Year 8 — English

Term 1 and Term 2: English Language - Gothic Fiction. English Literature - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Literature

Pupils will be exploring the themes and characters of the novel. They will be building on their interpretation skills, including making inferences and analysing the writer’s use of Language and Structural techniques. Students will explore the writer's craft and analyse how language and structure is used for effect.

In Year 8 Term 1 and Term 2, pupils will study 'Crime and Detection Fiction'. Pupils will study a range of extracts from the genre for example 'A Study in Scarlet' by Sherlock Holmes as well other lesser-known Crime and Detective texts by women authors. Students will draw on knowledge of typical structural features of the genre such as consideration of evidence, red herrings and denouement and apply their reading skills including comprehension and inference to understand character, plot and setting.

Students will complete a common marked task to assess their reading and writing skills at the end of second autumn term.

Gothic

A genre or mode of literature and film that combines fiction and horror, death and at times romance.

Supernatural

Elements attributed to some force beyond understanding or the laws of nature.

Ghostly

of or like a ghost in appearance or sound; eerie and unnatural

Sublime

A concept from a branch of philosophy which deals with the nature of beauty and taste.

Interpretation

Looking for implicit meanings based on textual evidence

Prose

Written language in its ordinary form

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Spiritual, social and cultural skills developed. Develop the individual: Students will consider a range hey will learn how to approach an unseen text, focusing on language, form and structure. Students will be asked to use empathy skills in order to appreciate the context of the texts they read.

Create a supportive community:

Spiritual, social and cultural skills developed. Students will consider a range of crime and detective fiction dating from the 19th century to modern day texts and will learn how to approach an unseen text with a focus on writer's craft.

Term 3 and 4: Shakespeare Text: Much Ado About Nothing and Non-Fiction - Times of challenge

Literature:

Shakespeare Text: Much Ado About Nothing

To build on their English Literature Skills from Year 7, pupils will read sections of William Shakespeare’s 'Much Ado about Nothing'. Students will analyse the rich language and structures used within the play and explore how those contribute to the presentation of the plot, character and themes. Pupils will be taught to write in clear analytical paragraphs, selecting suitable quotations from the play as supporting evidence to demonstrate their understanding of textual content.

Language:

Non-Fiction - Times of challenge

Students will study diaries and memoirs that tell fascinating human stories from across history. They will analyse writers’ use of voice and purpose to carry their messages to the reader before moving on to working towards their own non-fictional accounts that discusses a range of strong emotions.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Spiritual, social and cultural skills developed. Develop the individual: Students will consider a range of non-fiction literary forms. They will learn how to approach an unseen text, focusing on language, form and structure, which will in turn feed into their GCSE study. Students will be asked to use empathy skills in order to appreciate the context of the texts they read. Students will explore their ideas together, developing listening and appreciation skills. They will learn to share ideas and different interpretations about the texts in a safe and respectful way.

Create a supportive community:

Students will explore their ideas together, developing listening and appreciation skills. They will learn to share ideas and different interpretations about the texts in a safe and respectful way.

Term 5 and 6: English Literature- Poetry. Language: Speak up Challenge

Literature: Poetry

Students will develop their skills in analysing 'unseen' poetry texts, exploring poems from a range of poets that explore themes of identity.

Language:

Speak up challenge.

This module is an engaging blend of both the joy of poetry and learning through speaking and listening, helping students to hone both their public speaking and performance skills. Pupils will increase their confidence in understanding structure, language and sound in poetry.

Anecdotes

Short stories that you use to make the listener feel sympathy or to illustrate a point.

Contrasts

This is where you show the differences in viewpoints or ideas

Emotive words

Words deliberately designed to make the listener have strong feelings.

Hyperbole

Over the top words/phrases to emphasise a point.

Personal pronouns

Using words such as 'I', 'we' or 'you' to talk directly to the listener.

Rhetorical questions

Questions that are used in a speech to engage the listeners

Quotes

Quotes are used when you bring in some information from another person or a famous book or film to illustrate your point.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills developed. Develop the individual: Students will consider a range of non-fiction literary forms. They will learn how to approach an unseen text, focusing on language, form and structure, which will in turn feed into their GCSE study. Students will be asked to use empathy skills in order to appreciate the context of the texts they read. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills developed. Develop the individual: Students will consider a range of non-fiction literary forms. They will learn how to approach an unseen text, focusing on language, form and structure, which will in turn feed into their GCSE study. Students will be asked to use empathy skills in order to appreciate the context of the texts they read. Students will explore their ideas together, developing listening and appreciation skills. They will learn to share ideas and different interpretations about the texts in a safe and respectful way.

Create a supportive community:

Students will explore their ideas together, developing listening and appreciation skills. They will learn to share ideas and different interpretations about the texts in a safe and respectful way.