A new alphabet on the wall
An original account of an invented classroom display.
Each student had designed an alphabet for an imaginary language. Some symbols were formed from straight lines; others looked like tiny knots. The teacher asked the class to write a short message using their own symbols and place it beside an explanation of how the alphabet worked.
At first, several students wanted to hide the explanations. They thought visitors would spend longer looking if the messages remained a mystery. When another class came to test the display, however, most visitors moved past those messages after a quick glance. They had no way of deciding where to begin. Once the explanations were uncovered, visitors started pointing from the keys to the messages and trying to read particular words. The symbols had not changed, but people now had a way into them.
What did the teacher ask students to place beside their messages?
382 exam-style questions on WJEC GCSE English Language 3.1.3 Short and extended response question types. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.