Higher English set texts

[StayAlertatHome]

Can anyone point me to a link that tells me the options for texts to study at Higher English please? I have tried the SQA site but just keep getting the Scottish Texts list. My powers of research are lacking today so I thought it would be quicker to ask on here.

‘Why don’t you email the English department at your school? I hear you ask. Well, the last time I asked for clarification about something from my son‘s English teacher, he was mortified because the teacher had a dig at him in class for having a ‘concerned mother’. So I’m forbidden from contacting her again (obviously I would if it was something important no matter what she thought about it!)

I know the Great Gatsby is on the list, possibly Macbeth, but not sure what else. Eternally grateful for any assistance given

Maybe @lidlfix might be able to help?

bbc bitesize has all the possible ones listed here.

www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zqxhfg8

There is no list of other literature to be studied teachers have autonomy (varying degrees school to school) on our choices .
Since you are forbidden from contacting the school, I am a Pure Beamer, Pain in the Arse Teacher Parent... so I get it, do they have a decent website where you could nosy at previous year's content for an educated guess.

It is all so up in the air at present. To be honest even in a normal year I don't start a major text before August as the class will change beyond recognition. We usually pick out Scottish Text first and then the other genres as they must answer on different ones in the exam.

Since we are in lockdown, schools are doing vast amounts of communication to home via emails, social media. Yours would be one of many that day . Thing is it's probably not decided, we are providing teaching that give the pupils transferable outcomes if (when) they change class and teacher . We think the courses will look different next year to reflect the chaotic start .

Sorry that was no help at all.

From that BBCbitesize link there is one text (Gatsby) that my fairly typical department teach at Higher.

Media is increasingly popular, my treat to myself after marking S1 - 3 remote learning is developing my sparkling new Higher Media Unit

What lidlfix just said. i'm a classroom assistant, also dd sat nat 5 Higher and Adv H English. Please don't rush to buy or start stuff until you know what the class is doing and it will depend what class your child is in. Mine always did poetry under the Scottish Texts part. For Higher she did Liz Lochead and for the novel she did the Great Gatsby, but the other class did Othello. I know the papers may have changed since 3 years ago!

The Great Gatsby is still on the list?! I hated that book so much I failed my higher English in 1990!

Thanks all. I saw that Bitesize page but thought that that wasn't a definitive list of all the options? My DS's teacher has mentioned The Great Gatsby but also a few other options that they might like to read including 'The Crucible, 'Death of a Salesman', 'The Handmaid's Tale' so that confused me because it's not on Bitesize.

All the BBCBITESIZE list does is provide some revision resources for some commonly taught texts. Same with the Higher study guides.

I am a Pure Beamer

That made me laugh. Havent heard that in ages 😂

@StoorieHoose I’m more appalled that sunset song is on there. My entire class loathed that when we sat higher English. I can still remember trying to force myself to actually read the bloody thing (and I liked reading!).

My mum had to the whole series of novels at teacher training college in the 70s, and she hated it. Is it just there to torture kids?

I know that last year's Higher English class studied Liz Lochead poetry Lidlfix. I love The Great Gatsby StoorieHoose but maybe I wouldn't if I had had to study and dissect it and then do an exam on it

Thanks for everyone's input again.

www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files_ccc/Scottish_Set_Text_List_2018-19.pdf

Was the only list I could find. Cannot believe "The Cone Gatherers" is still on there, I suffered through that 30 years ago and thought it was exceptionally dull and tedious. We also did the Great Gatsby which I liked better, and Macbeth, which is great.

HaHa. The Cone Gathers saw off my middle one a few years ago. They started it in the June and he hated it so much he changed subjects (said he'd take anything else in the column even French). Sunset Song is my favourite book of all time but DD hated. It must be so difficult to please everyone.

I taught it. Once.

It's funny, I can still reel off quotes I learned from Macbeth for Higher English in 1989 (Glamis thou art and Cawdor.. ) from the days where you weren't allowed the text in the exam with you or given the quotes, you had to know them inside out and back to front.

I remember the plot of the Great Gatsby, and lots about the different characters and themes.

Have banished all memory of the plot, structure and characterisation of the Cone Gatherers from my mind. Something about two brothers, Fort William and a tractor. It was THAT bad.

They don't have the text with them in the exam for English in SQA exams for the critical essay . Scottish Set Text they have an extract but need to use evidence that is not contained within it. Not so different from our day lots of memorising for them too. I also have a range of Macbeth quotes to suit most occasions and I hear my English teacher's voice not mine whenever I deliver any of the texts I studied at school.

Resurrecting this recent thread as ds had been told one of his texts for next year. George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant.

He had been asked by their teacher to do some research on Orwell and the themes (imperialism and Burma I think) over the holidays. Has anyone done this text before and got any pointers? Would reading George Orwell Burmese Days over the holidays be a good way to do this?

I remember doing Shooting an Elephant for Higher. I remember it fondly but in no detail (is was 1978). I think the protagonist was a government official who had to shoot a troublesome elephant but does not want to? It’s a short story (according to my English teacher the short story comes second to poetry as the highest form of literature). Plays are next and the novel was dismissed as unworthy of our time. He did give us copies of two novels; The Power and the Glory and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which we never discussed in class and were forbidden from answering any questions on in the exam. Most of us got As; he was a brilliant and inspirational teacher. Because we spent no time at all on the novels we covered a wide range of poetry, short stories and drama, which made it easy to find good sources for questions in those sections. We studied no Scottish literature (I hate Sunset Song like several PPs) or anything pre-1900 except Shakespeare. Those were the days, I loved English and felt sorry for my DDs whose experience of English seemed designed to suck all the joy out of the subject.

To answer your actual question, Burmese Days would be a good place to start.

Our booklist has, Lamb, A Streetcar named Desire, Gatsby, The Crucible, One flew over the cuckoos nest and The Woman in Black. Also Shakespeare which will be confirmed. Not sure whether all of these are covered or if it's one or two from this list. Not rushing out to buy until nearer the start of term.

Thanks @Chemenger I've downloaded on the Kindle (£1.54 bargain!!) and can see there is a 10hr audio reading on youtube too 👍 which is excellent quality and he can listen too while reading. The kindle book has a reasonable introduction to George Orwell and the Burmese Days book which will be good background.

Yikes! OwlMother, that is a long list! I've no idea if they cover that many texts in detail in Higher.

ds isn't a natural reader for pleasure, so we will need to encourage him to read over the summer. If he sees an end goal in reading, such as background prep to make next year easier, he is more likely to do it.

Owl, none of them are Scottish Set Texts either but judging by lack of poetry I am guessing you don't need to source any more books. Your poor DC. I hope that's the department rather than one teacher. It must be I am experienced (ancient) and even with a dreamy top set setting aside time for folio and RUAE we'd never get through that.

@Lidlfix - Agree. I teach two essay texts per year, usually a novel and a media text. That list must be what the department as a whole does.