KS3 English
In order to be resilient and succeed in the wider world, English students at Ashton Park School will be enthusiastic, empathetic and critical readers; creative, convincing and accurate writers; articulate, confident and engaging speakers.
How is our curriculum structured? Each term focuses on a core abstract concept. These concepts have been chosen as they are crucial to our understanding of the wider world, what makes us human, and how writers of fiction and non-fiction explore these ideas across time. Students will engage with a range of challenging texts: prose, drama, non-fiction and a collection of poetry from diverse contexts and voices centred around the main theme. They will learn to write in a range of fiction and transactional forms and genres in order to demonstrate their understanding of the core concept and develop their creativity, empathy and accuracy. Students will connect and synthesise the themes they read, write and speak about throughout KS3. The core concepts, texts and skills they will develop as they work towards their GCSEs and beyond, are listed in the table below. Our Reading Lists provide options for wider reading and our Knowledge Organisers list the core content and vocabulary students will learn. As students progress through KS3, these concepts and skills build on one another to develop their overall understanding of English literature and language and also explicitly prepare them for our KS4 and KS5 curriculums.
|
Year 7 |
Year 8 |
Year 9 |
| Term 1 &2 |
Loss Texts:
- A Monster Calls (Patrick Ness)
- Non-fiction (inc. extracts from the autobiographies of Malala Yousfazai, Nelson Mandela & Ronald Reagan)
- Poetry about Loss (inc. ‘One Art’ by Elizabeth Bishop, ‘The Trees’ by Philip Larkin, and ‘Kindness’ by Naomi Shihab Nye)
Core skills:
- Tracking the development of plot, character and theme.
- Introducing skills to analyse extracts of fiction.
- Writing first person autobiographical responses.
Loss Knowledge Organiser
Loss Reading List
|
Revenge Texts:
- The Woman in Black (Susan Hill)
- Non-fiction (inc. articles about the gothic genre, isolated settings and the presentation of women)
Core skills:
- Understanding and evaluating the progression of a genre across time.
- Developing understanding of the importance of literary and historical context.
- Developing effective descriptive skills to describe a gothic setting
Revenge Knowledge Organiser
Revenge Reading List
|
Prejudice Texts:
- Of Mice and Men
- (JohnSteinbeck)
- Non-fiction
(inc. articles, essays &
letters on prejudice)
- Poetry about Prejudice
(inc. ‘Caged Bird’ by
Maya Angelou,
‘The Poet X’ by
Elizabeth Acevedo,
and ‘I, too’ by
Langston Hughes.
Core skills:
- Independently
evaluating how a writer
explores a key theme.
- Analysing the social,
historical and cultural
context, and its
impact on the text.
- Consolidating narrative
writing skills, and using
structure for effect.
Prejudice Knowledge Organiser
Prejudice Reading List
|
| Term 3 & 4 |
Fantasy Texts:
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream (William Shakespeare)
- Non-fiction (inc. contextual documents about magic, performance and staging)
- Poetry (blank verse and poetic language of the play)
Core skills:
- Introducing skills to comprehend and analyse Shakespearean language and dramatic conventions.
- Building confidence selecting, summarising and interpreting evidence.
- Applying contextual understanding to discussion and dramatic interpretations.
- Writing descriptively to explore a range of senses and the impact of symbolism.
Fantasy Knowledge Organiser
Fantasy Reading List |
Survival Texts:
- Call of the Wild (Jack London)
- Non-fiction (inc. survival stories, critical theory accounts and articles)
- Poetry about Survival (inc.’Darkness’ by Byron and ‘Litany for Survival’ by Audre Lorde)
Core skills:
- Developing confidence and precision in the selection and analysis of textual evidence.
- Integrating historical and contextual information to explore authorial purpose.
- Using precise and imaginative language to create tension and suspense
Survival Knowledge Organiser
Survival Reading List
|
Conflict Texts:
- Romeo & Juliet
(William Shakespeare)
- Non-fiction (inc. opinion
articles and historical
texts)
- Poetry (blank verse
and poetic language
of the play)
Core skills:
- Independently
analysing an extract
of poetry from
Shakespeare.
- Confidently
identifying
and sophisticated
subject terminology.
- Crafting writing
in order to create
mood and atmosphere.
Conflict Knowledge Organiser
Conflict Reading List
|
| Term 5 & 6 |
Exploration Texts:
- Treasure Island(Robert Louis Stevenson)
- Non-fiction (inc. historical context sources about pirates, Bristol and the Transatlantic Slave Trade; travel brochures and biographical sources about Stevenson)
- Poetry (inc. ‘Blessing’ by Imtiaz Dharker, ‘Nothing’s Changed’ by Tatamkhula Afrika and ‘Not My Business’ by Niyi Osundare)
Core skills:
- Building confidence in making links between the text and historical context.
- Introducing skills to analyse narrative structure and narrative point of view.
- Writing to persuade (travel brochure text).
Exploration Knowledge Organiser
Exploration Reading List |
Rebellion Texts:
- Frankenstein (play adaptation by Philip Pullman)
- Non-fiction (inc. historical context sources; articles and speeches from female voices including Emmeline Pankhurst & Sojourner Truth)
- Poetry (inc. ‘Still I Rise’ by Maya Angelou, ‘Beautiful’ by Hollie McNish and ‘The Clown Punk’ by Simon Armitage)
Core skills:
- Tracking character and thematic development
though a play text, focusing on empathetic presentations and interpretations.
- Critically exploring and analysing non-fictional rhetoric within its historical and societal context.
- Writing and presenting transactionally to express
an opinion and persuade the audience of a speech.
Rebellion Knowledge Organiser
Rebellion Reading List |
Morality Texts:
- A chronological exploration of
morality through fictional and real-life heroes from Greek Myth to 21st C. speakers with a focus
on Bristol’s heritage.
- Poetry (inc.’Dulce et decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen,
‘The Hill We Climb’ by Amanda Gorman and ‘Medusa’ by Carol Ann Duffy)
- Non-fiction (inc. letters from Charles Dickens, op ed opinion articles and speeches from Martin Luther King, Emma Watson and Barack Obama)
Core skills:
- Consolidating
the close analysis and comparison of non-fiction texts from 19th-21st century sources.
- Exploring writers’ perspectives including register and bias.
- Writing a letter in a formal register to argue and persuade.
Morality Knowledge Organiser
Morality Reading List |
Assessment of the English curriculum In English there is an ongoing process to assess whether students have learned the knowledge and understanding of our intended curriculum. Each term our students will produce an extended piece of work which is the cumulation of everything they have been studying so far. This work is then assessed as to see if students have
developing,
secure or
exceeding knowledge and understanding of our curriculum. In the table below you will find examples of work at each of these bands for the tasks we have completed so far. This is a work in process and more examples will be added as we move through the year.
