English
Resources to support and enhance TV programmes for the classroom
21st Century Bard – The Making of Twelfth Night: part 1
KS4 / GCSE / A Level. Scottish levels E / F / SG / NQs
These programme notes support the Film Focus television series which goes behind the scenes to investigate the making of 4Learning's production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
Arrows of Desire: programmes 1–4
KS3 / 4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels E / F / SG / NQs
Programme notes with suggestions for classroom use and links to other relevant websites to support this ambitious poetry series.
Arrows of Desire: progs 5–8
KS3 / 4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels E / F / SG / NQs
Programme notes with suggestions for classroom use and links to other relevant websites to support this ambitious poetry series.
Arrows of Desire: programmes 9–12
KS3 / 4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels E / F / SG / NQs
Programme notes with suggestions for classroom use and links to other relevant websites to support this ambitious poetry series.
Book Box: Double Act
KS 2. Scottish levels B, C
Background information, activities, programme aims and outlines, curriculum relevance
Climbing Cold Mountain
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG / NQs
Programme notes
Coolaboola
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
Explores contemporary vernacular speech in Northern Ireland and how language is a living expression of people's history and identity.
The English Programme – Behind the Scenes at the RSC
KS4 / GCSE. Scottish levels SG / NQs
Behind the scenes access to the Royal Shakespeare Company's workshops and wardrobes gives a unique insight into theatrical production, from set and costume design to final performance.
The English Programme – Classic Short Prose
KS4 / GCSE. Scottish levels SG / NQs
An introduction nineteenth- and twentieth-century short stories, including Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Tell Tale Heart', Sylvia Plath's 'Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit' and Michèle Roberts' 'Your Shoes'.
The English Programme – Dark Tales
KS4 / GCSE. Scottish levels SG / NQs
A study of three major literary themes. 'Outsiders' looks at social exclusion in literature, from 'Frankenstein' to 'Catcher in the Rye', 'Cities at Night' considers the urban character of fiction, and 'Masks' looks at disguise and transformation.
The English Programme – Dockers
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG / NQs
Follow the making of Jimmy McGovern's 'Dockers', a TV drama about the 1996 Liverpool dockers' strike and their two-year fight to win back their jobs.
The English Programme – Film Focus: The Making of a Blockbuster
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG / NQs
The art of the film maker. Acclaimed director Baz Luhrmann gives a masterclass on his two films 'Strictly Ballroom' and 'Romeo and Juliet'. Also, go behind the scenes at the making of the nineteenth James Bond film 'The World Is Not Enough'.
The English Programme – Film Focus: Animation
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG, NQs
Exploring the craft and production processes of modern animated texts created for a variety of audiences, including an animated medieval poem, food commercials and a Disney feature film.
The English Programme – Gift of the Gab
KS4, GCSE. Scottish levels SG, NQs
Belfast novelist Glenn Patterson investigates the process by which writers first choose their genre and then their words.
The English Programme – Mirad, A Boy From Bosnia
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG / NQs
Set during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, the powerful story of a young Bosnian boy who has fled the war following his father's death and the abduction of his mother.
The English Programme – Not As Good As The Book
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG / NQs
Five classic novels and how they have been adapted for the small and large screen, including 'Pride and Prejudice', 'The Strange Case of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde', Jane Eyre', 'Great Expectations' and 'Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus'.
The English Programme – Passwords
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG, NQs
What is a poem? How does poetry differ from prose? What or who is a poem for? The poets Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy and Ted Hughes read and discuss their work.
The English Programme – Science Fiction
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG / NQs
The life, work and legacy of the English author H G Wells, most famous for his prophetic, science-fantasy novels which combine adventure and science with political comment on the uses of technology and the horrors of modern warfare.
The English Programme – Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG / NQs
An online resource with full recorded script, background information, character and key theme analyses plus a resource list to support the study of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The English Programme – William Wordsworth
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG / NQs
The life and work of poet William Wordsworth, whose poem 'Tintern Abbey' became a manifesto for the literary-political Romantic movement in England.
The English Programme – Writers from Wales
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG / NQs
Welsh writers working in the English language discuss their work and encourage students to produce their own writing in a featured genre, such as film, poetry or factual writing.
Haud Yer Tongue
KS2 / 3. Scottish levels D / E
Scottish writer and broadcaster Billy Kay explores language, identity and community from the Northern Isles to the Borders, focusing on the major Scots dialects, the Scottish literary tradition and contemporary Scottish writing.
Middle English: Attila the Hen
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
Discussion and writing frame activities based on the new animated version of Paddy Mounter's animal fable, for English critical appreciation and also media studies work at key stage 3.
Middle English: Cinderella
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
Resources for developing writing, oral and listening skills with ideas for media projects, discussion topics and classroom activities based on the Cinderella story, old and new.
Middle English: Henry V- England's Captain
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
Kenneth Branagh's film of Shakespeare's Henry V and the world of professional football come together uniquely in this exploration of the literary themes of leadership and patriotism.
Middle English: Hooked on Horror
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
A lively genre study of popular horror writing including 'Ghosts, Ghouls and the Supernatural', dealing with fear of the unknown, 'The Living Nightmare', on the psychology of evil, and 'The Horror Writer's Guide' on the art of horror writing.
Middle English: Macbeth
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
Online programme notes to accompany the television production of Shakespeare's Macbeth, directed by Michael Bogdanov starring Greta Scacchi: '..visually imaginative, moves at a cracking pace and features some excellent verse speaking.' (Time Out)
Middle English: The Tyger, The Rose and The Pleasure Dome
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
Twentieth-century poetry, exploring the themes of the natural world, romantic love, and place in poetry, featuring poems by Emily Dickinson, John Clare, Christina Rossetti, E E Cummings and others.
Middle English: Under the Hawthorn Tree
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
Introduction to the four-part television adaptation of Marita Conlon-Mckenna's acclaimed novel about three young survivors of the famine in Ireland, a story which raises a wide variety of social and political issues.
Middle English: The Write Stuff
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
Programme notes to accompany the lively television series presented by comedian Sean Hughes and poet John Hegley investigating three fundamentals of writing: handwriting, spelling and punctuation.
Middle English: Writing for Kicks
KS3. Scottish levels E / F
A resource which will appeal to both girls and boys, which aims to give literacy an extra appeal through the context of football, focussing on match reports, the Barnsley FC in-house poet and football fictions.
Samuel Beckett on Film
GCSE / A level. Scottish levels SG / NQs
During 1999/2000, all of Samuel Beckett's stage plays were filmed for the big screen. Eight of these, including the four longer plays, are being shown in the 4Learning schools schedule. Here you can find notes and a link to Channel 4's Beckett website.
The Illustrated Mum
KS2 / 3 / 4. Scottish levels C–F
Programme notes to support the television version of Jacqueline Wilson's hard-hitting drama which looks at what happens when children are forced to take on all the roles that parents are usually expected to deliver – nurturing, supporting, feeding and descipline.
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
KS 3 / 4, GCSE+. Scottish levels E / F / SG / NQs
A 65 page Activity Pack to accompany the contemporary TV adaptation of one of Shakespeare's most celebrated and loved plays, starring Parminder Nagra and Chiwetel Ejiofor, with soundtrack by award-winning composer Nitin Sawhney.
What's This Channel 4?
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish Level SG / NQs
Programme notes to support the television series which guides viewers through a 'typical day' at Channel 4, exploring the way in which the media institution works and makes programmes.
Why is there so much rubbish on telly?
KS4 / GCSE+. Scottish levels SG, NQs
Programme notes that provide lively, informed and accessible answers to everyday questions about television.
