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English

 

Learning Journey & Sequencing Rationale

The Key Stage 3 curriculum introduces learners to a range of fiction and non-fiction forms, aspects of narrative and rhetorical devices. Learners are introduced to fundamental concepts in English including context, form, language and structure and explore these through a range of texts and authors.  Learners are also introduced to different narrative forms including plays, poems, novels and short stories and explore the aspects of narrative specific to each form. Learners explore texts from a range of literary periods, which are informed by diverse historical and social contexts and are taught to consider the idea of the literary canon, alongside authorial intention and responsibility. They revisit these substantive and disciplinary concepts across Key Stage 3, encountering them through more complex texts and learning to master understanding and application of key concepts in English.  

Year 7 

In Year 7, learners build on their understanding of genre through the study of a full-length children’s fantasy novel and revisit a key aspect of narrative (characterisation). Learners also revisit their knowledge of figurative language and are taught a wider range of terminology in order to analyse the presentation of character. Learners are explicitly taught the conventions for analytical writing, producing their first analytical essay at key stage three. 

In the spring term learners move on to the study of Shakespeare. Learners are introduced to Shakespeare’s life and work and begin to explore his use of language.  This unit teaches learners about key periods in the development of the English language and introduces them to the notion of the literary canon. They will then study their first Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Disciplinary knowledge which students will study are the features of drama, essay writing, how to write topic sentences and embed relevant quotations within extended responses. They will explore literary themes like free will, love, family conflict, women and marriage, power and its abuse. Through this unit, learners read, retrieve and infer information from both non-fiction texts and literary extracts and apply this knowledge to their own extended writing, producing their own information articles. 

In the summer term, students will be introduced to the study of poetry through the study of a ‘Nature’ poetry anthology. They will study the context of Romantic and Victorian poets, including historical influences which would have impacted their poetry. Students will be introduced to strategies for analysing a literary technique: metaphor as well as a range of strategies for responding to an unseen text. Literary themes explored will include the natural world, violence and power. In the second part of this unit, learners build on their understanding of Shakespeare’s language and the context in which he wrote through the study of two of his sonnets, where they will further develop poetic concepts in English including figurative language and poetic meter. 

 

Knowledge Organisers

A knowledge organiser is an important document that lists the important facts that learners should know by the end of a unit of work. It is important that learners can recall these facts easily, so that when they are answering challenging questions in their assessments and GCSE and A-Level exams, they are not wasting precious time in exams focusing on remembering simple facts, but making complex arguments, and calculations.

We encourage all pupils to use them by doing the following:

  • Quiz themselves at home, using the read, write, cover, check method.
  • Practise spelling key vocabulary
  • Further researching people, events and processes most relevant to the unit.