Big Box Concepts
Key concepts, related concepts, substantive concepts, disciplinary concepts, threshold concepts not to mention Areas of Exploration, Global Contexts and Areas of Investigation abound in Secondary English, depending on your curriculum provider, Trust or even Head of Department.
In recent years, two books have offered English teachers a much sought after sense of clarity, Zoe Helman and Sam Gibbs’ The Trouble with English and How to Address It and David Didau’s Making Meaning in English.
Both are aimed at identifying what the most influential concepts of English are as a discipline. Whilst there’s some similarities, the differences allow for a really excellent synthesis of what may work best within the framework of the IB’s MYP.
I have written about the above here if you’re looking for a more detailed overview about the IB’s expectations as well as Helman, Gibbs and Didau’s approaches.
My aim in this post is to synthesise their ideas with that of the IB in a way that reflects my current approach to unit design. In doing so, I offer 5 big box concepts that other ideas within and without the IB can fall into.
The Big Box Concepts in English
Context
Both of the aforementioned texts identify context as a vital concept for student achievement in English. In kind, the IB’s MYP includes context as one of its related concepts. For me, depending on the unit, students need to be consistently made aware of one or both of the following:
The context of composition
This is the more typical area of focus for teachers, I would assume. Drawing connections between the background and/or influences is often vital to fully understanding the writer’s message, style and other text based discussions. Though forming only a percentage of student’s potential response and in some cases not being needed at all, the context of a text’s composition undoubtedly deepens students’ appreciation of the creator’s choices.
The context of interpretation
This is the aspect of context that I tend to be more tangential with. It is easy to see how students may personally feel about a text as the hinterland; an engaging and personal point in discussion but rarely vital to getting an A* or Level 7. However, when creating their own writing, it is vital students engage with their background and/or influences consciously in order to create their own texts in an authentic manner. Similarly, whilst there is a priority on identifying what the writer originally intended, students who use conditionals to draw attention to divergent interpretations, owing to time and space, often attain the highly sought after ‘flair’ or ‘personal interpretation’ that examination criteria call for. Hence, promoting the recognition of students’ personal interpretation is not only worthwhile but potentially outstanding during comparative judgement.
related concepts in the MYP framework: context, audience imperatives, point of view, intertextuality
2. Structure
Both Helman, Gibbs and Didau emphasise the concept of ‘Pattern’ in their writing. The IB’s related concept that matches this most closely is ‘Structure’. For the sake of compliance and because I believe that pattern is probably a subsection of structure, here are the following things I think students should be introduced to:
The structure of prose, poetry and plays
The way in which a writer elects to sequence information can add just as much meaning to the overall message as any language. The likes of non-linear narrative, foreshadowing, rhyme schemes and caesura all fall into this category and there is much merit in drawing students’ attention to how each relates to one another under the same conceptual umbrella.
The structure of non-fiction texts
It is also worth bringing attention to the fact that speeches, feature articles, memoirs and other non-fiction texts operate in much the same way. Though diffuse in their individual approaches, there is nevertheless a common conversation to be had around how the structure of information helps serve the purpose of writers in the same way that is utilised in literature.
Sentence level structures
The likes of anaphora, epistrophe, tricolon, repetition, chiasmus, alliteration, assonance and beyond, owe their impact to the careful structuring of words, sounds or phrases respectively. Whether in students’ own writing or whilst analysing the relevant language or literature text, bringing students’ attention to the way in which these patterns are manipulated once again aids appreciation for writer’s craft that is not rooted in the more familiar figurative language.
Essay structures
Finally, students need to be made aware that their analysis of texts can be significantly boosted by the clarity and conviction with which they write. Much like a speech or opinion column, students can be encouraged to see their interpretations as deserving the best possible sentence, paragraph and overall structuring. What can be borrowed from other text types they have learnt? How can they use this to ensure their piece stands out from the rest? What experimentation are they willing to undertake to maintain formality but also make their mark when offering analysis?
related concepts in the MYP framework: structure, style
3. Argument
This is another example of a concept that both books agreed upon. In short, the idea that every text, whether short story or comic strip, is making some form of argument. With literature it could be a comment on the human condition, whilst in rhetoric it could be a nefarious company seeking to obfuscate a product’s shortcomings.
Similarly, students can be led to understand that they too must form an argument about what the writer’s message actually is. The oft asked question of whether ANY interpretation is acceptable can be hard to address. One effective way that I’ve heard Sam Gibbs describe it is to say that all interpretations exist on a spectrum. There is no such thing as right or wrong, more a case of how much evidence is available to support a given stance.
Explicitly teaching students ways of communicating that convince others of a thesis, product’s worth or character’s personality, benefits from drawing the connections and differences that each approach or purpose requires.
related concepts in the MYP framework: audience imperatives, style, purpose, self-expression, point of view
4. Story
Whilst Helman and Gibbs refer to this as narratology, Didau labels it simply as Story. These are not only the typical elements we would expect in a novel or play but also the way in which human beings tend to privilege storytelling as a medium for communication.
Of all 5 concepts, I feel that this is the one that cannot always be mapped easily onto any topic or text a class studies. Is story always pertinent to poetry analysis? Is story relevant when exploring a non-fiction text like an opinion column? One might argue that ‘anecdote’ may a play a part in the latter and that poetry borrows ideas like character and setting. Nevertheless, this is an area that I’m keen to continue experimenting with.
related concepts in the MYP framework: character, setting, theme, point of view, style, genre
5. Grammar
Lastly, Didau’s, of the two books, is alone in suggesting grammar be considered as one of the subject’s foundational disciplines. With the the likes of The Writing Revolution, Essential Grammar and Sentence Structures for Creative Writing, teachers of English are now being more readily supported in teaching something that was hidden by the curse of knowledge.
Whether narrative, analytical or rhetorical, teaching students the components and way to manipulate sentences in English allows for not only more sophistication but also greater depth in students’ expression. Didau has explained how using a complex sentence or subordinating conjunction can guarantee that a student offers a more nuanced opinion on a character:
Example
Simple: Macbeth is a brave character.
Complex: Although Macbeth is a brave character, he also struggles to contain his ambition.
Much is debated around the topic of grammar about whether or not it should be ‘explicit’ or ‘implicit’. Alternatively, some raise the question of whether it should be done in a focused, isolated manner or built into the topic at hand. In my experience and from reading the likes of Hochman, Webb and Didau, I think an explicit and practically applied approach is 100% necessary for students and teachers to see the value.
Terms such as ‘main clause’, ‘coordinating conjunction’ or ‘prepositional phrase’ are as important or unimportant as you want them to be within a department. There isn’t necessarily a set amount of scope for what grammar needs to be included given that it is primarily in the service of the unit and type of writing at hand. As with anaphora, pathetic fallacy and polysyndeton, kids pick up the terminology and understanding once they see the relevance and impact it has in their writing.
related concepts in the MYP framework: N/A
Early applications
The following is my initial planning for how each of the 5 concepts would play a role in the opening unit of our Year 7 classes:
On the left are the mandated Key and Related concepts from the IB framework but these pale in comparison to the scope given by the 5 concepts that will be regularly returned to along the top. Below is another unit based more on analysis to offer further detail:
Final Comments
Those who have read Helman, Gibbs and Didau’s work already are likely to notice that 4 of the 5 concepts are specifically cited by Didau. Even structure can be closely compared with what Didau refers to as ‘Pattern’. This is not to say that his framework is superior, more that I like the simplicity of the terms used and the way they therefore allow for broad schemas of knowledge to be developed in students’ appreciation of English.
What was most exciting as an MYP teacher is how easily these 5 concepts map onto any of the global contexts, therefore offering a vast diversity topics to be explored at the same time as learning and constantly revisiting the cornerstones of English disciplinary knowledge.
From an administration point of view, I have often seen the Key Concepts of Creativity, Connection, Communication and Perspective to be relevant but too vast to ever make meaningful changes in students’ appreciation of the subject. The Related Concepts are undoubtedly useful but a lack of hierarchy and confusion or conflation of terms also means that an MYP curriculum is not immediately helpful when comes to making meaning in English as a conceptual subject.
There are rumours however that a curriculum reshuffle is in the works. Let’s hope that greater levels of autonomy are given to departments around course design as was seen in the latest iteration of the DP course…