ADVANCED LEARNING Using literature to promote a love of learning
To inspire a love of learning was the fundamental aim of English tutor Leanne Greenfield’s English literature study group.
“I took a small group of learners and looked at ways to extend their thinking,’’ she says. “The study group was not assessment-based or designed to test them; it was about giving the boys the opportunity to find something they were interested in, and to explore it in depth for themselves.” The study started with an overview of English throughout history, then looked at the skills required to analyse texts in depth. The boys chose a topic they wished to study further, choosing different texts or books to represent their area of interest. They worked on producing a presentation of their research to a group of interested parents and friends. “Itwassonice to workwithagroup of studentswho activelywanted to learn.Theywere all keen to think about their place in theworldand toexplore this through literature.” Leanne Greenfield
had a big impact on society: 1984 , To Kill a Mockingbird and The Feminine Mystique . Nazi war propaganda interested Matthew Gibb. Leanne Greenfield has nothing but praise for the boys and the way they responded to the research tasks. “It was great. The boys were so engaged. They all interacted, complemented each other’s interests and respected each other’s abilities. It was so nice to work with a group of students who actively wanted to learn. They were all keen to think about their place in the world and to explore this through literature. It was amazing to see such high level sophisticated thinking.’’
The result was an interesting range of topics. Year 10 student Angad Vraich chose to study the Romantic period, answering an English Scholarship question using two poems and a play. He was enthusiastic about the opportunity to do such a detailed literature study, saying they did not often have the chance to dive so deeply into a text. Owen Short researched archetypal evil characters, especially those from Nazi Germany, using texts since the Second World War. He used Harry Potter, two short stories and the Charlie Chaplin movie The Great Dictator . Protest literature was Tom Jones’ choice. He chose three books that
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Christ’s College Canterbury
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