KS3 & KS4 English curriculum

This units uses and builds on pupils' knowledge of fiction and descriptive writing from their primary school curriculum. This unit introduces them to many of the key components of secondary English study, and gives them a strong grounding in both analytical reading and creative writing. This sets them up for the rest of the secondary English curriculum. This unit particularly prepares pupils for the 'Dystopian settings' unit where they will build on their understanding of sentence structure and variation from this unit and start to utilise it to create atmospheric settings.

1. Writing complete sentences and correcting sentence fragments
2. Responding to an unseen extract from 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'
3. Using adjectives and semantic fields to plan and write descriptive paragraphs
4. Using simple, compound and complex sentences in descriptive writing
5. Using dashes, colons, and commas for effect in descriptive writing
6. Using adverbs, subordinate clauses and compound sentences in descriptive writing
7. Using vocabulary choices, similes, and metaphors to plan descriptive writing
8. Drafting a piece of descriptive writing on 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'
9. Responding to an unseen extract from Burnett's 'The Secret Garden'
10. Using precise evidence from Burnett's 'The Secret Garden' to support an idea
11. Explaining how Burnett presents the garden setting in 'The Secret Garden'
12. Using sensory language and figurative language to create an atmospheric setting
13. Considering strategies for refining and editing your descriptive writing
14. Practising planning and writing a detailed description based on an image
15. Identifying and emulating Baum's use of pathetic fallacy in 'The Wizard of Oz'
16. Contrasting the everyday and the unknown settings in Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz'
17. Analysing and emulating Baum's use of unknown characters in 'The Wizard of Oz'
18. Analysing Dorothy's return from the unknown in Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz'
19. Developing your explanation of quotations from 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'
20. Analysing character in an unseen extract from Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'
21. Explaining and emulating how Bilan uses light in 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'
22. Meeting a fantastical creature in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'
23. Writing clear analytical paragraphs about Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'
24. Considering sensory language in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'
25. Considering sentence structures in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'
26. Responding to key images in an unseen extract from Akala's 'The Dark Lady'
27. Explaining how Akala uses patterns of language for effect in 'The Dark Lady'
28. Revising topic sentences and selecting precise evidence from 'The Dark Lady'
29. Developing explanations in analytical writing about Akala's 'The Dark Lady'
30. Contrasting the familiar and the unknown in your descriptive writing
31. Using ambitious language and colour imagery to improve your descriptive writing
32. Using figurative language and structure to create an unsettling atmosphere