Curriculum rationale:
Our vision is to nurture a passion for reading in our students so they read for pleasure across a wide range of genres and different cultures, to communicate effectively, to think critically and to problem solve in a timely manner within an academically challenging and stimulating environment. This includes Socratic Circles to develop student voice, critical thinking to develop metacognition and studying female writers to enrich students’ cultural and social awareness of the world around them and their place within it.
Our curriculum is the platform from which our students to articulate, communicate and express themselves as resourceful, creative and resilient citizens. In short, our curriculum is a curriculum for everyone underpinned by ten core offers to our student: teaching and learning is grounded in a rich heritage of literature; oracy and 4Rs are built into teaching and learning; Mastery of texts and techniques; guided class reading; vocabulary and knowledge rich and writing for different audiences and purposes. Each year’s schemes of work builds on the skills of the previous year to better equip and enable our students to respond to those challenges. Our KS3 curriculum is challenging. All students, regardless of ability, are entitled to achieve the very best that they can. We are a highly successful and ethnically diverse team. This has greatly enriched our teaching and learning and is reflected through our curriculum. Our diversity is celebrated as we learn together and from one another in a supportive, focussed, inclusive and innovative environment where everyone is a learner. We believe in pursuing excellence and equity for all.
Curriculum Design:
Our curriculum is designed to ensure that all students joining Sir Jonathan North will have a secure knowledge based understanding of the key elements of the English curriculum that will provide rich opportunities for all of our students to develop a passion for reading and writing, speaking and listening focusing on developing an informed personal response to English Language and English Literature that is creative, academic and technically accurate. Through a quality first teaching approach, students will be equipped with the skills, behaviours and habits to access opportunities to enable all students to make rapid and sustained progress throughout their five years.
The curriculum designed around securing deep understanding of key knowledge and developing academic literacy. Principles for ‘making the learning stick’ are incorporated, including regular low stakes retrieval practice, elaboration and interleaving of key concepts.
Curriculum Plan:
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Year 7
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Year 8
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Year 9
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Autumn Term
Inspirational Women/ Heroes and Villains
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Autumn Term
Romance and Antipathy
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Autumn Term
Aspects of Narrative and Literacy Genres
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Topics
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Study of a novel: Ruby in the Smoke
Speeches: Inspirational women
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Shakespeare play
Review based on a film, TV programme or a CD
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A novel
Travel writing
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Key Retainable Knowledge and skills
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Narrative methods, the writer’s craft, social, historical contexts
Social context, dramatic method and style
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Shakespeare’s themes, characters, language and stagecraft. Social/historical context
Format and style of a review including PAF
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Narrative methods. Social, historical contexts
2. Format and style of a travel article including PAF. Research
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Assessment
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Literature essay focussing on characterisation informed by an extract
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Essay based on an extract/scene
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Evaluative literature essay based on an extract
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Spring Term
Protest Writing
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Spring Term
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Spring Term
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Topics
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1. 21st Century Non-Fiction Persuasive Texts
2. Controversy and Socratic Circles
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1. The Romantic poets
2. Magazine articles – topical issues
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1. An Inspector Calls
2. War poetry Collection
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Key Retainable Knowledge and skills
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1. What / How / Why and a Non-Fiction vocabulary including PAF
2. Critical thinking skills
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1. Poetic devices. Social/historical context. Genre
2. Format and style of magazine articles including PAF
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1. Themes, characters, language and stagecraft. Modern drama
2. Understanding themes, poetic devices, the social and historical contexts. Comparing poems
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Assessment
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1. Analysis of a non-fiction text focussing on the Writer’s Craft
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1. Comparative essay on 2 poems. (Blake and Wordsworth)
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1. Literature essay informed by an extract
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Summer Term
Heroes and Villains
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Summer Term
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Summer Term
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Topics
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1. Collection of epic poetry and classical narratives
2. Shakespeare
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1. 19th Century Short Stories
2. Narrative Writing
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1. War Poetry Collection
2. Formal talk - functional
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Key Retainable Knowledge and skills
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1. Social, historical contexts and heroic traditions
2. Shakespeare’s themes, characters, language and stagecraft. Social/historical context
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1. Narrative methods. Social, historical contexts
2. Narrative writing skills (grammar through writing)
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1. Understanding themes, poetic devices, genre, the social and historical contexts. Comparing poems
2. How to write and present a formal talk
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Assessment
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1. Analysing, writing and delivering a heroic speech
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1. Thematic essay informed by an extract
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1. Comparative analysis under timed conditions
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Year 10
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Year 11
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Autumn Term
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Autumn Term
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Topics
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1. Study of Macbeth
2. Non-Fiction Writing
3. Fiction Reading
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1. Christmas Carol
2. Non-Fiction Reading / Writing
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Key Retainable Knowledge and skills
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1. Shakespeare’s themes, characters, language and stagecraft. Social/historical context
2. Informal / formal letter writing
3. Information retrieval / impression / evaluative /writer’s craft question types
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1. Narrative methods, dramatic method, the writer’s craft and social, historical contexts
2. Informal / formal letter writing /
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Assessment
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1. Character evaluative essay
2. Analytical study of an extract
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1. Evaluative / thematic study informed by an extract
2. Create a letter (functional / topical issues informed by community)
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Spring Term
Revision and Exam Skills
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Spring Term
Revision and Exam Skills
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Topics
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1. Poetry Anthology
2. Non-Fiction Writing informed by Non-Fiction reading
3. Unseen Poetry
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1. Macbeth revision
2. Fiction reading and writing revision
3. Unseen Poetry revision
4. An Inspector Calls revision
5. Anthology Poetry revision
6. A Christmas Carol revision
7. Non-Fiction reading and writing revision
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Key Retainable Knowledge and skills
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1. Understanding themes, poetic devices, genre, writer’s craft and the social and historical contexts. Comparing poems
2. Article / speech writing and awareness of PAF
3. Understanding themes, poetic devices, writer’s craft and genre. Comparison.
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Assessment
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1. Single then comparative analysis
2. Create a speech / article informed by Non-Fiction reading
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Summer Term
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Summer Term
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Topics
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1. An Inspector Calls
2. Narrative Writing – personal writing
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Terminal examinations
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Key Retainable Knowledge and skills
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1. Modern drama, dramatic method, writer’s craft and social, historical contexts
2. Narrative methods, PAF and writer’s craft
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Assessment
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1. Evaluative study informed by an extract
2. Create a personal narrative based on real life
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Curriculum Assessment:
At KS3 all students have three termly assessments and one Big Test at the end of each year.
Assessment follows College policy with students’ books marked twice per unit: one interim assessment and one end of unit assessment in line with dialogic feedback. Students act on the teacher’s purple pen prompts to challenge misconceptions, address any technical issues and give students an opportunity to improve their subject knowledge to help each student make progress from their starting point.
Feedback is implicit to all of our lessons and underpins the dialogic assessment process. This usually takes the form of questioning, time to reflect, retrieval practice, peer or self feedback and use of knowledge organisers.
The same assessment methodology is used at KS4 students, but students are measured against the 9-1 (GCSE) grading system and a culmination of timed writing, speaking and listening assessment and teacher assessment are taken into account when tracking a student’s working at grade.
