Competencies

C1: Accuracy

C2: Communication

C3: Inference

C4: Analysis

Course Overview

Gothic Literature

A  range of fiction and non-fiction extracts, mostly from the Victorian period but also through to the modern day, that introduce students to a single genre across time. 

Shakespeare

An exploration of villains in a selection of plays (Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard III, King Lear, Merchant of Venice) looking at theme, stagecraft, setting, genre, historical context, character and plot.

Modern Novel

Learners will read either The Bone Sparrow or Other Words for Home and complete a range of activities across all competencies.

Poetry through the Ages

Learners will study a selection of poems from different eras, exploring different forms and contexts.

Non-fiction Skills

A range of non-fiction texts allowing learners to explore how language and structure are crafted to address different audiences and purposes.

Modern Drama

Study of a modern play exploring character, theme, plot, setting, context, structure and language, with activities across the competencies.

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

Embedded within teaching alongside weekly spelling tests.

Assessment

Autumn 1: 

Learners will write a Gothic novel opening (Competencies 1 and 2)

Autumn 2: 

Shakespeare’s Villains: a discursive essay on Shakespeare’s ‘best’ villain (Competencies 3 and 4)

Spring 2:

Learners will complete an essay on their novel (Competencies 3 and 4) 

Spring 2: 

Poetry assessment essay response (Competencies 3 and 4)

Summer 1:

Summer exam covering unseen non-fiction and a linked transactional writing task (Competencies 1, 2, 3 and 4)

Summer 2: 

Using their modern drama, learners will be assessed on speaking and listening skills, as well as reading (Competencies 1 and 2)

English

Recommended Reading

Acevedo, E. Poet X (2018)

Acevedo, E. Clap when you land (2020)

Alcott, L. M. Little Women (1868)

Atta, D. The Black Flamingo (2019)

Bates, L. Girl Up (2016)

Connolly, J. A Gathering Light (2003)

Cooper, S. The Dark is Rising (1984)

Crossan, S. One (2015)

Crossan, S. Toffee (2019)

Forma, N. The Gilded Ones  (2021)

Fraillon, Z. The Bone Sparrow (2016)

Fraillon, Z. The Lost Soul Atlas (2020)

Knisley, L. Relish: My Life in the Kitchen (2013)

Kuang, R. F. The Poppy War (2018)

Lake, N. Nowhere on Earth (2019)

McGowan, A. Lark (2019)

Millwood Hargrave, K. The Girl of Ink and Stars (2016)

Nielsen, S. No Fixed Address (2018)

Pullman, P. Ruby in the Smoke (1985)

Ribay, R. Patron Saints of Nothing (2019)

Schaap, A. Lampie (2017)

Sedgwick, M. Blood Red Snow White (2007)

Sedgwick, M. Ghosts of Heaven (2015)

Sedgwick, M. Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black (2019)

Smith, S. L. Flygirl (2008)

Stroud, J. The Amulet of Samarkand (2003)

Talley, R. The Lies We Tell Ourselves (2014)

Taylor, G. P. Shadowmancer (2002)

Thomas, A. On the Come Up (2019)

Valentine, J. Fire Colour One (2015)

Vick, C. Girl. Boy. Sea. (2020)

Winterson, J. Tanglewreck (2006)