INTRODUCTION

I have developed this resource as an aid to teachers who are covering the 2002 GCSE English Literature Syllabus. The idea behind my research was to produce a resource package which would take the hard work out of using the Internet to develop teaching materials and research background information on the set texts. Internet research can be a time consuming activity, but for teachers using this set of website reviews, all the groundwork is already done.

I have located Internet sites to accompany and enhance the teaching of six of the texts on the GCSE English Literature Syllabus; Macbeth (William Shakespeare), Our Town (Thornton Wilder), Philadelphia Here I Come (Brian Friel), Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck), To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee), and Lord Of The Flies (William Golding).

Here's where the timesaving part comes in! On every website that I have chosen to include in this resource, I have written a Review, detailing exactly what is contained within that site. Reading these reviews will let the teacher see at a glance if a particular website contains, for example, biographical information on the author or individual chapter or scene summaries. They can also see if there are included in the site any teaching materials such as photocopiable worksheets or revision tests. In this way, teachers can tell which sites contains what they are looking for, without the effort of going online and trying to locate relevant websites for themselves. In reviewing the Internet sites, I have also used a one-to-ten rating system to indicate how useful I felt that site would be as a resource for teachers. The key to this rating system is;

Very useful =
Not useful =

This resource pack is two-fold, all websites and reviews are available both in CD-ROM and hardcopy format. The advantage to this is that by using the CD-ROM, the user can read the reviews, and if they find a site they'd like to visit, all they have to do is click on the link provided and they'll be taken straight there. As all the material relevant to the texts is stored on the CD-ROM, this means that this facility can be taken advantage of, even when using a computer which is not connected to the Internet. However if the computer is online, the user will also be able to connect to other external links using this CD.

The benefit of having the hardcopy version of the websites and reviews is this. Information on the Internet is a very transient thing. Websites change daily and it is not impossible to imagine that materials which I have reviewed and included, may be gone from the web address given in the future. However, having the hardcopy means that the school will have this information as a permanent resource. Another plus is that any teacher who does not have the time or the facility to access a computer can read or photocopy the information or teaching materials in the hardcopy format.

Below is an outline of the organisation of the hardcopy materials. Materials are organised under the same headings on the CD-ROM and this site:

Book #1 - Introduction and Reviews
Book #2 - Resources on William Shakespeare's Macbeth
Book #3 - Resources on Thornton Wilder's Our Town
Book #4 - Resources on Brian Friel's Philadelphia Here I Come
Book #5 - Resources on John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
Book #6 - Resources on Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird
Book #6.1 - Resources on Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird (contd.)
Book #7 - Resources on William Golding's Lord Of The Flies
Book #7.1 - Resources on William Golding's Lord Of The Flies (contd.)

Email the site at: GCSEEENGLITRESOURCE@lycos.co.uk 

Copyright and Disclaimer.

The links to and the websites are the copyright of the individual authors and this collection is not responsible for any content contained therein.