English: Key Stage 3

Year 7 Scheme of Work Summary

What Pupils Will Learn

Skills That are Built On

Stories from Around the World
Descriptive Writing

Students will be emerged in different cultures whilst they explore extracts from stories written from different countries across the world and will use these as stimulus for their own descriptive writing. Students will use images, scenarios, and the world around them as inspiration for their own creative writing, thinking about how they can use language effectively. Students will look in detail at descriptive writing.

Students will build on the creative writing skills they will have attained at primary school with a focus on descriptive writing. Students will focus on detailed descriptions and using vocabulary to heighten the reader’s experience. They will develop their spelling, punctuation, and grammar to enhance their writing which will be skills they utilise throughout their schooling.

Private Peaceful
Character Analysis

 Students will explore the war story of Private Peaceful as an introduction to their KS3 studies. They will build on English lessons from KS2, reading a full novel as a class and exploring the key plot points. Students will look at the key characters of Charlie, Mollie, Tommo, and Big Joe and will explore these characters in detail across the text. Students will begin literature by analysing extracts in detail and exploring the way the writer has presented these characters.

During this unit, students will be introduced to the world of literature and analytical writing. They will build on comprehension skills acquired at primary school and use a text to gain their own interpretation. Students will look at characters across a novel and be able to make inferences about their presentation. It will lay the foundation for further literature studies and exploring themes and characters across a range of literature texts.

Macbeth
Character Analysis

Students will study key scenes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. They will be taught key contextual factors that influenced Shakespeare’s writing; the different features of play vs prose writing and explore some of the complexities behind his language. Students will be able to trace a character’s development across the play picking out specific events that alter an understanding of the character. Students will explore the characters of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, and Macduff and complete extract-based work on these characters. 

Students will build on from their literature learning of the first unit and begin to explore Shakespeare’s world. Students will start looking at his tragedy writing which will continue throughout their study of Shakespeare. Students will continue to focus primarily on character, this time looking at character development across a text and exploring the writer’s intentions with any character changes. This is the first opportunity for students to explore the presentation of gender within a Literature text. Students will begin to explore the importance of context on an audience’s understanding of a text.

Inspirational Figures
Spoken Language

Students will look at different figures throughout history exploring what they did and what motivated them in their actions. They will be introduced to forms of non-fiction writing, specifically focused on letter and speech writing. They will explore the layout, features, and register of these genres of writing. Students will complete spoken language work on this topic and look at how they can embed persuasive devices into their ideas.

This unit develops students’ understanding of non-fiction writing and students will begin to decipher differences between non-fiction forms of writing. Students will be introduced to the purpose, audience and format of texts and the influences this will have on the content of the writing, focusing specifically on letter writing. Students will continue to build on their spelling, punctuation, and grammar from the second unit and how these can be used in non-fiction writing. Students will be introduced to features of spoken language and produce a piece of work to be performed.

Fantasy
Evaluative Writing

Students will study extracts from a range of fantasy novels and texts. Students will analyse these extracts in detail, exploring the language and structure, and producing an evaluative consideration of the ideas presented in the text. Students will develop their close reading analytical skills. Students will complete tasks involving evaluative writing as a response to a given statement.

This unit introduces students to evaluative writing. It builds on the analytical writing introduced in the literature units and develops a higher focus on the writer’s intentions and method use for a certain effect. Students will be introduced to extract work and analysing isolated writing rather than extended novels or plays.

Animal Poetry
Poetry Analysis

Students study a range of poems linked by the theme of animals. They will be taught how to analyse the language and structure of poetry and be able to analyse the presentation of a theme in one of the poems in a written response. Students will explore the theme of power in these poems.

This unit builds on poetry work students will have explored in key stage two and focuses on a thematic analysis of a literature text. Students will engage with more complex poetic devices and explore their effect in poems. This is the first time that students will be explicitly introduced to the theme of power in a literature text. Introducing poetry will set a foundation for comparative poetry studies later in their schooling.

Year 8 Scheme of Work Summary

What Pupils Will Learn

Skills That are Built On

Into the Unknown

Story Writing

Students will explore genres linked to the theme of the unknown, looking in detail at the gothic, mystery, and horror genres. Students will focus predominantly on narrative writing and how to structure a narrative effectively to engage their reader whilst implementing the typical features of the different forms of writing. Students will explore how to embed features to create tension and suspense.

Students will continue to develop their creative writing skills. Students will focus primarily on a narrative style of writing and the structural features they can embed into their narrative writing to maintain a clear sense of direction. Students will be introduced to new genres of writing that they have not yet explored and develop their understanding of different genres of writing and features typical of these and how they can use these in their own writing. They will continue to develop their vocabulary

Stone Cold
Theme Analysis

Students will build on their novel reading from Private Peaceful and in this unit begin to explore the theme of prejudice in this novel, exploring the treatment of others in society. This will be the first exploration of this theme which will be repeated in many novels throughout KS3. Students will explore the themes of homelessness, isolation, friendship and growing up in detail. Students will begin to trace these themes across the novel, moving outside of an extract to encourage a wider and deeper analysis.

Students will develop their literature skills, focusing on a full novel and now analysing the themes within it. They will continue to use extracts to start their exploration of themes and during this scheme will now link extracts to the full novel, encouraging a wider analysis of the themes. Students will have begun to explore themes in Animal Poetry and during this scheme will be able to explore in more detail any changes / trends in the presentation of this theme. This scheme will begin the students’ discussions of full texts in a literature response.

Twelfth Night

Theme Analysis 

Students will study key scenes from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. They will continue to explore the importance of context in understanding ideas presented within the play. Students will approach the play with a more thematic approach and look at different events that contribute to themes within the play. Students will explore the themes of gender, love, and ambition.

Students will continue to explore Shakespeare’s canon, this time moving into comedy writing and features typically found in the plays of this genre. Students will develop the thematic analysis that they started in the modern novel and trace how these are developed by a writer. Students will focus in more detail on the importance of context on someone’s understanding and develop their understanding of universal themes in a literature text.

Travel Writing
Spoken Language

Students will explore different types of non-fiction travel writing, exploring the difference between fiction and non-fiction writing and features found in travel writing. Students will focus primarily on leaflet writing and explore the layout, features, and register of this genre of writing. Students will research an area of their choosing and produce a spoken presentation advertising their chosen area, focusing on writing to explain.

During this scheme of work, students will continue to develop their non-fiction creative writing. They will explore how the form of a leaflet is influential on the writing choices and how this is further influenced by the purpose and audience of the writing. Students will look at how the leaflet form influenced their language and structure choices in their writing. Students will continue to look at features of spoken language and will produce a piece to be performed.

Sherlock Holmes

Evaluative Writing 

Students will look at Sherlock Holmes short stories during this unit and use these to further fine-tune their evaluative and critical writing. Students will explore how themes and characters are presented in these two short stories and will continue to form their own opinions on the presentation of these ideas in shorter extracts within the stories.

Students will use older texts to continue explore evaluative writing. They will continue to respond directly to statements and explore how a full range of methods support their understanding. Students will need to use the skills they have learnt about in Science Fiction in year 8, this time using longer extracts as a focus to their responses. By exploring older stories, students will begin interaction with older language that will prepare them for their 19^th century novel study in year 10.

Nature Poetry
Poetry Comparison

Students will study poems linked by the theme of nature. They will continue to develop their analysis of poems ensuring there is a focus on poetic devices, and they will begin to explore the forms of poetry and the impact this could have. Students will begin to compare poems in this scheme and look at effective ways of comparing the ideas presented in two poems. Students will continue to explore the theme of power in these poems and will begin to look at comparing power across two poems.

This unit continues to build on poetry work with a changed focus from animals to nature. Students again will be tasked with analysing the language, form and structure of nature poems and the effect these features have on their understanding of the poem. Students will begin to explore comparison in this scheme of work and rather than looking at the poems in isolation, will be required to compare poems and explore the significance of a comparison. Students will continue to look at the theme of power in these poems and variations of this theme.

Year 9 Scheme of Work Summary

What Pupils Will Learn

Skills That are Built On

Dystopian Writing

Scenario Writing

Students will explore the dystopian genre in this creative writing module, looking at the language and atmosphere presented in this genre and how they can use this in their own writing. Students will continue to explore creative devices that will enhance their writing that have been built on in ‘Into the Unknown’ and ‘Stories from around the world’. Students will look in detail at features of scenario writing and how they can use their descriptive and narrative approaches in this style of writing.

Students will continue to develop their creative writing, now focusing on a different genre of writing and how the different methods will support the conventions on this genre. Students will be introduced in more detail to scenario writing and be required to ‘describe a time’ or ‘write a story about a time’. Students will be exposed to extracts of writing, similarly to previous creative writing modules they will need to explore how other writers have used different methods and how they can replicate this in their own writing.

Of Mice and Men

Theme Analysis

Students will build on their understanding of race and Stories from around the world and consider the importance of context in understanding the treatment of others and outsiders. Students will explore the treatment of others (including those with disabilities, different races, and women) and the discrimination they receive. Students will move away from extracts in this topic and be required to discuss the novel as a construct.

Students will develop their Literature studies and be encouraged to be more independent in identifying key events and quotations that support their understanding. They will look at wider themes across a full novel and consider the writer’s intentions with the presentation of these themes as well as looking in more detail the importance of historical context in understanding these ideas.

Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis

This will be the students first engagement with this play which they will revisit in year 10 as a GCSE text. Students will explore the play both thematically and tracing the character development across the plot point, looking at key scenes in detail. Students will explore Romeo, Juliet, Lord Capulet, The Nurse, and Friar Lawrence in more detail and trace these characters across the play.

Students will explore in more detail character development across a play and consider how the themes in a play link to an understanding of their character. They will receive an extract-based question and be required to discuss this alongside the rest of the play to best show their understanding of the character. Students in this module will be required to discuss language, form and structure and how this contributes to their understanding and bring all of this method analysis together in their response. They will continue to explore context and universal ideas and think about how this links to their interpretation of the characters in the text.

Campaigns and Causes
Non-Fiction Writing 

During this non-fiction module students will look at campaigns, both modern and historical. Students will focus on writing to argue in the article form and develop how they can effectively communicate their own ideas and campaigns. Students will look at a range of forms of writing and explore the differences between these forms of writing. They will also explore debate in the topic and how to campaign their ideas in this form.

Students will continue to develop their non-

fiction writing and writing for a purpose. They will explore in detail the form of a newspaper article and writing to argue and the different features of these writing styles that will contribute to meaning. They will look at the importance of audience and how they can engage an audience in spoken language. These skills will prepare them for the forms of writing in their GCSE non-fiction paper and being able to adapt writing to match the task.

Black Flamingo

Evaluative Writing

Students will explore the verse novel Black Flamingo and use this to enhance their evaluative and critical writing. They will continue their understanding of gender and identity previously analysed in Macbeth and Twelfth Night and explore a modern presentation of gender and sexuality. This will also offer them an alternative perspective of race and modern issues linked to this theme.

Students will be introduced to narrative writing structured as verse and will use this to explore in more detail the importance of structure in a piece of fiction. They will continue to look at their evaluative writing they have begun in Science Fiction and Black Flamingo and responding directly to a statement about the novel. Students will develop the detail of their critical and evaluative writing, focusing on how they can unpick and analyse the methods used by writers within the text.

Unseen Poetry

Unseen Poetry

This will be the start of GCSE studies for the students who will look at AQA Unseen Poetry. Students will look at a full range of themes across a range of styles of poems and need to develop their independence in creating and explain their interpretation of the poems. Students will look at comparing methods used in two unseen poems.

Students will use the work they have completed in Nature Poetry and Animal Poetry to be able to independently analyse and discuss poems. There will be no linked theme to the texts and students will be required to access a range of different poems. Students will develop their analysis of language, form and structure and writing about these together in an extended report. Students will be required to look at their comparative skills again, this time comparing methods across two unseen poems.