Year 08 English
Curriculum:
In Autumn We Study:
Autumn Topic 1
Autumn Topic 2
Students will read and study a novel in its entirety, focusing on narrative style, plot development and characterisation.
They will develop their inference skills and how to analyse writers’ choices / methods.
There will also be opportunities for students to practise their writing skills in a creative and functional sense.
Students will focus on the novels of Charles Dickens.
Students will be introduced to Charles Dickens and read extracts from a range of his novels.
They will look at language use and the effect of the devices he uses to create character and setting.
They will also explore some of the social and historical context surrounding the Victorian era.
Key Vocabulary:
Key Vocabulary:
novel, prose, plot, analyse, empathy, sympathy, context, character, setting, attitudes, inference, methods, intentions
author, characterisation, explore, analyse, evaluate, infer, deduce, language, Victorian era, social and historical setting, context
In Spring We Study:
Spring Topic 1
Spring Topic 2
Students will study Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Students will look at characterisation and plot structure,
as well as applying their understanding to the context of the play and how society would have been very different.
They will also look at key themes within the play and see how we, as a modern audience could relate.
Students will study the origins of the English Language.
Students will be introduced to the idea of Etymology and travel back in time to see how the English language developed.
Key Vocabulary:
Key Vocabulary:
Play / Playwright, Audience, Prose, Verse, Sonnet, Characterisation, Soliloquy, Monologue, Pathetic Fallacy, dramatic Irony, Infer, Deduce, themes, Power, Guilt, context, society
Etymology, history, origins, Language, Communication, Dialect, Origin, Slang, Old-English, Middle English, Modern English, Noun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Pronoun
In Summer We Study:
Summer Topic 1
Summer Topic 2
Students will study poetry Ballads and Classic poetry.
They will look at features of ballads and classic poetry by reading / studying a range of poems presented in an anthology.
They will look at language and structure and how they contribute to the meaning.
They will recognise and use a range of techniques in various writing tasks, where spelling, grammar and punctuation will also be a focus.
Students will study Travel Writing with a journeys theme.
They will read a range of different types of writing and identify the skills that are required to suit the audience and purpose of the text.
They will recognise and use a range of techniques in various writing tasks, where spelling, grammar and punctuation will also be a focus.
Key Vocabulary:
Key Vocabulary:
anthology, poet, ballad, classic, features, form, stanza, enjambment, rhyme, metre, narrative, context, analyse, rhythm
form, feature, style, purpose, audience, genre, persuasion, advise, inform, explain, describe, extract, infer, analyse, style, audience, purpose, debate, discuss, describe, narrate
Subject Overview:
Students in Year 8 have 5 English lessons each week.
One of these will be a timetabled Library lesson.
In Year 8, students have homework set every week.
In addition to homework, students are expected to read for at least 30 minutes per week and may also have spellings to learn.
Assessments:
Students are assessed 5-6 times a year, usually once every half term at the end of each topic.
Often a reading and a writing assessment are completed, occasionally there may be a focus on just reading or writing.
