I recently watched The Winter King, the latest screen adaptation of the classic Arthurian Legend, and based on the novel by Bernard Cornwell. It was more historical drama with a touch of druid mysticism than the high-camp fantastical realism of Excalibur, the film of 1981. In this case, Cornwell seems to have based his version of King Arthur on what is thought by historians to be the most historically plausible version of the fabled King of the Britons.
Who Else Could King Arthur Have Been?
Tentative evidence suggests that if King Arthur had even existed, he would not have been a king, but rather the commander of an elite fighting force and would have lived 5 centuries before medieval legend suggests. The legendary leader, who could also have been known as Arturus, may have led the resistance of Romano-Britons against invading Saxons, Jutes, and other Northern European interlopers. Notably, confirm these Romano-Britons were pushed back to the west of Britain and are the predecessors or founding fathers of Wales. But details of individual figures involved are, however, scant.
Another theory with little evidence to support it suggests that the king may have been a Roman Centurion called Lucius Artorius Castus who led a group of Sarmatian Knights against the Picts (northern tribes) around 200 AD, about 300 years before typical Arthurian legends. The 2004 historical drama, King Arthur starring Clive Owen is constructed around Artorius.
Historyextra talks about 5 other warlords from around 100 AD to 600 AD whom modern-day Arthurian legend may be based on. These include Ambrosius Aurelianus, Constantine, Magnus Maximus, Arvirargus, and Cassivellaunus, and again, they were a combination of Romans and Britons.
Camelot
These depictions and suggestions of who Arthur was are not in wild contradiction with each other and do seem to be a plausible foundation for the fabled King, be they Briton or Romano-Briton. But, to be a king, he would need a seat of power, a castle – Camelot Castle, as legend dictates. In similar fashion, there are several leading candidates for the location of Camelot which have been derived from a combination of fables, folklore, and historical stone inscriptions, rather than a structured collection of compelling primary evidence. These are Cadbury Castle, Somerset, Tintagel Castle, Cornwall, Caerloen, South Wales, and Winchester Castle, in Hampshire.
A Less Magical Past
There is not enough evidence to assert one place over the other or one version of Arthur over another (of which there are many more not depicted here). Indeed, there is not enough evidence to suggest that Camelot or Arthur, King of Britons (as we perceive Kings to be today) even existed. What is more likely is that the King Arthur figure that we indulge in today is a composite of several warlords (of Briton or Romano-Briton persuasion), who lived between 100 AD to 600 AD during the dark ages. At least for now, it’s a case of sorry to disappoint, but evidence (or lack of it), means we can’t be any more definitive. Perhaps, though, there is some value in Arthur and Camelot remaining in the realm of legend. They are surely better known and loved than many of their flesh and stone contemporaries who exist!
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How The Pomodoro Technique Can Help You
In a recent article, I touched on the Pomodoro technique as a means of being productive when it comes to revision over the Easter break. But, such a fleeting mention doesn’t do justice to just how useful it can be.
The What
The Pomodoro Technique is a strategy aimed at helping people who struggle to focus for long periods and have a short attention span. If you get easily distracted, the Pomodoro is definitely for you. Developed in the 1980s by a University student who struggled to focus on his studies and assignments, the Pomodoro Technique is a strategy for doing work in short stretches. Twenty-five minutes of focus broken up by five-minute breaks, with a longer break of 15-30 minutes after every fourth stretch. It’s a technique that’s applicable beyond revision and can be applied to how you work, manage tasks, and helps you completely remove procrastination as a problem—which is an issue many of us deal with, especially when it comes to those things we just don’t want to do. By breaking tasks down into smaller, more manageable chunks to deal with systematically, that mountain in front of you is reduced to a series of steps. It makes you more efficient, mitigates distraction and ultimately makes you much more accountable to yourself.
The How
The Pomodoro Technique is designed to get work done while preventing the chance of overwhelm or the temptation of distraction. It works best with a bit of preparation and with a timer beside you (that timer should not be your phone, we’re here to remove distractions not add them). To prepare, make a list of the tasks or a single large task broken down into smaller ones. Assemble everything you need and remove anything you don’t. What you’re going to do is flip your perspective from sitting down for the long haul and instead stack a series of small wins through short bursts of focused work with breaks in between.
Once you’re ready, the process is fairly straightforward:
STEP ONE: Choose the task.
STEP TWO: Set your timer and work ONLY on that singular task.
STEP THREE: Once the timer goes off take a five-minute break. Stretch your legs, grab a drink, or check your phone.
STEP FOUR: Repeat steps one to three FOUR times.
STEP FIVE: Take a longer break of between fifteen and thirty minutes. Have some lunch, walk the dog or meditate.
Keep working through the steps like a cycle as you progress through your to-do list, and you’ll soon find yourself racing through it. It may seem deceptively simple, but that’s why it works. The idea behind this method is that the timer instills a sense of urgency. Instead of sitting back with the whole day ahead of you, finding ways to put off the work, time is turned against you. The breaks are there to help you catch your breath and not burn out.
If a task overruns, simply pick it up on the next interval, while if you have tasks that you know won’t take long at all, group them. If you have a sudden revelation of something that needs doing, simply make a note and add it to the list to do later, don’t ruin your momentum by diving into that task immediately. And of course, there are always moments of unavoidable interruption. Whether it’s a knock at the door or being informed of an important phone call, it’s not the end of the world. Simply take that break there, and then start fresh with a new interval from there.
What if you finish that task before the timer is up? Don’t call it early, use your remaining time to brush up further on whatever that task is. Research it more or go over what you’ve done; you’re focused on that particular topic at that moment so it’s important to keep that focus.
Things To Note
This technique isn’t going to change your life and solve all your problems, but it can be a huge help if used properly. With that in mind, it’s important to note that it doesn’t apply to everything and has its limitations. Long-form writing isn’t always the best for this. To really get into the flow of a piece, you do need longer to get the thoughts out of your head, so save the Pomodoro technique for research, editing and planning. Timing-wise, while the windows are relatively short, as you adjust to the technique it’s important to consider lengthening the windows of focused work. As your attention span and working mind adjust to it, you’ll likely find that the short windows begin to hinder more than help and longer stints will be more beneficial. Indeed, with that in mind, you might just come to a point where one day, you may not need it.
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What You Need To Know About AI: A Beginner’s Guide To What The Future Holds by Brian David Johnson
Artificial Intelligence is a bit of a big topic at the minute. A couple of years ago it was just a villain in science fiction, but now it seems like evil sentient robots are here and ready to take over the working world… and do your homework for you. For a lot of people it’s a scary topic because it’s something we see and hear about in the news and online but don’t understand what AI is. Is it really going to take over the world? Or is it actually going to help us achieve some really cool things? Well, artificial intelligence expert Brian David Johnson is on hand to help with his book, aimed at younger minds, What You Need To Know About AI. It’s a beginner’s guide to artificial intelligence, starting off with a very youth-friendly explanation of what it is (fortunately it is not a collection of sentient toasters looking to take over the world) and then dipping into what it can be used for and where it may help us in the future.
Reader-Friendly
As its title says, the guide helps you learn everything you need to know about AI, from how it helps us discover the epic stuff up in space or under the sea, to whether it will help you build your very own dinosaur, and why. It’s presented in short and easy bites of information, with some great little illustrations to go alongside. It’s not a big, long, boring essay full of words you won’t understand, but written in such a way that the understanding will come easily. You’ll probably understand things so well after reading it that you’ll be able to explain everything to somebody who’s never even touched a computer!
Over the course of the book, you’ll learn where AI came from, and how it’s already being used in the world of sport, space, medicine, animals and more. You will discover the amazing possibilities of AI, that might shape the future. Along the way, you’ll learn super cool facts, bust some myths, and gain a balanced and informed view on one of the the biggest topics of our time. Mixed in with it all is a message about how you can use AI positively and help engineer a better future. So if you or anyone you know is a little bit scared of what AI is, you can use this book to put those fears to rest!
Get Ahead Of The Trend
This book has been a great help to plenty of teachers across the world in understanding AI and is a great starting point for young, curious minds looking to the future and how the world might look when they’re older. It will be of great interest to those who might be thinking they want to work in computing or some other field of Science and technology when they’re older. AI will certainly play a an ever-increasing role within those sectors.
And no, artificial intelligence didn’t write this to try and fool you all. Prove it, you say? Chicken nuggets, Spider-Man. A robot wouldn’t write something daft like that now, would it?
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Now we’re properly into spring, there is only one thing for it: I need to write about Japanese cherry blossom. It isn’t just that cherry blossom is a Japanese thing – after all, we see it all over the UK, its pretty pink and white petals covering gardens and parks. But, in Japan, the season is known as Sakura. From March through to May, people gather in different places to marvel at the beauty of what cherry trees can offer. In fact, people travel far and wide in Japan (and beyond) to follow the cherry blossom season. It is so stunningly beautiful it is easy to see why.
Locals and visitors who are fortunate enough to experience Hanami (the ability of enjoying the fleeting beauty of blossom) will travel to different places to see with their own eyes the way nature changes. The season does not last long – after a week or so, a lot of the blossom falls to the ground and the trees are less colourful. Interestingly, cherry blossom symbolises human life, transience and nobility. People love it so much that they often hold parties to celebrate the offerings that nature provides.
Inspiration For Haiku
You may not know that the haiku, a very short Japanese poem, traditionally consisting of a total of 17 syllables, with 5 in the first line, 7 in the second and 5 in the third, is usually focused on nature. This form of poetry is particularly well-known for focusing on the seasons. It is fascinating to think that haiku has been a popular form of poetry since the 9th century! Bear in mind, though, that many translations from Japanese into English do not seem to follow the 5-7-5 rule due to the languages having quite different sounds. If you would like to to read some great examples of the traditional Japanese haiku, Basho Matsuo is a particularly famous writer of them. One example of his work is given below, capturing the essence of the cherry blossom season perfectly:
A lovely spring night
suddenly vanished while we
viewed cherry blossoms
(Source: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/haiku-poetry-about-japans-cherry-blossoms)
So, if you are looking for something to write as the evenings get brighter and longer, maybe have a go at haiku. And if you are interested in the wonderful cherry blossom season in Japan, perhaps you could write about that.
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Show Don’t Tell is a technique used in pretty much every form of creative writing. It is a skill that once mastered will take your writing to the next level. It’s a way of allowing your readers to experience your writing through actions, thoughts, feelings and the five senses, as opposed to just rambling off a lengthy and unengaging factual explanation. People read fiction to get away from the real world and to experience something different. This is commonly known as escapism, when you want to get away from the humdrum of school and work and have a much more entertaining time in Middle Earth or on some futuristic space station. Good writers show these details through actions, thoughts and feelings in order to make their stories more engaging. Read on to find out just how they (and you) can do that.
Of course, Show don’t Tell is not a tool that needs to be used all the time, there are plenty of occasions to simply tell, such as long passages of time. It’s hard to show that without clogging up the word count and slowing down the pace of your story. So how do you show instead of tell? Here are three key aspects of storytelling and how best to demonstrate them: emotions, dialogue and setting.
Showing Emotions
When someone is mad at you they don’t usually say, “Oh, I’m really angry at you now,” because that would be telling. So how do you know that they’re mad? You see the signs—not in what they say but how they say it and the change in their body language. Their eyes might narrow, their lips may thin or their jaw clench. Their voice may take on a different, colder, or harsher tone, they may raise their voice. Their hands may close into fists, their posture might suddenly stiffen. These are all signs that somebody’s angry—all different ways that you can show it. People don’t go around announcing their emotions to people in real life, we learn to notice these signs, so if in your narrative you write that Susan was really sad, the reader isn’t engaged because there’s nothing to make their brain work. However, if you say that Susan’s bottom lip started to tremble, or that she had to blink away tears, your reader can infer from that information that she’s sad. It doesn’t sound like much but these are the little things that keep your audience engaged.
Dialogue
Yes, it can seem a little bit counter-intuitive to mention dialogue here, and you might be wondering how to show when a character is literally telling somebody something when they’re speaking.
Dialogue is one of the most effective ways to show something in a story, as it not only drives the plot forward but is a great tool for revealing character. The words we choose to say and how we say them speak volumes about us, so it is vitally important you think about the words that your characters will use.
One of the best examples of this is from the 1964 film Goldfinger. Secret agent James Bond is at the mercy of the villain, Goldfinger, when there is this wonderful exchange which on the surface looks like a terrible example of telling rather than showing:
Bond: Do you expect me to talk?
Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!
Context is everything here. Bond is strapped to a table with a laser set to kill him and the villain seems to be simply stating what the audience is expecting to happen. But if you think about what the two of them are saying, it reveals what kind of people they are. Bond looks like he has no way out, and his words show that even faced with death he will not betray his country, will remain defiant, and appears to be every bit of the hero he’s been so far in the film. Goldfinger on the other hand, solidifies his presence as the villain as his choice of words shows his callous dispassion and nonchalance at the fact he is about to disintegrate another human being. Of course, your writing doesn’t need to be quite as dynamic and dramatic as this, but it just shows how much your audience can pick up from a couple of lines of dialogue, so don’t be afraid to use it!
You may wonder how can you make your characters stand out from each other. Think about the ways they talk. Think about the slang, contractions and vocabulary they might use and how they can give clues as to your character’s background and intelligence. For example, a school student will use certain slang words like ‘rizz’, which you wouldn’t likely hear from someone much older. Considerations like this are how you show (and don’t tell!) that your characters are unique and memorable.
Description and Setting
Instead of writing lengthy passages of description to ‘set the scene’, effective storytellers weave this description into the action of their stories. Not only are you showing the world but you’re also driving the story forward and not boring your readers with paragraphs about trees. For example…
Snow crunched underfoot.
What can you infer from this? That it’s snowing and therefore likely winter, as well as the fact that the characters are walking toward something. Little details like this go a long way and allow your readers to paint the rest of the picture. You don’t need to spell it out, just leave clues for the reader to piece the picture together.
All these things may sound simple, but as is often the way, it’s easier said than done. With practice, though, you’ll only become more adept. And the best way to supplement practice is to also read plenty, to see how other writers do it. Now go put some ‘rizz’ into that writing! See, sounds weird, doesn’t it?
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The Enduring Appeal Of Hans Christian Andersen
You may well have heard of Hans Christian Andersen, the famous Danish writer who was born on 2nd April 1805. He was a prolific writer, one that we know – in particular – for writing many fairy tales. So why, over two hundred years after his birth, is he so well-remembered?
A Prolific Career
Hans Christian Andersen wrote 156 fairy tales (and more besides) – examples you will probably have heard of include ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, ‘The Ugly Duckling’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’. Even today, in 2024, we know these stories. They are firmly ingrained in many people’s upbringings, whether through being read to as a child or through films we might have watched which are based on the stories. For many of us, our childhoods consisted of being read stories and we remember them well into adulthood.
An Influential Master
Interestingly, many more modern children’s stories may be based on, or influenced by, Hans Christian Andersen. The Wind in the Willows is one such example, the story of four riverbank friends beautifully told by Kenneth Grahame. Also, Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as stories by Beatrix Potter and Lewis Carroll, are said to have been inspired by Andersen’s work. What a lot of these have in common is talking animals – and bringing inanimate objects to life. Even very recent films like Toy Story, could be said to have been influenced by the Danish writer’s vivid imagination.
The writer’s legacy lives on, from the statue of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen to another in New York’s Central Park – but this is of Andersen with the Ugly Duckling! Amazingly, in Shanghai, China, there is a $13 million theme park dedicated to his fairy tales. Andersen’s tales have been translated into more than 150 languages – so if this doesn’t make him a successful writer, I don’t know what does!
So, on 2nd April 2024, just after the Easter weekend, if you are sat munching your way through Easter eggs, you might want to dip into Hans Christian Andersen’s fantastical worlds. You never know where this might take you!
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Exam Questions On The Horizon
It might only be March, and May may seem so far away, but two things are worth mentioning: it’s never too early to be exam-ready, and time moves faster than you think it does.
So while you’re stepping up your revision, one of the best and most effective approaches is getting stuck into past exam papers. You’ll have a lot of the fundamentals of whichever subject you’re tackling in your memory already, but these questions will test how you apply what you know. It’s not just about information retention, but how you can use it alongside your problem-solving skills to reach an answer. Don’t think of them as tests but as puzzles.
The Anatomy Of An Exam Question
First of all, let’s pull apart these questions, and typically how they’re put together and the big clues they contain that will tell you what kind of response examiners are looking for (unfortunately, it won’t outright tell you the answer, just how to structure it).
The Prompt: This is the stem, the important part of the question amongst all the jargon and other information you’re given. It’s here that you’ll find the core information and the context for the question. It’s also where the imperative verbs will be that will tell you how to answer it.
Imperative Verbs: pay attention to these, because they are the indicator of just how to go about it. ‘Describe’, ‘compare’, ‘evaluate’ and ‘justify’ will all demand different answers. ‘Describe’ simply wants you to explain, while ‘compare’ will want you to look at the differences between two sets of data/sources. ‘Evaluate’ is likely going to want to you point out the flaws and the strengths of a source and decide on its reliability, and ‘justify’ will be wanting you to back up your answer using evidence from the text. These are just a few examples, so be sure to make a note of all the different ones you run into when looking at past papers, you may just notice a trend.
Supplementary Materials: these will be your data sets/graphs/images/sources depending on the exam you’re taking. It’s important to take the time to give them a good read-through. Your impulse will be to do so quickly and the temptation will be there to skim. Don’t. You’ll run the risk of misreading the information and that can derail your entire answer.
Mark Allocation: Have a glance at the marks available for the question. While not applicable to all exams (those that require longer-form responses) these can be a good indicator of just how much time and effort is required. If there are only a couple of marks at stake and you’re scratching your head at the way to answer it, chances are you’re overthinking it.
Planning Makes Perfect
Be sure to spend a few minutes before writing your answer to plan out what you’re going to say. Jot down some key arguments and examples, and highlight anything you think could be relevant. Prioritise the points you think best fit the answer, and then write. Taking the time here will help focus your writing and stop you from meandering from your point. Plus, should you run out of time, that plan will point out where your answer is going. It may not have much of a bearing on your marks, but you can’t rule out the marker not taking it into account.
Timing
Spending too much time on one question has the consequence of leaving you considerably less time for any subsequent ones. If you’re struggling with a question, the next one you may find much easier—how you’ll kick yourself if you waste time on a lost cause when you could maximise your marks elsewhere on the paper! Two partially answered questions will net you more marks than one good one and one terrible one, bear that in mind.
Using your time wisely is very important, and while it’s understandable that exam situations can cause a bit of stress, and once you get momentum in a question you can lose track of that clock; discipline with your timing is one of the most valuable assets to have in an exam.
Cross Your ‘T’s, Dot Your ‘I’s
Keep in mind to leave yourself five minutes at the end to give your answers one last read-through to catch any errant spellings and missing punctuation. The amount of marks dropped for not adhering to the fundamentals of writing keeps teachers up at night, and you wouldn’t want to lose out on a grade because you misplaced too many commas.
Whatever You Do, Don’t Do Any Of These
Panic! Of course, that’s easier said than done, but keeping your cool will help you save precious time. You can help mitigate your angst by practicing exam papers under timed conditions. It won’t solve everything, but at least it will give you one less thing to be worried about.
Waffle! Keep in mind the points above, and don’t jump straight in to writing your answer, and you’ll do well to avoid this. Long answers that dance around the point don’t score as well as concise ones that are half the length.
Dwell on it. Coming out of the exam wondering what could have been and talking to your friends comparing answers is a great way to bring your mood down. Once time is up, there is nothing else you can do. Take a break, do something to take your mind off it—then on to the next one!
There’s plenty of time between now and the exam, so use it wisely. Just remember, whatever may come results day, if you can get to the end of May and tell yourself that you tried your very best, what else could you do? Nobody can ask more of you than that.
You’ve got this, good luck.
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Your reading list probably asks you for newest editions of novels and textbooks. If you own some older editions of these texts already, you might think; ‘why do I need to rebuy something I already own?’ It can be an annoying question, particularly for your parent or legal guardian. After all, it’s their money! Due to cost-of-living pressures, many parents are now spending less on books for their kids. If you have an older sibling, it’s even possible your parents were planning on passing their books down to you. Unfortunately, it’s a plan that’s unlikely to succeed. So, why do you need to purchase the newest editions of books that you may already own? Well, we’ve tried to provide a few different answers to that question for you below.
Presentation for Curriculum Requirements
Over the years, the curriculums have changed. Studying is a lot more learner-friendly than it used to be. Let’s use English literature as an example. Textbooks for the subject would often present quite rigorous, factual questions, very much looking for answers that were distinctly ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. However, things began to change in the mid-1990s.
Some of the textbooks for English literature test pupils quite differently today. Now, schoolkids and home learners alike are tested on more interpretative questions, ones where your reading of the text is more important. You’re allowed to argue your points, and so long as they’re well-structured, well-written, and well-reasoned points, they’re generally marked favourably. It might seem tempting to get an older textbook for a more affordable price, but you’ll also be subjecting yourself to a different mode of learning when it comes to English literature. One that’s incompatible with modern curriculums! That difference likely extends to several other subjects as well.
The Condition of the Book
You might agree that, generally, many people don’t treat their books very well. Instead of arranging them neatly on a shelf at home, some of these books might live in bags or under furniture for months at a time, folded and creased. Others might doodle in their books, spill drinks on the pages, or even playfully use them as weapons against friends. They can also be rudely vandalised for a laugh. So, publishers quite understandably think that passing these texts down and around isn’t always a good idea. Older editions are bound to carry a few ‘battle scars’.
So, if your reading lists ask you for a new edition of a text, it possibly means the person curating it may be trying to evade some of these common issues. It’s not a guarantee – new editions of a text are typically released every 3-4 years with most publishers. Still, the newest edition of a text is harder to buy or borrow second-hand. It all means your learning is less likely to be interrupted, and you can enjoy the reading precisely as intended.
Author Changes
Many authors publish their books and insist the first copy is the final copy. They can get quite touchy about it, believing their integrity and reputation as a writer is on the line.
Others take a more relaxed approach when it comes to making changes. It’s still quite rare they do so, but it does happen! For example, Stephen King rewrote the ending of his 1978 novel, ‘The Stand’, revising the ending once in 1990, and then again for the 2020 TV miniseries adaptation. You’re unlikely to read a Stephen King text for study before university, but the larger point here is that even high-calibre authors do make changes, sometimes. The changes aren’t typically small, either. They can be so large that they fundamentally alter the message and mood of a text. So, in buying the newest edition, you can be sure that you’re grappling with the most relevant copy of a fiction.
Textbooks Can be Wrong
It’s easy to think of study as memorising bulletproof facts. Empirical information is presented to you with great authority, and your learning is rightly taken quite seriously. However, it’s not just authors that might like to change things around. It’s also true that so-called ‘factual’ textbooks can be wrong. After all, even long held scientific understandings about the age of the universe can later be questioned or even outright disproved. The knowledge of the human race is pretty ‘far off’ sometimes, and that’s okay.
This doesn’t mean everything you’re reading is redundant. However, it does mean that buying the latest edition of a text means that you’re more likely to engage with information that is accurate, up-to-date, and has been revised and amended as many times as possible. It also teaches you a valuable a lesson, too; that the learning journey never ends. Professional scientists and scholars are always experimenting and updating their knowledge, presenting incorrect answers to eventually find the correct ones. Equipped with that understanding, you may approach your own learning more comfortably and confidently. It’s okay to be wrong sometimes!
Bonus Material
Newest editions of a text often come with bonus material to make a purchase more enticing for consumers. Some of these add-ons can benefit you during your home learning. You’ll likely know what an appendix is. It’s a section of nonessential writing at the end of an academic text. It’s bonus material, featuring anything from quick notes to scanned letters and maps. Sometimes these are updated for newer editions of books and provide unique insights into the text you’re reading. However, appendices in older editions are not always reprinted for newest editions. It may vary on a text-by-text basis!
Newer editions of a text may also feature better quality, brand-new, and more frequent illustrations, graphs, and other visual spectacles too. It may seem like a small thing, but these additions can break up an overwhelming wall of text and make it more engaging to engage with as a result.
So, there you have it. In reading the points above, we hope you’ve come to understand that newest editions of books bring you, as the reader, ‘closer’ to the text. You can more easily understand and relate to what’s written and the people who wrote it, which should benefit you greatly on your learning journey!
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The Breakfast Club Adventures by Marcus Rashford
You’ve probably heard of Marcus Rashford. Either for his heroics on the football pitch, inspiring millions of young people to get into the Beautiful Game, or for his tireless work for charities and those who are in need.
Rashford is a man of many talents, especially with a ball at his feet, but surprisingly, with the help of co-author Alex Falase-Koya, he’s pretty good with a pen as well. Not at his feet, in his hand of course! Written with children’s author Falase-Koya, it’s packed with tons of illustrations by Marta Kissi, making it the perfect book for children who may be a little bit reluctant to read. After the huge success of his You Are a Champion series, written to help show children how to dream big, believe in themselves and find their voices, Marcus has had a go at writing stories with his hit series The Breakfast Club Adventures.
What’s It All About?
As the story begins, there’s something fishy going on at Marcus’s school, and whether he likes it or not, the young lad is going to get to the bottom of it! When twelve-year-old Marcus kicks his favourite football over the school fence, he knows he’s never getting it back. Nothing that goes over that wall ever comes back. But when Marcus gets a mysterious note inviting him to join the Breakfast Club Investigators, he is soon pulled into an exciting adventure with his new mates Stacey, Lise and Asim to find out what is lurking on the other side of the fence – and get his football back!
Inspired by Marcus’s own experiences growing up, The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Beast Beyond the Fence will have you diving into an exciting and mysterious adventure full of fun-filled friendships and fantastical creatures as the Breakfast Club investigate weird goings on.
The Story Behind The Story
But why would Marcus Rashford choose, of all things, to write about a school breakfast club? Well, growing up in poverty, school was a big help to him, and a big source of inspiration for this story. Here’s what he had to say: ‘Breakfast Club guaranteed I had the best possible start to my day and welcomed me with open arms. It wasn’t just about food. It was about forming friendships, about togetherness, about escape. It was where some of my greatest memories were made. I want to capture that feeling in my book.’
But what about the story itself? Well, it’s nothing short of a brilliantly fun tale that manages to teach its readers a thing or two along the way. You’ll fall in love with Marcus and the rest of the quirky kids of the Breakfast Club, and you’ll be along for a ride full of twists and turns. Think Scooby-Doo, but with fewer dogs and more breakfast. And footballs.
The Breakfast Club Adventures depicts the kind of problems many young children face, and the story manages to talk about friendship, community and confidence—all without getting bogged down in boring bits. Marcus Rashford might as well try his hand at teaching! If there is one problem with the book, it’s that it’s too short! The story is only 150 pages long, and they fly by so fast that it’s a shame to reach the ending. But not to worry, there are three more in the series ready to read! And more on the way!
And yes, it’s still a great book even if you don’t support Manchester United!
If you would like to study English or English Literature, Oxford Home Schooling offer you the chance to do so at a variety of levels, listed below. You can also Contact Us via this link.
How It Will Help You
How often do you think about the words you use in life? Not very often, probably. But subconsciously, your lexis (the words you choose to use) will change on the kind of discourse (the people and topic) you are having. This will affect the semantics (the meaning of the words you use) and these are words you likely haven’t heard of. Feel free to look them up and add them to your internal thesaurus, they might come in handy one day.
In simple terms, in every conversation you have, you will subconsciously change the words you will use to fit the people you’re talking to and the things you’re talking about. You’ll speak very differently to your friends than you do to a teacher. The same goes for writing. Why is this important? Well, depending on how good your vocabulary is, you could well be limiting yourself to who you talk to and the kinds of conversations you have. There are well-documented links about how people with higher vocabularies tend to do better academically, socially and in their careers.
Your vocabulary is your word bank and it is well worth investing in.
Having a wider and more diverse set of words at your disposal will make you more confident, and there are links between the number of words people know and how successful they are academically and in their careers. It’ll boost your writing and communication skills, as well as your critical thinking. Think of it as boosting your intelligence and charisma stats. So if you want to sound more intelligent and articulate your thoughts better, give these strategies below a try. They don’t take much, but even incorporating just a couple into your daily routine will end up paying off for you in the long run.
Reading (Obviously)
Reading is the best way to get exposure to a wider range of words and phrases. Sampling a variety of genres, fiction and non-fiction, you’ll pick up plenty of new words to use. If you’re a reluctant reader, just focus on a story you’d enjoy at first, like the book your favourite TV show as based on, or the biography of a celebrity or personality you’re a fan of. Start off with as little as a page a day before you go to sleep. The habit will come. Time isn’t an excuse, you can even read while you’re on the loo.
Writing
You might think this an odd one, because how can you expand your vocab by writing? True, you’re not actively taking on board new words and phrases but the act of writing reinforces your reading. You’ll start to see the words you’ve read and taken on subconsciously appear in your writing as you’re actively engaging with them. You’ll be able to apply these words in different contexts, which will further cement them in your brain as you understand their meaning. But what kind of writing? Any! Keep a journal, take notes on whatever it is you’re studying and re-write them in your own words. Not only will that help your studies but you’ll also be building that vocabulary of yours at the same time!
Word Games
Worldle, Wordscapes, Word Collect, Words With Friends. The clue is in the names and these are just four of the hundreds of games available for FREE on the Android and Apple store. The first three are all variations on a simple game of figuring out a series of words from a jumble of letters. You can work on your vocabulary and your critical thinking skills at the same time, figure out the easy ones you know first and then make educated guesses at the ones you don’t. They’re easy to play and great for filling five minutes here or there when you might be scrolling on TikTok instead.
Words With Friends, however, is a different beast altogether. And it is one to bring out the competitive side in anyone. Download it and challenge your friends to a game that is suspiciously similar to Scrabble without actually infringing on copyright somehow. It’s a nice easy game to play at your leisure and another way to challenge your friends and get them in on the act of bettering their vocabulary too. Who said learning can’t be fun?
A Word A Day
Merriam-Webster have one. Dictionary.com has its own and so does Wordsmith. These are all websites you can bookmark which have a new word every single day. Simply open it up, take the couple of seconds to read it and that’s a brand new word to add to your vocabulary. Not only that but there are apps for it too. Just jump onto your phone of choice’s app store and search for WordPal or Vocabulary (Yes, they are free as well!) and get them downloaded. If you wanted to take things a bit further, take a leaf out of the writing strategy and write the new word down a few times, maybe try it out in a few sentences with different contexts to really get it stuck in your mind. Again, a couple of minutes of investment here a day will have massive benefits in a couple of years’ time.
Simply Talking Will Improve Vocabulary Too
Talking is a great way to help add to and consolidate your vocabulary. Talking to people gives you the opportunity to properly express yourself with the right words. You’ll get immediate feedback too; if you use the wrong word in that situation, somebody will put you right and you’ll know for next time. Take the chance to talk to different people and in different circles. It will allow you to learn new slang words and colloquialisms (informal words used by particular cultures or groups) and experience different cultures too. Seek out people more intelligent than you as well. If you’re the one with the lesser knowledge in the room, you’re likely to learn a fair few new words and a lot more on top of that as well.
TL;DR
In short, increasing your vocabulary is only going to help you with your studies, your social life and your career. By adopting these five strategies into your daily routine, you can become more eloquent, express yourself in better and more intelligent ways and open doors to you that may not have been available before. All that with just the power of words.
If you are interested in studying English or English Literature, Oxford Home Schooling offer the chance to so at a variety of levels. Each available course is listed below. Click on any of those you are interested in to find out more. You can also Contact us by following this link.
