English
"The stories we tell make the world. If you want to change the world, you need to change your story."
Michael Margolis
Embedded Files
PHILOSOPHY AND VISION
PHILOSOPHY AND VISION
At CCHS our vision is to expose students to the best examples of both the written and spoken word, enabling them to form an appreciation of the varied voices of others across time and place. Our aim is to ensure our students understand the ways in which authors consciously craft texts to shape meaning, giving them the knowledge to deconstruct, explore and critically evaluate the choices a writer makes. Through their study, students will recognise and appreciate the power of language. Through this knowledge, students will be given the tools to build, craft, shape and communicate their own voice with confidence, clarity and purpose through both the written and spoken word.
English - Curriculum Map-24.pdfLanguage is the universal key of life, unlocking doors to the world of Literature, as well as allowing us to fully understand and appreciate the world around us.
Year 7
Year 7
Transformation and Journeys - Students start with Neil Gaiman's novel Coraline, exploring themes such as gratitude, boundaries and duality through the journey of a young, female protagonist. Whilst studying this novel students will also be given access to a number of fictional texts as a springboard for their own creative writing.This is followed by the study of a selection of poems exploring a wide range of poetic voices and perspectives. Students will be given the opportunity to develop and share their own views and perspectives through both the written and spoken word. We then look at Dickens' timeless novel, Oliver Twist, exploring themes such as poverty and injustice which remain as relevant today as in the Victorian era.Throughout the unit students will be exposed to a number of non-fiction texts to support their own transactional writing. The final text studied in year 7 is Shakespeare's The Tempest, where the idea of journeys is continued both physically and metaphorically. Students will study the key conventions of form and genre as well as forming an understanding of Shakespeare's language.
Throughout the year students will form an understanding of how to use active reading strategies to read for meaning across all forms of writing. They will learn the initial strands of an analytical essay in preparation for extended analytical writing and develop a range of new creative writing sentences.*
Students in Year 7 will complete a baseline reading and writing assessment at the start and end of the academic year and these will be used to identify students that may require additional support. In addition students will complete assessments at the end of each unit of work. These assessments will be based around the following areas: reading, comprehension and development of the deconstructed essay; knowledge developed throughout the unit, including knowledge of tier 3 vocabulary; tier 2 vocabulary; grammar, punctuation and spelling and either a creative or transactional writing task, which includes the construction of the creative writing sentences taught.
Year 8
Year 8
Chaos and Disorder - Students start with a Dystopian unit, introducing students to characters who face real world challenges, enabling them to form opinions on important issues. This unit also provides opportunities for students to write their own creative pieces. We then study Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play bursting with mischief, magic and love. As well as developing their understanding of the conventions of a play, students will trace the complex plot and subplot, tracking the journeys of the various characters. This is followed by studying a range of War Poetry, building on students' understanding of form, structure and language as well as developing their comparative skills. The year finishes with George Orwell's seminal novel Animal Farm, an allegorical text which introduces students to writing for a distinct purpose. Alongside the study of the novel, students will be exposed to a selection of non-fiction texts to enable them to prepare their own piece of transactional writing which they will present to their peers strengthening their spoken language skills.Throughout the year students will continue to develop their active reading strategies, focusing on when to apply different strategies to different tasks. They will continue to develop their analytical writing skills, adding further steps to the deconstructed essay. They will also continue to develop an additional set of creative writing sentences to enhance their creative writing.
Throughout the year students will strengthen their ability to use active reading strategies and form an understanding of which strategies to use for different tasks.They will continue to develop their knowledge of the strands of an analytical essay and develop additional creative writing sentences.
Students in Year 8 will complete an online reading assessment at the start of term two and this will be used to help track progress from Year 7, and also identify any students that may require further support. In addition, students will complete assessments at the end of each unit of work. These assessments will be based around the following areas: reading, comprehension and development of the deconstructed essay; knowledge developed throughout the unit, including knowledge of tier 3 vocabulary; tier 2 vocabulary; grammar, punctuation and spelling and either a creative or transactional writing task, which includes the construction of the creative writing sentences taught. .
This Curriculum Ladder is applicable for students currently in Year 7 and 8. Please see the Year Group Outlines pages for the English Pathway for that specific year group is currently following.
Year 9
Year 9
Power and Relationships - Students begin the year with an exploration of Gothic Literature, focusing on the tools writers use to create fear within a text. They then move on to study Cooke’s adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses which has many complex themes woven into it, such as: love, friendship, family, racism and division. As well as working through each of the play's themes, students will begin to understand how the context can impact a writers’ choices and decisions when constructing texts. This is followed by a selection of poems from across time, connected by the theme of love and relationships and the often fractious nature of these. These poems build on students' understanding of form, structure and language, further developing their comparative skills from year 8. This unit also builds on their ability to understand the significance of context when studying a text. Students finish the year with the study of J.B Priestley's play An Inspector Calls, where students will secure their knowledge of the plot, characters and themes. Furthermore, students will develop an understanding of the importance of the social, historical and political factors that influenced the play.
In year 9 students will continue to use active reading strategies, developing preferred strategies. They will complete the final strands of the deconstructed essay, enabling them to construct a complete analytical essay by the end of year 9. They will build knowledge of another selection of creative writing sentences, as well as ensuring they have consolidated their understanding of the sentences built in year 7 and 8.
Students will complete assessments at the end of each unit of work. These assessments will be based around the following areas: reading, comprehension and development of the deconstructed essay; knowledge developed throughout the unit, including knowledge of tier 3 vocabulary; tier 2 vocabulary; grammar, punctuation and spelling and either a creative or transactional writing task, which includes the construction of the creative writing sentences taught. The students’ final assessment in year 9 will be the completion of a full analytical response.
Year 10
Year 10
In year 10 students begin their GCSE journey: developing and honing the knowledge they have gained at KS3. Students will study Literature and Language alongside each other, maximising their potential to succeed in both GCSEs. In their Language lessons students will begin a unit entitled, Adventure which will provide them with access to a range of fiction texts from a diverse range of authors, preparing them for the unseen element of the reading section of paper 1. They will then use these texts to practise their own narrative and descriptive pieces. Students will continue to practise their creative writing sentences and work on the accuracy of their written communication. Alongside this Language unit students will study a selection of Power and Conflict poems taken from the AQA anthology. Following this, students move on to the study of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. They will continue to develop their analytical writing skills and construction of an essay that has been taught in deconstructed form at KS3. Students will complete the Spoken Language component of their GCSE, illustrating their understanding of rhetoric, planning and presenting a topic of their choice. Students will return to Power and Conflict poetry before finishing their Literature study with Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Their language study will finish the year with a unit entitled Freedom, exposing students to a range of non-fiction texts in preparation for the unseen element of the reading section of paper 2. The themes and ideas pulled out from the non-fiction texts will form the basis of students' own transactional writing.
In year 10 students will continue to use active reading strategies, developing preferred strategies. They will apply their knowledge of the deconstructed essay for every Literature text studied. They will practise using their creative sentences in a range of forms.
Students will complete mid unit assessments for every Literature text studied based on their knowledge of the texts. For their end of unit assessments for year 10 students will be required to complete an analytical essay to an exam question. At the end of their study of the Adventure and Freedom units students will complete a Language style mock examination question. At the end of the year students will complete full mock examinations for both Literature and Language.
This Curriculum Ladder is applicable for students currently in Year 7 and 8. Please see the Year Group Outlines pages for the English Pathway for that specific year group is currently following.
This Curriculum Ladder is applicable for students currently in Year 7 and 8. Please see the Year Group Outlines pages for the English Pathway for that specific year group is currently following.
Year 11
Year 11
Students will study a selection of unseen poetry before revisiting all of the GCSE Literature texts. They will continue to use their active reading strategies to draw meaning from both fiction and non-fiction texts. Students will master their analytical writing, illustrating their understanding of the key ideas, themes and concepts in each Literature text studied. They will also be expected to produce creative and transactional pieces with fluency and accuracy. Students will be expected to regularly produce extended pieces of writing in both Language and Literature lessons to build stamina for their examinations. Students will complete mock examinations for both Literature and Language before completing their examinations at the end of year 11.
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