Back to Plan your Day 2023 – Holly Wimbush and Zara Shah – Grammar is Power Teaching and Learning Leeds Conference 2023 Timetable 2023 Workshop facilitator Holly Wimbush and Zara Shah Name of Workshop Grammar is Power- so how can we wield it in the secondary English curriculum? Who is it for Secondary English teachers. Brief synopsis of workshop: This session proposes a concept-led English curriculum that prioritises the teaching of grammar as a cognitive framework, one that helps to organise and build upon procedural knowledge, across the key stages. It starts with an evidence-informed approach that interrogates some of the existing approaches around the teaching of grammar within educational discourse and discusses how grammar can be used as a useful tool to build and develop schemas. It will then explore some mechanisms that practitioners can use to prioritise and implement key grammatical knowledge, both within context and outside of it, followed by a focus on strategies that team leaders can employ to successfully embed this conceptual knowledge within the very fabric of their curriculum vision, curriculum discussions within teams and learning in every classroom. What you will get out of it: An understanding of the existing approaches to the teaching of grammar and how grammar can be used as a tool to develop schemas. Strategies for teaching grammar in context as well as explicitly in the secondary English classroom Profile of facilitator: Holly Wimbush is co-author of ‘Succeeding as an English Teacher’, Subject Leader of A Level Language and Literature and ITT Lead at a secondary school in leafy Cheshire. She has been an examiner for a number of boards throughout her practice. Holly has led CPD sessions ranging from effective RM+F to BfL across the school as well as leading content based sessions for the faculty. Holly has recently completed her NPQ in Leading Teacher development and is also the Regional Networks Associate for LitDrive. She has a great passion for teaching, reading and can often be found at the rugby, theatre or a musical enjoying a Saturday matinee. Zara Shah is co-author of ‘Succeeding as an English Teacher’, KS3 Coordinator in English at The Grammar School at Leeds, Learning and Teaching Specialist for the Leading Learning Partnership (Leeds), a primary school Governor responsible for Teaching and Learning and a passionate advocate for equity and evidence-informed practice. Zara has an MA in Teaching and is also a mentor and LitDriveUk Regional Advocate for West Yorkshire, a non-profit organisation committed to ‘Better Balance’ and subject-specific CPD. In her spare time, Zara listens to podcasts, drives her three cricket-obsessed children to trainings and fixtures, and organises themed events Twitter @HWimbushEnglish @zssnas Website
