Newsletter 1 - August 2022
Hello,
Welcome to the first InThinking MYP English Language & Literature Newsletter!
I'm excited to introduce you to the new InThinking MYP English Language & Literature subject site and share some tips for exploring it.
Subject Site Launch
We launched the site last week and have already built a strong and growing community of subscribers.
You can sign up for access to the website at https://www.thinkib.net/myp-englishalanglit Click the red subscribe (free) tab and follow the instructions to subscribe. Access to the website is free of charge!
The website is an all-encompassing, content-rich resource for MYP Language & Literature teachers. Areas of the website include an overview of Course Philosophy, Unit Planning and everything you need to know and understand about Assessment. The site has many Language & Literature unit plans for all years of the programme, many more units are coming soon and there are lots of suggestions for teaching strategies and in-site access for your classes and students.
The short video below introduces the website.
Unit Plans, Teaching Ideas and Texts
Often MYP Language & Literature teachers tell me they are looking for text ideas to use in their classrooms. The new website provides you with ‘ready to teach’ units including student ‘Texts to Go.’
The short video below shows an example of how to use the site through one of the ready-to-teach units, the Gothic Literature unit.
In brief, the site is a one-stop resource for MYP English Language and Literature. It includes a wide range of teaching and learning suggestions, formative and summative assessments, Approaches to Learning and Approaches to Teaching ideas and much more!
Student Access to the Site
One of the valuable aspects of the website is the possibility for teachers to create class groups and student assignments within the website. Teachers can assign pages for students to study and formative quizzes and summative assessment tasks for completion on the website. These features simplify the teaching and learning process, including setting and marking student assessments, recording student achievement and providing feedback.
In the short video below, I explain how to set up classes for your students on the website.
More Units to Explore
Once you have subscribed to the website, you will have access to all the resources. Below is a taster of some of the 'ready-to-teach' units available on the site.
Magical Realism
Magical realism is a genre of literature that depicts the real world as having an undercurrent of magic or fantasy. It is one of the most unique literary movements of the last century. While most commonly...
#Activism and Protest
In recent years, young people have spoken out to address the problems our world faces today. Their voices are both unique, powerful and passionate. In the #Activism and Protest unit, students read and...
Speeches of our Time
Words are powerful and put in the hands of skilful orators, they can inspire, heal and change our world. Reading, watching and studying the rhetorical techniques speakers use to build and support their...
Gothic Literature
Always popular with students, the Gothic Literature unit provides an opportunity to inquire into the Gothic literary genre. The elements of horror, death and darkness are combined with nature, romance...
Nature Poetry
Exploring poems about the natural world from different times and places presents our students with many opportunities to develop their appreciation and love for the artistry of using words to create images...
Short Stories around the World
This short story unit includes voices and stories from around the world and offers the possibility of broadening our students' perspectives by introducing them to differing global perspectives. At the...
New Lives: Perspectives on Migration
The topic of migration has been popular in world literature across time. With the advent of social media, understanding the nature of the experience of young refugees, migration and the emotions of those...
I am ME!
Reading, discussing and analysing short stories with the theme of identity helps students to reflect on their unique individual identities, their perspectives about the character traits of others and...
Lest we Forget: War Poetry
In this unit, students explore poems with the theme of war and conflict and the role and reliability of poetry in shaping our perceptions about war and its outcomes. Students begin by reading and discussing...
Poetry of Witness
Students read and discuss the power and message of a number of poems of witness connected with historical moments. They identify, analyse and explain the effective use of poetic techniques poets use...
Young Writers of the Holocaust
Anne Frank's Diary and Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night both include eyewitness accounts, daily impressions and emotions that paint a picture of one of the ugliest darkest moments in the history of humankind....
Keep Up-to-Date with New Resources
The InThinking MYP Language & Literature website is a work in progress and I plan to upload many new resources over the next few weeks. I'd like to encourage you to sign up to the social media pages below and check back regularly to view and access new resources as they are released
Facebook Instagram LinkedIn. Twitter
If you have questions, comments, resources and suggestions that you would like to share with me, I would love to hear them! There's a comments box at the bottom of every page on the website and I will try to respond to you within 24 hours.
Wishing you the very best for the start of the school year and a wonderful year ahead.
Kate Beatty