"Sherlocked"

One of the best things about being an English Teacher is teaching students about literary characters that I adore myself. It makes me really enthusiastic and that means I want to create 'out-of-the-box' resources that generate excitement in my learners too. It's a fabulously infectious chain reaction. To create a buzz before starting an Arthur Conan Doyle author study, I sent the class on a clue hunt around the school. That's right...I let them all loose! This was carefully managed as they were all in small groups with a responsible and sensible student leading. There were 15 clues to find and I staggered the starting points of each group (so one group started at clue number one, the second group started at clue number five and so on). Each group was given a list of locations around the school building. They were given stop watches and a 20 minute limit - the first group to return with all clues was declared the winner! These were the clues they had to locate:

221b Baker Street (sign)
Professor Moriarty (sign)
A cigar (pic)
The Sign of Four/A Study in Scarlet/The Hound of the Baskervilles (sign)
Deerstalker (pic)
Sherlock (sign)
Violin (pic)
Arthur Conan Doyle (sign)
Holmes (sign)
Inverness cape (pic)
Consulting Detective (sign)
Laboratory glassware to represent Chemistry (pic)
Cane (pic)
Dr. John Watson (sign)
Bare knuckle fighting (sign)

Once back in the classroom, they had to use deduction (a la Sherlock Holmes) to build a profile of the main man. We had some really interesting answers and when I revealed what the clues actually meant, there were lovely flashes of enlightenment popping all over the place.

I must confess, this activity took a while to prepare (finding suitable offices and rooms to stick the clues in) but I'm so glad I did it. The unit kicked off with flare and I know this is something that my learners will remember. They've really taken to the character of Sherlock Holmes and as a fan myself, I'm thrilled to have more followers of the man in the Deerstalker.

Read the book first!

Films are something that youngsters and adults have in common so why not use this medium to encourage reading? That is what inspired this display in my classroom. Since we are in a brand new, purpose built school, there are restrictions about where we can stick things (understandably). For the sake of longevity and preservation, posters/displays cannot go straight on to bare walls so I've resorted to turning cupboards into canvases! Many students were surprised that some of these were adapted from books and I'm glad to say that others were inspired to read the book version, out of curiosity. It is a display that can be updated regularly, to reflect the most current releases. Someone once asked my why I didn't intersperse the posters with 'Read the book instead'. It's because I didn't want to give my display a 'lecture-ish' air or imply that watching the film was somehow a bad thing. Even if  youngsters are inspired to read the book after the film, the outcome is the same - they're reading!

Getting lippy...

Something about the spring and upcoming summer always makes me want to try out new lipstick shades. I tend to stick to a lip stain in the colder months and don't veer away from this too much; I guess we just want our creature comforts when the evenings are dark and the wind is biting. However, the warmer months ignite my more adventurous side and I find myself perusing the make-up counters with more interest. As a result, I ended up purchasing this lovely La Créme Colour Drenched lipstick by Too Faced, in an alluring shade of 'pink chocolate'.  On the website it's described as "obscenely rich" and "oozing with lip-conditioning hydrators, including white lotus flower". It's a warm pink colour and literally melts onto the lips, and doesn't have the drying sensation that some matte lipsticks can leave you with. To top it off, the packaging is so so pretty!

A birthday beauty...

I wanted to share this post mid-week but had to wait until today.That's because it's about a present that I bought for my sister, who celebrated her birthday yesterday. I decided to splash out on her because she's celebrating a significant birthday and this gorgeous Ted Baker piece ticked all of the right boxes. It's a patent matinee purse in a divine shade of orange. My sister fell in love with the colour and metallic bow detail. It was a little pricey but it looks timeless and is something that I know she will use again and again. I purchased it from John Lewis and am tempted to buy one myself, in a different shade!