I am a Teachit fan, the long-standing online English teaching resources site, and I have been a contributor for some time, though not supplying a huge number of materials.

I have been pleased to have an A Level English Language and Literature resource used quite a bit, though this has now come to an end as the Spec. has ceased to exist – this the last year of examination.

My other regular contributions have been ideas for National Poetry Days, and these have over the years been used – which sounds simplistic – but this is what one wants: used by teachers with their students.

I should make an effort to contribute more, though I have increasingly used this site for sharing. It is simply that the spirit of sharing  English resources on a popular and national site is such a positive one, and so practically useful.

I am, therefore, a little disappointed – though not overly surprised – to see the site’s most popular resources of late, these largely functional and certainly not the creative offerings I’d like to see. I have looked at them all in whatever detail they contain, and am not making any criticisms, either overall or specifically, though most I would not use. I have expressed similar about the most ‘popular’ TES English resources. I suppose this reflects the pragmatic needs and demands of many classroom teachers. I fear it reflects a lack of desire to be more adventurous. Here are is the current ‘Top Five’:

1. Writing to argue and persuade: techniques (23342)
2. E-x-p-a-n-d your vocabulary! (22421)
3. Spelling and punctuation game (24130)
4. Narrative bookmarks (25138)
5. Apostrophe practice (22604)

The numbers of downloads tell quite a story. It isn’t the most uplifting I have read.