English.

Approach / Philosophy / Implementation

Year 5 English lessons emphasise students' enjoyment and understanding of language, especially vocabulary, to support their reading and writing. Students' knowledge of language - gained from stories, plays, poetry and non-fiction texts - will support their increasing fluency as readers and competence as engaging and effective writers.

Students will be taught how to write effectively for different audiences and how to control their sentence structure and vocabulary choice for effect. They will be given the opportunity to read, discuss and enjoy significant modern children's authors. They read, learn by heart and perform poetry. They write, read and study texts and plays including a major unit introducing Shakespeare.

There is an emphasis on the correct use of spelling, punctuation and grammar. These elements are explicitly taught and students will become increasingly confident at using academic language to describe their own and others' writing.

Year 6 English lessons continue to emphasise students' enjoyment and understanding of language, especially vocabulary, to support their reading and writing. Students' knowledge of language - gained from stories, poetry and non-fiction texts - will support their increasing fluency as readers and competence as engaging and effective writers.

Students are taught how to write effectively for different audiences and how to control their sentence structure and vocabulary choice for maximum effect. They are given the opportunity to read, discuss and enjoy both significant modern children's authors and classic mythology. They read and write in a variety of genres. 

There is a continued emphasis on the correct use of spelling, punctuation and grammar. These elements will be explicitly taught and pupils will become increasingly confident at using academic language to describe their own and others' writing.

In Years 5 and 6, we support the development of good spelling skills and word knowledge through regular spelling challenges based around the key spellings and spelling patterns required for Keystage 2. In Years 7 and 8, spellings are linked to the texts studied in class.  

In Year 7 students will develop an appreciation and love of reading and read increasingly challenging texts. They will read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts. They will improve their vocabulary and learn to respond critically to texts.

They will continue to improve their writing so they can write accurately, fluently and effectively. Their writing will become more extended and they will be taught to write well-structured formal essays, narratives, arguments and letters. The explicit teaching of grammar, spelling and punctuation will continue and will help them to structure effective writing.

There is also a strong emphasis on speaking and listening skills in Year 7 where students will learn to speak confidently in group and formal situations; to use expression and vocabulary to engage an audience and to be aware of the differences between standard and non-standard English. There is a major focus on the use of persuasive language.

In Year 8 students will continue to develop an appreciation and love of reading and read increasingly challenging texts. They will read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts.

They will continue to improve their writing so they can write accurately, fluently and effectively. Their writing will become more extended and they will be taught to write well-structured formal essays, narratives, arguments and letters. The explicit teaching of grammar, spelling and punctuation will continue and will help them to structure effective writing.

In Year 8 there is a focus on both high-quality contemporary fiction, but also a much greater emphasis on texts from our literary heritage. Students will be introduced to major critical study of both Charles Dickens and read a full William Shakespeare play for the first time.

 

Department Members:

Miss S Mayles	English Subject Leader
Mr P Brown	English Teacher
Mrs A Butcher	English Teacher (and Head of KS3)
Ms L Kelly	English Teacher
Miss E Kirkup	English Teacher
Miss J Scott	English Teacher
Mr MG Simpson	English Teacher (and Headteacher)
Mrs B Smullen	English Teacher
Miss A Stepney	English Teacher
Mr J Ulph	English Teacher (and Head of Year 7)
Mrs E Warner	English Teacher

Topic Overviews 2023-2024:

The main units of Study for Year 5 students are:

• Kensuke's Kingdom - A major study of a novel by a significant children's author - Michael Morpurgo.
• Passion for Poetry - Studying, performing and writing a range of poetry - classic and contemporary - including major narrative poems 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' and 'The Highwayman'.
• The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe - A study of a traditional author including major elements of drama.
• Introduction to Shakespeare - Looking at the language and plot of 3 major plays by Shakespeare - Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Focus on performance and how language changes over time.

The main units of Study for Year 6 students are:

• Wrest Park - narrative unit based on WWI and local history.
• Instruction writing.
• Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson - A major study of a contemporary novel.
• Greek Myths - A study of myths, legends and traditional stories.
• Revision of all main elements of KS2 programme of study - comprehension and inference; writing for different audiences and reasons; sentence structure and vocabulary choice.
• Once by Morris Gleitzman - An in-depth study of an incredibly powerful historical novel.

The main units of Study for Year 7 students are:

• Holes - Major study of a contemporary author (Louis Sachar).
• Skellig - A major study of a novel by a significant author (David Almond) - close, critical analysis of text.
• Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare).

The main units of Study for Year 8 students are:

• Gothic Horror - Close analysis of Victorian extracts - Frankenstein, Dracula, Jane Eyre. In depth study of gothic conventions and features.
• Charles Dickens - 'A Christmas Carol'.
• Stone Cold - Robert Swindells - Contemporary novel - links with empathy and PSHE.
• Shakespeare - The Tempest.
• Poetry Slam - Unit based around classic and contemporary poetry with an emphasis on performance poetry. All pupils produce their own poetry anthology and perform in a 'poetry slam'.