YEAR 7 ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSE SYLLABUS

Course Outline

Overview

The English Syllabus at GEMS Wesgreen International Primary School aims to support students in becoming confident speakers, secure readers, and creative writers who can write for a variety of purposes. We provide students with the opportunities to read and write a variety of texts, whilst building on their speaking and listening, reading, and language skills.

Learning Outcomes

The aims of all subjects state what a teacher may expect to teach and what a student may expect to experience and learn. These aims suggest how the student may be changed by the learning experience.

The aims of the English Syllabus are to encourage and enable students to:

• Read easily, fluently and with good understanding.
• Develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information
• Acquire a wide vocabulary, an understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language.
• Appreciate rich and varied literary heritage.
• Write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences.
• Use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and explain clearly their understanding and ideas.
• Are competent in the arts of speaking and listening, making formal presentations, demonstrating to others and participating in debate.

Ongoing Objectives

These are the objectives that are covered and built upon throughout each unit of work.

Reading

• To develop an appreciation and love of reading, and read increasingly challenging material independently through:

• Reading a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including in particular extracts from stories, with a wide coverage of genres, historical periods, forms and authors.
• Choosing and reading books independently for challenge, interest and enjoyment.
• Re-reading books encountered earlier to increase familiarity with them and provide a basis for making comparisons.

• To understand increasingly challenging texts through:

• Learning new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries.
• Making inferences and referring to evidence in the text.
• Knowing the purpose, audience for and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension.
• Checking their understanding to make sure that what they have read makes sense.

• To read critically through:

• Knowing how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, presents meaning.
• Recognising a range of poetic conventions and understanding how these have been used.
• Studying setting, plot, rising action climax and characterisation, and the effects of these.
• Understanding how the work of dramatists is communicated effectively through performance and how alternative staging allows for different interpretations of a play.
• Making critical comparisons across texts.
• Studying a range of authors.

Writing

• To write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information through:

• Writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences, including:

• ­Well-structured descriptive and narrative essays.
• ­Stories, scripts, poetry and other imaginative writing.
• ­A range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, persuasive, personal and formal letters.

• Summarising and organising material, and supporting ideas and arguments with any necessary factual detail.
• Applying their growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and text structure to their writing and selecting the appropriate form.
• Drawing on knowledge of literary and rhetorical devices from their reading and listening to enhance the impact of their writing.

• To plan, draft, edit and proof-read through:

• Considering how their writing reflects the audiences and purposes for which it was intended.
• Amending the vocabulary, grammar and structure of their writing to improve its coherence and overall effectiveness.
• Paying attention to accurate grammar, punctuation and spelling. 

Grammar and Vocabulary

• To consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:

• Extending and applying the grammatical knowledge.
• Studying the effectiveness and impact of the grammatical features of the texts they read.
• Drawing on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and using these consciously in their writing and speech to achieve particular effects.
• Knowing and understanding the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English.
• Using Standard English confidently in their own writing and speech.
• Discussing reading, writing and spoken language with precise and confident use of linguistic and literary terminology.

Spoken English

• To speak confidently and effectively, including through:

• Using Standard English confidently in a range of formal and informal contexts, including classroom discussion.
• Giving short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas, point of view when it comes to global issues and keeping to the point.
• Participating in formal debates and structured discussions, summarising and/or building on what has been said through rebuttal.
• Improvising, rehearsing and performing play scripts and poetry in order to generate language and discuss language use and meaning, using role, intonation, tone, volume, mood, silence, stillness and action to add impact.

Unit Overviews

Term 1

Unit 1 – Writing to explore and reflect 

Approximate length: 3 weeks

In this first unit of Grade 6/ Year 7, the student will explore how people reflect and think about experiences they have had, or events they have witnessed, places they have been or people they have met.

Specific National Curriculum Objectives Covered:

• To write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information:
  • Applying their growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and text structure to their writing and selecting the appropriate form.
• To consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:
  • Drawing on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and using these consciously in their writing and speech to achieve particular effects.
  • Knowing and understanding the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English.
  • Using Standard English confidently in their own writing and speech.
• To speak confidently and effectively, including through:
  • Giving short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point.

Unit 2 – Writing to inform and explain 

Approximate length: 3 weeks

In this unit, the student develops their skills so that they can understand and analyse information texts. It looks at a range of texts loosely linked to the theme of ‘good deeds’, and uses them to explore how writers craft informative texts such as news reports, leaflets, reference books and business reports to suit their audience and purpose.

Specific National Curriculum Objectives Covered:

• To develop an appreciation and love of reading, and read increasingly challenging material independently
• To read critically through:
  • Knowing how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, presents meaning.
• To write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information through:
  • Writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences.
  • Summarising and organising material, and supporting ideas and arguments with any necessary factual detail.
  • Applying their growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and text structure to their writing and selecting the appropriate form.
  • Drawing on knowledge of literary and rhetorical devices from their reading and listening to enhance the impact of their writing.
• To consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:
  • Drawing on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and using these consciously in their writing and speech to achieve particular effects.
• To speak confidently and effectively, including through:
  • Using Standard English confidently in a range of formal and informal contexts, including classroom discussion.
  • Giving short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point.

Unit 3 – Writing to argue and persuade 

Approximate length: 3 weeks

In this unit, the student develops their skills needed to write persuasively. It looks at a range of texts on the theme of whether zoos are good or bad, and uses them to explore the techniques writers use when creating persuasive or argumentative texts such as adverts or campaigns.

Specific National Curriculum Objectives Covered:

• To develop an appreciation and love of reading, and read increasingly challenging material independently through:
• Reading a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including in particular extracts from stories, with a wide coverage of genres, historical periods, forms and authors.
• To understand increasingly challenging texts through:
  • Learning new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries.
  • Making inferences and referring to evidence in the text.
  • Knowing the purpose, audience for and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension.
• To write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information through:
  • Writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences, including:
  Well-structured formal expository and narrative essays.
  • A range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, and personal and formal letters.
• To plan, draft, edit and proof-read through:
  • Considering how their writing reflects the audiences and purposes for which it was intended.
  • Amending the vocabulary, grammar and structure of their writing to improve its coherence and overall effectiveness.
• To consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:
  • Knowing and understanding the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English.
  • Discussing reading, writing and spoken language with precise and confident use of linguistic and literary terminology.
• To speak confidently and effectively, including through:
  • Using Standard English confidently in a range of formal and informal contexts, including classroom discussion.
  • Giving short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point.
  • Participating in formal debates and structured discussions, summarising and/or building on what has been said.

Term 2

Programme of Study

Term 3

Unit 6 – Writing to argue and persuade

Approximate length: 3 weeks

In this unit, the student develops their skills needed to write persuasively. It looks at a range of texts on the theme of whether zoos are good or bad, and uses them to explore the techniques writers use when creating persuasive or argumentative texts such as adverts or campaigns.

Specific National Curriculum Objectives Covered:

• To develop an appreciation and love of reading, and read increasingly challenging material independently through:
• Reading a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, including in particular extracts from stories, with a wide coverage of genres, historical periods, forms and authors.
• To understand increasingly challenging texts through:
  • Learning new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries.
  • Making inferences and referring to evidence in the text.
  • Knowing the purpose, audience for and context of the writing and drawing on this knowledge to support comprehension.
• To write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information through:
  • Writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences, including:
    • Well-structured formal expository and narrative essays.
    • A range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, and personal and formal letters.
• To plan, draft, edit and proof-read through:
  • Considering how their writing reflects the audiences and purposes for which it was intended.
  • Amending the vocabulary, grammar and structure of their writing to improve its coherence and overall effectiveness.
• To consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:
  • Knowing and understanding the differences between spoken and written language, including differences associated with formal and informal registers, and between Standard English and other varieties of English.
  • Discussing reading, writing and spoken language with precise and confident use of linguistic and literary terminology.
• To speak confidently and effectively, including through:
  • Using Standard English confidently in a range of formal and informal contexts, including classroom discussion.
  • Giving short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point.
  • Participating in formal debates and structured discussions, summarising and/or building on what has been said.

Unit 7 – Assessing your progress

Approximate length: 3 weeks

In this unit, the students will have a chance to practice some of the skills that they have been introduced to in this book by answering some exam styles questions. This will enable them to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their answers b looking at sample answers and comments from teachers, before they move on to the next stage of the course.

Specific National Curriculum Objectives Covered:

• To understand increasingly challenging texts through:
• Checking their understanding to make sure that what they have read makes sense.
• To read critically through:
  • Knowing how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, presents meaning.
  • Making critical comparisons across texts.
  • Studying a range of authors, including at least two authors in depth each year.
  • To write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information through:
    • Writing for a wide range of purposes and audiences, including:
    • Well-structured formal expository and narrative essays.
    • Stories, scripts, poetry and other imaginative writing.
• A range of other narrative and non-narrative texts, including arguments, and To consolidate and build on their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through:
  • Extending and applying the grammatical knowledge set out.
• To speak confidently and effectively, including through:
  • Using Standard English confidently in a range of formal and informal contexts, including classroom discussion.
  • Improvising, rehearsing and performing play scripts and poetry in order to generate language and discuss language use and meaning, using role, intonation, tone, volume, mood, silence, stillness and action to add impact.

Assessment

Baseline Test: At the beginning of the academic year, the students write an internal and standardized baseline test, which is used to measure progress.

Formative: Throughout the units, the children will complete graded work, quizzes and speaking and listening activities, which allows the teacher to assess the students’ attainment and inform their planning.

For each unit the students complete a pre and post write of the text type. This allows us to see progress across the units.

Summative: At the end of each term, we complete internal and standardized tests. This allows us to measure the students’ progress throughout the term and year. At the end of the academic year, the students complete the standardized GL and NGRT assessment.

Action for blended learning

Here at Wesgreen we are using multiple teaching methods in order to help our students learn more effectively and creatively. This will include a combination of traditional classroom instruction and digital learning, such as:

• Bluetooth microphones to enable remote students to hear more clearly during lessons.
• The use of different types of instructional materials, such as videos.
• Incorporating different means of technology (Phoenix Classroom).
• Varied online assessment methods (Microsoft forms, Kahoot, One Note).