The History Boys: Study Guide for GCSE
The History Boys is an immensely enjoyable play to watch, read and teach – fast-moving, highly amusing, and ever so slightly anarchic. It is a pelt of a performance, which accelerates at such a pace it is hard to squeeze in pauses for the laughter. With this guide, your students will have an ideal opportunity to consider the merits and weaknesses of an educational system, improve their vocabulary and demystify the plethora of cultural and literary references used within the play.
An engrossing read which shows writer's engagement with the source material
- Walkthrough – Builds understanding of the chosen text with insightful and relevant commentary and analysis. All scenes are concisely summarised, then examined in detail.
- Whole-text Analysis – Explores: Characterisation • Relationships • Setting and props • Themes, ideas and messages • Language • Form and structure • Context
Includes
- Student-friendly plot summary
- Key term glossary
- Further reading
- Original illustrations
Woven into the analysis throughout you will find:
- Discussion prompts to encourage debate and individual interpretation
- Active learning tasks to deepen understanding
- Essay tips and questions for excellent exam practice
- Key term definitions to ensure students grasp difficult concepts
Plus! A translation of the classroom scene conducted in the French conditional or subjunctive and an appendix of cultural references.
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What do teachers say about this resource? (11887)
Comprehensive, intelligent, well researched... The style is intelligent with a good range of vocabulary that will hopefully prompt students to develop their own word use and expression. The bullet-point questions are really good for plenary discussion or Q&A, and can be extended for short writing tasks. They are relevant and engaging points on which to focus. I liked the way information about Bennett's views on various themes of the play had been merged with the study guide, providing author intention info which is useful. Very useful comprehensive appendix of cultural references at the end — will save teachers hours looking things up!
The resource had been meticulously researched, saving a lot of time... I liked how the author presented a range of discussion points at various stages of the guide, covering a range of features of characterisation, theme and language. The level of detail in the teacher's guide will allow staff to prepare for lessons with confidence. The discussion points can provide a framework for designing a range of tasks to allow students a "way in" to a challenging text. I think the author has worked hard to clearly define sections of text in a play with no scene demarcations. I would agree with the divisions imposed as they were clear to the reader, even when looking at the guide without the text to hand... I think that as a teacher's guide, there would be little to improve in such a well-resourced work. An engrossing read which shows writer's engagement with the source material.
Very detailed. It would be useful for teachers working on the text for the first time, and for students as a revision guide... I can see how others would find it extremely supportive and beneficial.