1. Year 8 exam revision booklet
Name:
Teacher:

2. Activity one... Fact-finding
Create a fact-file on a sport or hobby of your choice.
You must compile facts and figures about your topic e.g. 90,000 people around the world watch ice hockey.
TIP: Use the internet to find statistics and facts about your subject. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE.
AIM: Include at least 10 facts.

3. Activity two... Gathering opinions
Social networking should be for people over 16 only due to bullying and safety concerns.
Do you agree with this statement?
TIP: Gather positive and negative opinions, you can ask your family or do research online.
Use quotation marks to show when people are speaking.

4. Activity three...
Improve the piece of writing by using a thesaurus (you can do this online) to replace the words in red with more ambitious alternatives.
EXT can you add connectives (see list below) to the start of four sentences?
Meat is good for you because it has nutrients including protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins. But beware! Although some lean meats are lower in fat, like chicken and turkey, others contain a lot of saturated fat. The healthiest way to eat meat is to have it lean and cut off all the fat and skin.
Experts say that we should have fish at least twice a week. One of these meals should contain oily fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines or fresh tuna. These contain omega 3 fatty acids, a very important part of a healthy diet. These help you to have a healthy heart!
If you don’t eat meat and fish then vegetable protein can give you of iron, zinc and the B vitamins along with extra fibre. To get enough of these nutrients eat 3 portions a day. Try to have a variety of beans, lentils, dahl and peas. Vegetarian sources of omega 3s are: flaxseeds, walnuts and green leafy vegetables.
EXAMPLES OF CONNECTIVES: However, In addition, Nevertheless, On the other hand, Consequently, Despite.

5. Activity four... Punctuation
Mobiles are the curse of the modern age – in restaurants, on trains and, most of all, in schools. Why? Pupils are texting when they should be working; they use social networking sites to bully fellow pupils; and they post pictures of their teachers on YouTube. Ian Fenn, head of Burnage Media Arts College in Manchester, had had enough. He said: "Mobiles rather crept up on education and in our experience it was a nightmare!" Fenn has banned pupils from making calls or sending texts on school premises and, according to the Daily Mail, the results in terms of improved behaviour and reduced cyberbullying have been dramatic.
Label the different types of punctuation in this text.
Do you agree that mobile phones should be banned?
Write at least two paragraphs giving your opinion using all of the punctuation you have spotted.

6. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Activity 4.1
Your turn…
Imagine your favourite sport or hobby is to be banned by the government!
Using everything you have learnt so far, write a letter to the Prime Minister to persuade him to let your hobby survive.

7. Activity five.
Brendon Gallacher
He was seven and I was six, my Brendon Gallacher.
He was Irish and I was Scottish, my Brendon Gallacher.
His father was in prison; he was a cat burglar.
My father was a Communist Party full-time worker.
He had six brothers and I had one, my Brendon Gallacher.
He would hold my hand and take me by the river
where we’d talk all about his family being poor.
He’d get his mum out of Glasgow when he got older.
A wee holiday some place nice. Some place far.
I’d tell my mum about my Brendon Gallacher.
How his mum drank and his daddy was a cat burglar.
And she’d say, ‘Why not have him round to dinner?’
No, no, I’d say, he’s got big holes in his trousers.
I like meeting him by the burn in the open air.
Then one day after we’d been friends for two years,
one day when it was pouring and I was indoors,
my mum says to me, ‘I was talking to Mrs Moir
who lives next door to your Brendon Gallacher.
Didn’t you say his address was 24 Novar?
She says there are no Gallachers at 24 Novar.
There never have been any Gallachers next door.’
And he died then, my Brendon Gallacher,
flat out on my bedroom floor, his spiky hair,
his impish grin, his funny, flapping ear.
Oh Brendon. Oh my Brendon Gallacher.
Have a look at the unseen poem, can you identify the language techniques?
Can you explain why the poet has used each one? What was their intended effect on the reader? How di it make the reader think and feel?
Can you zoom in on a particular word?
What key themes are presented?
What is the structure of the poem, can you spot any changes in tone or language?

8. Activity six.
Brendon Gallacher
He was seven and I was six, my Brendon Gallacher.
He was Irish and I was Scottish, my Brendon Gallacher.
His father was in prison; he was a cat burglar.
My father was a Communist Party full-time worker.
He had six brothers and I had one, my Brendon Gallacher.
He would hold my hand and take me by the river
where we’d talk all about his family being poor.
He’d get his mum out of Glasgow when he got older.
A wee holiday some place nice. Some place far.
I’d tell my mum about my Brendon Gallacher.
How his mum drank and his daddy was a cat burglar.
And she’d say, ‘Why not have him round to dinner?’
No, no, I’d say, he’s got big holes in his trousers.
I like meeting him by the burn in the open air.
Then one day after we’d been friends for two years,
one day when it was pouring and I was indoors,
my mum says to me, ‘I was talking to Mrs Moir
who lives next door to your Brendon Gallacher.
Didn’t you say his address was 24 Novar?
She says there are no Gallachers at 24 Novar.
There never have been any Gallachers next door.’
And he died then, my Brendon Gallacher,
flat out on my bedroom floor, his spiky hair,
his impish grin, his funny, flapping ear.
Oh Brendon. Oh my Brendon Gallacher.
How does the poem Brendon Gallacher present the theme of Outcasts?
Try and write a peezel discussing language and structure.

9. Slow Reader
He can make sculptures
and fabulous machines,
invent games, tell jokes,
give solemn, adult advice –
but he is slow to read.
When I take him on my knee
with his Ladybird book
he gazes into the air,
sighing and shaking his head
like an old man
who knows the mountains
are impassable.
He toys with words,
letting them go cold
as gristly meat,
until I relent
and let him wriggle free:
a fish returning
to its element,
or a white-eyed colt – shying
from the bit *– who sees
that if he takes it
in his mouth
he’ll never run
quite free again.
VICKI FEAVER
* ‘bit’: the metal mouthpiece of a bridle, used to control a horse
The Unseen Poem –
Question: How do you think the speaker feels about the child and his experience of learning to read and how does the poet present the speaker’s feelings?
Identify the structure and form
Any obvious rhyme scheme?
What language is being used to present the speaker’s feelings?
What language is being used to show us how the speaker feels about the child?
What inferences can you make about the quotations you have selected. Try to select 3 or 4 good quotations!

10. Simile: comparison between two things using like or as
Learn your poetry vocabulary!
Stanza:
Verse of a poem
Simile: comparison between two things using like or as
Irony: when words are used in a sarcastic or comic way to imply the opposite
Form: the type of poem, e.g. a sonnet, and it’s features e.g. rhyme scheme
Metaphor: when one thing is used to describe another thing to create a striking image
Alliteration: where words start with the same letters/ sounds to make them more memorable

11. Elegy: a poem written to mourn the death of someone
Learn your poetry vocabulary!
Assonance: when the vowel sound is repeated in the same place in a series of words
Elegy: a poem written to mourn the death of someone
Repetition: when a word or phrase is repeated
Narrative: a story or tale and the particular way it’s told
Monologue: a long speech delivered by one character
Personification:
When something is written about as if it’s a person with thoughts or feelings

12. Effect: how the poem makes the reader think/ feel
Learn your poetry vocabulary!
Onomatopoeia: words that are written as they sound
Effect: how the poem makes the reader think/ feel
Rhyme: when the last wounds of two or more words are similar or identical
Ideas: the ideas/ themes explored by the poet
Rhythm: the pattern of stresses or beats in a line
Enjambment: when a sentence or phrase runs over from one line to the next

13. Oxymoron: two words in a phrase that have opposite meaning
Learn your poetry vocabulary!
Semantic field: a group of words related in meaning e.g. shot, blood and gun relate to war
Persona: a fictional character or identity adopted by the poet
Sonnet: a type of poem with 14 lines, and usually following a clear rhyme scheme
Symbolism: when an object stands for something else e.g. a dove symbolises hope
Oxymoron: two words in a phrase that have opposite meaning
Colloquial: words that form part of everyday speech (slang)

14. Semantic field: words that link or can be grouped together
Learn your poetry vocabulary!
Half- rhyme: a rhyme which vowel sounds are not identical e.g. yours and years
Iambic pentameter: a line of poetry that has 10 syllables and every second syllable is stressed
Sibilance: the repetition of the ‘s’ sound. E.g. slowly the silence stopped.
Semantic field: words that link or can be grouped together
Plosive: ‘b’, ‘f’, ‘p’, ‘v’- sounds that are created through air in your mouth. Show anger etc.
Juxtaposition: opposite images that are created that give a contrasting effect.

15. Noun: a word that is a person, place or object.
Learn your poetry vocabulary!
Adjective: A word that is used to describe a noun e.g. ‘The tall teacher talked to the class.’.
Noun: a word that is a person, place or object.
Adverb: A word that is used to modify a verb
e.g. ‘He ran quickly.’
Verb: a word used to describe an action, state or occurrence.
Pronoun: a word that can replace a noun
I, You, He, She, It, They, Them, We, My
Intensifier: a word which makes an adjective stronger.
e.g. This is so exciting.