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xris32.bsky.social
Chris Curtis
@xris32.bsky.social
2.2K followers 1.4K following 580 posts
English teacher, head of department, geek, avid reader of books, blogger

Blog: https://learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/
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xris32.bsky.social
Chris Curtis @xris32.bsky.social · Nov 9
NEW BLOG: A question of homework in English

learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-qu...

@carousel-learning.bsky.social @adamboxereducation.bsky.social
A question of homework in English
Homework is one of those tricky things in school. The only people that seem to like it are pushy parents, who think every child should be do...
learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com
Reposted by Chris Curtis
natecommunity.bsky.social
Join NATE, the UK’s leading subject association for English teachers. Get inspiring resources, stay up to date with the latest thinking in English education, and join a supportive community — from just £5/month (£1 trainees, £3 ECTs). mailchi.mp/nate.org.uk/...
January 24, 2026 at 11:08 AM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
xris32.bsky.social
NEW BLOG: Metaphor, Oracy, and Real Speech

learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2026/01/meta...
List of questions
January 18, 2026 at 12:47 PM
xris32.bsky.social
NEW BLOG: Metaphor, Oracy, and Real Speech

learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2026/01/meta...
List of questions
January 18, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
barbarableiman.bsky.social
English teacher? 5 mins to spare? Your view is essential!

How is poetry being taught in secondary schools today?
We’re mapping the national picture in England & will report on it.

5 minute survey: tinyurl.com/238cz6mu

Supported by Christ Church's Tower Poetry Development Grant​
Mapping Poetry: A Survey of Secondary School Practices in England
EMC Survey into Poetry Teaching in English Secondary Schools (2026)
tinyurl.com
January 17, 2026 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
litdrive.bsky.social
Could you be a speaker at the Litdrive National Conference?!
We’d love to hear from teachers/colleagues across a wide range of contexts who have something practical, thoughtful, or genuinely useful to share. If that sounds like you - sign up here: forms.gle/qTA6wAYX1oeU...
January 16, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
smithsmm.bsky.social
Here are almost 40 of my favourite #MiddleGrade reads for 2025.

A fantastic range from wild fantasy, to gritty realism, historical adventures and more than a few scares. What a brilliant year its been for children’s books
December 13, 2025 at 12:17 PM
xris32.bsky.social
NEW BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2024/06/read...
Books Books Books
January 17, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
ttradioofficial.bsky.social
The English Strand at TTR Connect 2026! So far, we have announced eight speakers with many more to come! Check them out here: www.ttradio.org/english26 and get a free ticket here: www.ttradio.org/connect2026
January 13, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
litdrive.bsky.social
Sign up to the Litdrive newsletter today to be the first to hear about how to become a speaker at the Litdrive National Conference 2026! litdrive.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=... #LitdriveCPD #TeamEnglish #Litdrive
January 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
matt-lynch.bsky.social
*NEW* for AQA Lang P1 from June 2026 onwards:

✅ The Day of the Triffids

Specimen paper and a PPT slide deck with resources, scaffolds and model answers, like so 👇

Repost and help yourself 😊

www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/bd6qg...
December 8, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
matt-lynch.bsky.social
*NEW* for AQA English Language Paper 1 from June 2026 onwards:

✅ The Woman in Black

Specimen paper and accompanying PPT slide deck with resources, scaffolds and model responses, like so 👇

Help yourself 😊

www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/qu9to...
December 3, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
stephenjdilley.bsky.social
This was terrific - every English teacher and everyone involved in education policy should listen!
natecommunity.bsky.social National Association for the Teaching of English @natecommunity.bsky.social · Nov 22
Wednesday's fabulous Harold Rosen Lecture by Carol Atherton reminded us of the transformative power of authentic, dialogic teaching, says NATE chair Mick Connell. The lecture can be viewed after reading Mick's article: t.co/bP8n58Jntp
https://www.nate.org.uk/2025/11/20/carol-athertons-harold-rosen-lecture-advocates-for-the-transformative-power-of-authentic-dialogic-teaching/
t.co
November 22, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
ianeagletonauthor.bsky.social
I’m wondering if any children’s publishers need a freelance writer to write reading scheme books for them or branded picture books etc? I’ve written reading scheme books for Star Wars and Disney before! Any shares would be amazing!

#BookSky #KidLit
November 16, 2025 at 6:12 PM
xris32.bsky.social
Today’s reading. A third of the way in and I am not feeling it.
Book cover - Katabasis
November 15, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
sccenglish.bsky.social
The Occasional 10: excellent newsletters.

open.substack.com/pub/juliangi...
The Occasional 10
Carl Hendrick, Barbara Oakley, George Saunders, Audrey Watters, Marc Watkins, Andrew Campbell, Daisy Christodoulou, Bennie Kara, Alan Jacobs, Jonathan Gibbs, Peps Mccrea and more.
open.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
didau.bsky.social
NEW: Good schools make good trachers

If teachers don’t always improve with experience, the problem isn’t them. It’s the environment. Schools that get better do so because they make feedback clearer, practice more deliberate, and culture more trustworthy.

open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Good schools make good teachers
What kind domains, wicked traps and school culture mean for improvement
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:24 AM
xris32.bsky.social
It is that time of year. Not Christmas. The book token competition.

hiddenbooks.nationalbooktokens.com?utm_medium=p...
Play the Hidden Books Game from National Book Tokens!
Guess all 20 book titles hidden in the picture.
hiddenbooks.nationalbooktokens.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
joshuaperry.bsky.social
Cracking blog on English homework
November 11, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
mscaitlinmoran.bsky.social
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round
Clear out toys now!
November 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
xris32.bsky.social
NEW BLOG: A question of homework in English

learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-qu...

@carousel-learning.bsky.social @adamboxereducation.bsky.social
A question of homework in English
Homework is one of those tricky things in school. The only people that seem to like it are pushy parents, who think every child should be do...
learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
dowise.bsky.social
Women writers of WW1: three poets and four poems ⤵️

www.douglaswise.co.uk/.../women-wr....

Many Sisters to Many Brothers, by Rose Macaulay
Munition Wages, by Ida Bedford
The Shadow, by Rose Macaulay
The Sisters Buried at Lemnos, by Vera Brittain
November 9, 2025 at 10:18 AM
xris32.bsky.social
NEW BLOG: A question of homework in English

learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-qu...

@carousel-learning.bsky.social @adamboxereducation.bsky.social
A question of homework in English
Homework is one of those tricky things in school. The only people that seem to like it are pushy parents, who think every child should be do...
learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
ottoenglish.bsky.social
Richard Aldington's Epilogue to Death of a Hero.

Always worth revisiting on Remembrance Sunday.
Eleven years after the fall of Troy, We, the old men - some of us nearly forty Met and talked on the sunny rampart Over our wine, while the lizards scuttled In dusty grass, and the crickets chirred. Some bared their wounds; Some spoke of the thirst, dry in the throat, And the heart-beat, in the din of battle; Some spoke of intolerable sufferings. The brightness gone from their eyes And the grey already thick in their hair. And I sat a little apart from the garrulous talk and old memories, And I heard a boy of twenty Say petulantly to a girl, seizing her arm: "Oh, come away, why do you stand there Listening open-mouthed to the talk of old men? Haven't you heard enough of Troy and Achilles? Why should they bore us for ever With an old quarrel and the names of dead men We never knew, and dull forgotten battles?" And he drew her away, And she looked back and laughed As he spoke more contempt of us, Being now out of hearing, And I thought of the graves by desolate Troy And the beauty of many young men now dust, And the long agony, and how useless it all was. And the talk still clashed about me Like the meeting of blade and blade. And as they two moved further away He put an arm about her, and kissed her; And afterwards I heard their gay distant laughter. And I looked at the hollow cheeks And the weary eyes and the grey- streaked heads of the old men -nearly forty- about me; And I too walked away In an agony of helpless grief and pity. (Richard Aldington, 1929)
November 9, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
openingdoors.bsky.social
In WW2 a 19 year old sent his mother a poem. He sadly died; but the poem endured. It’s a long term favourite with our schools via ‘OD to Quality Writing 10-13’ .I’ve just heard it read out at the British Legion Festival on bbc.
John Magee lives on! www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/157986...
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds,—and done a hundred things You have...
www.poetryfoundation.org
November 8, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Chris Curtis
clairestoneman.bsky.social
NEW POST

This time on school leadership

substack.com/inbox/post/1...
On blessings
This week our local vicar visited school.
substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:11 PM