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  • English Literature

    English Literature

    Head of Department

    Mr T Ashley, BA (Hons)

    Statement of Intent

    We believe that nurturing a lifelong love of literature and appreciation of the power of language is vital for students' social and moral development; sense of belonging and happiness.

    Our curriculum is ambitious, sequenced, knowledge-rich and underpinned by the cumulative acquisition of skills.
    Our Literature text choices from Y7 to Y13 are diverse and challenging to ensure all students build a body of knowledge that develops both their appreciation of literature and their cultural capital. The curriculum map shows the sequence through genres and time periods to enable students to apply and extend knowledge as they progress through the curriculum. Our curriculum covers 6 core areas of English Language and English Literature: prose, poetry, Shakespeare/Drama, writing (creative and non-fiction), wider reading and independent learning.

    All core areas interleave the following 7 skills:

    • structure and Coherence: this is the understanding that texts are put together with intent. Once students understand this about the texts they read, they think differently about the way they write;
    • spelling, punctuation and grammar: this is taught as a fortnightly lesson in y7; decontextualized from the curriculum texts. This is to teach and embed the skills in the first year as grammatical rules and not attached in long-term memory to a specific text/task. Research shows that this approach is more robust in terms of retaining knowledge of SPAG. From y8 onwards, SPAG is reviewed throughout units to secure knowledge and introduce new vocabulary and sophisticated use of punctuation and sentence structures;
    • awareness of impact: this is the understanding that writing is shaped by the priorities of a writer and the needs of a reader. This includes the teaching of genre, audience, purpose vocabulary, tone and style;
    • understanding context: this is crucial to making sense of and appreciating texts. The knowledge of context of production and reception is an essential aspect of Literature changes the way students read and respond to a text. Our curriculum introduces the importance of context from y7 and the range of themes and context that our curriculum texts cover is diverse; shaping our students to have an insightful understanding of many aspects of pre and post-1900 society across cultures;
    • using evidence: our students are taught the SQI (statement/quote/inference) method from Y7 in order to develop an academic style of writing that is about shaping a critical response by interpreting the writer’s craft through signposted inference;
    • analysing methods: this is understanding that writers use a variety of linguistic and structural techniques to achieve their intent;
    • oracy: our curriculum aims to facilitate classrooms rich in talk in which questions are planned, and peer conversations are modelled and scaffolded to ensure students develop the confidence to effectively articulate their views and to work cooperatively.

    A Level Course Outline

    The AQA A course approaches the study of literature through the lens of historicism, encouraging the independent study of a range of texts within a shared context. This unifying approach facilitates the inclusion of a range of wider reading, thus extending students’ experience and appreciation of literature.

    Higher Education and Career Opportunities

    About 40% of our students choose to study English as part of their degree, and this can lead to a wide- range of careers in Business, Local Government, Teaching, Law, Journalism and the Media.

    Course Content

    Examination Board

    AQA

       Full details of the specification and assessment criteria can be found on the AQA website

      A-level English Literature A 7712

    A Level

    Unit 1

    Paper 1 - Love Through The Ages (40%)

     

    Unit 2

    Paper 2 - Texts in Shared Contexts (40%)

     

    NEA

    Non-examination assessment: Independent Critical Study (20%)

    Curriculum Programmes of Study

    Year

    Cycle Content

    Year 12

    Cycle 1

    Unit 1 Unit 2

    Love Through the Ages: an introduction + wider reading launch

    Pre-1900 love poems:
    Sonnet 116
    Whoso list to Hunt
    She Walks in Beauty
    La Belle Dame Sans Merci. A Ballad
    The Scrutiny
    Absent from Thee
    The Great Gatsby

    Assessment: poetry

    Modern Literature: an introduction + wider reading launch
    The Handmaids Tale (Atwood)
    Context
    Features of dystopian genre
    Feminine Gospels (Duffy)
    The Diet
    The Woman Who Shopped
    Beautiful
    Themes: control/conflict/Identity (guided SWAN assessment)
    All assessment objectives: AO1/2/3/4/5

    Cycle 2

    The Great Gatsby

    Pre-1900 love poems:
    The Garden of Love
    The Ruined Maid At
    An Inn
    Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno
    Cynarae
    Ae Fond Kiss
    Remember

    Assessment: The Great Gatsby and poetry comparison

    Modern Literature: exploring typical themes and ideas
    The Handmaid’s Tale
    Feminine Gospels
    Tall
    Loud
    The Map Woman
    The Cord
    Light Gatherer
    Themes: The Past/Motherhood (guided SWAN assessment)
    Consolidation of core knowledge

    Cycle 3

    NEA launch, guided planning (focus on research/writing skills/using critics/referencing)

    Pre-1900 love poetry and The Great Gatsby interleaved

    Mock: pre-1900 love poetry and The Great Gatsby

    NEA launch, guided planning (focus on research/writing skills/using critics/referencing)

    Focus on Handmaid’s Tale + Feminine Gospels interleaved Mock (Handmaid’s Tale and Feminine Gospels)

    Year 13

    Cycle 1

    Shakespeare's play: Othello
    Act 1
    Act 2
    Act 3
    Aristotle’s Poetics and the 3 unities of drama

    Assessment 1: Othello – familial love
    Assessment 2: Othello – jealousy

    Pre-1900 poetry and The Great Gatsby interleaved

    Modern Literature
    The Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood) and Feminine Gospels (Duffy)
    Theme: Relationships (guided practice – SWAN assessment)
    Top Girls (Caryl Churchill)
    Act 1: Historical Tableau Focus on developing all assessment objectives (AO1/2/3/4/5)
    Top Girls Act 2: Guided first SWAN assessment ‘thin and vagrant parallels’ question

    Handmaid’s Tale and Feminine Gospels knowledge interleaved to support consolidation.

    Cycle 2

    Mock: Othello
    Mock: pre-1900 poetry and The
    Great Gatsby

    Unseen poetry: Browning, Duffy, Rossetti, Millay, Clare, Marvell, Jonson, Thomas, Dyer and Dunn

    Assessment: unseen poetry

    Mock: Top Girls + Handmaid’s Tale & Feminine Gospels
    Top Girls: motherhood/violence/women and work/Marlene + doubling of characters Unseen Prose: Race/Gender/Emptiness of Modern Life Handmaid’s Tale + Feminine Gospel’s: Personal is Political (guided)

    Cycle 3

    Rotation of all unit 1 texts:
    Pre-1900 poetry
    The Great Gatsby
    Othello
    Unseen poetry

    Rotation of all unit 2 texts:
    Handmaid’s Tale and Feminine Gospels Top Girls
    Exploring links across Modern Literature: core themes
    Independent practice/knowledge tests interleaved to consolidate precision and expertise of timed writing.

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