Year 7 English

Brief summary of the syllabus:

Work will focus on the three National Curriculum assessment objectives of reading, writing and speaking and listening. An extended variety of exercises will be set to meet the demands of the National Curriculum. There will be two class readers each term. The texts are chosen in accordance with the aptitude of each set and to develop the pupils' skill at using spoken and written language sensitively and accurately. Work will also be targeted to: develop powers of comprehension and appreciation in their reading and listening; look at differing issues critically; and to develop powers of discrimination. Progress is measured throughout the year by regular half-term tests.

What skills and attributes are being developed and examined?

Pupils will be taught to employ the following skills:

Reading

• Use appropriate reading strategies to extract particular information;
• Adopt reading approaches to engage with and make sense of texts;
• Infer and deduce meanings using evidence in the text, identifying where and how meanings are implied;
• Comment using appropriate terminology on how writers convey setting, character and mood through word choice and sentence structure;
• Recognise how writers' language choice can enhance meaning;
• Read a range of recent fiction texts independently as the basis for developing critical reflection and personal response.

Writing

• Spelling strategies;
• Define and deploy words with precision, including their exact implication in context;
• Use a dictionary and thesaurus with speed and skill;
• Develop an extended control of complex sentences and vary their sentence construction for effect;
• Recognise the cues to start a new paragraph;
• Keep tense usage consistent;
• Plan, draft, redraft and present a text with readers and purpose in mind;
• Structure a story with an arresting opening, a developing plot, and suitable portrayal of character, both directly and indirectly;
• Use a range of narrative devices to involve the reader, including alliteration, onomatopoeia etc;

Speaking and Listening

• Use talk as a tool to clarify ideas;
• Answer questions pertinently, drawing on relevant evidence or reasons;
• Adopt a range of rôles in discussion;
• Work together logically, and methodically to solve problems, make deductions, share, test and evaluate ideas;
• Undertake drama-based work.

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What can parents expect to see in classwork and homework specifically?

Year 7 will be set two pieces of homework each week, one a written homework and one reading and preparation. It is departmental policy to insist on the process of drafting and redrafting in accordance with the National Curriculum as this encourages pupils to view their own writing critically.

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What can parents do to help in this subject at this stage?

Parents are encouraged to read their son's work in the drafting stage and make suggestions about how the work could be improved. Parental aid is highly valued and effective. It is essential however that this help is not excessive. If a false impression of a boy's work is created, his teacher will not be able to target his specific weaknesses. Resetting is in accordance with half-term test results, and parents must be aware that too much assistance will jeopardise their son's performance.

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Setting and course schedule:

Setting will take place at half-term of the Autumn Term. Re-assessment of sets will occur in the Summer Term. Setting is based on half-term test scores averaged out and on marks for homework and classwork when necessary.

Tests in English:

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Revision and Target-Setting:

Revision will be guided by class teachers in relation to each half-term test. The boys must revise for their specific tests where this is appropriate. Feedback from tests and examinations highlights particular areas of the curriculum that have been tested. From this a boy can determine for himself those areas in which he is confident and those in which he is weak. Pupils are then encouraged to formulate action plans (as part of the bespoke tutoring system in Year 7) which concentrate upon improving the weaker areas.

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Working towards Target National Curriculum Levels:

In the Autumn term, each pupil and his parents will be made aware of a target National Curriculum Level which he should be aiming to achieve by the end of the academic year. Progress towards this target will be reviewed at the end of each half-term and in the mid-year review of pupil progress, which is reported home in the Spring term. The criteria for each National Curriculum Level in English can be read here.

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