Week 3

Amy

Cecil

This week students reviewed their exam papers and engaged in activities to enrich their language .

Rose

This week, students reviewed their exams and set goals for Year 11.

Week 37

Amy

This week, students sat for their end of year examinations.

Cecilia

This week. students sat for their end of year examinations.

Rose

This week, students sat for their end of year examinations.

Week 36

Amy

This week, students sat for their end of year examinations.

Cecilia

This week. students sat for their end of year examinations.

Rose

This week, students sat for their end of year examinations.

Week 35

Amy

This week, we reviewed the structure of the language exams.

Cecilia

This week we practised exam style questions in preparation for the end of year exams.

Rose

This week, we touched up on Macbeth, practised Writer's Effect and reviewed the structure of both the Language and the Literature exams.

Week 34

Amy

This week students answered IGCSE style comprehension questions.

Cecilia

Rose

This week, we re-visited Macbeth and analysed key themes.

Week 33

Amy

This week, students were given different debate topics which they presented to the class. Cecilia

Rose

This week, we worked on Directed Writing and the poem War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy.

Week 32

Amy

This week, students were given different debate topics which they presented to the class.

Cecilia

This week students worked on error identification, answered questions on a reading passage as a test and completed a vocabulary exercise,

Rose

This week, students worked on three tasks: a summary, a poetry essay and an analysis of an unseen poem.

Week 31

Amy

This week students answered IGCSE style comprehension questions and worked on a summary about Gibraltar.

Cecilia

This week, students focused on response writing, they inferred points and wrote a speech. They also worked on a Writer's Effect question and a summary.

Rose

This week, students analysed poetry and wrapped up a sequence of work on Directed Writing. They also revisited Macbeth.

Week 29

Amy

This week, we explored the techniques and elements that make up an effective description.

Cecilia

This week students answered IGCSE style comprehension questions and worked on a summary about Social Networking'

Rose

This week, students submitted a Directed Writing task and worked towards completing a Literature essay.

Week 28

Amy

This week, students focused on what makes descriptive writing effective. They were also asked to identify adjectives, adverbs and figurative language in a text.

Cecilia

This week students worked on descriptive writing, they focused on enhancing their vocabulary and using figurative language to make their writing come alive.

Shalini

In week 28, students worked on their comprehension skills.

Rose

This week, we focused on Directed Writing.

Week 27

Amy

This week, we identified different narrative voices.

Cecilia

This week, we concentrated on grammar, namely subject verb agreement, tenses and forming adjectives from nouns and verbs. Students also worked on response writing.

Shalini

In week 27 , students read a web article and practiced their paraphrasing skills in which they rewrote important statements from the article by reducing the number or words and replacing them with words of their own using the thesaurus.

Rose

This week, students looked at the "Coming of Age" narrative and the building of character relationships. Students also practised Comprehension.

Week 26

Amy

Understand the key features of narrative writing and its structure.

Cecilia

In week 26, students worked on a summary, completed their assessment for term 2-2 and completed worksheets on adjectives and adverbs.

Shalini

In week 26 we composed a narrative essay by applying the techniques acquired in previous lessons. We also completed the second assessment for term 2.

Rose

This week, students wrote a practice Composition and gave one another feedback. They then wrote another one for their Unit Assessment.

Week 25

Amy

In week 25, we looked into the different ways to start a narrative piece. Next, we planned endings that fit the mood of the story.

Cecilia

In week 25, students worked on vocabulary from a reading passage, inferred points and used them to write a diary entry.

Shalini

In week 25 , we practiced using language devices to engage an audience and create tension and suspense in narrative writing.

Rose

This week, we continued to work on using evidence effectively in a Literature essay. We also focused on the Composition for the Language course.

Week 24

Amy

In week 24, we focused on narrative writing. Students learnt how to plan and pace an engaging story.

Cecilia

In week 24, we focused on narrative writing, students learnt about the structure of a narrative, how to make the plot interesting and how to edit their work.

Shalini

In week 24 , we created a publicity flyer using relevant material from an article. We also looked at the features of writing a narrative.

Rose

This week, we continued to work on Summary writing and using PEA paragraphs in Literature essays.

Week 23

Amy

In week 23, we looked at using appropriate vocabulary to fit the requirements of a directed writing task in order to evoke a desired response in the reader.

Cecilia

In week 23, we focused on vocabulary, inferring points and using them to write an interview. We also completed a writer's effect exercise.

Shalini

In week 23, we looked at using appropriate vocabulary to fit the requirements of a directed writing task in order to evoke a desired response in the reader.

Rose

This week, we focused on Summary. We also had discussions about key points in our Literature text, feeding into notes.

Week 22

Amy

This week, we looked at how to structure a formal letter.

Cecilia

This week, students worked on response and summary writing and enhancing their vocabulary .

Shalini

This week we continued working on response writing. We also did vocabulary and grammar enrichment tasks to refine writing skills.

Rose

This week, we worked on structuring a Literature essay. We also completed Composition work.

Week 21

Amy

This week students were asked to recognise appropriate levels of formality. They then drafted a letter to the government persuading them to stop plastic pollution.

Cecilia

This week students presented their recipes through an oral presentation. They also worked on a vocabulary exercise.

Shalini

In week 21, students practiced structuring their response in the form of a report based on the information inferred from the passage. This is in relation to the response writing section of the IGCSE first language paper.

Rose

This week, we looked closely at the essay requirements for IGCSE Literature and practised using evidence and analysis.

Week 20

Amy

In week 20, students completed a Comprehension assessment and worked on response writing task.

Cecilia

This week students completed their assessment and worked on a script for their oral presentation, a follow up on persuasive writing on 'Food'.

Shalini

In week 20, students completed a Comprehension assessment and worked on response writing task.

Rose

This week, students completed a Comprehension assessment and continued making notes on the novel.

Week 19

Amy

In week 19, students worked on response writing. After reading an IGCSE passage, students inferred points for a letter and later wrote it.

Cecilia

This week we worked on response writing where students inferred points from a reading passage for a letter.

Shalini

In week 19 , we continued working on writers effect, practicing our skills in analysing a range of words and phrases from a text and comment on the impact the language has on the reader.

Rose

This week, students continued their analysis of language in Cry the Beloved Country. They completed a Response Writing task for homework.

Week 18

Amy

In week 18, students worked on the writer's effect question. They looked for powerful phrases and examined the mark scheme.

Cecilia

In week 18, students continued focusing on answering questions based on the passage read (IGCSE style) and worked on persuasive writing.

Shalini

In week 18, we worked on writer's effect . We practiced selecting powerful words and phrases from a text and to build our ability to explain them explicitly before proceeding to analyse its effects.

Rose

This week, we continued to read and study Cry the Beloved Country. Students revised Response Writing.

Week 17

Amy

In week 17, students worked on the writer's effect question. They looked for powerful phrases and explained their effects.

Cecilia

In week 17, students worked on summary writing and answered IGCSE style comprehension questions based on the passage read.

Shalini

In week 17, students worked on summary writing.

Rose

This week, students finalised and presented their work on Book One of Cry the Beloved Country. We began to read and study Book Two.

Week 16

Amy

In week 16, students recapped prefixes to help understand the vocabulary used in comprehension tasks.

Cecilia

In week 16, students worked on the writer's effect question. They looked for powerful phrases and verbs and explained their effects.

Shalini

In week 16, we focused on reading comprehension where we employed a number of strategies to achieve comprehension of text.

Rose

This week, students prepared presentations on a theme or character in Book One of Cry the Beloved Country.

Week 15

Amy

In week 15, students analysed the Simply Flying article in the First Language Coursebook. We also looked at the difference between effect and affect.

Cecilia

In week 15, students worked on response writing and enhancing their vocabulary. After reading an IGCSE passage, students inferred points for a letter and later wrote it.

Shalini

In week 15, students worked on their descriptive writing techniques.

Rose

This week, students inferred points from non-fiction passages. We discussed the areas in which inference is required in the Language exam.

Week 14

Amy

In week 14, students identified features of effective public speaking.

Cecilia

In week 14, students continued with descriptive writing, they looked at descriptive paragraphs by different authors and wrote a description of the beach.

Shalini

In week 14 students continued with descriptive writing. Students worked on creating interesting and descriptive sentences using new vocabulary.

Rose

This week, we continued with Summary writing. Students completed an IGCSE past paper question relating to mining.

Week 13

Amy

This week we started to identify and understand the features of a great speech.

Cecilia

This week students worked on descriptive writing, picking out phrases or sentences from different books that appealed to the senses.

Shalini

In week 13 students looked at descriptive writing techniques , looking at how language must be used to 'show' and not 'tell' when describing a scene.

Rose

This week, we focused on Summary writing, with students reading several chapters of Cry the Beloved Country and then selecting and paraphrasing ten appropriate points.

Week 12

Amy

This week student sat for their Term 1-2 assessment on Response Writing.

Cecilia

This week student sat for their Term 1-2 assessment on Response Writing.

Shalini

In Week 12 student completed their Term 1 unit 2 response writing assessment.

Rose

This week, students completed a Response Writing assessment.

Week 11

Amy

This week, students developed skills needed for Paper 1. In particular, students developed vocabulary and inference skills needed for response writing.

Cecilia

This week students worked on descriptive writing, they worked on identifying sentences or phrases that appealed to their senses.

Shalini

In Week 11 students practiced their approach in answering the response writing section of paper 1. They read a passage titled' My first year of teaching' and wrote a response to it in the form of a letter focusing on key skills such as identifying relevant information, paraphrasing and inferring points from the reading passage.

Rose

This week, students worked on comprehension relating to Paper 1, Question 1. We analysed passages on Houdini and Derren Brown, focusing on key skills such as paraphrasing and inference.

Week 10

Amy

In week 10, all students finished their descriptive writing related to 9/11.

Cecilia

This week students completed a writer's effect question and worked on summary writing, both are compulsory questions in the IGCSE Paper 1.

Shalini

In Week 10, students did more work on writers effect. Practicing the skills and techniques in constructing a response.

Rose

This week, we began our literature study of Cry the Beloved Country. We looked at setting, tone and characterisation in the opening chapters.

Week 9

Amy

This week students developed their understanding of language devices. They studied the poem 'Out of the Blue' and analysed how language devices can create emotion.

Cecilia

This week students worked on the response writing from Paper 1. They inferred points for a letter and enhanced their vocabulary.

Shalini

In week 9, student looked at descriptive writing and worked on writing a description for a beach.

Rose

This week, we worked on Directed Writing with a focus on using inference and on sustaining a voice.

Week 8

Amy

This week students worked on Writer's Effect. Students looked at analysing word choice and imagery in IGCSE passages.

Cecilia

This week students worked on inferring main points from a poem 'The African Woman' and then writing a journal entry. They also worked on enhancing their vocabulary and answering contextual and effect questions based on a passage read.

Shalini

In week 8, students read a poem 'The African woman' and worked on identifying and analysing words and phrases that evoke emotions. They also did a response writing activity in the form of a journal entry .

Rose

This week, students moved from Descriptive Writing to Narrative Writing. We discussed the elements of a good story and the importance of pacing, and then students worked independently on their pieces.

Week 7

Amy

This week students recapped active and passive verbs. They also started to develop their understanding of how vocabulary can set a scene.

Cecilia

This week students worked on inferring main points from a reading passage for an interview. They also worked on enhancing their vocabulary and presenting their interviews in class,

Shalini

In week 6 students developed their skills for writing a narrative essay. They also worked on writing a script for an interview by inferring points from a reading passage.

Rose

This week, students developed skills needed for Paper 2 of Language course. In particular, students developed vocabulary and inference skills.

Week 5

Amy

In week 5, the students worked on a group project. They had to select important information about a chosen topic and then created comprehension tasks for their peers had to complete.

Cecilia

This week students worked on inferring points from the passage 'The Big Chill' and writing a journal entry. They then worked on a summary. They also sat for their first assessment.

Shalini

In Week 5, students were introduced to the response writing section of Paper 1. They practiced skimming ideas from the passage ' Aunt Pegg' and developed strategies for using the ideas selected to write a response for the given question.

Rose

In Week 5, we worked on the Comprehension and Summary sections of Paper 1 (Language). We analysed poetry by Carol Ann Duffy, making links between particular phrases and themes. Students sat their first assessment.

Week 2

Amy

In Week 2, we developed strategies for responding to the reading passages in Paper 1. We focused particularly on the skills of paraphrasing and inference, necessary for all of the questions.

Cecilia

In Week 2, we focused on Response Writing. Students worked on inferring meaning from both literal and figurative language in texts.

Shalini

In Week 2, we worked on strategies for decoding complex vocabulary when reading IGCSE passages. We discussed context clues and looked at how best to set out responses.

Rose

In Week 2, we worked on Response Writing and skills for finding, paraphrasing and developing points. Students also prepared short persuasive speeches.

Week 30

Amy

Cecilia

This week students inferred points from a reading passage for a speech in a Directed Writing question, they also learnt how to elaborate their point and evaluate points from the text.

Rose

This week, students completed a Literature essay and analysed a poem. They read and annotated two passages in preparation for a Directed Writing task to be completed next week.