Edco Touchstones 1 Junior Cycle English

A fresh and engaging new package for Junior Cycle English NEW

Touchstones 2 Coming 2023

2022

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The author has an excellent knowledge of teaching English and a thorough sense of how to engage students of English, with interesting assignments and activities throughout.

Teacher Reviewer

The Educational Company of Ireland

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A FRESH AND ENGAGING APPROACH

Student Textbook

FICTION UNIT 1

 All 22 First Year Learning Outcomes are covered with emphasis on the three strands of the Junior Cycle English specification: oral language, reading and writing

FICTION KNOWLE Things I need to

Narrative Perspective Setting (pg. xxx)

Third-person omnisc ient narrator: a narrator who has access to the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story.

Character (pg. xxx)

Setting: where all the action happen s.

It is the specific place, timeframe and world where the story happens.

Character: the person who appears in the story. The craft of creating a character is called characterisation.

Epic Poems

Short Stories

(pg. xxx)

(pg. xxx)

A writer’s purpos e is the aim of a piece of writing. It could be to inform, explain , describe or enterta in.

Crafting a piece of writing involves thinking about how you will show your reader something instead of just telling them.

Create a setting by appealing to the five senses – sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste.

Create a character by writing about their appearance, actions, feelings or other people’s opinion s of them.

Redraft a piece of writing at both word and sentence level by skimming and scanning the text, cutting, upgrading and using a dictiona ry or thesaurus.

Edit a piece of writing by skimming and scanning with a focus on spelling and punctuation, using a dictionary or thesaurus and using a second pair of eyes to check.

SKILLS In this unit I will:

Project: Write a Fractured Fairy Tale

 Fresh, exciting and engaging text extracts, both traditional and contemporary, are used throughout from novels, plays, films, digital texts and multi-modal texts

A Writer’s Craft

Third-person limited narrator: a narrator who is telling the story from one character’s point of view, knowing the thoughts and feelings of just this one character.

(pg. xxx)

 The clear, simple design helps to focus students and prevent cognitive overload

DGE ORGANISER

Narrative perspec tive: the point of view from which the story is told.

First-person perspec tive: when the story is told by one character in that character’s voice.

Plot (pg. xxx)

know

Plot: the events that happen within the story.

To engage in class group discussions actively To read texts to underst and character, setting and story.

Use the writing process to craft texts Write for a variety of purposes Write in a variety of text types Learn how to re-draft and edit my work Learn from texts to improve my written work Projects

(pg. xxx)

Project: Create a Podcast

Go through the writing process to craft my own short story Respond imagina a flipped fairy-tale. tively to my class novel by creating and recording a podcas t about it.

(pg. xxx)

 Units are carefully structured around the recommended genre-based approach and cover the following genres: fiction, poetry, film, drama, Shakespeare and non-fiction  These sequenced units of learning begin by building a strong knowledge base for each genre, develop oral communication, reading and writing skills, and end with a project  They are designed to be either covered in sequence or to be dipped into and out of, for ease of use  A stand-alone Shakespeare unit, a first with this programme, introduces students to the world of Shakespeare and builds knowledge and understanding of the grammar and punctuation of a Shakespearean text  Each unit begins with a knowledge organiser of genre-based critical vocabulary and ends with a Test Your Knowledge quiz TOUCHSTONES 1

UNIT 2

What do I know?

ACTIVITY

 Highly scaffolded tasks effectively support mixed-ability teaching in the English classroom

What do you already know about poetry? Do you know any poems? Do you know any poets? Do you have a favorite poem?

Go to your activity book (see page XXX) and complete the poetry knowledge download activity.

Looking at the extracts opposite, discuss the questions below.

1 Which texts do you consider to be a poem? Why?

2 Which texts do you not consider to be a poem? Why? 3 Is there anything all four texts have in common?

What Is Poetry?

4 Is there anything about any of them that stands out to you as being unusual?

Poetry has existed and been part of human life since before history started to be written down and recorded. Poets were employed by rulers to create and perform poems so that laws, battles, family histories and legends would be remembered. Poetry was passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. Nowadays, poetry exists in many different forms: written, spoken word, performance and slam poetry, and even film poems.

 Retrieval practice opportunities that build on prior learning on prior learning appear throughout

‘Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.›

‘Poetry: the best words in the best order.’

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Robert Frost

POETRY

COMMUNICATING: GROUP DISCUSSION

5 Has looking at these four texts changed your own view of what a poem is?

It may surprise you that all four of the texts above are poetry texts. Poetry comes in many different shapes and sizes.

Text 1 is a more traditional poem, called ‘The Darkling Thrush’ by Thomas Hardy.

Text 2 is a poetic phrase that the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, used to describe his fighting style.

Text 3 is a transcribed slam poem called Touchscreen by Marshall ‘Soulful’ Jones.

‘It’s an empty basket; you put your life into it and make something out of that.’

Text 4 is a prose poem called ‘[Kills Bugs Dead.]’ by Harryette Mullen.

Mary Oliver

WRITING

‘Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.’

Khalil Gibran, Sand and Foam

A group of friendly aliens have just arrived on our planet. You are in charge of explaining life on earth to them. One of your tasks is to explain poetry to them. Write a short paragraph explaining poetry for your alien audience.

Poetry means different things to different people. Which of these definitions of poetry by four famous poets do you like best? Which quotes do you agree with? Are there any your disagree with?

Writing Tips

READING TASK

You should use clear informative language for your explanation – keep it simple.

Read the four extracts below. The titles and authors have been removed.

1 I leant upon a coppice gate When Frost was spectre-grey, And Winter’s dregs made desolate The weakening eye of day.

 Oral language supports include a strong focus on using structured and meaningful group discussion

3

4

Introducing the new Apple iPerson complete with multitouch doesn’t it feel good to touch?

In black kitchens they foul the food, walk on our bodies as we sleep over oceans of pirate flags. Skull and crossbones, they crunch like candy. When we die they will eat us, unless we kill them first. Invest in better mousetraps. Take no prisoners on board ship, to rock the boat, to violate our beds with pestilence.

doesn’t it feel good to touch? compatible with your iPod and iPad doesn’t it feel good to touch? doesn’t it feel good to touch?

You should write about why people like poetry or what poetry has been used for throughout human history.

You could give them an example of a line or two of poetry that you know yourself.

2 Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see.

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The Educational Company of Ireland Please contact your Local Edco Representative to book a presentation or request a sample copy, or Ph: 01-4500611, Email: info@edco.ie, Website: www.edco.ie

JUNIOR CYCLE ENGLISH UNIT 2

t sound

words tha

Rhyme =

alike NIGHT BITE

RAT

 Reading supports include:

CAT

Words at End rhyme: h line of eac the end poem that rhyme rds rhyme: Wo Internal dle of in the mid that rhyme ce a senten

Rhyme scheme: A pattern in of rhyme a poem

 Effective reading strategies integrated into tasks to develop reading skills

POETRY

cat fearless Look at the less rat the help t Pounce on d of nigh il the dea .

Playing unt juicy bite big a to take Waiting rat, his juicy cat with the of night. old Beh the dead to bite in ts wan He

A A B B AA BB

night, dead of devoured, l cat.

The rat, by spitefu savoured First bite

ular e: No reg Free vers rhyme or pattern of structure rhythm or

below.

G questions r’ wer the Little Sta , then ans Twinkle se poems ‘Twinkle are Taylor Shakespe

by Jane , William by little star th cbe twinkle, From Ma Twinkle, are! you at nder wh How I wo ldron go; so high, ut the cau the world Round abo ’d entrails throw.

Up above the sky. son mond in In the poi d stone Like a dia t under col ne Toad, tha has thirty-o , hts nig ping got Days and venom slee rmed pot.

Swelter’d cha e; first i’ the Boil thou and troubl dburg double toil on bubble.

Carl San Double, ldr ‘Fog’ by n and cau Mariner’ Fire bur Ancient e of the Rim e es ‘Th leridge From The fog com Taylor Co t. , uel fee oud Sam cat shr by on little mast or cloud, on king e; In mist or It sits loo pers nin city d for ves bour and It perche over har through the night, haunches Whiles all on silent ite, wh moves on. on-shine. fog-smoke and then white Mo the d Glimmere lines? end of the me at the eme? poems rhy l rhyme? rhyme sch 1 Which e interna the poem’s poems hav figure out 2 Which and try to m poe a scheme? e at all?

3 Choos any rhyme not rhyme ow do foll ms Why? poe t does not ’t rhyme?

4 Which a poem tha ms that don do you call me or poe 5 What ms that rhy prefer poe 6 Do you

READIN Read the



A dedicated reading unit, that includes over 40 books appealing to this age group as well as engaging group tasks to encourage and promote reading for pleasure

 Writing supports include:  Scaffolded writing tasks (models and writer’s toolkits) that promote the craft of writing

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A SETTIN

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One of the ways a writ using the er can craf five senses t an engagin to make a to the wor g setting reader feel ld of the is through story. Belo like they could use w are som are transpo the senses e interest rted to engage ing ways the reader a writer in the wor ld of the text.

Smell

COMMU

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See

WRITING

Purpose: Craft a sett ing that is Toolkit cho sinister and ices: unsettling.

Describe a sound but do not reve What doe al exactly s it not sme what it is. ll like?

Describe specific colo urs or use colour as a symbol.

Slowly, Sara h opened the door with the smell of flow to the enc losed gard ers, grass smell; one en. She was or earth. she was This was fam not met trees hun a diffe g limp, thei iliar with but could not, or wou rent kind of r leaves a insect to pale grey be seen. . There was ld not, name. The Then it star determin not a flow ted again. ed, no mat er nor an She follo ter what wed the the conseq low hum uences, to ming, find its sou rce.

Edit

your par

agraph

Skim and scan you r setting letters and paragrap end punctua h tion correctl and ensure you hav y. Turn to e used cap page XXX ital to check the rules.

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Oral language and writing projects provide students with opportunities to develop a personal writing voice and to experiment with and enjoy elements of public speaking and performance

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UNIT 1

TOUCHSTONES 1

Read this famous fractured fairy tale

ECT: PROJ A Fractured been fairytale genre that has in some way A fractured fairy tale is a story from the can create a fractured fairy tale by being flipped, reimagined or restructured. You fairy-tale genre. creative with any of the elements of the Royalty

Ends with: And they all lived happily ever after.

Features of the fairytale genre

[insert Visual 21]

Step-by-step instructions and tasks with complementary teacher mark sheet and whole-class feedback sheet for each project, provided in the Teacher’s Resource Book Used to teach children a lesson

Action

Change the character traits of the characters

Have well-known fairy-tale characters meet Change the narrative perspective Change the problem in the story

Change the resolution in the story Write a different ending

Magic or fantasy

The woodsman is not brave and runs from the big bad wolf

by John Scieszka

my neighbor So I walked down the street to ask was a pig. for a cup of sugar. Now this neighbor And he wasn’t too bright, either. straw. Can He had built his whole house out of mind you believe it? I mean who in his right would build a house of straw? want to just on the door, it fell right in. I didn’t So of course the minute I knocked walk into someone else’s house. you in?’ No answer.

So I called, ‘Little Pig, Little Pig, are the cup of sugar for my dear old granny’s I was just about to go home without on. Well I started to itch. I felt a sneeze coming birthday cake. That’s when my nose

Talking animals and monsters

huffed. And I snuffed.

And I sneezed a great sneeze.

the straw house fell down. And right in And you know what? That whole darn He had been First Little Pig – dead as a doornail. middle of the pile of straw was the home the whole time. straw. good ham dinner lying there in the It seemed a shame to leave a perfectly just lying there.

So I ate it up. Think of it as a big cheeseburger to the didn’t have my cup of sugar. So I went I was feeling a little better. But I still was a was the First Little Pig’s brother. He next neighbor’s house. This neighbor sticks. of house his built had little smarter, but not much. He are answered. I called, ‘Mr Pig, Mr Pig, I rang the bell on the stick house. Nobody the hairs on wolf. You can’t come in. I’m shaving you in?’ He yelled back, ‘Go away

of the following: Example

FICTION

Pigs.

Bad Wolf But like I was saying, the whole Big about a thing is all wrong. The real story is sneeze and a cup of sugar. making Way back in Once Upon a Time, I was I had a granny. old dear my for cake a birthday sugar. terrible sneezing cold. I ran out of

Clear villain and hero

Fight between good and evil

To fracture a fairy tale, you could do one

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they do.

Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think Everybody knows the story of the nobody Nobody knows the real story, because But I’ll let you in on a little secret. has ever heard my side of the story. whole can call me Al. I don’t know how this I’m the wolf. Alexander T. Wolf. You it’s all wrong.

Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but little it’s not my fault if wolves eat cute Maybe it’s because of our diet. Hey, pigs. That’s just the way we are. If animals like bunnies and sheep and too. probably think you were Big and Bad, cheeseburgers were cute, folks would

What Is A Fractured Fairy Tale?

 Clear success criteria are provided

based on the story of The Three Little

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

Write Fairy Tale

Begins with: Once upon a time…



11:23

: GROUP

First choose three tool s from the Now sele ct one of toolkit opp the purp osite to help to describe you craft your setting. oses from the list a setting. below. Wri An exam te a short ple has bee Craft a sett paragrap n complet h ing that is… ed for you . peaceful and relaxing sinister and romantic unsettling amusing unusual and different joyful and uplifting Example

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 Engaging end-of-unit projects that can be used to, prepare for the Classroom-Based Assessments (CBAs),

UNIT 1

NICATING

away

Shrek

wolf’s Describe the three little pigs from the perspective lonely The wolf in Little Red Riding Hood is and just wants to make some friends

my chinny chin chin.’ huffed.

I felt another sneeze coming on. I I had just grabbed the doorknob when my mouth, but I sneezed a great sneeze.

And I snuffed. And I tried to cover like his but this guy’s house fell down just And you’re not going to believe it, as a there was the Second Little Pig – dead brother’s. When the dust cleared, doornail. Wolf’s honor.

of Prince Charming ends up marrying one the ugly sisters a The frog princess actually hates being princess and wants to be a frog again

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www.edcopublications.ie

FICTION

DISCUSSI In small grou ON ps, look at that mos the three t appeals settings pict to you. Des toolkit on ured belo cribe the page XXX w. Choose setting in . First cho the one engage it. the picture ose a sen Finally app by using se to eng ly it to the the group the age, then picture you should take choose a have cho a turn add way to sen. Each ing to the member oral picture of description .

What does it Hear Describe smell like? not Touch Describe the specific colo Strangely, Taste the Describe soun or use colo urs stable did ur as reve d first, then spec Taste som not a symbol ific al its sour ething smell like ce in deta textures that is horses. a smell A il loud bang The woman’s It did not sme ing Gasping for The chair echoed arou ashen grey like hay or ll was nd man face she swalloweair, decorated the dungeon; or hard work ure told them in a d all . the circu filthy the they need s of stains, prisoner smo ed to and ashes. g awake agai was each with their know. n.

Link the sme own distinctiv ll to a Desc e memory ribe how texture.

A soun the light affec The salty sea ts unex d that is Desc air thing ribe the pected wafted thro s in the Taste is ugh temperature surprising or setting the window for subj people or of the setting The rickety Sarah reme and things tasteective. Use table A mbered to reve The floor was gunshot was illuminate summer at ice somethin al her d through cut cold like a g by a strea grandmother the frozen about m ’s. a lake. birdsong and light snea of king in char acter. trees. through a tear in The steak the blind. was barely cook ed, Link the sme but she ate Zoom in and an emotion ll to it without Describe a describe spec flinching.

She walked ific soun into Describe the details of d but the kitchen Reveal to vibrations do not reve objects with the smell of al in of fresh som som exactly wha ething the scene ething bread baki t it is about char ng; The room Something acte had to swal she The necklace was by revealing r low buzzing; it rumbled in grief quickly. her on the dres taste crav a ser seemed alive the dista ing was broken . and it soun nt; He needed rusting. ded to feed. Som hungry, angr ething y big and juicy and louder . with Use nouns every seco or nd.

Link what verbs to desc you ribe Desc see to emo a smell tions soun ribe a Link touch d that a The doll’s She smelled to hous Link the taste a memory like was arranged e character has home. or to a memory emo imag tion ined meticulously. or emotion He touched Somebody Her heart was broke The melting the soft calling her, into two at softly curta velvet the mashed pota and gently. sight of it. in and was to She reminded immediately would go her of into Granny. transported the night and back to his find it. childhood .

 A focus on development of high-level vocabulary throughout



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TOUCHS TONES 1 CRAFTING

A dedicated reading unit including over 40 books to appeal to this age group as well as engaging group tasks to encourage and promote reading for pleasure

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 A skills development approach for writing to analyse, beginning in first year with annotation, quotation and inference skills



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Student Activity Book Touchstones 1 Student Activity Book provides additional material, questions and activities to complement textbook content, including:  Meaningful scaffolding to approach written tasks  Carefully designed graphic organisers to support thinking and writing  A range of retrieval practice templates to support students using effective learning techniques

J u n io

r Cy c le

CLA

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Touchstones 1 Teacher’s Resource Book provides all the practical support you need to teach the course, including:  Guidance on the Junior Cycle English specification  Planning supports:  A comprehensive guide to planning  Detailed, step-by-step unit plans which match each activity with a learning outcome  Three different types of planning to navigate the programme with ease: genre based, learning in focus and a mixture of both  Subject department plans  Assessment supports:  A variety of retrieval practice resources and activity ideas  Teacher mark sheets and whole-class feedback sheets for projects  First-Year novel supports:  Knowledge organisers for a choice of four novels: Ghost Boys, The Bone Sparrow, The Graveyard Book and When The Sky Falls  Generic character map and plot road organisers, personal response discussion and short writing tasks  Additional supports:  Blank templates are also provided for use with teachers’ own choice of texts

www.edcopublications.ie

t Ye ar

Eng

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ACT IV BOO ITY K

Teacher’s Resource Book

 Mini-assessments for each unit

F ir s

MAD

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NEW

Written by highly experienced and well-known English teacher Clare Madden, Touchstones presents a fresh and engaging new approach to Junior Cycle English.

Touchstones uses cutting-edge, classroom-tested methods to build up students’ knowledge of texts and skills in a carefully integrated way. Students are led on an innovative and exciting journey through the specification.

The Touchstones 1 package is suitable for First-Year students and includes: A Student Textbook A Student Activity Book A Free Student e-book Free Audio App A Teacher’s Resource Book Free Digital Resources

     

En gl ish e Fi rs t Ye ar Ju ni or Cy cl

ACTIVITY BOOK UNIT 1

TOUCHSTONES 1

Plot

What do I know?

ACTIVITY

any famous stories? Do you know know about fiction or What do you already What’s your favorite story? the fiction knowledge (see page XXX) and complete Go to your activity book download activity.

human. Fiction is the of what it means to be stories are at the heart creates a world Telling and listening to y. A writer imagines and from real in some way imaginar telling of stories that are find inspiration for fiction it with their readers. Writers visited. and characters and shares met or a place they have have they person a are life, from old stories, from agree with? Are there Which quotes do you best? like you do Which of these quotes with? disagree any you

n

Draft

Redraft Edit

tio

Plan

Imagine

Publish

ac

you’ve never been.’

Selected Nonfiction

planning, includes brainstorming, through a process that library or A good story is crafted that we pick up from a editing. The finished product drafting, redrafting and of a long writing process. bookshop is the result

Brainstorm

Resolution

READING

take you somewhere

from the Cheap Seats:

ob Pr

n

tio

ing

a different world. It can

Neil Gaiman, The View

m

le

Opening (sets the scene)

ac

Khaled Hosseini

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

ACTIVITY

‘Fiction can show you

‘Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth.’

Climax

g

in

Ris

ll Fa

Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall

‘Fiction is like a spider’s lightly web, attached ever so to perhaps, but still attached life at all four corners.’

ADDEN CLARE M

follow a the story. Some stories events that happen within where The plot of a story is the with an interesting opening The story usually begins arises straightforward plot line. the setting. Next, a problem s and are introduced to to rise (rising action) we meet the character continues tension and The action ict finally comes to that sets the story in motion. moment when the confl the moment, the conflict until we reach the climactic (falling action) and finally the action calms down they all a head. Following this, this is the point where in some way. In fairy tales, is dealt with and resolved live happily ever after!

authors?

What Is Fiction?

‘Some of these things are true and some of them lies. But they are all good stories. ‘

FICTION

wn fairy tale Jack plot points from the well-kno In your activity Look at this list of the order. are not in the correct and the Beanstalk. They the correct order. sort the plot points into book (see page XXX), beans.

He sells the cow for magic (a) Jack meets a man. live happily ever after. (b) Jack and his mom beanstalk. (c) Jack goes down the and decides to climb it.

Jack sees the beanstalk (d) The next morning, (e) The giant follows Jack. dies. beanstalk and the giant (f) Jack chops down the the cow. (g) Jack is sent to sell out of the window. and throws the beans (h) Jack’s mom gets angry . beanstalk the at the top of (i) Jack enters the castle and the hen. ( j) Jack steals the harp hides. (k) Jack sees a giant and (l) Setting: Jack’s House golden eggs. harp and a hen that lays (m) Jack sees a singing (n) The giant falls asleep. (o) The giant wakes up.

Giant Man, Cow, Mom, Jack, (p) Characters:

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Digital Resources

Teachers can access the Touchstones 1 interactive e-book at www.edcolearning.ie, plus a bank of free digital resources, including: ›

Editable PowerPoint presentations for each unit

›

Editable units of learning and templates to support planning

›

Worksheets and tests

›

Select solutions

›

A wide range of videos

›

Audio tracks available online

2

Available 2023 Touchstones 2 is a complete Junior Cycle English programme for Second and Third Year which builds on the knowledge and skills of Touchstones 1 and prepares students for assessment, including:

2

 Carefully sequenced units of learning in three formats: genre-based, learning-in-focus and prescribed texts  Genre-based units on poetry, fiction, film, drama and Shakespeare which build knowledge and skills in oral language, reading and writing  Learning-in-focus units on the art of comparison, the art of rhetoric and persuasion, reading for pleasure, and the craft of journalism  Prescribed texts units which prepare students for the final assessment  Over 20 original and engaging CBA projects to choose from with clear success criteria, step-by-step instructions, scaffolding, reflection opportunities and feedback templates  Skills and learning strategies for the final assessment built into each unit, with opportunities for retrieval practice and exam-style written questions

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Clare Madden is an English and History teacher based in Glanmire Community College in Cork. She is a former JCT English Associate and has taught Junior Cycle English since its introduction. Clare also delivers English teaching webinars on behalf of Education Centres nationwide and tweets regularly on all things English teaching @MaddenClare.

The Educational Company of Ireland Please contact your Local Edco Representative to book a presentation or request a sample copy, Ph: 01-4500611, Email: info@edco.ie, Website: www.edco.ie

2022