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Granny's Last Letter Free
In January 2001, I received a letter. It was from my grandmother, and it was the last letter she ever sent me. She died a few weeks later, in February. I remember taking news of her death on a cold,...
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Letters in Context
The Language and Literature course has nine aims. These include (developing) an appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of texts, promoting enjoyment in language and literature, and understanding the...
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WT SL (Hinglish)
The following Written Task doesn’t quite get it right. It’s not, in fact, bad. Indeed, the rationale is reasonably promising; it suggests the student has adequate insight into her Part 1 studies. And,...
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Language and Gender
Bette Davis apparently said, ‘when a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch’. You get her point. Issues around language and gender are often charged, and sometimes...
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Literature, Characterisation, and the IB Learner Profile
Here’s a simple activity: It can be used to explore the IB Learner Profile, texts studied in class, and students’ wider reading. It can work as a ‘getting to know you activity’, or it may be used as a...
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The Preconception Game
Quite early in the Language and Literature course, teachers will want to get their students to do some self-reflection. Students, if they are going to recognize that meaning in texts is constructed, must...
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Characterisation: A Values Profile
Everyone who reads will have favourite characters, memorable figures such as Jay Gatsby, Othello, Miss Havisham, Harry ‘Rabbit’ Angstrom, and Elizabeth Bennett, who populate works of literary fiction...
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Conflict, Literature, and Advertising Free
The IB, in its mission statement, aims to create a better and more peaceful world. Who would argue with that? At the same time, some schools – IB schools – offer, as part of their co-curricular activities,...
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Switcheroo and the power of clothes Free
Hanna Pesut, an artist from Canada, recently conducted a photo project in which she took pictures of heterosexual couples wearing each other’s clothes. Discussion about Hana Pesut's project has recently...
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Teaching Textual Analysis with Textbooks
Review: Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax and Tone (2000) by Nancy Dean and This Means This This Means That: A User’s Guide to Semiotics (2007) by Sean Hall...