English
Welcome to English at Harton Academy
English is a rich and varied subject. We are passionate about helping all of our students to become confident and powerful readers, writers and speakers. With this in mind, we aim to create engaging and challenging lessons for students of all ages and abilities.
Across the key stages, there is much that can be done at home to support your child’s English skills. The single most effective way to help your child to succeed is to encourage them to read at home. All of our students in Years 7 and 8 will take part in the Accelerated Reading program. As part of this program, they will always have a book to be reading independently. From Year 9 onwards, students should read as widely as possible: both fiction and non-fiction. For suggestions on what to read, see the links below:
- www.schoolreadinglist.co.uk/category/secondary-ks3-ks4-reading-lists/
- www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/60-great-books-for-reluctant-readers-at-ks3
- Key Stage 3 Reading List
- Key Stage 4 Reading List
- Key Stage 4 Cross-curricular Reading List
We hope that your son or daughter’s study of English at Harton is engaging, rewarding and challenging.
Key Stage 3 English
Independent reading and reading for pleasure is consistently encouraged.
Class readers are filtered throughout the year.
Spoken English (taking the form of speaking and listening activities) is integrated throughout the year as well as taught explicitly.
Year 7
| Term | |
| Autumn 1 |
A Transition Unit on James Bond which is designed to engage and build on the skills of Y6 Reading and responding to a post 1914 novel Narrative Writing: Initial stimulus the transition unit and then looking at myths/legends/fairy tales and their modern interpretations |
| Autumn 2 |
Reading and responding to a post 1914 novel Writing an informal Letter Writing a book review Author biography: classroom poster Pre-Christmas tasks: group task and presentation on designing and promoting a new Christmas toy |
| Spring 1 |
Non Fiction Unit Reading: autobiography and informative leaflets Writing: informative article and persuasive letter |
| Spring 2 | Reading and writing tasks based on Shakespeare:
or
Or
|
| Summer 1 |
Reading poetry from different cultures Writing: explanatory report/ persuasive speech |
| Summer 2 |
Reading short stories: Ruthless and Roald Dahl Stories Narrative writing |
Year 8
| Term | |
| Autumn 1 |
A transition unit on ‘Villains’ which is designed to engage and build on the skills of Y7 Reading and responding to a post 1914 novel Narrative writing: using the transition unit to create a believable character and then writing in a variety of genres |
| Autumn 2 |
Reading and responding to a post 1914 novel Writing a formal letter Writing an entertaining concert review Writing an author biography in the style of Desert Island Discs Pre-Christmas Tasks: group task and presentation on designing and promoting a new Christmas film |
| Spring 1 |
Non-Fiction: Reading: feature article and travel writing Writing: advisory report/ persuasive article |
| Spring 2 | Reading and writing tasks based on Shakespeare
or
or
|
| Summer 1 |
Reading poetry: a series of lessons based on responding to unseen poems Writing: informative speech/entertaining review |
| Summer 2 | Reading and responding to short stories: The Pedestrian+ Sci-Fi Genre |
Year 9
| Term | |
| Autumn 1 |
A transition unit on ‘New Worlds’ which is designed to engage and build on the skills of Y8 Reading and responding to a post 1914 novel Narrative Writing: using the transition unit to create a believable character, setting and then writing in a variety of genres considering the narrative structure |
| Autumn 2 |
Reading and responding to a post 1914 novel Writing a letter with a mixed register Writing a restaurant review Author biography: presentation or biographical writing Pre-Christmas tasks: group task and presentation on designing and creating a new Christmas advert. |
| Spring 1 |
Non Fiction: Reading: 19th century non-fiction texts Writing: argumentative speech/ entertaining article |
| Spring 2 |
Reading: responding to unseen fiction extracts from the 20th and 21st centureies Writing: transactional writing (speech, letter, review, article, report) |
| Summer 1 |
Reading Poetry: World War 1 poetry Narrative writing |
| Summer 2 | Reading and responding to modern drama:
or
or
Media task: advertising |
Key Stage 4 English
At Key Stage 4, our students study for two separate GCSEs:
- GCSE English Language: WJEC Eduqas
- GCSE English Literature: Edexcel
The table below shows a breakdown of the two courses and the exams that students will sit. All students sit their final exams at the end of Year 11, although we carry out practice papers and mini-assessments across the two year course.
| Component | |
|
English Language: WJEC/Eduqas
|
English Literature: Edexcel |
|
Component 1 : 20th Century Literature Reading Study and Creative Prose Writing
40% of GCSE – Exam 1 hour 45 minutes
Section A (20%) – Reading Understanding of one unseen prose extract (about 60-100 lines) of literature from the 20th century. You will answer a range of structured questions.
Section B (20%) – Prose Writing One creative writing task selected from a choice of four titles. |
Component 1: Shakespeare and Post-1914 Literature
50% of GCSE – Exam 1 hour 45 minutes
Section A: Shakespeare (Students will study either ‘Romeo and Juliet’ or ‘Macbeth’) Two part question: Part 1: You will be asked to read a short extract (approx. 30 lines) and write a close language analysis of the extract.
Part 2: You will be asked to explore how a theme from the extract is explored elsewhere in the play. You need to focus on maintaining a critical style and the show understanding of the relationship between the text and the context in which it was written.
Section B: Post-1914 British Play or novel (All students will study ‘An Inspector Calls’) Answer one question from a choice of two. A quotation will form the stimulus for the questions (plot, setting, character and theme – one or more) SPG
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Component 2: 19th and 21st Century Non-Fiction Reading Study and Transactional/Persuasive Writing
60% of GCSE – 2 hour exam
Section A (30%) – Reading Understanding of two extracts (about 900-1200 words in total)of high-quality unseen non-fiction writing, one from the 19th century, the other from the 21st century. You will answer a range of structured questions
Section B (30%) – Writing Two compulsory transactional, persuasive and/or discursive writing tasks |
Component 2: 19th-century Novel and Poetry since 1789
50% of GCSE – Exam 2 hours 15 minutes
Section A – 19th-century Novel (Students will study either ‘A Christmas Carol’ or ‘Jekyll and Hyde’) Two part question Part 1: A close language study of an extract (approx. 400 words) Part 2: An essay question on different aspects of the text, exploring one or more areas of plot, setting, character or theme
Section B – Poetry since 1789 Part 1: Poetry Anthology: Comparison (language, form, structure and context) of a named poem and a poem of your choice Part 2: Comparison (language, form and structure) of two unseen contemporary poems linked by theme.
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Component 3: Spoken Language One presentation/speech, including responses to questions and feedback |
How to support your child to succeed at GCSE English
There are many ways in which to support your child with their English studies:
- Encourage regular reading at home – we recommend reading for 20 minutes every day. Many studies show that regular reading at home improves students’ potential across all subjects, not just English. There are links to recommended reading at the top of this page.
- Ensure your son/daughter completes all homework set, including independent work on revision guides:
- Re-read set literature texts with your son/daughter.
- Use free online revision resources, such as:
- www.gcsepod.com
- https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/examspecs/zpxh82p
- https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/examspecs/z2whg82
- Explore Mr Bruff’s free revision podcasts on youtube.com
- Consider purchasing CGP Revision Guides – these are on sale at a discounted price through the school at key points across the course. Alternatively, they can be bought online.