New texts for A Level English teaching

What goes around..

If you are an A Level English teacher preparing your resources in order to meet the requirements of the new 2015 specifications, you will notice that some texts feature prominently in the new syllabuses, whilst others, although recently taught, are no longer present. Long-standing teachers will have seen the exam ‘canon’ change a number of times over the years and will wisely archive soon to be obsolete resources for the inevitable future when they will reappear again. What goes around comes around.

However, after the upheaval to the AS and A Level English syllabuses imposed by the government reforms, most of the exam boards are suggesting that there will be few changes to the texts specified for first teaching in 2015, until 2020. The resources you draw on and create will be in use for a long time so it pays to ‘invest wisely’.

Crossref-it.info textguides on 2015 specification set texts

If you will be teaching any of the following A Level Lit. or Lang./Lit syllabuses, look out for the academically rigorous Crossref-it.info guides on the texts they feature:

AQA

• Lit. A – guides on Persuasion / Jane Eyre / Wuthering Heights / Tess of the d’Urbervilles / The Great Gatsby / The Handmaid’s Tale / The war poetry of Wilfred Owen / Measure for Measure / The Winter’s Tale
• Lit. B – guides on Tess of the d’Urbervilles / The Great Gatsby / The Handmaid’s Tale / Songs of Innocence & Experience / Hamlet / (coming soon) King Lear
• Lang. & Lit. – Frankenstein / The Great Gatsby / The Handmaid’s Tale / selected poems by John Donne

Cambridge Pre U

• Lit. in English - Jane Eyre / Dubliners / The Pardoner’s Prologue & Tale / selected poems by Herbert; Hamlet / Measure for Measure  / The Winter’s Tale

Cambridge International

• Lit. + Lang. & Lit. – Wuthering Heights / Great Expectations / The Wife of Bath’s Prologue & Tale / selected poems by Christina Rossetti / The war poetry of Wilfred Owen / Measure for Measure 

Edexcel

• Lit. - Frankenstein / Wuthering Heights / Tess of the d’Urbervilles / The Handmaid’s Tale  The  The Wife of Bath’s Prologue & Tale  / selected Metaphysical poetry / selected poems by John Donne / selected poems by Christina Rossetti / Doctor Faustus / Hamlet / Measure for Measure  / (coming soon) King Lear
• Lang. & Lit. – Wuthering Heights / Tess of the d’Urbervilles / The Great Gatsby / Great Expectations / Wide Sargasso Sea /  The Wife of Bath’s Prologue & Tale  / selected Metaphysical poetry / selected poems by Christina Rossetti / Hamlet / Equus

OCR

• Lit. - The Great Gatsby / The Handmaid’s Tale / selected poems by Christina Rossetti / Hamlet / Measure for Measure 
• Lang. & Lit. – Jane Eyre / The Great Gatsby / Songs of Innocence & Experience

WJEC

• Lit. - Jane Eyre  selected poems by John Donne / selected poems by Christina Rossetti/ Doctor Faustus / Hamlet / (coming soon) King Lear
• Lang. & Lit. – Great Expectations / Wuthering Heights / Tess of the d’Urbervilles / The Handmaid’s Tale  (coming soon) King Lear

Every good wish with your planning and preparation!

English teaching looking forwards

A Level English reforms

At last, all the A Level English exam boards have had each of their proposed specifications accredited. This means that, from September 2015 there are a raft of new texts and new themes around which A Level Literature study will be focused.

Yes … more planning!

Unfortunately, the introduction of different texts and the reorganisation of how they will be taught means rather a lot of work for already busy A Level English teachers. Whilst some of the new specifications have been available in their approved form since September 2014, others only came out in December, which means some rather speedy catching up!

But help is at hand

We are really pleased that Crossref-it.info resources already cover many areas suggested within the new syllabuses.

Themes linking texts

• For those considering the AQA Lit A and Edexcel Lit. exams, which feature an exploration of crime, its detection and punishment, why not have a look at the thematic ‘Only Connect’ approach on Villainy and vengeance?
• Alternatively, there is helpful ‘Only Connect’ material on Love, lust and marriage if you are considering the Edexcel Lit. & Lang., WJEC Lit. & Lang. or AQA Lit. A syllabus themes on Love, romance and loss
• ‘Only Connect’ material on Women finding a voice will also be relevant if you are planning to teach Edexcel Lit., AQA Lit A. or OCR Lit. about representations of women within literature and society. You could also explore the material here for some starting points: Women and literature

Crossref-it.info is continuing to develop resources and if you have any ideas for literary themes which you would like to see covered, please get in touch at info@crossref-it.info.

Meanwhile, look out for our next blog about which texts we have guides on to help you and your students to exam success with the new 2015 specifications.

Enjoy the term!