Teaching the Middle Set: What Counts as Being ‘Able’ to Talk About a Character?

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay considers what happens in the English classroom when teaching the same lesson to two classes considered to be of different levels of ‘ability’. It explores what happens during a discussion about the fate of Eva Smith in An Inspector Calls when students’ reading of a text diverges. I consider what teachers do when students’ readings of a text goes against our expectations and accepted critical norms of both the teacher and the National Curriculum. Finally, I explore the potential problems with using retrieval practice as a way to manage divergent readings and interpretations in classroom discussion.