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English

“That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald

At Harris Academy Tottenham, we believe that every child deserves to explore the wonders of the English Language, both through personal discovery and through the study of canonical and cultural literature.

We are dedicated to ensuring that every child is an excellent communicator. We embed a passion for reading and writing and challenge students through our progressive curriculum.

Staff

Mr S Williams - Subject Leader for English

Ms S Begum - Subject Leader for Media Studies, Teacher of English

Ms E Barker - Teacher of English, with Responsibility for KS4

Ms J Cuthbert - Teacher of English

Ms S Heath - Faculty Leader for Communications

Mr T Howells - Vice Principal

Mr R Whatley - Teacher of English

Ms R Unwin - Teacher of English

Key Stage 3

Our curriculum is both engaging and challenging, and aims to equip students with clear foundations in reading and writing skills, whilst providing an exposure to a wealth of literary genres and periods.

We have taken an interweaving approach to our curriculum - and so each unit is composed of Reading, Writing and Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar components. Students are encouraged to explore how all these elements work together in order to develop their love and appreciation of language and literature.

YEAR 7

In Year 7, students complete the following units:

Term	Unit title	Summary
Autumn 1	Narrative Writing A study of the Ancient Greek Myths	Students read and appreciate the ancient Greek myths as a stimulus to understanding language, character and form and developing their own narrative pieces.
Autumn 2	Shkespeare: Romeo and Juliet	Students study Shakespeare's language, structure and form, focusing on character, theme and plot
Spring 1	Modern Text: Post 1914 Fiction: Of Mice and Men	In depth study of writing style and presentation in modern text.
Spring 2	Poetry Poetry from other cultures	Study if a range of poems, focussing on poectic devices and themes
Summer 1	Reading non-fiction text: Modern and Pre-19th Century Texts	Students explore a range of modern and pre-19th centry texts, centred around the theme of identity and belonging with oportunities to emulate writing styles, and decode the writer's ideas/
Summer 2	Advertising Campaigns Dragon’s Den	Students develop their own advertising campaigns and product launch, collaborating throughout the whole creative process.

YEAR 8

In Year 8, students complete the following units:

Term	Unit title	Summary
Autumn 1	Literary Monsters A study of Monsters within the literary cannon.	Students read and appreciate extracts from canonical texts where monsters appear, as a stimulus to understanding and developing their own writing skills around the genre.
Autumn 2	Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing	Students study Shakespeare’s language, structure and form, focusing on character, theme and plot.
Spring 1	Modern text and Poetry: Post 1914 British novel: Private Peaceful and War Poetry	An in depth study of writing style and presentation in a modern text. Study of a range of poems, focusing on poetic devices and themes.
Spring 2	Modern text and Poetry: Post 1914 British novel: Private Peaceful and War Poetry	An in depth study of writing style and presentation in a modern text. Study of a range of poems, focusing on poetic devices and themes.
Summer 1	Advertising Campaigns Dragon’s Den	Students develop their own advertising campaigns and product launch, collaborating throughout the whole creative process.
Summer 2	Modern text: Post 1914 Fiction: Stone Cold	In depth study of writing style and presentation in a modern text.

Assessment

This will take place termly, and wlll take the form of an examination. In the assessment, students complete a reading and writing component of the paper, with a mark awarded across the paper for vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Key Stage 4

In Year 9, Students complete the following units

Term	Unit title	Summary
Autumn 1	Reading Modern Texts Edgar Allen Poe’s Short Stories	Students explore texts from the works of a master in the short story form with a focus on the elements of Gothic literature, affording opportunities to emulate writing styles, and decode the writer's ideas.
Autumn 2	Writing to argue and persuade Transactional writing	Students develop communicative writing skills for a variety of formats.
Spring 1	Shakespeare: Macbeth	Students study Shakespeare’s language, structure and form, focusing on character, theme and plot
Spring 2	Shakespeare: Macbeth	Students study Shakespeare’s language, structure and form, focusing on character, theme and plot
Summer 1	Poetry Poetry Anthology and unseen poetry	Study of poetic technique, comparison and aspect of language, structure of form.
Summer 2	Poetry Poetry Anthology and unseen poetry	Study of poetic technique, comparison and aspect of language, structure of form.

Assessment

In Year 10, Students complete the following units

Term	Unit title	Summary
Autumn 1	19^th Century Novel: The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde	An in depth study of writing style and presentation in a modern text
Autumn 2	Poetry Cluster 1: Identity	Study of poetic technique, comparison and aspect of language, structure of form.
Spring 1	Shakespeare: Macbeth	Students study Shakespeare’s language, structure and form, focusing on character, theme and plot
Spring 2	Poetry Cluster 2: Historical context	Study of poetic technique, comparison and aspect of language, structure of form.
Summer 1	Shakespeare and 19^th Century Text	Study of poetic technique, comparison and aspect of language, structure of form.
Summer 2	Poetry Cluster 3: Reflections on Conflict	Study of poetic technique, comparison and aspect of language, structure of form.

Assessment

Key Stage 5

In Year 12 Students complete the following units

Term	Unit title	Summary
Autumn 1	Frankenstein	An indepth study of the themes of science and society, focusing on themes, character and context.
Autumn 2	Frankenstein (comparative and exam response focus)	Indepth study of the themes of science and society, focusing on themes, character and context.
Spring 1	*Component 3: Poetry* Anthology poetry pre-1900 Victorian poet: Rossetti (Exam section B) Poetry from poems of the decade: An Anthology of the forward books of poetry) Post 2000 poetry	Study of Victorian and modern poetry, focusing on comparison, analysis of language, form and structure.
Spring 2	*Component 3: Poetry* Anthology poetry pre 1900 Victorian poet: Rossetti (Exam section B) Introduction to Coursework	Study of Victorian and modern poetry, focusing on comparison, language, form and structure.
Summer 1	Introduction to drama- Tragedy A Streetcar Named Desire	An indepth study of character, theme, plot with opportunities for analysing writing styles, and decode the writer's ideas.
Summer 2	A Streetcar named Desire Exam questions	An indepth study of character, theme, plot with opportunities for analysing writing styles, and decode the writer's ideas.