English

Head of Department: Mrs. Wells

Outline of course:

Content:

The Year 9 curriculum is organised into six units covering the requirements of the English National Curriculum and drawing on the advised learning objectives included within the National Literacy Framework.

All Year 9 students will study the following three units during terms one and two (Sept-Dec).

• Learning to persuade, argue, advise
• The short story
•  Media

In January, students will start preparing for the SAT tests, which take place in May. Following the tests, students will start the GCSE course, studying four poems from Different Cultures and Traditions.

Activities: We aim to offer a wide variety of teaching and learning activities in order to engage all learners. Just a few examples of activities your child may learn through are: close reading of texts, cloze exercises, role play, group discussion, oral presentations, hot seating etc.

Skills: Each core unit will offer a wide variety of activities to develop and improve students' speaking and listening, reading and writing skills, understanding and knowledge.

Homework activities: Each unit of work lasts approximately six weeks and, typically, students will be set one thirty minute homework task per week.

Typical tasks will include researching a topic, learning spellings and/or the meaning of words, independent reading, teacher-directed reading, focused writing tasks, proofreading, completion of class work and learning evaluations.

Your help is very much appreciated and here are a few ideas about how you can support your child with English homework:

• Talk to your child about how to approach the task set
• Discuss what they are reading with them
• Proofread work with them (please advise us of the help you have given)
• Test them on their spellings
• Encourage the meeting of deadlines

Assessment: During a unit of work, assessment is in line with school policy. One formal assessment will be conducted per unit of work. National Curriculum levels will be awarded for each formally assessed task.Mock SATs will take place during February.End of year assessment is by National Curriculum levels of attainment.

Parental contribution: Parents are encouraged to monitor students' homework and offer guidance wherever possible. Please do not hesitate to make contact with your son's/daughter's teacher, in the event of problems or queries.

Useful resources and equipment: A good dictionary or spellchecker at home. Access to a word-processor, if possible. A tape recorder can also be useful.

Other relevant information: Setting in year ten will be determined by pupil performance through Year 9 and end of Key Stage Three English examination results.