Sign up to my newsletter to receive weekly tips and useful resources to help you to understand what your child needs to do to improve their English grades.
Student success stories this week
|
Hi Reader It's Friyay(!) and I'm in a celebratory mood, and it's not just because it's the end of the week. This week, I've been reminded that the work I do, and the effort my tutees put into their English work, really does make a difference. On Thursday, a parent of one of my tutees (let's call him M) sent me this email: This is a phenomenal achievement given that M was really struggling to pass English when he started working with me a few months ago. His confidence and enthusiasm for English was at an all time low because he felt he was in the wrong English set at school. It's easy when you're in the midst of planning lessons, marking homework and doing admin, to lose sight of whether you're actually impacting on the children you work with. You don't have time to stand back and look at all you've achieved together. But this email prompted me to do just that. One thing M struggled with was writing about the author's choice of language in sufficient detail. He went round in circles in his writing, because he didn't know the steps he needed to follow to think about language in more detail. So, this is one of the things we addressed in our lessons. We started with an essay question and collected quotations. I then showed M some layers of analysis he needed to carry out. This was followed by lots of practice of identifying and annotating quotations on a range of texts And then more guided practice of putting these notes into a well structured response. Which then resulted in M writing a level 4 response in his Language Paper 2 mocks! His writing shows how he is now able to talk about the techniques the author is using, as well as link them to the effect that they have on the meaning of the text. In this piece of writing, he brilliantly zooms in on two words in one quotation, showing how they work together and squeezing as much out of them as he can. It's exactly what I've been encouraging him to do. But to see him actually doing it, all by himself, is wonderful. Like magic, isn't it?! 😉 If you'd like me to support your child in preparing for their GCSEs, I have a couple of spaces in my Boost your GCSE English skills groups (best for year 10s, at this point in the year) and I have opened two one-to-one slots up for year 11s in the evenings Looking forward to hearing from you, All the best, Verity |
Verity Bell English Educator
Sign up to my newsletter to receive weekly tips and useful resources to help you to understand what your child needs to do to improve their English grades.
Hi Reader If your teen has ever sat there, pen hovering over the page, trying to remember any quote that might vaguely fit... you're not alone. I see it all the time. The pressure to remember dozens of quotations (and use them well!) can be really overwhelming – especially when students don’t know where to start. Only this week, a couple of my year 11 students have acquired panicked expressions when I ask them to give me a quotation for an essay we're planning. One said 'I feel like quotation...
HiReader A parent of one of my students last year put it perfectly: This is something I see time and time again. The students who make the biggest progress aren’t just the ones who attend lessons—it’s those who take the time to consolidate what they’ve learned between sessions. Why Homework Matters Homework isn’t about adding pressure—it’s about building independence. It encourages students to revisit their notes, check their understanding, and ensure they have everything they need (including...
HiReader A parent of one of my students last year put it perfectly: This is something I see time and time again. The students who make the biggest progress aren’t just the ones who attend lessons—it’s those who take the time to consolidate what they’ve learned between sessions. Why Homework Matters Homework isn’t about adding pressure—it’s about building independence. It encourages students to revisit their notes, check their understanding, and ensure they have everything they need (including...