GCSE English Literature Contrast Poetry..DD on the edge please help!

Yes @Proudcarerr. The grid will be something the teacher has created to help with revision, but there’s a line in the mark scheme that says something like “credit all valid interpretations” (or similar). Basically, so long as the pupil can support their ideas (e.g. with a quotation or well reasoned argument) their answer is ‘correct’.

Can I ask a question please.. we have a grid with the different poem themes. If there's a comparison question and the student picks a theme that isn't the same 'in the grid' but manages to intemperate it in their own way to fit the theme does that count?

Ugh, DS1 has the same issue, bookmarking!

The poem set in the exam is given to the student tho so they don't need to learn that one IYSWIM (obvs need to be able to discuss it but the text is there). They need a range depending on the theme of the set poem, hence learning 5-6 of them.

I just think it's really really hard for these students. 15 is far too many.

I asked my ds teacher and the exam could feature ANY of the 15 poems so they need to know them all I was told. I think they actually select one of the poems for them to compare to anothet poem not ask them to pick their own from the 15 poems. That's what I believe but can someone come along and confirm?

To add to this - I’m guessing that this is for an exam on Wednesday and after that she can forget the lot!!

good luck to her - sounds like a diligent student ❤️

I've often reminded students that quotations can be single words and marks are awarded for references as well as quotations (certainly for AQA and I think Edexcel is similar).

When my students are struggling I encourage them to learn a couple of key words/phrases and the big idea for the poems. If they can talk about themes and ideas then they will pick marks up still.

@woesofme if she just reads the poems once every day how long do you think it would take her? Ds read his from the revision guide so whilst he is reading them all the different highlighted bits are there to be seen and hopefully absorbed into his brain. It doesn't take as long at all. Get her to read them aloud too, it helps with it sticking.

She will know more than she thinks, she doesn't need to learn them off by heart, just bits she can quote out, not full quotes just a few words to detail her point. Ds just worked on the ones that covered the most themes.

This is normal full blown panic mode, most children go through it at some point with maybe every subject or just a couple. Remind her this will all be over very soon, no one will ever ask her again to compare poems. Ds felt that kept him very motivated

They’re closed book again now @TollgateDebs

In some ways it’s better - we no longer have to watch pupils read the book in their exams, but it definitely piles the pressure on.

My exams were from the closed book days, so (like another poster) I made a song up of the quotes and tried to remember that! It worked well enough to get me through.

I was wondering this.
I said to my son does it matter if you get the quote slightly wrong and he said he thought they had to be exact

Totally agree. When I did it back in the late 90s I believe we had to learn about 6?
Anyway I learnt them off by heart but I really didn't understand them I was just good at reciting them.

This is really helpful..also having the same issues!!!

OP I was going to post what everyone else said then saw that they had! Also my knowledge is more AQA and I see some teachers of Edexcel have posted here so that's great.

So just to add that this is great news that your DD is feeling more positive. Well done to her already and best of luck for the exams. MN can be such a helpful and supportive forum.

I'm a secondary English teacher and I agree with the above - choose a smaller number of poems to know really well (6-8) can work. It's so rubbish that the whole thing is closed book, ridiculous memory test.

Get the CGP guide on Edexcel conflict - on the back page they have a grid for comparison poems. While AQA have repeated poems Edexcel have not repeated yet. Their unexamined poems are Class Game, Cousin Kate, COTLB, Prelude, Sennacherib, and The Man He Killed. Make sure she knows Exposure, Belfast Confetti, Catrin, and one of the other identity poems.

@NormasJeans they are the AQA poems - OP's DC is doing Edexel

Just like the others have said - working knowledge of all 15 (like “this one is about…”) and then choose five to revise in detail. That way, whichever one comes up on the paper will at least be recognisable for her, and she can choose one of her five as the comparison. It’s only worth 20 marks. She should spend half as much time revising this as she does for her Shakespeare / Modern Text / 19th C Lit (which are worth 40 marks each).

Also, any poems she's really stuck on, there's a series of videos on YouTube for the poems, one for each. Put "Edexcel conflict poetry Mary Meredith" into the search box and choose the one she needs to revise from the list.

I teach this exact thing.

She needs to know one poem per theme - War/ Family or personal conflict /Prejudice/ Nature. She doesn't need to know a quotation for each one though it can be helpful; what she needs to know is something she can say about language eg Cousin Kate has several oxymorons to show the narrator's conflicted thoughts; something about structure eg the rhythm of Charge of the LB is designed to replicate the cantering horses to make it more immersive. She also needs to know something about the context of her chosen poems. Then she also needs to mug up Poppies as that covers all the themes except race so she can relate that to the poem she gets if the named poem is one of her chosen ones. Finally a quick re-read of the others just to give her confidence if one of them comes up.

Is there a revision guide? DD is doing AQA Power and Conflict and from what I can see (Eng Lit graduate) the York Notes do a great job in breaking down what to compare with what in terms of themes etc. There are other good tools online that help get to grips with the texts and far more productive than just staring at index cards of quotes etc. Though they do of course need the key bits memorized too,

Yes, it makes me cross that they don't just have a clean copy of the anthology like they do at A Level. Best of luck to your daughter!