Subject
English
Course details
The Key Stage 3 curriculum for English aims to improve students' skills in:
Reading
Writing
Speaking and Listening
Our aim throughout Years 7, 8 and 9 is to foster a love of reading and English as a form of communication. Each year has a different focus:
Year 7 - Identity
Year 8 - Genre
Year 9 - Power
Within these broader thematic areas we explore poetry, prose and scripts; students' own writing and the analysis of language and structure as used by other writers.
Programme of study Y7 - Identity
Term 1 - At the beginning of the year we carry out baseline assessments to ascertain students' skills and needs followed by a scheme of work based on the novel 'Wonder' by RJ Palacio. Through this novel we explore the issue of identity and what it means.
Term 2 - This term begins with a 6 week programme of study focusing on the issue of identity in the media followed by a 6 week unit of work where students study Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'
Term 3 - in this term we start a 6 week unit exploring poetry based around the theme of identity, followed by a 6 week project on autobiographical writing culminating with a presentation to students' peers on their own autobiographical research and identity.
Programme of study Y8 - Genre
Term 1 - We start the year with an exploration of genre and character through Rick Riordan's popular text 'Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief' or Michael Morpurgo's 'Kensuke's Kingdom'
Term 2 - We start this term with a 6 week unit studying the play form using William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', followed by a 6 week unit of work exploring the Gothic genre.
Term 3 - The beginning of this term will be dedicated to building skills in language analysis of various fiction texts in preparation for the Year 8 exams. This will be followed by a unit of work on narrative poetry and an exploration of this genre.
Programme of study Y9 - Power
Term 1 - During this first term students will study 'An Inspector Calls' by JB Priestley. This is a GCSE text that students who go on to study the AQA Literature course will study further in Year 11. In Year 9 students will study the play's thematic concerns, characters and the socio-historical context of the 1940s when the play was written, as well as that of the early 1900s when the play is set.
Term 2 - The start of this term will be dedicated to reviewing and developing students' skills in language analysis, specifically of non-fiction texts, in order to prepare them for their Year 9 exam. The second half of this term will consist of a 6 week unit of work on protest poetry; here we examine the power of the written word, and the efforts made by many to make their voices heard.
Term 3 - This terms starts off with a unit named 'Love of Literature'. During these 6 weeks, students will be exposed to favourite literary texts, styles and genres. It is an exploratory unit aimed at the enjoyment of the subject; it's purpose is to prepare students for study of English at Key Stage 4 and beyond. We end the year with a 6 week unit of work focusing on skills in research and presentation. Here, all students will have the opportunity to develop their research and speaking skills by presenting to the class on any topic of their choice at the end of the year.
Assessment
Students will sit one standardised summative assessment per term. Teachers will also carry out formative assessment throughout the year. Students will have the opportunity to display their skills and knowledge in English in each lesson in a variety of verbal, written or creative formats.
All students in Key Stage 3 will study the same content and sit the same assessments regardless of grouping. It is our aim throughout Key Stage 3 to keep grouping fluid, thus enabling students to move to a class where the pace of learning is slower if they or their teacher feels that they need to develop certain skills, or move to a group that is working at a faster pace if their teacher wishes to challenge and develop their skills further. Changes to groupings may occur several times throughout Key Stage 3 in order to ensure students are correctly grouped at the start of Key Stage 4.