How to Teach English: Novels, non-fiction and their artful navigation

by Chris Curtis, Phil Beadle

Written by Chris Curtis, 'How to Novels, non-fiction and their artful navigation' is jam-packed with enlivening ideas to help teachers make the subject of English more intellectually challenging for students - and to make it fun too! Never underestimate your duty and power as a teacher of English. English teachers help students to think and feel. They prompt them to reflect on their actions. They hold a mirror to society and inspire students to see how they can make it better. What other subject does that? This insightful interpretation of what makes excellent secondary school English teaching is the work of a man whose humility fails to hide his brilliance and provides educators with a sophisticated yet simple framework upon which to hook their lessons. Covering poetry, grammar, Shakespeare and how to teach writing, Chris Curtis has furnished every page of this book with exciting ideas that can be put into practice immediately. Each chapter presents a store of practical strategies to help students in key areas - providing apposite examples, teaching sequences and the rationale behind them - and has been accessibly laid out so that teachers can pinpoint the solutions they need without having to spend an age wading through academic theory and pontification. The book explores the wealth of learning opportunities that can be derived from both classic and more contemporary literature and offers expert guidance on how teachers can exploit their own chosen texts to best effect with their students. Furthermore, it is replete with ready-to-use approaches that will help teachers upgrade their lesson planning, enhance their classroom practice and ensure that the content they cover sticks in their students heads for months and years afterwards. Suitable for all English teachers of students aged 11-18.

Genres: Nonfiction, Education

256 pages, Paperback

Published July 16, 2019

Reviews

[Niamh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was truly inspirational and a great holiday read really enjoyed it and strongly recommend to any budding English teacher. :)

[Lisa Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really user-friendly book. I found the sections on writing extremely helpful. I already do lots of the things advocated by the writer, particularly with regard to modelling and vocabulary, but it's always good to see your practice vindicated in print!

[Midweekpurple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. One of the best books on Teaching English.

[David Bunker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every summer I try to catch up on some educational reading - it's rare I find the time and space to read about teaching during the frantic term times. This summer, reading this book was an absolute pleasure. As a fan of the Chris's blogs, I had high expectations, but I was not let down at all. The book is rammed with ideas for lessons that you could, quite literally, use next week. There are heaps of practical suggestions all underpinned by a clear philosophy of English teaching, with not a gimmick in sight. It's a fantastic achievement to package so much experience and wisdom into such a readable and easily digestable book.

I genuinely feel excited about some of the new ideas and techniques I'll be trialing in September.

In a fairly crowded field of books about teaching English, this is certainly one of my favourites.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on teaching reading of all genres and writing that I’ve ever come across. I’m happy to have found it early in my teaching career.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seamlessly outstanding.

A wonderful book with endless nuggets of knowledge useful for any teacher of, I would argue, any subject.

A must-read. Thank you, Chris!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the Pbk copy but that's not available here. An excellent read, packed with practical ideas which whilst not rocket science, are great for reflection and honing practice, no matter how experienced you are.

[Lauren Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a new teacher and you come across this book, you've saved yourself from hours of mistakes and decades of outdated methodology. This is simply the best guide to teaching secondary English.