Year 11 English Curriculum Plan
Autumn Term One:
Poetry from different cultures and traditions
Students will divide their time between the continuation of their studies on Of Mice and Men (see outline above) and coursework looking at poetry from different cultures and traditions.
For the coursework, students will compare two poems, one of which must be written by a poet who satisfies the criteria set out by the WJEC in the course specification as to what constitutes a poem from a different culture and tradition. The poems should contain similar messages, themes or issues and should use enough interesting features of language, imagery, form and structure to provide opportunity for students to produce a detailed analysis. The WJEC favours an approach which allows students to look at each poem in turn before making comparisons. The essay should be between 800 and 1500 words in length. While the poems may be from different periods, students should be encouraged to explore the contextual ramifications of this, adding this into their comparative coursework to show their understanding. NB This piece of coursework will be used for both the English Language and the English Literature Coursework folder.
Autumn Term Two: Study of English Literature Set Text - Drama (7 weeks)
Students should study a Twentieth Century play. Currently, An Inspector Calls and Blood Brothers are studied. The focus should be on character, plot, and theme as well as language and imagery. Students should be encouraged to annotate as they go and there should be an awareness from the start that, as the terminal examination in English literature is closed book (i.e. no texts may be taken into the exam room), quotations should be selected and learned along the way.
There is more scope for speaking and listening activities while studying the play as well as the possibility to practise skills for the writing sections of the language papers. Students should also expect to work on past paper questions, understanding the demands of tracking the text in the extract questions. They should be given the opportunity to write essays in line with those set upon the paper. Initially these will not be timed as students should become familiar with the play first, but, as they move towards the mock exams in January of Year 11, they should have the opportunity of timed practice.
As their studies continue, the students should be making links between characters and plot, thinking about the decisions made by the playwright about the structure of the text, and considering the way in which the pot highlights contextual issues. There should be a great deal of focus on the playwright's use of language and the effects created for the reader. AT all times students must be encouraged to remember that this is a play intended to be performed for an audience and thus should be studied as a dramatic text.
Towards the end of term, there should also be the opportunity to revisit the GCSE English Language papers in preparation for the mock exams in January.
Spring Term: Mock GCSE Examinations, Organisation of Coursework folders and Exam practice (11 weeks)
At the beginning of the Spring Term, students will complete mock examination papers in English Language (2 two hour papers) and English Literature (1 two and a half hour paper). On their return from study leave, students will spend time analysing and evaluating their performance in these papers, developing individual strategies for improvement.
A small amount of time will be given over to students to make sure that their coursework folders are in order ready for departmental moderation.
The rest of the term should be given over to detailed revision of the set texts and concentrated preparation for the two language papers and the literature paper. They should undertake more regular timed essays in exam conditions in order to allow them to manage their time appropriately in an examination situation. This should continue until students go on study leave in the first half of the Summer Term.
