English
Staffing of the department
Ms Dias – Head of Department
Ms Adams – Teacher of English / Deputy Head
Ms Devine – Teacher of English
Ms Cahalane – Teacher of English
Ms Wright – Teacher of English
Educational philosophy / Aims of the curriculum
The English department consists of a highly skilled, supportive and enthusiastic group of five specialist English teacher (3 of which are former Heads of English). We are in a constant state of evaluation and reflection about the impact of the work that we do, and constantly seeking ways to improve and grow on the Department’s expertise. We work closely together to sustain the high standards that are expected by colleagues, parents and pupils.
KS3 Curriculum
The aim of the KS3 English curriculum is to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word while developing a love of literature through the widespread reading for enjoyment. We aim to support students to:
- Read easily, fluently and with good understanding
- Develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
- Acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language
- Appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage
- Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences
- Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas
- Be competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.
KS3 Programme of Study
Reading
Pupils will be taught to:
- Develop an appreciation and love of reading, and read increasingly challenging material independently through:
- Reading a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including in particular whole books, short stories, poems and plays with a wide coverage of genres, historical periods, forms and authors.
- The range will include high-quality works from:
- English literature, both pre-1914 and contemporary, including prose, poetry and drama
- Shakespeare (two plays)
- seminal world literature
- choosing and reading books independently for challenge, interest and enjoyment.
- re-reading books encountered earlier to increase familiarity with them and provide a basis for making comparisons.
- understand increasingly challenging texts through:
- learning new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries
- making inferences and referring to evidence in the text
- knowing the purpose, audience for and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension
- checking their understanding to make sure that what they have read makes sense.
- Reading critically through:
- knowing how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features present meaning
- recognising a range of poetic conventions and understanding how these have been used
- studying setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these
- understanding how the work of dramatists is communicated effectively through performance and how alternative staging allows for different interpretations of a play making critical comparisons across texts
- studying a range of authors, including at least two authors in depth each year.
Writing
Pupils will be taught to:
- write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information through:
- writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences, including:
- well-structured formal expository and narrative essays
- stories, scripts, poetry and other imaginative writing
- notes and polished scripts for talks and presentations
- a range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, personal and formal letters
- summarising and organising material, and supporting ideas and arguments with any necessary factual detail
- applying their growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and text structure to their writing and selecting the appropriate form
- drawing on knowledge of literary and rhetorical devices from their reading and listening to enhance the impact of their writing.
- plan, draft, edit and proof-read through:
- considering how their writing reflects the audiences and purposes for which it was intended
- amending the vocabulary, grammar and structure of their writing to improve its coherence and overall effectiveness
- paying attention to accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling; applying the spelling patterns and rules set out in Appendix 1 to the key stage 1 and 2 programmes of study.
Grammar and vocabulary
Pupils will be taught to:
- consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:
- extending and applying the grammatical knowledge set out in Appendix 1 to the key stage 1 and 2 programmes of study to analyse more challenging texts
- studying the effectiveness and impact of the grammatical features of the texts they read
- drawing on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and using these consciously in their writing and speech to achieve particular effects
- knowing and understanding the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English
- using Standard English confidently in their own writing and speech
- discussing reading, writing and spoken language with precise and confident use of linguistic and literary terminology
Spoken English
Pupils will be taught to:
- speak confidently and effectively, including through:
- using Standard English confidently in a range of formal and informal contexts, including classroom discussion
- giving short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point
- participating in formal debates and structured discussions, summarising and/or building on what has been said
- improvising, rehearsing and performing play scripts and poetry in order to discuss language use and meaning, using role, intonation, tone, volume, mood, silence, stillness and action to add impact.
Links to useful sites for KS3 students, parents and members of the public
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education
http://www.educationquizzes.com/ks3/english/
http://www.poetryarchive.org/
http://www.edplace.com/english
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/english