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Newlands
Girls’ School

KS3 - English Language and Literature

Course Content

Year 7

Terms 1 & 2

  • SHORT STORIES OF DIFFERENT GENRES: Students will study extracts from different genres as well as study Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. This is to introduce descriptive and narrative writing techniques.
  • NOVEL: Pupils will study a novel in their lessons, considering how writers use narrative structures and techniques.

Terms 3 & 4

  • NON-FICTION UNIT: TRAVEL WRITING: Students will learn about the conventions of travel writing, which they will use to produce their own engaging pieces of writing.

  • ARTHURIAN LEGENDS: Western literature is indebted to classical mythology; as such, students will learn about Arthurian legends which pervade literature.

Terms 5 & 6

  • VICTORIANS: YEARS:  1832-1900: The Victorian era gave rise to some of the most iconic works of British literature. Students will study a range of these texts and will learn about the social and historical contexts in which they were produced.

  • INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE: Students will be introduced to the works of William Shakespeare through the study of a selection of his finest sonnets.

 

Year 8

Terms 1 & 2

  • GOTHIC GENRE: Students will learn about the distinct conventions of the genre through the study of a range of Gothic texts. This will culminate in students producing their own pieces of Gothic writing.

  • SHAKESPEARE UNIT: Students will be study of a selection of scenes from the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, focusing on love.

Terms 3 & 4

  • SHORT STORIES: Students will study extracts from different diverse texts and genres. This is to develop their descriptive and narrative writing techniques.

  • AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ROMANTIC PERIOD: The influence of the Romantics is still keenly felt today, from their iconoclastic outlooks to their reverence for nature and their yearning to convey intense emotional experiences. Students will study a range of poems from both the first and second-generation Romantic poets.

Terms 5 & 6

  • NOVEL: Students will study a class novel in its entirety, focusing on structural techniques.
  • SPEECHES ACROSS TIME: Students will study a range of influential speeches from throughout history.

 

Year 9

Terms 1 & 2

  • CONFLICT: Conflict is a theme which has inspired many writers. Across this thematic unit, pupils will develop their skills in analysis and descriptive writing. They will explore:
  1. Mythical allusions
  2. Poetry
  3. The story of ‘Macbeth’ by William Shakespeare
  4. Conflict-inspired writings

Terms 3 & 4

  • LOVE:

    Love as a theme has been central to some of the most famous works in Literature. Across this unit pupils will further develop the skills from terms 1 and 2. They will explore: 

  1. Love literature prose extracts
  2. Love/relationship-inspired narrative writing
  3. Mythical allusions
  4. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare

Terms 5 & 63

  • POWER AND PROTEST: This unit looks at another common theme across Literature. It also is commonly found in non-fiction writing. For their final Key Stage 3 unit, Year 9 will explore: 
  1. Dystopian literature extracts
  2. ‘Noughts and Crosses’ by Malorie Blackman
  3. Spoken language

 

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