Aimed at all levels of ability but particularly at those students who might achieve Grade 5 upwards. If you are teachinmg the GCSE English Language Grade 9-1 Course then you know your students will have to know how to do a summary. In fact they will have to know how to bring elements of two texts together – to synthesise them in to a new form – the summary – which may ask them to highlight the similarities or differences of aspects of two sources. This video serves as a foray in to that by showing you how to summarise two source texts according to the skills descriptors for GCSE English Language Grade 9-1 course (AQA), The Lesson Plan contains the two texts (which are also the video) and the way that I delivered it to my groups - how you choose to do it is, of course, up to you!

This is an adaptation of the tried and tested ‘lifeboat game’. It can be used for Functional Skills English or most other English qualification. We can’t put URLs in descriptions anymore but do a search for “lifeboat game set in space” on YouTube and you will find it! “Starcorp is in trouble. Their Spaceship the SS Hartnell left Earth two weeks ago. It has been hit by a meteor and only ten people have made it in to the life-vessel. However, it will take a week for the rescue ship to arrive and there is only enough oxygen and food for five people to survive that length of time. Five people must be sacrificed so that the others can live. Which five will you choose?” The survivors featured are a diverse group of people and this lesson asks learners to consider questions around prejudice, tolerance, bias (conscious or otherwise) and diversity. Does their choice of who will survive depend on unconscious bias? Does age, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexuality play a part in their choice and if so, why?