OK, it’s not a particularly earth shattering website but you can get a good idea of what we’re talking about here……

While we’re on the subject of helping students with their studies, you might also be interested in the “Student Essentials” sets. As the name suggests, each set comprises of pens, pencils, ruler, metal sharpener, eraser, all packed in a clear, “exam friendly” PVC wallet with a zip slider. From only 75p ex vat, they are not only useful for handing out to students who have forgotten their own equipment but particularly helpful for distribution before exams…. details on the website.

If you have any questions about dictionaries, thesauri or “Student Essentials” sets they’d be pleased to hear from you on: 020 7515 1797.

You can order direct from Signpost Educational Ltd and contact them via signpost@talk21.com or phone 020 7515 1797 or fax 020 7515 4420.

How by presenting a united front at sporting events it is possible to raise your school’s profile, no matter the end result

By encouraging parents and members of the local community to watch and support the sports’ teams, both at home and away, it is possible to strengthen your relations with the public.

Such sporting events offer you the opportunity to showcase the effort and achievements which help to communicate your school values.

Clearly, in the case of sporting events which occur at home, it is fairly easy to communicate these values as the environment in which they were founded is all around.

However, communicating these values at sporting events away from home can be more difficult, and it is therefore important that a united front is formed in order to continue promoting these values.

One way in which this can be achieved is by travelling to the event in a minibus.

The problem with this, however, is that minibuses are expensive, and many school budgets will not allow for a purchase as big as this.

It is for this reason that we offer leasing of minibuses to schools, an arrangement which makes it possible for schools to fund the minibus through a small payment each month.

In some cases, where financial contributions are made by parents and the PTA, it is possible to allocate a part of those payments towards the cost of the minibus – reducing the funds being deducted from the school’s capital account.

In other cases the minibus can be funded through small monthly deductions from various departments’ income. So, if half a dozen departments agree to contribute towards funding the bus and the PTA agrees to put in a monthly amount as well, the funding problem is completely resolved.

Furthermore, when leasing a minibus with Benchmark, you don’t have to worry about taxing or maintaining the vehicle as we have this covered. We ensure that the vehicle is fully operational at all times.

Benchmark Leasing specialises in the supply and maintenance of school minibuses. If you are interested in the benefits of a minibus do call us on 01753 859944 or click here to see what we can offer.

How can we exploit the demand for additional space to improve students’ learning outcomes?

Striking the right balance between supply and demand when the demand is for additional space to cope with increased numbers of students is often a lengthy, rather complex and occasionally costly process.

But it doesn’t have to be, especially if the space can be tailored to the very specific needs of the school, the students and the teachers.

At The Learning Escape we design and build additional spaces for schools which are of a bespoke design – a response to the local conditions, local needs and local specification.

Whether you need a classroom, staffroom, office space, school hall or library, we take your needs and wishes and create a stunning and sustainable building that fits into your existing space and budget.

We look after the build from planning permission to the final handover, and because of the way we work the cost of our buildings is invariably much lower than that of a traditional building.

And our leasing option also means that a permanent, architect-designed Learning Escape can actually cost less per month than hiring a temporary solution!

What’s more, our buildings are eco-friendly, full of natural light and the floor to ceiling doors and covered walkways encourage free flow outdoor learning.

We’ve put together an online portfolio of some of the school buildings we’ve constructed during the last couple of years to show you the kind of choice available. To see what we have built recently just click here.

To discuss any aspect of your project, or to book a free survey, just call us on 0800 917 7726.

You can find more information on the website.