Even though we know that reading is a valuable pastime we sometimes forget just how much is going on in our brain when we pick up a book. For most English teachers, who are avid readers, it is easy to forget just how intense the activity can be. This infographic reminds us of the myriad ways that reading exercises the mind. What it also does is remind us of the pre-knowledge that needs to be in place before students can really get engaged with the material.

An 18 slide presentation. We need to approach film as a medium in itself with its own language, signifiers and methods. The most important signifiers are the types of shots the filmmaker chooses to employ. Shot types are to filmmakers what rhyming patterns are to poets. The building blocks which give the structure shape. Learning to recognise shot type and function will assist students in applying critical thinking to the study of film and make them more visually literate.

A 14 slide presentation. Mise-en-scene deals with the choices that the filmmaker has made in constructing what the viewer sees. It includes all the little things that make up a scene. By close reading of mise-en-scene the viewer begins to comprehend how small, unremarkable aspects of a film can affect our understanding. Aspects include lighting, acting, colour, make-up and costumes.

A 10 slide presentation. It is important that we use the correct terminology when we talk about film, also that students understand how terminology or theories can cross mediums. These terms are not unique to film, indeed we know them from written texts as well. However by remembering them and exploring how they relate to film we get a firmer understanding that film, like novels, plays, poetry etc, are texts which can be read and out of which we can make meaning.

A 10 slide presentation which outlines the elements of film that are required for it to be designated a classic. Useful when teaching visual literacy and film in English or media. Helping students understand that being a ‘classic’ requires particular attributes. I don’t know about you but I get really peeved when people use the word ‘classic’ as a synonym for ‘old’ or ‘dull.’ People arguing against the inclusion of classic literature in English courses invariably infer that if a text is a classic then it is old and irrelevant. This is simply not true of course. It is not even logical. After all we can talk about ‘classic’ cars and ‘classic’ fashion, none of which is either old or boring. We also talk about classic films and film has not been around for a particularly long time. So what makes a film a classic? What are the elements that we look for when we are deciding whether a film, or any work really, can be added to the classic cannon?

Film has its very own meta language and it is critical that our students understand that. This simple poster gives the most popular words needed when discussing film in the English classroom.

It is often wrongly assumed that all Shakespeare’s work was Elizabethan. We English teachers know that that is not right. Indeed some of the most commonly taught works, including MacBeth are firmly in the Jacobean canon. This handy poster gives the accepted dates of the works and places them in the historically accurate monarchic period.

Film is an essential part of literature teaching in the 21st C and while there are lots of similarities in regards to teaching a text, there are very distinct aspects of film that our students need to understand. This ebook will provide the essential understandings that an English teacher needs to introduce film in their classroom. As always our material is deliberately curriculum agnostic, providing subject knowledge and skills which can be incorporated into any system.

A fun activity as students think for carefully about how what we see is often constructed for us. Can be used in conjunction with film studies in English.

A simple two frame beginning to get students using storyboards in English to flesh out ideas.

Encouraging students to plan their writing is a challenge sometimes. It is important they understand that the plan can help them. This diagram works with the simple 3 paragraph essay but can be adapted fro essays of any length.

Nothing perfects speaking skills faster than practice. Short spontaneous speaking tasks build student confidence. This selection of topics is designed to give them opportunities to succeed by focussing on topics they are familiar with.