ALL CONNECT –
KS3 PROGRAMME
Literature
Aims of the literature module series
• To discuss the rationale for including literature
in language lessons in Key Stage 3
• To explore interactive practice for purposeful
language learning with texts
• To plan accordingly for researching texts,
piloting and integrating texts into schemes of
work
Objectives of this session
• explore and reflect on curriculum requirements
• discuss the relevance of text types
• observe suggested texts and exemplification of how
language teachers exploit them
• devise strategies for practice
• consider progression issues
• raise questions and share professional thinking
• inform an individual Action Plan leading into the
follow-up sessions
Starter:
What is Literature?
Meet your neighbours to discuss
• Do Key Stage 3 learners read?
• Have you ever used what you would count as a
piece of Literature with pupils aged 11-14?
• What, and how?
Outline for this session
• Curriculum
• Rationale
• What do language teachers do with text?
• What is literature? What texts are relevant?
• Planning for the classroom:
o Support
o Making a start
o Piloting
• Action plan
Curriculum
Purpose of study
Learning a foreign language is a liberation from
insularity and provides an opening to other
cultures…
…foster pupils’ curiosity and deepen their
understanding of the world
…provide opportunities for them to …read
great literature in the original language.
Aims
The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
• understand and respond to spoken and written language from a
variety of authentic sources
• speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity,
finding ways of communicating what they want to say, including
through discussion and asking questions, and continually
improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation
• can write at varying length, for different purposes and
audiences, using the variety of grammatical structures that they
have learnt
• discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in
the language studied
Linguistic competence
• listen to a variety of forms of spoken language to obtain
information and respond appropriately
• transcribe words and short sentences that they hear with
increasing accuracy
• initiate and develop conversations, coping with unfamiliar
language and unexpected responses, making use of
important social conventions such as formal modes of
address
• express and develop ideas clearly and with increasing
accuracy, both orally and in writing
• speak coherently and confidently, with increasingly
accurate pronunciation and intonation
……………
• read and show comprehension of original and adapted
materials from a range of different sources, understanding
the purpose, important ideas and details, and provide an
accurate English translation of short, suitable material
• read literary texts in the language [such as stories, songs,
poems and letters], to stimulate ideas, develop creative
expression and expand understanding of the language and
culture
• write prose using an increasingly wide range of grammar
and vocabulary, write creatively to express their own ideas
and opinions, and translate short written text accurately
into the foreign language.
and also…
What the Programme of Study says at Key Stage 2:
Listening
• explore the patterns and sounds of language through
songs and rhymes and link the spelling, sound and
meaning of words
Reading
• read carefully and show understanding of words,
phrases and simple writing
• appreciate stories, songs, poems and rhymes in the
language
And furthermore!
Draft GCSE criteria suggest:
• students will be expected to understand different
types of written language,
• including relevant personal communication, public
information, factual and literary texts, appropriate to
this level
• literary texts can include extracts and excerpts,
adapted and abridged as appropriate, from poems,
letters, short stories, essays, novels or plays from
contemporary and historical sources, subject to
copyright'
What is our rationale?
• Pragmatic:
o Curriculum requirement
o Exam specification
• Professional
o Cultural richness
o Linguistic variety
o Rich content and stimulus
What do you think?
What do language
teachers and learners
do with text?
• Taking a text to mean something in writing or in
speech or in video, and…
• thinking back to the statements of the Programme of
Study…
• work with a partner to note down some simple
activity types for Key Stage 3.
Example 1:
Linking a text with grammatical
awareness / creativity
• With your partner, look at the poem on the next
screen
• Try to work out the meaning of anything you can (a
translation is available)
Un hombre sin cabeza
Un hombre sin cabeza
no puede usar sombrero.
Pero éste no es
su mayor problema:
no puede pensar,
no puede leer, ……..
Armando José Sequera
• Extend with personal ideas (writing frame)
• Dictionary practice
• Spelling
• Reading aloud
• Also
• Modal verbs + infinitives
• Language in creative use
Exploring differences
No puede usar means… ‘cannot use’
• Which bit means ‘use’?
• What do you notice about ‘cannot’?
• Can I..? I can ..
Making new sentences: I can... / Can I...?
• ‘usar’ in the dictionary = ‘to use’
• In English is there a way of saying ‘He cannot
use’ with ‘…to use’?
• He -- --- ---- to use
• He – not ---- to use
• He is not ---- to use
• He is not able to use
The full text
• http://www.doslourdes.net/Un%20hombre%20sin%20cabeza.htm
• http://ALL-Literature.wikidot.com
Finding a good text
• Not every text appeals to every teacher, or to
every learner
• What are your criteria for a ‘good’ text for Key
Stage 3 learners?
Chanson pour les enfants l'hiver –
Jacques Prévert
Dans la nuit de l'hiver
Galope un grand homme
blanc.
C'est un bonhomme de
neige
Avec une pipe en bois,
Un grand bonhomme de
neige
Poursuivi par le froid.
Il arrive au village.
Voyant de la lumière
Le voilà rassuré.
Dans une petite maison
Il entre sans frapper,
Et pour se réchauffer,
S'assoit sur le poêle rouge,
Et d'un coup disparaît
Ne laissant que sa pipe
Au milieu d'une flaque
d'eau,
Ne laissant que sa pipe
Et puis son vieux chapeau.
Online versions
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZOL5hk6r0w
• http://www.frenchtoday.com/french-poetry-reading/chanson-pour-
les-enfants-l-hiver-jacques-prevert-song-french-poem-video (at 1’30)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFQjNUP2CJs
Criteria: why use this?
• Well-known by young people in the original
culture
• Length is appropriate
• Lexis is approachable
• Fit with scheme of work in Winter
• Available online
• Multisensory input enables flexible exploitation
What is ‘Literature’?
• short stories
• new articles
• songs
• magazine articles
• publications
• scenes from plays
• poetry/song lyrics
• poem forms such as haiku, Elfchen,
•
•
•
•
•
luunes
fairy tales / Märchen
rhymes
tongue twisters
letters
jokes
•
•
•
•
•
myths and legends
Cartoon strips, comics
proverbs
film clips
adverts , posters
• Books with bright illustrations and
limited and readily understandable
text
• Books including those written
originally in English and become
international children’s classics
What is Literature for?
Even if it is not ‘great literature’ a text may be worth using
because…
• Students like it
• Students respond to it
• It shows interesting things about language
• It helps people learn more about …
Where to look for
Literature?
A good starting point is the ALL Literature wiki:
http://ALL-Literature.wikidot.com
• Contributions from language teachers
• Suggested texts and approaches for their exploitation
• Extensive list of sources of texts
Online
• Advantage of having mixed media available
Bookshops
Partner schools
Cultural agencies
ALL Literature Wiki
http://ALL-Literature.wikidot.com
• Case Studies from teachers
• For example: Bertolt Brecht, "Vergnügungen" from
Louise Watson
Key principles
Some key principles are emerging…
• Some texts are interesting and valuable to use even if
they are not ‘great literature’
• A literary text is a great stimulus for creative writing,
and/or for performance
• To be successful in class, any text has to be ageappropriate either in terms of its content or in terms
of the activity you do with it; an authentic text can be
used with learners of different ages, by adjusting the
learning activity.
Contents of the
right side bar
• Introduction to the wiki
• What is our rationale?
• What is literature?
• Pedagogy and Research
• Curriculum starting points
• Advice on using literature in the classroom
• Background reading
• Online sources of texts
• Culture for teachers
Diversity of texts
• Using a song lyric
Modernise the
tongue twister
• http://rapgenius.com/Soviet-suprem-rongrakatikatong-lyrics
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmunf08BIzE
• Ta tantine t'a quitté, t'es tout dégouté, tenté de te
tuer, de tout oublier, de sauter du toit
• Tu te tortures dans ta tuture, fais le tour de tes tares,
pour savoir qui c'est qui qu'a tort
• Si tu mérites que la tantine se tire avec tes tétards, un
tantinet têtu tu voudrais savoir
• Tu veux la test, la taire, la toaster en tutu, la retourner,
lui faire tâter du tatami
Getting going
with planning
• Be pragmatic!
• Piloting: choose a class which is likely to respond
positively
• Choose a text that will multitask
• Be diverse!
• Choose a text you can use in interesting ways
Playing with text
• Performing
• Extending
• Transposing
• Adapting
• Personalising
• Interpreting / translating key bits
• Recycling
• Reviewing
Text type: story
Learners:
…enact a scene from the story (performing)
…predict the next event and write / narrate it (extending)
…re-write / present in style of a news report (transposing)
…use the structure to write a new account (adapting)
…retell in their own words (personalising)
…translate / interpret their favourite bit
…extract language they wish to use themselves (recycling)
…offer opinions (with explanation if appropriate) about the text
(reviewing)
Personalising
• Read / view an interview with Z
• Invent your own interview with X (in recorded speech
or writing)
• Read / view a blog item such as:
http://www.n-punto.com/gratitud/
• Invent your own
Gratitud
n-punto| Publicado:Lunes, 1 diciembre, 2014
Gracias por:
El aire que respiro
Por que puedo hablar
Por el techo donde vivo
Por el cuerpo
Por el trabajo
Por estar vivo
Por las amistades
…
Por que cada día tiene algo
diferente
Por el sol
Por la lluvia
Por la naturaleza
Por los animales
Por la comida
Por lo que no tengo
Por Táyna Rivera Llavona /
Especial para n-punto
http://www.n-punto.com/gratitud/
A reminder
Learning a language
…should also provide opportunities for them to
communicate for practical purposes, learn new ways
of thinking and read great literature in the original
language.
Planning for the classroom
• Diverse approaches
• Approaches starting from the whole text… and
elsewhere than the vocabulary / grammatical
features
Dans Paris - Paul Eluard
from ‘Les p’tites récitations de notre
enfance’ (First Editions)
Dans Paris il y a une rue;
Dans cette rue il y a une
maison;
Dans cette maison il y a un
escalier;
Dans cet escalier il y a une
chambre;
Dans cette chambre il y a
une table;
Sur cette table il y a un
tapis;
Sur ce tapis il y a une
cage;
Dans cette cage il y a un
nid;
Dans ce nid il y a un œuf,
Dans cet œuf il y a un
oiseau.
…
Online versions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvaB35LOQhY
Presented with voiceover (non-native speakers)
http://www.slideshare.net/astrinity/dans-paris
Slideshare file: images only
L'oiseau renversa l'œuf;
L'œuf renversa le nid;
Le nid renversa la cage;
La cage renversa le tapis;
Le tapis renversa la table;
La table renversa la
chambre;
La chambre renversa
l'escalier;
L'escalier renversa la
maison;
La maison renversa la rue;
La rue renversa la ville de
Paris.
Sources of texts
The ALL Literature wiki has an extensive listing of
online, and other, sources of texts. The online listing
includes:
Large repositories (national sites, cultural partner sites,
native speaker sites)
Individual pages with texts (often in several media, with
animated texts, audio or video support)
(NB: As with all online links, these may sometimes
lapse)
Non-fiction text
• This text in Spanish unpicks the confusion that many
share about our country
• With a partner, plan an activity to help Key Stage 3
learners see that they can access an authentic text
aimed at native speakers
• http://www.muyinteresante.es/cultura/arte-cultura/articulo/icual-es-la-
diferencia-entre-gran-bretana-reino-unido-e-inglaterra
Inglaterra, Gran Bretaña, Reino Unido
En el lenguaje corriente,
estas tres nominaciones
se utilizan de forma indiscriminada para referirse al país habitado
por los británicos. Simplemente es un error.
En primer lugar, el nombre de Gran Bretaña hace alusión a una
unidad geográfica. Se trata de la mayor de las islas del
archipiélago británico, que está situada entre el continente, al
este y sur, e Irlanda, al oeste.
Esta isla menor conforma, junto a Gran Bretaña, las islas británicas.
Por el contrario, el Reino Unido define una unidad política:
el estado integrado por Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del Norte.
Su nombre oficial es Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del
Norte. El resto de Irlanda constituye un estado independiente.
Por último, Inglaterra es una de las tres regiones de Gran
Bretaña. Las otras dos son Escocia y País de Gales.
Other genres
Choosing a text such as a biographical / historical letter
…or newspaper headlines
…or a scene from a famous play or film
broadens again the range of interesting things learners
could explore, or respond to, around the text
Le moniteur universel,
1815
• L’anthropophage est sorti de son repaire
• L’ogre de Corse vient de débarquer au Golfe Juan.
• Le tigre est arrivé à Gap.
• Le monstre a couché à Grenoble.
• Le tyran a traversé Lyon.
Le moniteur universel,
1815
• L’anthropophage est sorti de son repaire
• L’ogre de Corse vient de débarquer au Golfe Juan.
• Le tigre est arrivé à Gap.
• Le monstre a couché à Grenoble.
• Le tyran a traversé Lyon.
• L’usurpateur a été vu à soixante lieues de la capitale.
• Bonaparte s’avance à grands pas, mais il n’entrera
jamais dans Paris.
• Napoléon sera demain sous nos remparts.
• L’Empereur est arrivé à Fontainebleau.
• Sa Majesté Impériale et Royale a fait hier au soir son
entrée dans son château des Tuileries au milieu de ses
fidèles sujets.
Next editions!
Follow-up sessions will include:
• Planning (short, medium and long term)
• Considering other aspects of progression
• Diverse strategies for working with texts
• Special occasions
• More selected examples from the wiki
Action plan
• An Action Plan handout is available
• It serves to make a record now of what you plan to
undertake before the next session
Objectives reviewed
• explore and reflect on curriculum requirements
• discuss the relevance of text types
• observe suggested texts and exemplification of how
language teachers exploit them
• devise strategies for practice
• consider progression issues
• raise questions and share professional thinking
• inform an individual action plan leading into the
follow-up sessions
http://ALL-Literature.wikidot.com
Explore the wiki
Locate one or two texts to explore next time
ALL Literature Wiki
• Areas to begin from:
• What is our rationale?
• Advice on using literature in the classroom
• Online sources of texts
• The Book Box for your language
• Remember the search function
• If you Join the Site you can see the attachments – so
please do!
Evaluation
One of the curriculum requirements is:
 discover and develop an appreciation of a range of
writing in the language studied
We hope you have appreciated this session and that
you can leave the presenter with a brief review
Happy reading!