'Sentence Models for Creating Writing' by Christopher Youles.
Christopher Youles’s Sentence Models for Creative Writing is a useful short book for English teachers, properly sub-titled ‘A practical resource for teaching writing.’
Read MoreEmma Smith on 'Hamlet'
Notes on the Hamlet chapter in Emma Smith’s This is Shakespeare.
Read MoreRevising the sequence of 'Hamlet' 2
A simple way to help pupils understand which parts of a play are important for revising an individual character. Here, Hamlet, but any play by Shakespeare works.
Read MoreLaura Cumming's 'Thunderclap'
Laura Cumming’s marvellous Thunderclap: a memoir of art and life & sudden death mulls over our gaps in the knowledge of the artist Carel Fabritius, but it is about so much more, especially her father, the Scottish artist James Cumming.
Read MoreGabriel Josipovici's 'Hamlet: Fold on Fold'
Gabriel Josipovici’s commentary in Hamlet: Fold on Fold is consistently stimulating and thought-provoking, and blessedly free of academic jargon.
Read MoreJason Allen-Paisant's 'Self-Portrait as Othello'
Jason Allen-Paisant’s Self-Portrait as Othello is a thought-provoking collection of poems.
Read MoreOn the Importance of Studying Poetry
The argument for the most ‘important’ subject in school being … poetry.
Read MoreWilliam Wall's 'Empty Bed Blues'
William Wall’s latest novel, Empty Bed Blues, is the story of an Irishwoman whose life has been torn apart by her husband’s betrayals . A small town in Liguria in Northern Italy helps her see how she might live again.
Read MoreThe RSC Shakespeare Complete Works
The second edition of the RSC Shakespeare Complete Works edited by Jonathan Bate and Eric Rasmussen is well-worth buying.
Read MoreEmily Dickinson Face to Face
Martha Dickinson Bianchi’s Emily Dickinson: Face to Face is a brilliant evocation of her aunt’s life next door in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Read More'The researchED Guide to Cognitive Science' edited by Kate Jones
The authors in Kate Jones’s selection of essays looking at the basics of cognitive science explain key concepts in a valuably accessible way.
Read More'The Art of Explanation' by Ros Atkins
Ros Atkins’s The Art of Explanation: how to communicate with clarity and confidence is a fascinating fine-grained account of how he has reached the status of one of broadcasting’s most impressive ‘explainers’.
Read MoreRos Atkins explainer: Manchester City
Ideas for the use of a Ros Atkins ‘explainer’ in English class.
Read MoreOn the role and selection of prescribed text lists
Some comments on the recent NCCA ‘Report on the role of prescribed text lists in Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate English and the processes involved in text selection.’
Read MoreDeborah Levy's 'August Blue'
Deborah Levy’s new novel August Blue will give pleasure to all who enjoyed her superb three-book ‘living autobiography.’
Read MorePerspectives on the Teaching of English in Post-Primary Education
Perspectives on the Teaching of English in Post-Primary Education, edited by Kevin Cahill and Niamh Dennehy, is a comprehensive and valuable collection of essays on the way the subject is taught and studied in Ireland.
Read MoreGreg Ashman's 'Cognitive Load Theory'
Greg Ashman’s Cognitive Load Theory in the Little Guide for Teachers series is a lucid short book on this important idea.
Read MoreAlice Winn's 'In Memoriam'
Alice Winn’s début novel In Memoriam is a fast-paced revisiting of the First World War in fiction, this time concentrating on a highly-charged erotic relationship between two schoolfriends, Ellwood and Gaunt.
Read MoreWilliam Trevor: 'The Piano Tuner's Wives'
An analysis of William Trevor’s short story, ‘The Piano Tuner’s Wives’, a masterpiece of fiction.
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