Languages and literacy
Compare Scrooge and Fezziwig
Compare Scrooge and Fezziwig as employers using textual evidence, then explain how Scrooge changes across the five staves.
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English teacher
Joel Abraham
I pay attention when a class begins to disagree about a text, because that can be the moment pupils stop repeating a first response and start reading more closely.
Explore the collectionA little about me
I teach English from Year 7 to IGCSE. I pay attention when a class begins to disagree about a text, because that can be the moment pupils stop repeating a first response and start reading more closely. Different interpretations give us something to examine together.
I want pupils to point to details in the text and explain why they support a particular reading. If a claim is challenged, they can return to the passage, consider another possibility and revise what they think. Discussion becomes part of the analysis rather than a break from it.
I look for resources that give pupils a clear question and leave room for more than one evidence-based answer. A prompt can begin the conversation, but the follow-up matters: what detail led you there, and what might another reader notice? I value lessons where an argument helps pupils understand the text more deeply.
How I approach a lesson
Use disagreement to open closer reading.
Ask pupils to support interpretations with textual evidence.
Return to the text when considering an alternative reading.
Templates I'd use with my class
Explore these templates and decide what fits your own setting.
Languages and literacy
Phra Aphai Mani: characters, story and style
Develop an interpretation of character, plot, theme and poetic choices by selecting evidence from a class-approved English translation of Phra Aphai Mani.
Languages and literacy
Writing feedback rubric
Use criteria to describe strengths and a next step in a piece of writing, choose a level for each row and support the judgement with evidence from the text.