Course content
Throughout the year
Reading - Students are encouraged to read for pleasure and at the start of each English lesson, students read quietly for 10 minutes and record their reading progress in their reading record books.
Assessments - Within each unit the key Assessment Foci will be assessed in the English class workbook which will take place periodically throughout the year.
Here are some of the units covered during year 9. Classes will complete these at different times of the year to allow for sharing of resources and class texts.
Narrative techniques - Class reading of a novel, leading to discussion and written tasks exploring character, plot and themes. Most classes read Heroes by Robert Cormier.
Speaking and Listening - A range of activities help students to develop confidence in individual presentations, role play and discussion skills.
Sports Journalism - Students learn features and conventions of match reporting and use these skills to write their own match report.
Travel writing - Students explore different examples of non-fiction writing before producing their own pieces of travel writing.
Spoken Language Study - Various features of the spoken language in political speeches is explored and analysed.
Poetry - Students analyse poems from different cultures and explore the techniques used. They will be asked to produce an essay response and consider the significance of the cultural contexts of the poems.
Drama - Close reading of a script and analysis of dramatic techniques used. Most classes will study Willy Russell's Blood Brothers.
GCSE Crossover piece - Students will complete their first piece of GCSE English controlled assessment.
Recommended book list and websites
We ask students to read independently at home to help boost literacy skills.
www.sparknotes.com provides useful information on some of the texts we study.
Homework/coursework requirements
Tasks will be set on a weekly basis. These may include research, writing in role, cloze activities, self evaluation or comprehension questions.
At the end of year 9, students complete their first piece of GCSE controlled assessment.
