At Key Stage 4, our students study the AQA specification for Language and Literature. In Year 10, students follow a sequential plan of learning, which begins with a focus on the modern drama, An Inspector Calls. Students then move onto studying Language Paper 1, which is the students’ initial introduction to the Language papers. As the Spring Term begins, students commence an in-depth study of Power and Conflict or Love and Relationship poetry, enabling students to access both pre and post 1914 poetry. Students are encouraged to focus on themes, structure and imagery, recognising differences and similarities between clusters of poems. As the year progresses, students move to study Language Paper 2, Question 5. Students begin to craft and style their own argumentative and persuasive writing styles, developing and perfecting their grammar skills and vocabulary choices; they end the year with a close study of the 19th century novel, The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Students research into the 19th century, looking at how context shapes and impacts on literary works. Finally, students consolidate their spoken language skills by recording their spoken language assessments. These are visual and auditory endorsements that are assessed and validated by the exam board.
Students begin Year 11 with a study of the Shakespearen play, Macbeth. Students focus on how the Jacobean era explores themes of gender, race and diversity; they then proceed to study Language Paper 2 with a final focus on unseen poetry. This allows the remaining time to allow students to focus upon effective revision strategies, planning and polishing examination responses, for both Language and Literature. Fundamentally, at Key Stage 4, students are encouraged to think and speak analytically, through expressive discourse and focused questioning. By focusing on the above mentioned texts, in this prescribed order, students are encouraged to think about how the texts filter into our society today and how issues of: gender, age and culture are continually evolving. Thus, by accessing a range of fiction resources, together with literary non-fiction texts, ranging from the 19th to the 21st century, students develop the ability to write critically, coherently and with accuracy. Oracy is developed in all schemes, through debates, key discussions and collaboration with their peers.
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-language-8700
Link to AQA English Language specification ( above)
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-literature-8702/specification-at-a-glance
Link to AQA English Literature specification ( above)
| 10 | 11 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key Concepts | To explore how writers use language and structural devices to convey their meanings. To develop an analytical and critical approach when evaluating texts from pre and post 1914. To consolidate an understanding of how contextual factors impact on writers’ works. | To develop a deep and critical awareness of how writers use language and structural devices to convey their meanings. To sharpen and polish analytical and critical approaches when evaluating texts from pre and post 1914. To strengthen and perfect a clear understanding of how contextual factors impact on writers’ works. | ||
| Autumn Term (Sep-Dec) |
A01 A02 A03 and A04
A01 A02 A03 and A04 A05 and A06
|
Section A: “ Macbeth”. This module encourages students to read a Shakespearen play with clear understanding, and make connections across their reading with other Literature texts. We encourage students to read in depth, critically and evaluatively, so that they are able to discuss and explain their understanding and ideas. Students develop the habit of reading widely and often and learn to appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage; they learn how to write accurately, effectively and analytically about their reading, using Standard English whilst acquiring and using a wide vocabulary, including the grammatical terminology and other literary and linguistic terms, they need in order to criticise and analyse what they read.
A01 A02 A03 and A04 Skills for Section A and Section B – The aim of this paper is to develop students’ insights into how writers have particular viewpoints and perspectives on issues or themes that are important to the way we think and live our lives. It will encourage students to demonstrate their skills by: reading two linked sources from different time periods and genres in order to consider how each presents a perspective or viewpoint to influence the readers. In section B, students are expected to produce a written text to a specified audience, purpose and form in which they give their own perspective on the theme that has been introduced to them in section A. The sources for the reading questions will be non-fiction and literary non-fiction texts. They will be drawn from the 19th century, and either the 20th or 21st century depending on the time period assessed in Paper 1 in each particular series. The combination selected will always provide students with an opportunity to consider viewpoints and perspectives over time. Choice of genre will include high quality journalism, articles, reports, essays, travel writing, accounts, sketches, letters, diaries, autobiography and biographical passages or other appropriate non-fiction and literary non-fiction forms. In section B, there will be a single writing task related to the theme of section A. It will specify audience, purpose and form, and will use a range of opinions, statements and writing scenarios to provoke a response. A01 A02 A03 and A04 A05 and A06 | ||
| Quality Mark Assessments | ||||
2. – Lord of the Flies Extract T-Rex Extract AO1 AO2 AO4 AO5 AO6 |
Explore how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in the extract / whole play. AO1 AO2 AO3 AO4
Source A- The Other Side of the Dale Source B- The Ragged School | |||
| Spring Term (Jan-April) |
2.Literature Paper 2: Section B and C : Poetry Cluster Unseen Poetry Students will study one cluster of poems taken from the AQA poetry anthology: Poems Past and Present. There is a choice of two clusters, each containing 15 poems. The poems in each cluster are thematically linked and were written between 1789 and the present day. The titles of the two clusters are: • Love and relationships • Power and conflict. Students should study all 15 poems in their chosen cluster and be prepared to write about any of them in the examination. Students will compare two of the 15 poems, in the exam, being able to compare and contrast imagery, language, emotions and tone. Unseen Poetry- In preparing for the unseen poetry section, students should experience a wide range of poetry in order to develop their ability to closely analyse unseen poems. They should be able to analyse and compare two unseen poems, evaluating key features such as their content, theme, structure and use of language. A01 A02 and A03 Language Paper 2 Section B – Writing to Argue, Persuade, Explain. 40 marks: This section of the exam encourages students to produce a written text, which is aimed at a specified audience, purpose and form in which they give their own perspective on the theme that has been introduced to them in section A. This unit encourages students to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts • It also encourages students to use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. A05 and A06 | Revision: Poetry Cluster. Literature Paper 2 Section B and C: Students revise exam responses for poetry and unseen poetry. *See Year 10 for key skills being revisited. REVISION of all Literature and Language modules. | ||
| Quality Mark Assessments | ||||
Poetry
other poem from ‘Power and conflict’. OR: Compare how poets present romantic love in ‘Singh Song!’ and in one other poem from ‘Love and relationships’ Quality mark Language paper 2 section B.
Write a speech for your school or college Leavers’ Day to explain what you think makes a good education. | One Poem Close Analysis
from ‘Love and relationships’. OR:
AO1 AO2 AO3
Unseen Poetry “Nettles” “Brothers” “Handbag” AO1 AO2 Double Unseen “Handbag” and “To A Daughter” AO2 | |||
| Summer Term (May-July) |
Section B – 19th Century Novel “ The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and
A01 A02 and A03 Speaking and Listening Recordings. Non-exam assessment : The aim of the assessment is to allow students to demonstrate their speaking and listening skills by:
Students must undertake a prepared spoken presentation on a specific topic. As a guide, the duration should be no more than ten minutes. The key requirements are: • presentations must be formal but may take a wide variety of forms, including talks, debates, speeches and dialogues
A07 A08 and A09 Research project into the social and historical context of ‘Macbeth’. Students would use this time to delve into the social and cultural context of Jacobean England, looking into The Occult, The Great Chain of Being and Witchcraft. The students here are preparing themselves for the social context aspect of their Macbeth module, which they begin at the start of Year 11. A07 A08 and A09 | Exam Time – Revision of all modules. | ||
| Quality Mark Assessments | ||||
Jekyll and Hyde-
How does Stevenson present Hyde as a fearsome outsider? Chapter 4 extract.
AO1 AO2 AO3 Quality mark visual audio presentation. Quality mark for Macbeth project. Presentation on the social historical context, themes and characters in the play. | ||||
10
Key Concepts
To explore how writers use language and structural devices to convey their meanings.
To develop an analytical and critical approach when evaluating texts from pre and post 1914.
To consolidate an understanding of how contextual factors impact on writers’ works.
Quality Mark AssessmentsAutumn Term
(Sep-Dec)
- Literature Paper 2: Modern Drama.
Section A: “ An Inspector Calls” by J.B. Priestley: This module encourages students to:
• read a modern play with good understanding, and make connections across their reading with other Literature texts
• read in depth, critically and evaluatively, so that they are able to discuss and explain their understanding and ideas • develop the habit of reading widely and often
• appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage
• write accurately, effectively and analytically about their reading, using Standard English
• acquire and use a wide vocabulary, including the grammatical terminology and other literary and linguistic terms they need to criticise and analyse what they read.
A01 A02 A03 and A04
- Language Paper 1:
Skills for Section A and Section B: The aim of this paper is to engage students in a creative text and inspire them to write creatively themselves by: in section A, reading a literature fiction text in order to consider how established writers use narrative and descriptive techniques to capture the interest of readers. Section B, when writing their own creative text, is inspired by the topic that they have responded to in section A, aiming to demonstrate their narrative and descriptive skills in response to a written prompt, scenario or visual image; the source for the reading questions will be a literature fiction text. It will be drawn from either the 20th or 21st century. Its genre will be prose fiction. It will also include extracts from novels and short stories and focus on openings, endings, narrative perspectives and points of view, narrative or descriptive passages, character, atmospheric descriptions and other appropriate narrative and descriptive approaches. As a stimulus for students’ own writing, there will be a choice of scenario, written prompt or visual image that is related to the topic of the reading text in section A.
A01 A02 A03 and A04
A05 and A06
Quality Mark Assessments
- 1. Social Context
- Stage Directions
- Assessment Question:
How far does Priestley present Mrs Birling as an unlikeable character?
Write about:
• what Mrs Birling says and does in the play
• how Priestley presents her by the ways he writes.
OR: How does Priestley present the change in Sheila during the course of the play, “An Inspector Calls? How do you think this change reflects some of Priestley’s ideas?
[30 marks]
AO4 [4 marks] AO1/AO2/AO3/AO4
2.
– Lord of the Flies Extract
– Animal Farm or A Christmas Carol
– Assessment: June 2017
Source A: 20th Century prose-fiction
T-Rex Extract AO1 AO2 AO4 AO5 AO6
Spring Term
(Jan-April)
2.Literature Paper 2: Section B and C :
Poetry Cluster
Unseen Poetry
Students will study one cluster of poems taken from the AQA poetry anthology: Poems Past and Present. There is a choice of two clusters, each containing 15 poems. The poems in each cluster are thematically linked and were written between 1789 and the present day. The titles of the two clusters are: • Love and relationships • Power and conflict. Students should study all 15 poems in their chosen cluster and be prepared to write about any of them in the examination.
Students will compare two of the 15 poems, in the exam, being able to compare and contrast imagery, language, emotions and tone.
Unseen Poetry- In preparing for the unseen poetry section, students should experience a wide range of poetry in order to develop their ability to closely analyse unseen poems. They should be able to analyse and compare two unseen poems, evaluating key features such as their content, theme, structure and use of language.
A01 A02 and A03
Language Paper 2
Section B – Writing to Argue, Persuade, Explain. 40 marks: This section of the exam encourages students to produce a written text, which is aimed at a specified audience, purpose and form in which they give their own perspective on the theme that has been introduced to them in section A. This unit encourages students to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts • It also encourages students to use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.
A05 and A06
Quality Mark AssessmentsPoetry
- One Poem Close Analysis
- Anthology Feedback
- Compare how poets present ideas about power in ‘Ozymandias’ and in one
other poem from ‘Power and conflict’.
OR:
Compare how poets present romantic love in ‘Singh Song!’ and in one
other poem from ‘Love and relationships’
Quality mark Language paper 2 section B.
- Planning 1
- Planning 2
- Education is not just about which school you go to, or what qualifications you gain; it is also about what you learn from your experiences outside of school.’
Write a speech for your school or college Leavers’ Day to explain what you think makes a good education.
Summer Term
(May-July)
- Literature Paper 1
Section B – 19th Century Novel
“ The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and
Mr Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. This module encourages students to read a text from the 19th century, with good understanding, and make connections across their reading with other Literature texts:
- to read in depth, critically and evaluatively, so that they are able to discuss and explain their understanding and ideas
- to develop the habit of reading widely and often
- to appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage
- to write accurately, effectively and analytically about their reading, using Standard English
- to acquire and use a wide vocabulary, including the grammatical terminology and other literary and linguistic terms they need to criticise and analyse what they read.
A01 A02 and A03
Speaking and Listening Recordings.
Non-exam assessment :
The aim of the assessment is to allow students to demonstrate their speaking and listening skills by:
- giving a presentation in a formal context
- responding appropriately to questions and to feedback, asking questions themselves to elicit clarification
- using spoken Standard English. The assessment will be separately endorsed.
Students must undertake a prepared spoken presentation on a specific topic. As a guide, the duration should be no more than ten minutes. The key requirements are: • presentations must be formal but may take a wide variety of forms, including talks, debates, speeches and dialogues
- students must identify the subject for their presentations in advance and agree it with their teacher
- presentations must be planned and organised. Students should be advised that that lack of preparation is likely to prevent access to the criteria for the higher grades
- students may use pre-prepared notes, powerpoint etc. to assist them during their presentations but this is not a requirement
- as part of, or following, the presentation students must listen to and respond appropriately to questions and feedback
- where the audience is the teacher only, the presentation and dialogue must be designed in such a way that it could have a potentially wider audience than just one person (eg: it replicates a television interview). No marks will be assigned to a student’s performance – it will be assessed holistically as a grade, using a ‘competency’ basis on criteria which are provided below. Competency means that a student must hit all the criteria in one grade before moving on to the next. Students who do not reach the Pass standard must be recorded as Not Classified. General criteria To be awarded a Pass, Merit or Distinction a learner must: • be audible
- use Spoken Standard English which, for the purposes of the spoken language assessment, means that a learner must :
- be intelligible
- generally use language appropriate to the formal setting of the presentation.
A07 A08 and A09
Research project into the social and historical context of ‘Macbeth’. Students would use this time to delve into the social and cultural context of Jacobean England, looking into The Occult, The Great Chain of Being and Witchcraft. The students here are preparing themselves for the social context aspect of their Macbeth module, which they begin at the start of Year 11.
A07 A08 and A09
Quality Mark AssessmentsJekyll and Hyde-
- The Door – Chapter 1
- Hyde’s description – Chapter 2
- “Ape-like fury” mini assessment- Chapter 4
- Assessment:
How does Stevenson present Hyde as a fearsome outsider? Chapter 4 extract.
- In the extract
- In the whole novella.
AO1 AO2 AO3
Quality mark visual audio presentation.
Quality mark for Macbeth project.
Presentation on the social historical context, themes and characters in the play.
11
Key Concepts
To develop a deep and critical awareness of how writers use language and structural devices to convey their meanings.
To sharpen and polish analytical and critical approaches when evaluating texts from pre and post 1914.
To strengthen and perfect a clear understanding of how contextual factors impact on writers’ works.
Quality Mark AssessmentsAutumn Term
(Sep-Dec)
- Literature Paper 1- Shakespeare Play-
Section A: “ Macbeth”.
This module encourages students to read a Shakespearen play with clear understanding, and make connections across their reading with other Literature texts. We encourage students to read in depth, critically and evaluatively, so that they are able to discuss and explain their understanding and ideas. Students develop the habit of reading widely and often and learn to appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage; they learn how to write accurately, effectively and analytically about their reading, using Standard English whilst acquiring and using a wide vocabulary, including the grammatical terminology and other literary and linguistic terms, they need in order to criticise and analyse what they read.
- Language Paper 2
A01 A02 A03 and A04
Skills for Section A and Section B – The aim of this paper is to develop students’ insights into how writers have particular viewpoints and perspectives on issues or themes that are important to the way we think and live our lives. It will encourage students to demonstrate their skills by: reading two linked sources from different time periods and genres in order to consider how each presents a perspective or viewpoint to influence the readers. In section B, students are expected to produce a written text to a specified audience, purpose and form in which they give their own perspective on the theme that has been introduced to them in section A. The sources for the reading questions will be non-fiction and literary non-fiction texts. They will be drawn from the 19th century, and either the 20th or 21st century depending on the time period assessed in Paper 1 in each particular series. The combination selected will always provide students with an opportunity to consider viewpoints and perspectives over time. Choice of genre will include high quality journalism, articles, reports, essays, travel writing, accounts, sketches, letters, diaries, autobiography and biographical passages or other appropriate non-fiction and literary non-fiction forms. In section B, there will be a single writing task related to the theme of section A. It will specify audience, purpose and form, and will use a range of opinions, statements and writing scenarios to provoke a response.
A01 A02 A03 and A04
A05 and A06
Quality Mark Assessments- Social Context Feedback
- Character study Lady Macbeth / Macbeth
- Assessment for Macbeth – Act One Scene 5:
Explore how Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in the extract / whole play.
AO1 AO2 AO3 AO4
- Columbus –
- Nurses
- Assessment for Language Paper 2: November 2017:
Source A- The Other Side of the Dale
Source B- The Ragged School
Spring Term
(Jan-April)
Revision: Poetry Cluster.
Literature Paper 2 Section B and C: Students revise exam responses for poetry and unseen poetry.
*See Year 10 for key skills being revisited.
REVISION of all Literature and Language modules.
Quality Mark AssessmentsOne Poem Close Analysis
- Anthology Feedback
- Compare how poets present romantic feelings in ‘Winter Swans’ and in one other poem
from ‘Love and relationships’.
OR:
- Compare how poets present the ways that people are affected by war in ‘War Photographer’ and in one other poem from ‘Power and conflict’
AO1 AO2 AO3
Unseen Poetry
“Nettles”
“Brothers”
“Handbag”
AO1
AO2
Double Unseen
“Handbag” and “To A Daughter” AO2
Summer Term
(May-July)
Exam Time – Revision of all modules.
Quality Mark Assessments