English

English as a subject is needed in every society, every career and for every purpose in today’s modern life. English at Blackfen not only equips students in writing and reading skills but in speaking and listening skills also. Being able to express oneself, develop a love for English and to be able to communicate with others with both confidence and articulation is a necessary part of not only growing up but being a successful individual in every walk of life.

Key stage 3

Year 7

Term	Unit of Work	Summary
Autumn term 1	Literacy unit leading into literary non-fiction.	A foundation spelling, punctuation and grammar unit leading into literary non-fiction: Roald Dahl’s Boy. Students develop their understanding of autobiographical writing as well as engaging with historical and cultural influences on a writer.
Autumn Term 2	Poetry	Students look at different types of poetry and begin to form an understanding of poetic and analytical techniques.
Spring Term 1	Shakespeare	Students learn how to engage with the language and style of a Shakespearean drama, primarily through A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Spring Term 2	Exploring Fiction	Students look at a range of fiction texts and extracts leading to a piece of narrative writing. Students develop their skills in recognising a range of fiction writing conventions and understanding how these have been used.
Summer Term 1	Modern novel	Students spend a term reading and working on the novel. E.g. Ruby In The Smoke/ Skellig. Students are introduced to writers’ techniques and understanding how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, presents and creates meaning.
Summer Term 2	Modern novel	Continued work on Modern novel.

Year 8

Term	Unit of Work	Summary
Autumn term 1	Poetry – Family Relationships	Based around family relationships, this unit improves students’ ability to engage with the language, form and structure of poems.
Autumn Term 2	Modern play- White Poppies	A more concentrated look at drama, examining a range of dramatic expression through study of a specific play. Spoken language and analysis underpins this unit.
Spring Term 1	Non-Fiction-Literature Paper Two	Going back to non-fiction works and looking at literature with a more appreciative eye, analysing the techniques employed by the writer and using this as a stimulus for creating own writing pieces. Excellent Preparation for The AQA GCSE Paper Two..
Spring Term 2	Modern Novel-Animal Farm	Bringing political, linguistic and structural analysis whilst reading a modern text. Focus on persuasive language, emulating writers’ styles as well as developing critical writing and appreciation of a writer’s choices within historical contexts.
Summer Term 1	Shakespeare- Twelfth Night	Focus on character, plot and conventions. Developing interpretations using drama, creative writing strategies and analytical writing.
Summer Term 2	Short Stories	Students look at a range of short stories and develop their analysis of language and form; students will also evaluate the impact of structure upon the reader. Students will also look for connections and comparisons between texts .

Year 9

Year 9 is viewed as a pivotal year in English and the curriculum serves as preparation for the demands of the two GCSE courses students will encounter at KS4.

Term	Unit of Work	Summary
Autumn term 1	Study of Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men	Exploration of character and theme, in preparation for the study of a novel at GCSE for Literature Paper 1.
Autumn Term 2	Exam-style Language GCSE preparatory work.	Preparation for Paper 1 (creative reading and writing) and Paper 2 (non-fiction based reading and writing). Students will tackle reading and writing tasks in the style of the GCSE Language examinations.
Spring Term 1	Shakespeare study	Students will study a whole Shakespeare play in preparation for the rigours of the GCSE Literature Paper 2 examination. The focus will be on character and theme, in keeping with the GCSE requirements. Students will explore the language of Shakespeare and the context of his plays.
Spring Term 2	Shakespeare study continuation
Summer Term 1	Poetry study	A collection of thematic poems will be studied with focus on the poet’s use of language, form and structure. Previously unseen poems will also be analysed. All work is aimed towards the skills needed for the GCSE Literature Paper 2 examination.
Summer Term 2	19^th century short stories	Exploring character and theme, with a focus upon familiarising students with challenging language, typical of nineteenth century texts. At GCSE students will be exposed to pre-twentieth century language for both the Language and Literature examinations.

Key Stage 4: GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature

AQA’s specifications for GCSE English Language and English Literature (for first examination entry summer 2017)

Year 10

Term	Unit of Work	Summary
Autumn 1	An Inspector Calls	Preparation for Section A of English Literature Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry. Students will learn how to develop their skills in evaluating the effects of a dramatist’s techniques and the exploration of literal and inferential meanings .
Autumn 2	Poetry (AQA Anthology)	Preparation for Section B and C of English Literature Paper 2: Modern texts and poetry. Students will learn how to develop their skills of analysis through a range of poetry. Students will learn how to analyse the effects of poetic devices and language, as well as drawing comparisons between texts.
Spring 1	Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet	Preparation for Section A English Literature Paper 1: Modern texts and poetry. Students will learn how to develop their skills in evaluating the effects of Shakespeare’s language and dramatic devices. They will explore the literal and inferential meanings of Shakespeare’s language.
Spring 2	Poetry (AQA Anthology) continued	Continuation of poetry study. See Autumn 2.
Summer 1	Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing	Preparation for Section A and B of English Language Paper 1. Students will study a range of 20^th and 21^st century prose fiction extracts. They will develop their skills of analysis and explore the literal and inferential meanings of language in prose fiction. They will also use these skills in the development of their own writing for the purpose of narrative and descriptive writing.
Summer 2	Literature Paper 2 Pre-Public Exam preparation	Students will revise and consolidate their knowledge as well as learn the necessary skills for tackling a Literature Paper 2 in its entirety.

Year 11

Term	Unit of Work	Summary
Autumn 1	Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives	Preparation for Section A and B of English Language Paper 2. Students will study a range of short non-fiction and literary non-fiction texts from the 19^th, 20^th and 21^st century which express a viewpoint. They will develop their skills of analysis and explore the literal and inferential meanings of language in non-fiction. They will also use these skills in the development of their own writing for the purpose of writing to express a viewpoint.
Autumn 2	Dickens: A Christmas Carol	Preparation for Section B English Literature Paper 1: Students will learn how to develop their skills in evaluating the effects of 19^th century prose language. They will explore the literal and inferential meanings of Dickens’ language and other devices.
Spring 1	LANG Paper 1 & Lit Paper 2 public examinations preparation & revision
Spring 2	LANG Paper 2 & Lit Paper 1 public examinations preparation & revision