Julian Girdham

Thinking, Writing, Reading, Teaching

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Patterns of Poetry podcasts

January 19, 2023 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching, Poetry

15 short talks on elements of poetry, using one or two poems in each case.

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January 19, 2023 /Julian Girdham
English Teaching, Poetry
Comment

Terry Dolan on Geoffrey Chaucer

January 18, 2023 by Julian Girdham in Poetry

An audio interview with the late Professor Terry Dolan about the Middle English poet Geoffrey Chaucer.

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January 18, 2023 /Julian Girdham
Chaucer
Poetry
Comment

Swiss Army Knife (exploding) quotations

January 17, 2023 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching, Shakespeare

A simple and effective revision technique in class, mining a single statement/quotation, and opening up rich discussions about the text (here, Macbeth).

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January 17, 2023 /Julian Girdham
Quotations
English Teaching, Shakespeare
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The Portrait of a Lady

January 15, 2023 by Julian Girdham in Books, Fiction

A discussion about Henry James’s masterpiece The Portrait of a Lady.

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January 15, 2023 /Julian Girdham
Henry James
Books, Fiction
Comment

Macbeth webinar

January 08, 2023 by Julian Girdham in Shakespeare, English Teaching

The ‘shownotes’ for my webinar for teachers on revising Macbeth leading up to the Leaving Certificate. Via Tralee Education Support Centre, evening of Monday 9th January 2023.

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January 08, 2023 /Julian Girdham
Macbeth
Shakespeare, English Teaching
Comment

King Lear for Litdrive

January 06, 2023 by Julian Girdham in Shakespeare, English Teaching

‘Shownotes’ from a presentation on teaching the end of King Lear, as part of Litdrive’s online CPD programme, January 2023.

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January 06, 2023 /Julian Girdham
King Lear, Caravaggio
Shakespeare, English Teaching
Comment

Short review round-up, 2022

December 22, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Books, Fiction

An annual round-up of short recommendations of books which I didn’t review fully.

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December 22, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Books, Fiction
Comment

My Books of 2022

December 17, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Books, English Teaching

My annual selection of excellent reading.

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December 17, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Featured
Books, English Teaching
Comment

Books of the Year lists 2022

December 13, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Books

The 13th annual round-up of the best Books of the Year lists.

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December 13, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Books
Comment

Patrick Freyne's 'OK, Let's Do Your Stupid Idea'

November 29, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Books, Non-Fiction

Patrick Freyne’s collection of personal essays, OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea is a skilful, funny and often moving collection of stories.

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November 29, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Essays
Books, Non-Fiction
Comment

Revising the sequence of 'Hamlet' 1

November 22, 2022 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching, Shakespeare

A three-step approach to embedding knowledge of the sequence of events in Hamlet.

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November 22, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Hamlet
English Teaching, Shakespeare
Comment

Oliver Lovell's 'Tools for Teachers'

November 15, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Teaching, Books

Tools for Teachers by Oliver Lovell, based on his podcast the Education Research Reading Room, is packed with interesting and well-balanced advice about classroom practice.

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November 15, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Leadership
Teaching, Books
Comment

Exploring the introduction of the Framework for Junior Cycle

November 11, 2022 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching, Teaching

Comments on the first report of the UL longitudinal study: Exploring the introduction of the Framework for Junior Cycle

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November 11, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Junior Cycle, Irish education
English Teaching, Teaching
2 Comments

Bruegel and the cover of 'Small Things Like These'

October 30, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Books

The beautiful jacket of Claire Keegan’s novel Small Things Like These is fashioned from Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s ‘Hunters in the Snow’. A significant detail is excluded from the selection.

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October 30, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Claire Keegan, Art, Featured, Small Things Like These
Books
5 Comments

Molly Twomey: 'Raised Among Vultures'

October 28, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Poetry, Books

Molly Twomey’s collection ‘Raised Among Vultures’ is an impressively accomplished début.

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October 28, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Poetry, Books
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Dylan Wiliam on Leaders and Assessment

October 25, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Teaching

Notes from a webinar given by Professor Dylan Wiliam on the Role of Leaders in Promoting More Effective Assessment.

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October 25, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Leadership
Teaching
Comment

Macbeth revision webinar

October 24, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Shakespeare, English Teaching

Details of a revision webinar on Macbeth on January 9th 2023.

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October 24, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Macbeth
Shakespeare, English Teaching
Comment

INOTE 22

October 23, 2022 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching

Reflections on the 2022 in-person conference of the Irish National Organisation for Teachers of English.

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October 23, 2022 /Julian Girdham
English Teaching
Comment

Emma Smith on 'Macbeth'

October 20, 2022 by Julian Girdham in Shakespeare, English Teaching, Books

Some notes on the Macbeth chapter in Emma Smith’s book This is Shakespeare.

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October 20, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Macbeth
Shakespeare, English Teaching, Books
Comment

Thinking about the tragedies: 54 exercises

October 18, 2022 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching, Shakespeare

54 exercises to discuss key quotations when revising Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Othello, with the rationale behind them, and an example from a key scene in Macbeth.

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October 18, 2022 /Julian Girdham
Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, Othello
English Teaching, Shakespeare
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