English

Year 7 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	The Author’s Craft	Students will know the key linguistic and structural  techniques used by established writers when creating narrative texts. They will focus on the establishment of narrative hooks, character development  and narrative arcs. Students will be able to transfer what they have learnt, while analysing the work of established authors, to their own narrative pieces.	Students will be able to recognise the use of key narrative techniques in any text that they are given and be able to discuss the success of these techniques using key subject terminology.  In their own writing they will be able to successfully replicate these key narrative techniques and be able to discuss at length the choices that they have made in their writing and their intended impact on their reader.	Summative Assessment    Production of a  letter to the head teacher that exhibits the key techniques studied through this module. This written assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson
Autumn	World Myths and Legends.	Students will study a range of myths from around the world and know their cultural  focusing particularly on their cultural significance. They will know  the difference between a myth and a legend and be able to analysis the language, plot, characterisation and morals within the myths and legends studied.	Students will be able to apply their analytical skills to any myth they are given. They will focus on the wider issues impacting the myths and legends; historical and cultural research will influence their understanding of the content of the texts. Students will be able to produce writing that integrates high level fiction techniques - language, structure and imagery.	Summative Assessment    An analysis of the langiage and structure of one of the myths studied during the unit .  This reading assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Spring	A Midsummer Night’s Dream.	Students will develop skills in analysing Shakespeare’s language and structural choices through the study of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.They will gain knowledge of the plot, charcters, settings and themes of the play and be able to relate them to the historical and social context of the era that Shakespeare was writing in.  They will develop their skill of choosing judicious quotations to illustrate and justify their ideas.	When responding to the play students will be able to discuss the linguistic techniques that Shakespeare employs and the effect that it has on them as the audience. They will be able to dissect the implied meanings of the play and support their ideas with a range of textual detail and embedded quotations. Context and its relevance to the play will be woven into their response.	Summative Assessment.    An analysis of one of the key speeches looked at in the play  - with a focus on patriarchy.    This reading assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Spring	An Exploration of Dickens and Doyle. (This unit continues into the Summer Term.)	Students will study two short stories from these prominent Victorian writers – The Signalman and The Speckled Band.  Through their study they will analyse how both use language and structure in developing both character and setting and how they both employ the tropes of a Victorian ghost story. They will recognise how the social and poilitical issues of the era impacted the writers and their narratives. Through this unit they will develop their  skills of analysis and information retrieval.	Students will be able to make clear inter textual connections between the two short stories and the context in which they were written.  They will show that thery are able to use high level reading strategies to decipher the archaic language used within both texts.  In their writing they will exhibit a clear and sophisticated grasp of key linguistic and structural techniques studied and be able to comment perceptively on how both writers have used them successfully to engage their readers.	Summative Assessment    An analysis of the how tension and mystery is built in one of the short stories studied.  This reading assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Summer	Murder and Mystery Poetry.	Students will study a range of both modern and pre 20th Century poetry that share the theme of murder and mystery. They will recognise the ingredients of the ballad form and in addition look at key poetic techniques – both liguistic and structural. Key contextual information  - social, historical and political – willl be researched and students will be able to link this background understanding to the poems that they have studied.  They will be able to transfer their understanding of the ballad form to their own poetry.	Students will be able to confidentally comment on the form, structure and language of the poems that they have studied and be able to make insightful comparisons between them. They will  exhibit a clear and sophisticated grasp of key poetic and structural techniques studied and be able to transfer them to their own ballads in a creative and  compelling way.	Summative Assessment.    Production of an orignal piece of poetry using the ballad form.    This writing assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.

Year 8 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	Crime and Punishment	Students will study a range of material based on the topic of crime and punishment. These will include both fiction and non fiction. They will explore how one topic can be approached differently by various writers and understand how opinion and bias can impact how a subject is written about.	Students will be able to make connections across the non fiction and fiction texts that they study making key historical and social contextual points. In their writing they will exhibit a clear and sophisticated grasp of key linguistic and structural techniques studied.	Summative Assessment    Production of an article arguing for or against the death penalty     This writing assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Autumn	Introduction to the Gothic Genre.	Students will gain an understanding of the key gothic conventions through studying extracts from a variety of seminal gothic texts. They will build on and develop their language analysis skills and be able to recognise the techniques needed to successfully build tension within narratives.	Students will be able to analyse both the structure and the implicit meaning behind the language of the texts given to them using sophisticated terminology and synthesising this with their understanding of the key gothic conventions and the context behind it.	Summative Assessment    An analysis of the presentation of chararacter or setting in a short gothic extract.     This reading assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Spring	The Woman in Black: Susan Hill	Students will explore the plot themes and characters of this modern gothic novel. They will analyse both the language and structural choices of the writer and will focus on contextual issues arising from the novels content. Students will draw on their understanding of the gothic genre laid as a foundation in the last unit of work.	Students will be able to interact on an implicit level with the text and be able to confidently use PEAL when structuring analytical responses. They will show a detailed understanding of how Susan Hill has integrated the gothic ingredients into the story line. When discussing context they will be able to make links between what they are reading and the social, historical and cultural context that they have studied.	Summative Assessment.    Analysis of how tension is created in an extended extract with a focus on word and sentence level analysis.    This reading assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Summer	Poetry: Culture Clashes.	Students will study a selection of poetry from different cultures and eras and   They will recognise the ingredients of a dramatic monologue and in addition look at key poetic techniques – both liguistic and structural. Key contextual information  (social, historical and political) willl be researched and students will be able to link this background understanding to the poems that they have studied.  They will be able to transfer their understanding of the monologue form to their own poetry.	Students will be able to use the key subject terminology taught expertly. They will make explicit and implicit links between the poems cultual background and the content, characters and setting presented.  They will be able to clearly  emulate the monologue style used by the poets studied and be able to explain and justify their own structural and language choices.	Summative Assesssment    Creation of a dramatic  monologue exploring a time you felt out of place.    This writing assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Summer	The Tempest – William Shakespeare	Students will study key extracts from Shakespeare’s The Tempest focusing on the presentation of storms and mythical beasts.  Alongside this they will analyse a selection of  non fiction texts on the same subjects. Students will explore how the same topic is presented by various writers of differing cultures and from different eras.	When responding to the key extracts of the play they will be able to recognise Shakespea’re implicit use of structure and be able to clearly comment on his use of imagery and language. They will be able to make comparisons between the writers that they study and how the presentation of the same subject changes depending on culture and eras.	Summative Assessment    An analysis of a key scene from the play with a focus on the presentation of Caliban.    This Reading assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.

Year 9 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	The Greatest Show Language Study	Students will revisit key linguistic skills as they study a selection of fiction and non fiction texts centred on the topic of circuses. They will be encouraged to analyse a variety of texts with a specific focus on how a writer uses language to influence their readers. Students will be encouraged to draw on the variety of writing styles that they have studied and use them in their own writing - both fiction and non-fiction.	Students will be able to fully understand the complex relationship between the writer and their audience drawing on specific ideas of audience, purpose and form. They will be able to replicate particular styles and techniques - metaphors, similes, hyperboles and personification - successfully in their own writing.	Summative Assessment  Production of a persuasive speech  on the topic of violence and video games or vegetarianism.    This writing assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Autumn	Modern Dystopian Fiction.	Students will study a range of modern dystopian fiction. They will know the tropes of the genre and imparticular focus on political dystopia, ecological dystopia, scientific dystopia and post – apocalyptic dystopia. Students will be encouraged to develop their  comparison skills and recognise how different writers present their views on the future , making links to our own modern day society.	Students will recognise the implicit themes and messages within the texts that they are exposed to. They will  be able to confidently link their own views and opinions to a judicious range of evidence from the texts.	Summative Assessment  A language analysis of one of the dystopian texts studied.   This writing assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Spring	Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck.	Students will read a whole novel with contextual links to the American South in the 1930s. They will develop the skills to recognise a writer’s purpose through the development of their characters, setting and plot and be able to make links to the social and historical context of the text. When discussing their opinions and ideas on the text they will be able to justify them using clear evidence and direct quotation.     Students will use the novel studied as a stimulus for their own writing.They will develop their creative writing skills through story arcing and improvement of descriptive techniques. Their knowledge of key grammatical structures will be consolidated and built on and applied to all of their extended writing.	Students will be able to respond with insight and clarity to the text studied and be able to choose judicious textual detail and be able to make perceptive comments. These comments will always include detailed reference to social and historical context.     Students will be able to produce writing that is convincing and compelling for the audience and matched to purpose. They will be able to use an extensive and ambitious vocabulary with  sustained crafting of linguistic devices.	Summative Assessment  An analysis of a key theme within the novel with a focus on context and structure.    This readingassessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Summer	Poetry of violence and vengeance: Armitage and Duffy.	Students will study a range of poetry by Carol Ann Duffy and Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage. They will recognise how the poets have used language, imagery and structure to create their eccentric main characters.   They will study the context behind the poems and understand how this context infludences the  poets and their writing.	Students will show they understand the implicit connection between the content and the context of the poems and be able to comment on how this impacts the poet’s character creations. They will be able to expertly discuss the sonnet form and be able to emulate this form in their own poetry.	Summative Assessment  Creation of  a sonnet on the theme of  love or hate, manipulateing the conventions of the sonnet form.    This reading assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Summer	Shakespeare’s Heroes and Villains.	Students will know the makeup of a Shakespearean hero and villain. Through their study of  the character of  Macbeth they will  undestand the concept of the tragic hero and how Macbeth fits this title. They will compare the presentation of Antiono and Shylock from The Merchant of Venice and understand key themes of anti semitism in the presnetation of both. The theme of gender will be studied and students will understand how both Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing and the Nurse from Romeo and Juliet meet the criteria of a hero through understanding themes of patriarchy in Elizabethan society.	Students will be able to use judicious evidence from what they read to support their implicit understanding of the Shakespearean characters that they have studied. They will make detailed links between the contextual issues behind each play from each play and the characters studied. In addition students will be able to expertly discuss how Shakespeare interlinks the key theme of patriotism into his characterisations.	Summative Assessment  An analysis of how Shakespeare uses language, structure and theme in the presentation of one or more of the characters studied.    This reading assessment will be produced under timed conditions and planning time will allocated and essays will be assessed by the class teacher.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.

Year 10 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	Reading Fiction.	Students will build on the reading skills established in KS3 and will be able to identify and interpret both explicit and implicit information in any of the fiction extracts that they are given. They will develop their analysis skills and be able to analyses and evaluate a writer’s use of  language and structure and recognise how they are used to impact them as the reader. Students will know a range of high level subject specific terminology and be able to recognise and retrieve these from the texts that they read and comment on how established writers use them for impact.	Students will be able to adapt skills of retreival, analysis and evaluation to any extract that they are given. They will be able to choose judicious textual detail and be able to make perceptive comments when considering the writer’s use of structure and language and be able to critically evaluate the effect on them as the reader.	Summative Assessment:  Completion of a timed Paper 1 section A exam paper.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Autumn	Reading and Comparing non fiction.	Students will build on the nonfiction reading skills established in KS3 They will be able to identify and interpret both explicit and implicit information in any of the nonfiction extracts that they are given and compare how writers of different eras present their points of view. They will know how to take an extract and summarise it when a particular focus is given.	Students will be able to adapt their understanding and  skills to any two extracts that they are given – regardless of the era in which they were written.   They will be able to choose judicious textual detail and be able to make perceptive comments and comparisons.	Summative Assessment:  Completion of a timed Paper 2 section A exam paper.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Spring	Writing Skills.	Students will build on and develop the writing skills taught at KS3. They will know how to craft both their fiction and non fiction writing so that the communication is clear, effective and imaginative.  Students will understand how to adapt their tone and style depending the purpose and audience that theya re wrtiing for. They will develop their own structural skills of paragrapghing, discourse markers and complex sentence construction.	Students will be able to adapt their own writing expertly, regardless of purpose, audience and form. They will be able to emply complex strucrual devices within their writing to achieve a specific impact on their reader. They  will sophisitcatedly craft their language and imagery to ensure their writing is both convincing and compelling.	Summative Assessment.  Completion of a timed Section B response for Paper 1 and Paper 2.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Spring	Macbeth	To know the  plot, characters, setting and themes within Macbeth and be able to retreive key information from different parts of the play.  They will understand the context behind the play with an explicit focus on Elizabethan views on witchcraft, the divine right of kings and the great chain of being. They will be able to analyse the language and structure of the whole play and key extract within it and clearly justify their ideas and opinions with clear textual evidence.	When discussing the plot, character and setting of the play students will maintain a critical style and expertly develop a personal response to the text. Links to the contextual factors will be implicitly linked to key scenes. Their choice of quotations will be judiciously chosen and analysed in detail.	Summative Assessment will be through a timed Literature exam question.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Summer	Power and Conflict Poetry.	Students will study 15 poems from the anthology set by the AQA exam board. They will understand how poets use language, structure and form to put across their message and study the context of the poem. They will be able to compare the methods and techniques used by various poets.	When responding to the poems, students will be able to identify and explain the effect of a range of language and perceptively comment on structural and contextual elements used. They will be able to answer any question using quotations and direct reference to the text.	Summative Assessment will be through a timed practice exam question.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.

Year 11 Curriculum plans

Term	What are we learning?	What Knowledge, Understanding and Skills will we gain?	What will excellence look like?	How will these be assessed?
Autumn	A Christmas Carol	Students will study the novella focusing on Dickens techniques in building and developing, character, plot and place. They will focus on the contextual issues impacting the story and be able to unpick the moral behind the story and link to key characters , settings and themes.	When responding to the text, students will be able to identify and explain the effect of a range of language and perceptively comment on structural techniques used. They will be able to answer any question using quotations and direct reference to the text.	Assessment will be a timed practice exam question. English Literature Paper 1 Section B.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Spring	An Inspector Calls: JB Priestley	Students will explore plot, theme, character and context. They will look at the play format and analyse how this impacts on the audience's reaction to the text. When responding to the play, students will be able to identify and explain the effect of a range of language and perceptively comment on structural and dramatic techniques used.	Students will be able to perceptively explore the dramatic structures within the play making judicial use of quotations. They will expertly be able to link the historical and social context of the play to the characters, plot and themes.	Summative Assessment  Timed Exam Paper.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.
Spring	Recap / Revise and Consolidate	Students will recap and build on the key elements and skills of both the literature and language papers - the specific focus will be dependent on the teachers assessment of their classes' needs.	Students will be able to expertly tackle each element of the exam paper that they are looking at, with a clear understanding of the assessment criteria for each question.	Summative Assessment  Timed exam questions.    Formative assessment will be embedded within each lesson.

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