British Library Learning
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The British Library Learning Team shares news on our collections, events & online resources for teachers, students, adult learners & families
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Discovering Literature's best-loved articles are available again.
From Othello to Orwell, Agard to Angela Carter, we've recovered a selection of 100 articles, films and classroom resources, perfect for English teachers of Years 10-13.
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Primary schools! Have you booked your free place yet?
This January, join
@MichaelRosenYes
,
@vivschwarz
@marastoryteller
& friends for live events & activities to inspire your children to write their own fairy tales.
Discover more & reserve your place:
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'A thing of beauty is a joy forever'
200 years ago today, John Keats died in Rome, aged only 25. Browse the beautiful manuscripts of 'To Autumn' & 'Ode to a Nightingale' and delve into pieces exploring his poems, his life and world:
#Keats200
#JohnKeats
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In Macbeth, Shakespeare coins an extraordinary number of words including 'assassination', 'unsex' & 'stealthy'.
In this piece, David Crystal shows how these linguistic innovations are central to the atmosphere of the play.
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Calling all children! The
@britishlibrary
needs your help to create a zoo of talking animals.
Write & illustrate your creature with tips from Axel Scheffler & let your imagination soar & flutter.
We'll repost your creations
#DiscoveringChildrensBooks
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Primary teachers & parents! Help yourselves to our free resources, inspired by the wonderful world of children's books:
Create a comic or cookbook, dream up an imaginary school, write an animal tale, a limerick or a giant book.
#DiscoveringChildrensBooks
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Teaching A Christmas Carol next term?
Delve into Charles Dickens' world with articles on child labour, ghosts and Victorian Christmas. Or find original sources on the treadmill and ragged schools.
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British Library asks nation's children to write miniature books in lockdown
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'So they went out in the dark, and all the street lamps were lit ... and they walked down the road to a café.'
See Judith Kerr's vibrant artworks for The Tiger Who Came to Tea on our
#DiscoveringChildrensBooks
website:
© Kerr-Kneale Productions Ltd 1968
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Just look at the space-themed wallpaper, the rocket toy, the patchwork quilt, and the monster's mug of tea! ‘Not now, Bernard’ is pure delight, and we're heartbroken to hear that the wondeful
#DavidMcKee
has passed away.
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‘I am Sir an Affrican – with two ffs – if you please'
Written in April 1779, this is one of the only surviving manuscript letters of Ignatius Sancho, the most famous Anglo-African in 18th-century Britain - a writer, shopkeeper & anti-slavery campaigner:
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Teaching children to plan & edit? We have fabulous drafts & notebooks to show the creative processes of
Roald Dahl:
SF Said:
David Almond:
Zanib Mian:
.. & many more
© David Almond
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I am 'not in good health of body nor of heart, nor shall I be till I hear from you'.
Happy Valentine’s day! This is probably the oldest surviving Valentine’s Day letter in English, from Margery Brews to her fiancé John Paston in February 1477.
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Huge congratulations to the brilliant
@MichaelRosenYes
. This is SO richly deserved ❤️
.
@MichaelRosenYes
has been awarded the
@englishpen
PEN Pinter Prize 2023 for what the judges described as his “rare, invaluable gift: the ability to address the most serious matters of life in a spirit of joy, humour and hope"
Read here:
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Thrilled to announce our latest free CPD for English teachers!
Join us on 28 Nov for a rich discussion of Frankenstein & Gothic lit in context, with Professor
@mary_fairclough
, teacher
@GCSE_Macbeth
, & teacher & member of
@NATE_diversitea
, Aaishah Rauf.
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'Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’ t'
This silver medal was made to remember the discovery of the Gunpowder plot in 1605. The snake among lilies & roses was used to symbolise Jesuit deception.
© Trustees of the British Museum
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You may be stuck indoors, but you can still go on an adventure! Make your own winged superhero and fly it through an imaginary world. What superpowers will your hero have?
We will retweet your creations
#DiscoveringChildrensBooks
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@AlwaysLearnWeb
@Team_English1
@TeamEnglishNC19
@EnglishWales
@PearsonTeachEng
We've put together collections of 19th-century non-fiction texts, arranged in themes, from crime and punishment to education. Hope they're useful!
@AlwaysLearnWeb
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English teachers! Are you joining us online at 4pm this Thursday?
We're thrilled to be running free CPD on Romeo and Juliet in context, with the brilliant Professor Emma Smith, teacher Patrick Cragg, and Interim Artistic Director of the RSC Erica Whyman.
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Huge congratulations to our very own
@sandrastorytime
, who has just been awarded the Benson Medal for services to literature & made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Our hearts are bursting! To hear one of her captivating stories see:
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'Look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t.’
The snake among lilies and roses symbolised Jesuit intrigue. This silver medal was made to commemorate the discovery of the Gunpowder plot in 1605.
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Teaching the poetry of conflict? Check out all our free resources, from poets' early manuscript drafts to close readings & contextual sources.
William Blake's 'London':
Ozymandias:
The Prelude:
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This exquisite notebook was inherited by William Blake, when his brother died in 1787. William probably started using it in February that year & kept it with him all his life.
Browse Blake's beautiful sketches and poetic drafts of 'London' & 'The Tyger':
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Here's a whole hub of completely free, reliable online resources exploring Macbeth in context.
Read Carol Atherton's brilliant article on the witches in the play
@Team_English1
@DoWise
@SPryke2
@AlwaysLearnWeb
@Xris32
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Alfred Tennyson changed 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' up to 20 times before it was published in the Examiner
#OTD
in 1854.
Check out this early proof version, where he moves the famous refrain up to the start of the poem:
© Tennyson Research Centre
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Looking for fresh ideas on teaching Macbeth in context? Help yourself to our free resources on ghosts & witches, manhood & kingship, Lady Macbeth & much more.
Or explore early witchcraft pamphlets, Holinshed's Chronicles & James VI and I's Demonology.
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Looking for fresh ideas to help you teach Macbeth in context?
Download two free resource packs, created with
@BL_Learning
by the brilliant
@EngMediaCentre
:
and
@GCSE_Macbeth
:
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#Didyouknow
the British Library holds the earliest known image of Stonehenge? The manuscript describes how & why King Aurelius & the wizard, Merlin, decide to create a stone circle.
#FolkloreThursday
#DiscoveringLiterature
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Don't forget we have fabulous free online resources, perfect for English students at home or at school:
An Inspector Calls:
Jekyll & Hyde:
Shakespeare:
Windrush Stories:
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Thrilled to have added Owen's draft of 'Exposure' to our website!
Join us to discuss this & other poems of conflict at our free CPD on 30 March, with
@DaljitNagra4
,
@GCSE_Macbeth
& Dr Linda Freedman:
©Wilfred Owen Literary Estate
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Don't forget - if you're planning work on 19th-century non-fiction - we have free packs of sources arranged by theme, from crime and punishment to gender and education.
#DiscoveringLiterature
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Teaching Frankenstein & other Gothic texts this coming autumn?
Dig into our free films, articles & sources to explore how Gothic fiction has intrigued & unsettled readers for more than two centuries
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From ‘dirty street’ to ‘charter’d street’ …
See the changes made by William Blake to his poem ‘London’ in this beautiful notebook on our
#DiscoveringLiterature
website:
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Time to get creative! Make your own talking animal, inspired by the tigers, cats and Gruffalos on
#DiscoveringChildrensBooks
.
Post your work using these hashtags, and together we’ll build a magical zoo.
#MakeaBook
#letsgetdigital
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Teaching Jekyll and Hyde?
Join our FREE twilight CPD on 9 Feb - for a rich discussion of doubles, identity & disability representation in Gothic literature, with Prof Emma Major, author & disability advocate
@jenvcampbell
& teacher-author
@GCSE_Macbeth
.
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English teachers! We've created handy summaries of some of our best resources for KS4 teachers & students. Help yourselves!
Macbeth
A Christmas Carol
Jane Eyre
An Inspector Calls
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Teaching Romeo and Juliet? We've got a whole hub of free resources to put the play in context. See the poem that inspired Shakespeare, or read illustrated articles on everything from marriage to Juliet's eloquence.
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We completely agree that reading is a superpower & school librarians are some of our greatest superheroes! Can we borrow that cape sometime? Fabulous stuff.
#DiscoveringChildrensBooks
More of these please:
@CILIPCKG
@CILIPinfo
@neilhimself
@whatSFSaid
Today's
#DailyChallenge
for
#EdinburghSchoolLibrarians
is brought to you by
@BL_Learning
! Reading is an important skill for superheroes!
#UnitedByBooks
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J B Priestley volunteered for the army in September 1914, aged 19. Read how his experiences of two World Wars shaped his socialist beliefs in An Inspector Calls
© Estate of J B Priestley
© J B Priestley Archive, Special Collections, University of Bradford
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Which texts are you teaching next year?
Discovering Literature is a treasure trove for English teachers - with free resources on
Romeo & Juliet
A Christmas Carol
An Inspector Calls
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Have you seen our free Teacher's Toolkit on Macbeth written by
@EngMediaCentre
with
@BL_Learning
?
It's full of creative ideas for using
#DiscoveringLiterature
to explore the play, its context & critics.
.
Illustrations © Hannah Buckman
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A spaghetti monster springs out of the fridge, a hideous sea creature crashes through the bathroom wall, a miserable ghost lurks in the bedroom. We never tire of the wit and ingenuity of Haunted House by the incomparable
#JanPie
ńkowski, who died yesterday
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This spring, we're celebrating the magic of fairy tales & inviting children to cook up their very own. Join
@MichaelRosenYes
and
@marastoryteller
for tips for the perfect story recipe: . Share children's work by March 31, tagging
@BL_Learning
...1/2
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You write, I'll draw. Our new campaign celebrates author-illustrator partnerships & invites children to team up & create their own picture books. To find out more, watch magnificent
@MichaelRosenYes
with illustrations by
@AFatimaharan
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Join a host of wonderful authors, including Joseph Coelho
@UKLaureate
, to Step Inside Your Story!
We’re celebrating inclusivity in children's books, inviting young writers to make concertina books about themselves. Discover more & enter our prize draw at:
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‘And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the Daffodils’
Happy birthday William Wordsworth, born
#OTD
1770! Delve into the manuscripts of ‘The Prelude’ & ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’:
© Dove Cottage, Wordsworth Trust
#DiscoveringLiterature
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Lewis Carroll was born
#otd
in 1832
Discover how he created
#AliceinWonderland
– & see the original manuscript!
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On 1 Jan 1916, J B Priestley wrote this letter by candlelight in the trenches of France. He captures the horror of warfare & makes poignant requests for ‘sixpenny novels’ & ‘Mackintosh’s Chocolate Toffees’
© Estate of J B Priestley © J B Priestley Archive
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The first recorded performance of
#Shakespeare
's brilliant comedy, Twelfth Night, took place here &
#otd
in 1602
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Looking for fresh ideas on 19th-century novels in context? We have rich articles, videos, reviews & visual sources on
A Christmas Carol
Jekyll & Hyde
Frankenstein
Pride & Prejudice
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Master of the macabre, Edgar Allen Poe, was born
#OTD
in 1809.
On his birthday, explore the Gothic, the doppelgänger & the uncanny on our
#DiscoveringLiterature
website:
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It was a privilege to view
#ShirleyHughes
’ archive
@7Stories
in 2019. Her images are packed with detail, from the glow outside the bedroom to the children's art on the wall; from a homemade dolls' cradle to a pair of scarlet slippers. She was magnificent & will be missed terribly
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English teachers! Join us at 4pm on 9 May for free CPD exploring An Inspector Calls in context, with fresh ideas & insights from author
@RachelDEdwards
, curator
@PollyRussell1
& teacher-author
@mrsbrewtandcake
.
Book your free place:
© The Old Vic Theatre
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On this dark evening, delve into John Mullan's excellent article exploring how Shakespeare conjures the sense of growing darkness in Macbeth.
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English teachers! For autumn, here are some treats for you.
First up, a hub of resources to bring A Christmas Carol to life. Explore expert articles, videos & primary sources on ghosts, Victorian Christmas, ragged schools & much more.
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Have you downloaded yours yet? Our free Teacher's Toolkit on Macbeth is written by
@EngMediaCentre
with
@BL_Learning
. It's brimming with ideas for using
#DiscoveringLiterature
to explore the play, its context & critics.
. Illustrations © Hannah Buckman
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In October 1774, the writer, composer, grocer and abolitionist Ignatius Sancho became the first person of African descent to vote in a British general election.
Here's his remarkable voting record.
© Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
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Teaching Chaucer, Beowulf or language change? Today we launch our new free Discovering Literature: Medieval site!
#teamenglish
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This spooky season, pick up some treats for English teachers.👻
Professor John Mullan explores the role of ghosts in A Christmas Carol - from comical and grotesque to moral and allegorical.
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Our free website on Shakespeare is a treasure trove for English teachers.
Click on Works to find your text, or browse Themes to explore plays in context.
We've got articles on Shakespeare's life & world, power & politics, gender, madness & much more.
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Teaching dystopian fiction?
Our hub of resources explores how writers imagine the future and prepare for the unknown.
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Do your English A level students know about our free resources - perfect for revision and contextual research?
A whole host of texts including:
Othello:
Hamlet:
Frankenstein:
Donne:
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English teachers! Booking is open for our next free CPD, exploring Romeo & Juliet on 13 July.
Join Professor Emma Smith, Interim Artistic Director of the RSC
@EricaWhyman
, & teacher Patrick Cragg for a rich discussion of the play in context.
4
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99
Have you seen all our free resources on the poetry of conflict, from poets' manuscript drafts to close readings & contextual sources?
'Checking Out Me History' & 'Half Caste':
Blake's 'London':
'Ozymandias':
2
41
99
Explore the drafts of 'London' and 'The Tyger' in William Blake's stunning notebook.
Read how Blake's changes to 'London' reveal his shifting ideas on imagination and revolution.
2
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92
Looking for fresh ways of teaching A Christmas Carol?
Help yourself to our free resources:
Imogen Lee looks at the vital impact of Ragged Schools:
Simon Callow discusses Dickens & the Christmas feast:
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'First a warning, musical; then the hour, irrevocable.'
Virginia Woolf was born
#OTD
in 1882. On her birthday, explore her remarkable notebooks containing the draft of Mrs Dalloway - originally called 'The Hours':
Image by Harriet Lee-Merrion
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#OnThisDay
in 1864, Lewis Carroll presented Alice Liddell with this stunning manuscript as a very early Christmas gift:
See the whole fabulous story of 'Alice's Adventures Under Ground' on our
#DiscoveringChildrensBooks
website.
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"Bah!" said Scrooge, "Humbug!"
Dickens's A Christmas Carol was first published
#onthisday
in 1843.
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Bram Stoker was born
#otd
in 1847.
Explore how Dracula reflects the fears that haunted late 19th-century society:
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English teachers, join us for free spring CPD events!
Explore Jekyll & Hyde with author & disability advocate
@jenvcampbell
, Professor Emma Major &
@GCSE_Macbeth
Discuss poetry of conflict with
@DaljitNagra4
& Dr Linda Freedman
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J B Priestley died
#OnThisDay
1984. 'An Inspector Calls', a morality play disguised as a detective thriller, is one of his most famous works. We asked
@chris_power
to tell us more about the play via our
#DiscoveringLiterature
website:
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Teaching John Agard's 'Checking Out Me History'?
Read Daljit Nagra's brilliant analysis of the poem and explore the context on our Windrush Stories website.
Illustration © Hannah Buckman
@Team_English1
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Looking for 19th-century essays?
Here's Charles Dickens' first writing about Christmas, advising readers to count their blessings and 'dwell not upon the past'.
Find a whole host of essays on
#DiscoveringLiterature
:
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This
#RefugeeWeek2020
, explore the sketches and original artworks for When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit – Judith Kerr’s extraordinary book, inspired by her escape from Nazi Germany in 1933
© Judith Kerr © Kerr-Kneale Productions Ltd 1971.
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Teachers: We're sorry we haven't been in touch for a while. We're working hard to restore our services but disruption is expected to persist for several months. In the meantime, here are some resources that you can access to support your teaching of English Literature (1/3)
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Looking for fresh ideas on teaching Macbeth in context? Help yourself to our free resources on ghosts & witches, manhood & kingship, Lady Macbeth & much more.
Or explore early witchcraft pamphlets, Holinshed's Chronicles & James VI and I's Demonology.
1
25
91
@chezzalou_scott
@Eng_teacher96
@FunkyPedagogy
@Team_English1
@eduqas
Here are all our free articles and contextual sources for An Inspector Calls:
Really hope they're useful!
Photo © Philip Carter
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@Lit_liverbird
@sabaaa_h
@LitdriveUK
@litfanatic
@Team_English1
@EnglishWales
@TeamEnglishNC
@FunkyPedagogy
@MrTs_NQTs
Help yourselves to our free resources on A Christmas Carol and Macbeth. Hope they're useful!
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Just launched: our new RE resources for Key Stage 2 teachers!
Bring unique sacred texts into your classroom with our set of lessons - each packed full of images, film clips and activities for students:
Created by Lisa Kassapian and Claire Clinton
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On Thomas Hardy's birthday, explore his manuscript of Tess of the D'Urbervilles and discover our rich resources on Hardy's work, his life and his world:
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Shakespeare set many of his plays in Italy, though he almost certainly never went there.
John Mullan explores how the Bard was influenced by Italian geography, culture and politics.
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English teachers! Join us on 24 June for free twilight CPD on Frankenstein & Gothic literature in context:
Book your place for this rich discussion with Professor
@mary_fairclough
, teacher
@GCSE_Macbeth
, & teacher & member of
@NATE_diversitea
Aaishah Rauf.
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Down behind the dustbin,
@MichaelRosenYes
met a dog called Jim. But he’s lost the end of his poem! Can you help?
Discover more films & tips to help you create your own books with
@WhatSFSaid
,
@suehendra
,
@MaisieWrites
,
@OjiBrown73
& more!
© Michael Rosen
4
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Have you booked your free place for our CPD on Romeo & Juliet at 4pm on 13 July, with Professor Emma Smith, Interim Artistic Director of the RSC Erica Whyman & teacher Patrick Cragg?
Reply below with questions to put to our fabulous speakers on the day.
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32
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Check out our free range of short films on literature in context - perfect for online learning.
From Gender in 19th-century Britain to Features of The Gothic, William Blake's radicalism, The Origins of A Christmas Carol... & much more.
Just click here:
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On Robert Louis Stevenson's birthday, explore our free resources on his Gothic masterpiece, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Read pieces on Darwinism, duality and Gothic fiction or lurid early tabloids on the Jack the Ripper Murders.
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Happy birthday William Morris, social reformer & designer, born
#OTD
in 1834.
Here's the magnificent Kelmscott Chaucer, made by the company Morris set up to revive the skill & beauty of hand printing:
Explore Chaucer in context:
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‘I am Dracula. And I bid you welcome’.
Happy birthday to Bram Stoker, born
#OnThisDay
in 1847. Face your fears, with this brilliant piece on mutating bodies and disturbed minds in Victorian Gothic fiction.
5
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Secondary schools! Don't miss our fabulous free livestreamed event with award-winning author
@jeffreykboakye
& curator
@Aleemagray
, exploring Black British history through music.
Book your place:
July 1. Perfect for Yrs 7-10 English, History & Music
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What’s the smallest book you can think of? Who would you read it with? What will you write or draw in it?
Learn how to make your own tiny book on
#DiscoveringChildrensBooks
for
#WorldBookDay
!
#kidslit
#kidslitart
#lifeinminiature
1
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84
Teaching Gothic literature? Don't miss our free twilight CPD on 24 June, with Professor
@mary_fairclough
& teachers
@GCSE_Macbeth
& Aaishah Rauf.
Book your place now:
If you booked in 2023, please re-register to get the new joining link!
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Happy birthday J B Priestley, born
#OTD
1894!
Delve into a hub of resources on his life & work – from a photo of Priestley as a lance corporal in 1915, to an early Russian poster for An Inspector Calls.
© J B Priestley Archive © Estate of J B Priestley
1
25
81
Make a miniature book with Axel Scheffler!
Join the Gruffalo illustrator at 11am on 19 January for a special live broadcast for schools, with the fabulous
@7Stories
.
Recommended age: Y3-Y6. Registration is FREE and open to schools anywhere:
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Read the personal story of
@FloellaBenjamin
, who arrived in Britain in 1960 from Trinidad & considers herself part of the
#Windrush
generation:
Photograph courtesy of Floella Benjamin
2/3
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On the anniversary of
#OscarWilde
’s death, we revisit his brilliant comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest:
#otd
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Many happy returns to dear Quentin Blake who turns 90 today! Thank you so much for your support. (And for anyone who fancies some wintery colouring, look no further: )
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J B Priestley died
#OnThisDay
in 1984.
Discover a range of resources perfect for KS4 teachers - from Priestley's personal scrapbook & letter from the trenches to production photos & articles on his politics in An Inspector Calls.
Photo © Philip Carter
0
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Secondary schools! Are you joining our special FREE livestreamed event exploring Black British history through music, with award-winning author
@jeffreykboakye
& curator
@Aleemagray
?
Book now:
1 July 10.30am, Perfect for Yrs 7-10 History, English & Music.
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