English: Year 7Chesterton Community

College

KS3 AND BEYOND…“O brave new world…”

New GCSEs in English Language and English Literature

FEATURES OF NEW GCSE:

Challenge Breadth

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

100% exam at the end of year 11 (two exams) Emphasis on unseen texts Texts taken from 19th, 20th and 21st century New assessment focus on comparing texts Increase in marks awarded for spelling, punctuation and grammar Emphasis on reading literary non-fiction rather than media texts Writing tasks divided in to creative and transactional tasks Speaking and Listening skills reported separately

ENGLISH LITERATURE

Closed book exams 1 x Heritage text (Jekyll and Hyde) 1 x Shakespeare text (Romeo and Juliet) 1 x Modern British text (Animal Farm) 1 x Cluster of poems (Conflict for 2016-2017) Emphasis on comparison of unseen texts Emphasis on making accurate references to texts

READING “The biggest single indicator of whether a child is going to thrive at school and in

work is whether or not they read for pleasure” (UNESCO)

Young people who read outside of class are 13 times more likely to read above the expected level for their age.

27% of families paid for academic tutors last year at a cost of up to £40 for a 45 minute session.

Just 10 minutes of reading with your child each day is one of the best ways you can support their education. Reading together 6 days each week means an extra hour of support for a child. It’s definitely cheaper than 1-hour with a tutor and it could make a much bigger difference.

Reading What? Fiction

Newspaper

Magazines

Autobiographies/biographies

Letters

Websites

Junk mail: leaflets, flyers, newsletters etc.

6 Top Tips for Reading with Young People1. TimeJust 10 minutes of reading with your child each day is one of the best ways you can support your child’s education.

2. Different types of textsReading as wide a range of texts as possible opens your child up to different types of language and different ways of writing. You and your child might take it in turns to choose what you read together; you might share a treasured book from your childhood; or they might introduce you to the latest playground craze. You won’t both love every text you share, but reading a wide range of different texts can help children to develop their own taste and it can open them up to texts and genres they wouldn’t necessarily choose themselves.

3. Take turns to readListen to your child read aloud – it’s great for developing their fluency and expression. At other times you can read aloud. Finding ways to read together can be really effective and enjoyable – you might read a paragraph each or take over every time a certain character speaks. By both reading and listening your child gets the best of both worlds, learning more than if they simply read aloud to you or listen to you.

4. Talk about the book – asking your child questionsAsking for their opinion or for them to make predictions can be an important way of helping them to think about what they’re reading.

5. Pay attention to the languageBy explaining the meaning or even looking up unfamiliar words and phrases together, you can widen your child’s vocabulary and support them to make wider sense of the text. Words and phrases are the bricks which writers use to build a text and understanding them is the key to unlocking the meaning of a passage.

6. Enjoy readingContinuing to read with your child right through secondary school can have great educational benefits, but it can also be ten minutes of respite from hectic family life to read, think and talk together. By all means ask questions and discuss vocabulary, but don’t be afraid to lose yourselves in a good story too. Helping your child to love books is an important goal.You never know, that ten minutes of reading time might just stretch totwenty…

10 MINUTES OF…

SPELLING

Here are some simple ways to help you assist your child to learn spellings.

Practise these techniques with the spelling list of words that pupils at KS3 will often encounter.

1) Look Cover Write Check

Look at the word.Cover it - try to picture it in your mind.Write it out once.Check to see if it is correct.If you get it right, write it out three times covering it each time.If you get it wrong, underline the incorrect letters.Repeat the process until you spell it correctly!

2) Look for patterns and words within words I will be your friend to the end / vegetable

Or take a word like dissatisfied,· The prefix rule dis + satisfied (so it has two Ss)· Think of other linked words - satisfactory, satisfy

3) HighlightingHighlight the difficult part of the word. For example “separate” find a way of remembering theproblem letters: “There’s a rat in separate.”

4) SyllablesBreak the word down into syllables. Each syllable should have a vowel – a, e, i, o, u. Man-u-fac-ture

5) Look at word familieslight might night fight tightstrength length

6) MnemonicsA mnemonic is a way of helping you to remember.e.g. Necessary - “a shirt has one collar and two sleeves”.Make up your own mnemonics.

7) Say it!Say the word as it looks, rather than how it is spoken.Wed-nes-day

KEY STAGE 3 SPELLING LISTS

General spelling listThe following list of spellings was compiled by a number of secondary schools who all identified the following words as common errors among KS3 students. Students will know how to spell many of the words, but it is useful to review the spellings from time to time and correct any mistakes.

accommodation conclusion explanationactually conscience Februaryalcohol conscious fiercealthough consequence fortyanalyse/analysis continuous fulfilargument creation furthermoreassessment daughter guardatmosphere decide/decision happenedaudible definite healthaudience design heightautumn development imaginarybeautiful diamond improvisebeginning diary industrialbelieve disappear interestingbeneath disappoint interruptburied embarrass issuebusiness energy jealouscaught engagement knowledgechocolate enquire listeningclimb environment lonelycolumn evaluation lovelyconcentration evidence marriagematerial potential sincerelymeanwhile preparation skilfulmiscellaneous prioritise soldiermischief process stomachmodern proportion straightmoreover proposition strategymurmur questionnaire strengthnecessary queue successnervous reaction surelyoriginal receive surpriseoutrageous reference surveyparallel relief techniqueparticipation remember technologypattern research texturepeaceful resources tomorrowpeople safety unfortunatelyperformance Saturday Wednesdaypermanent secondary weightpersuade/persuasion separate weirdphysical sequence womenpossession shoulder

Common homophones and confusions

advise/advice choose/chose quiet/quite cloth/clothe sites/sights they’re / their / thereaffect/effect conscience/conscious source/sauce

allowed/aloud course/coarse thank youbought/brought our/are threw/throughbraking/breaking practise/practice to/too/two

English specific spellings

advertise/advertisement figurative prepositionalliteration genre resolutionapostrophe grammar rhymeatmosphere imagery scenechorus metaphor simileclause myth soliloquycliché narrative/narrator subordinatecomma onomatopoeia suffixcomparison pamphlet synonym conjunction paragraph tabloidconsonant personification vocabularydialogue playwright vowelexclamation pluralexpression prefix

VOCABULARY

Learn 5 new words each week and try using them in context. You could have the new words stuck somewhere visible in the house….the

biscuit jar or somewhere equally frequently visited would be a good spot!

PUNCTUATION Use a website such as www.theoatmeal.com to revise the rules for

punctuation. Many students are confident with punctuation between sentences e.g. ! ? . but are less confident with punctuation within sentences e.g. ; : ,

Spot punctuation in a text you are reading and discuss the impact it has on the sentence.

Focus on using a range of punctuation in written homework for all subjects.

SPEAKING & LISTENING

Research shows good reading and writing is linked to speaking and listening. Create opportunities for talk. When you are watching the TV, listening to the radio, reading a book etc.

encourage your child to explain what they find interesting; exchange views. Encourage your child to: challenge something they do not agree with; empathise with another person and their point of view; put forward their point of view with clarity, eloquence, compassion and empathy.

CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT IN ENGLISH AT KS3We are proud that our programme of study is strongly rooted in the English National Curriculum; however, we equally strive to encourage our students to engage in the multimedia aspects which push the boundaries of English studies: ultimately we nurture and inspire our young readers and writers to reach their creative potential.

In English we assess using 15 assessment foci across both READING and WRITING:

READING WRITING

READING AF1: SUMMARISING

WRITING AF1:CONTENT

READING AF2:COMPREHENSION

WRITING AF2:COMMUNICATION WITH THE READER

READING AF3:READING BETWEEN THE LINES

WRITING AF3:STRUCTURE

READING AF4:EVALUATING STRUCTURE

WRITING AF4:SENTENCE TYPES

READING AF5:EVALUATING LANGUAGE & GRAMMAR

WRITING AF5:PUNCTUATION

READING AF6:USE OF TEXTUAL REFERENCES

WRITING AF6:VOCABULARY

READING AF7:MAKING LINKS TO CONTEXT

WRITING AF7:SPELLING

READING AF8:COMPARING TEXTS

Students receive a termly report for each skill they have been assessed on. They will receive a current grade, a description of what that means they can currently do and a description of what they need to do next.

YEAR 7 ASSESSMENTSREADING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8  

WRITING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7       

AUTUMN 1

AUTOBIOGRAPHY - IT'S ALL ABOUT

ME!

Students write an autobiographical account of a childhood memory.

AUTUMN 2

HARRY POTTERStudents respond to a series of questions to assess their reading and comprehension

skills. The assessment focuses on Chapter 12 of the novel: ‘The Mirror of Erised.’

SPRING 1SHAKESPEARE'S

MAGIC

Students explore a number of Shakespeare's plays (focusing on the magical and the fantastical) and work in groups to stage a short extract from a play of their choice accompanied by an explanatory presentation.

SPRING 2 POETRYStudents analyse a poem and write their own poetry in response

SUMMER 1

UNSEEN PHENOMENON END OF YEAR EXAM

SUMMER 2

READING VISUAL LANGUAGE NO FORMAL ASSESSMENT

For more information on specific assessment go to our English webpages:

CHESTERTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE – A WEALTH OF INFORMATION!http://chestertoncc.net/

Find information on each of your child’s English assessments online