English Curriculum
“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” – Martin Luther King
Rationale:
At St Patrick’s, our English curriculum provides pupils with the opportunity to read and discuss the best that has been thought and said about the world. Our rich, academic and varied English curriculum is designed to take pupils beyond their existing experiences and interests in order to develop truly outward facing, global citizens.
The spiral curriculum enables pupils to develop sophistication in reading, speaking, and writing. Pupils will experience a diverse selection of poetry, prose and drama from the literary canon and wider sources. They will come to understand the conventions involved in reading and writing various different texts and how language can be manipulated to create effects. Furthermore, pupils will develop an appreciation of how writers are influenced by the world that surrounds them through a growing understanding of social and historical context.
The English curriculum at St Patrick’s enables pupils to develop the following skills:
- Identify and interpret explicit and implicit information and ideas
- Synthesise information from different texts
- Analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects, using relevant subject terminology
- Compare writers’ ideas and perspectives
- 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
- Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.
- Demonstrate presentation skills in a formal setting, using standard English effectively
To sum up pupils should learn to
- Read like writers
- Write like readers
- Speak like orators
Implementation:
The KS3 English curriculum is designed as a spiral curriculum that revisits and builds upon key skills and concepts over three years. It focuses on the four key language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and is carefully sequenced to allow students to make steady progress. In essence, pupils will become confident, culturally aware readers, writers and orators when they begin KS4.
By the end of Key Stage 3 English, pupils will be able to produce extended pieces of fiction and non-fiction writing. They will understand how to craft their writing, selecting vocabulary, language methods, sentence structures and punctuation for effect, as well ensuring that they are meeting the needs of their intended purpose and audience. Furthermore, pupils will have read a range of prose, poetry and drama from a range of time periods and cultures around the world. They will have learned how to analyse the effects of language and structure in these texts and developed an understanding of how writers are influenced by the time and place they are living in, as well as their wider message for readers. The study of English at St Patrick’s provides pupils with an abundance of opportunities for discussion and collaboration with their peers, enabling them to develop their oracy skills in preparation for KS4.
At Key Stage 4, the English curriculum builds on the foundations of KS3, aiming to deepen pupils’ competence and sophistication in spoken and written communication. The focus is on mastery in the four skill areas (listening, speaking, reading, writing), and preparing pupils thoroughly for the AQA GCSE English Language and Literature exams.
What enrichment opportunities do we offer in English?
We celebrate World Book Day and National Poetry Day.
Theatre visits to watch live performances of texts studied.
Trip to Ripon Workhouse Museum to learn about Dickensian England.
Opportunities for pupils to vote for the Carnegie Award winner.
How can the study of RE support pupils beyond school?
English provides a strong foundation for any job or profession that involves communication, writing and/or literary knowledge. These include advertising and marketing, writing and journalism, law, teaching, performing arts, government, linguistics, foreign languages, media and design. Careers in the sciences, engineering, technology and maths also need English and in fact any profession that requires analytical thinking, strong verbal and written communication, imagination or creativity can draw on the key skills acquired whilst studying English.
Y7 English Core Knowledge Organiser >>
Y8 English Core Knowledge Organiser >>
Y9 English Core Knowledge Organiser >>
