Year 7
Semester 1
The Semester One English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of Language, Literature and Literacy, through a number of related study areas: A media study, Persuasive study and a Novel study. Students will listen to, read and view a range of spoken, written and multimodal texts, analysing text structures and language features and vocabulary choices, to show how these shape meaning and influence readers. They will create well-constructed spoken, written and multimodal texts to inform and persuade in which meaning is supported by planned structures and organisation. Students will use their increasing vocabulary, and accumulated knowledge of text structures and language features, to support their interpretation and evaluation, using a variety of sentence structures, paragraphing and punctuation to sustain meaning and support structural coherence in their writing.
Semester 2
Year 7 English in Semester two will cover the strands of Language, Literacy and Literature through a study of the following topics: Poetry, Myths and Legends, and the novel "My Place". Students will listen to, read and view a range of spoken, written and multimodal texts, analysing and comparing text structures and language features and vocabulary choices, to show how these shape meaning and influence readers. Our students will create well-constructed spoken, written and multimodal texts to inform, entertain, and narrate in which meaning is supported by planned structures and organisation. They will interact with others in groups to exchange, debate and substantiate ideas and opinions. As individuals and in groups, they will make oral presentations to share and promote points of view, supporting these presentations with selected evidence. They will select appropriate vocabulary to show shades of meaning, feeling and opinion, to express ideas clearly and to engage and elicit a response from the audience. In expressing or challenging a point of view, they will draw appropriately on personal knowledge, textual analysis, and other relevant texts they have experienced. They will effectively use a variety of clause and sentence structures, paragraphing and punctuation to sustain meaning and to support the structural coherence of their written texts.
Year 8
Semester 1
This semester's units have been designed to complement the Medieval History unit being studied in History. Students will work in a variety of modes as a whole class, in groups and independently, learning to present in a variety of ways (e.g. visually, kinaesthetically, orally or in writing) their understandings of what they have learnt. The first unit will be on poetry, where the students will develop a poetry portfolio and perform a poem they have created. Students will study the novel "Macbeth and Son" and will be required to respond to this text creatively, constructing their own short story based on a set theme. The students will view the film "A Knight's Tale" in order to develop understandings about the nature of the film as a text. Students will read a variety of books in class and at home and respond creatively to a chosen novel.
Semester 2
In English this semester, Students will read a variety of short stories, annotate their structure and language features, and annotate a set short story. Formative work will include students writing a short story in order to demonstrate their understanding of short story. Students will study a variety of drama scripts and plays and adapt the script by adding an extra scene. Students will write an analytical essay in response to a given topic and will study persuasive language and structure of debating and argue for or against a topic.
Year 9
Semester 1
Year 9 English is designed to build upon the understandings developed in Year 8 and to prepare students for the demands of senior school. They will study a range of literary and non-literary texts in order to develop their understandings of context, purpose, audience, style and tone. The Semester One course is divided into 4 units: Media - How Ads Persuade; Biography; Literature - A Thematic Study and Wider Reading.
Semester 2
In English this semester the focus will be on consolidating language, literature and literacy skills in order to prepare students for their transition to Senior Secondary Schooling. They will construct and annotate their own narrative demonstrating understandings of setting, plot, character, theme and style. They will engage with a variety of literary texts e.g. novel, play, short stories and poems to develop their appreciation and understanding of literature and the forms, structures, techniques and devices used by authors to create meaning. Students will also develop their analytical and language skills through essay writing and oral presentations.