key stage 4 english
DESCRIPTION
Key Stage 4 English. Introduction for parents. Key Stage 4 English. Two GCSEs taught as part of an integrated course ENGLISH LANGUAGE ENGLISH LITERATURE It is our policy to enter ALL students for both GCSEs unless exceptional circumstances apply. GCSE results 2013. English Language - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Key Stage 4 English
Introduction for parents
Key Stage 4 English
Two GCSEs taught as part of an integrated course
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ENGLISH LITERATURE It is our policy to enter ALL
students for both GCSEs unless exceptional circumstances apply
GCSE results 2013English LanguageA* – C: 81%A* – G: 100%31 % achieved A* - AEnglish LiteratureA* – C: 92%A* – G: 100%51 % achieved A* - A
GCSE English Language / English Literature
All classes taught in mixed ability groups
Two tiers of entry: Higher (A* - D) and Foundation (C – G)
Decisions about entry taken in discussion with students
All classes follow the same course though texts may differ depending on teacher choice
Controlled Assessments Some done in the Sports Hall, some in lessons They will be given the question in advance Preparation and planning done in class /
homework One side of A4 notes allowed and clean copies
of texts Plenty of time allowed Girls who qualify for extra time in exams also
get extra time in CAs It is vital that all girls attend. If she is unwell or
there is another exceptional circumstance meaning that she cannot attend, please let us know asap
GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNIT 1 (60% OF TOTAL MARKS) 2 hour exam: Section A: Reading –
questions on articles and Section B: Writing – two writing tasks
End of year practice exam – end of Yr 10
Mock exam: early December Year 11 Further practice exams in lessons after
Christmas Year 11 Final exam: Summer of Year 11
GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNIT 3 (40% OF TOTAL MARKS) Written Controlled Assessment There are 3 pieces to complete (mainly
done in Year 10) Part a: (15%) – Controlled Assessment
on the Shakespeare play (Jan 2013) Part b: (15%) – Creative Writing (two
assignments) (three done – use best two – one done in Year 9)
Part c: (10%) – Spoken Language Study
Significant changes.. On 30th August 2013, Ofqual announced
that Unit 2 (20%) would no longer be included in the overall assessment of GCSE English Language
Their grade for Speaking & Listening will be recorded separately (at present)
We have no more information at present
GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE UNIT 1 (40% OF TOTAL MARKS)1 ½
hour exam Section A: The Woman in Black (or An
Inspector Calls) 20% Section B: Of Mice & Men 20% Texts studied in Year 10 Internal exam at end of Year 10 Texts re-visited in Year 11 Final exam: Summer 2013
GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE UNIT 2 (35% OF TOTAL MARKS) 1 ½ hour exam taken at the end of
Year 11 Section A: Shakespeare (30 marks)
‘Romeo and Juliet’ (studied in Year 10 – re-visited in Year 11)
Section B: Prose text’ ‘The Withered Arm & other Wessex Tales’ (studied in Year 11 after Christmas)
Mock exam: Easter of Year 11
GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE UNIT 3 (25% OF TOTAL MARKS) Controlled Assessment – Poetry In Year 11 students will study a range of
poems on two themes – Conflict & Relationships
They must be a mixture of Literary Heritage (pre 1914) and Contemporary poems. We will select most of the poems from the AQA Anthology.
Controlled Assessment: Autumn term of Year 11
ASSESSMENT All final tasks / exams / controlled
assessments are awarded a BAND 1 – 5 (or 1 – 4)
It is important to note that we are not told by the exam board how these correspond with grades
Grade boundaries shifted significantly this summer
Teachers will use their knowledge and discretion to inform the students about which grade A* - U they are working towards
For example
Unit 3 Controlled Assessment
Marked out of…
Spoken Language essay
20
Shakespeare essay 30
Creative Writing (2 pieces)
30
TOTAL MARK: 80
ASSESSMENT
All exams at the end of Year 11 Mock exams through the course Controlled Assessments marked
and submitted through the course. Externally moderated – results published at the end of the course
OUTLINE OF COURSE: Year 10
Autumn term: Spoken Language Controlled
Assessment Study Shakespeare play Unit 1 (Language) work through
the term
OUTLINE OF COURSE: Year 10
Spring term: Shakespeare Controlled Assessment –
mid January Study ‘culture’ novel for English
Literature Unit 1 Begin study of second text for English
Literature Unit 1 Work on English Language Unit 1
throughout
OUTLINE OF COURSE: Year 10
Summer term: Complete study of second text for
English Literature Unit 1 Internal exam for Literature Unit 1 Internal exam for Language Unit 1 English Language Controlled
Assessment Unit 3(b) – creative writing
Homework
English on homework timetable virtually every lesson
Unlikely to be set a different task to do each time
Homeworks likely to be extended tasks with deadlines
Recorded in planner
How you can help your daughter… Monitor her reading. It is important that she
reads the novels (preferably more than once). Audio books available
Get hold of appropriate study guides if possible (amazon / ebay..)
Encourage her to read a range of articles / texts e.g. non-fiction books, articles from newspapers like The Guardian, The Times and periodicals e.g. National Geographic. Discuss these. Encourage her to look up or find out the meanings of words / phrases.
Encourage her to read widely (fiction / non fiction). This will also help her spelling / vocabulary
How you can help your daughter… Support her in the build up to a
Controlled Assessment – she will know the question and needs to plan and prepare independently. She can practise the task (but should avoid the temptation to learn it off by heart!)
Help her to keep organised notes Take her to the theatre if possible Help her talk through the poems (Year
11) Learn key spellings
How you can help your daughter… Encourage her to make use of the material on Fronter
and other relevant websites Powerpoints and study notes available on Fronter for
students to work through (e.g. The Withered Arm, Shakespeare)
Encourage her to avoid last minute revision – be prepared – do the reading well in advance and do regular exam practice
Homework will be set regularly and may be an ‘on-going’ task – she will be asked to write this in her planner
Language Unit 1 may have a strong homework focus – she should practise writing in different styles for different audiences e.g. writing letters!?
Contact her English teacher with any query / concern
Monitoring and tracking All teachers are aware of individual FFT target grades
and previous KS3 attainment Target grades are aspirational end of key stage targets
NOT predictions We measure levels of progress regularly Data drops by teachers done regularly – we then
compare current attainment with target grades and intervene if necessary
Books and lessons scrutinised regularly We may run intervention sessions for targeted groups