Twyford Church of England Academies Trust

Secondary English Curriculum

Secondary

English

Comparing viewpoints and experiences

Exploring the unknown: mystery, intrigue and Gothic fiction

Identity, belonging and community

Language of persuasion

Power, control and oppressive regimes

Shakespeare and the outsider

Modern text: first study

In 'Animal Farm: The Pigs and Power', pupils develop a clear understanding of the plot, main characters and themes of the novella. In the second exploration unit, 'Animal Farm: Barriers to Leadership', pupils undertake more nuanced analysis of the pigs grasp for power.

Modern text: first deep dive

In 'Lord of the Flies', pupils explore how power corrupts and destroys communities. 'In Animal Farm: The Pigs and Power', pupils focus on how power corrupts the pigs, leading to the downfall of their utopian dream.

'Lord of the Flies'

Animal Farm: the pigs and power

In 'Leave Taking: A Sense of Belonging', pupils explore the themes of immigration and identity in the play. In 'Leave Taking: The Power of Education', pupils explore how a lack of representation in literature and other educational materials negatively impacts on sense of self.

in 'Small Island', pupils explore the themes of identity, race, colonisation - shedding light on the experiences of Jamaican immigrants in post-war Britain. In 'Leave Taking: A Sense of Belonging', pupils explore the experiences of second generation immigrants and the difficulties they face in 1980's Britain. 

Leave Taking: a sense of belonging

In 'Macbeth: Lady Macbeth as a Machiavellian Villain', pupils focus on the role that Lady Macbeth plays in the downfall of her husband. In 'Macbeth: A Tragic Hero', pupils become more critical of Macbeth's own decisions, evaluating whether he could be considered a tragic hero.

Macbeth: a tragic hero

In 'Othello', pupils explore the role that Desdemona played in her husband's downfall. In 'Macbeth: Lady Macbeth as a Machiavellian Villain', pupils analyse the impact of Lady Macbeth's manipulation.

'Othello'

An exploration of Act 1, Scenes 1-4

An exploration of Act 1, Scenes 5 to 7

An exploration of Act 2, Scenes 1 and 2

Exploration of Act 2, Scenes 3 and 4

An exploration of Act 3, Scenes 1 to 3

An exploration of Act 3, Scenes 4 to 6

An exploration of Act 4, Scenes 1 to 3

An exploration of Act 5, Scenes 1 to 5

An exploration of Act 5, Scenes 6 to 9

The opening of 'Macbeth'

Shakespeare's language: the witches

The witches' influence in Act 1, Scene 3

Lady Macbeth's ambition

The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth's increasing desperation

The chivalric code

Lady Macbeth: a dutiful wife?

Guilt in Act 2, Scene 2

Plotting Banquo's murder

Lady Macbeth's diminishing power

Lady Macbeth's downfall

Lady Macbeth's role in the downfall of Macbeth

A critical analysis of Lady Macbeth

Constructing an argument about Lady Macbeth

A written analysis of Lady Macbeth as a Machiavellian villain

Assessing an argument about Lady Macbeth 

Macbeth: Lady Macbeth as a machiavellian villain

Nineteenth century text: first study

In 'A Christmas Carol: Scrooge's redemption, pupils trace the way Scrooge changes across the text as a result of his interaction with the ghosts. In 'A Christmas Carol: a ghost story', pupils  examine the use of gothic tropes in more detail and in particular the use of the supernatural and the ghosts, which allow the past to interrupt the present and even future. 

Nineteenth century text: first deep dive

In 'Victorian Childhood', pupils read a number of non fiction extracts about the suffering of poor children and campaign for better laws to protect them as part of a persuasive speaking role play. In 'A Christmas Carol', pupils learn about Dickens as a social campaigner and the way in which he wrote the novella to encourage people to help the poor. 

Sherlock Holmes: short stories

A Christmas Carol: Scrooge's redemption

In 'Jekyll & Hyde: Detective Fiction', pupils explore how Stevenson uses the conventions of gothic fiction to expose key themes such as secrecy and concealment. In 'Jekyll and Hyde: Gothic Fiction', pupils build on this to explore how gothic texts are often concerned with hidden and illicit desires. 

In 'Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories', pupils explore the ways in which victims and villains are portrayed, evaluating whether some villains are portrayed more sympathetically than others. In 'Jekyll and Hyde: Detective Fiction', pupils examine the ways in which Stevenson uses and subverts the conventions of detective fiction both to build suspense and to critique Victorian society.

Jekyll & Hyde: duality and evil

Poetry anthology: first study

In 'Poetry anthology', pupils compared the language, form and structure of a variety of poems. In 'Poetry anthology continued', pupils work on making more nuanced comparisons between poems.

Poetry anthology: continued study

In 'A World at War: Poetry', pupils explore how poets presents the atrocities of World War One through their poetry. In 'Poetry anthology', pupils analyse how a variety of different wars have been presented through poetry.

A world at war: poetry

Poetry anthology

In 'Non-Fiction: Crime and Punishment', pupils analyse the language choices of authors in non-fiction texts. In 'Non-Fiction: Changing Views', pupils compare language choices in non-fiction texts.

Non-fiction: changing views

In 'Perspectives on Gender', pupils read challenging pre-20th century, non-fiction texts. In 'Non-Fiction Crime and Punishment', pupils compare authors' viewpoints on a range of non-fiction texts, throughout history. 

Women's rights across the ages: non-fiction reading and writing

Reading complex texts about crime and punishment

Writing excellent summaries

Planning a well-structured response

Diving deeper with language analysis

Comparing writers' attitudes and perspectives

Planning and writing comparative responses

Writing in appropriate style, tone and register

Expressing a strong viewpoint

Developing a strong viewpoint

Using the conventions of leaflets creatively

Planning and writing a leaflet

Revising and editing your leaflet

Non-fiction: crime and punishment

In 'Fiction: Read Around the World', pupils identify and comment on a range of language devices in extracts from texts. In 'Fiction: Science Fiction Writing', pupils identify and comment on recurring images and symbolism in texts.

Fiction: science fiction writing

In 'A World at War: Short Stories', pupils read short stories, analysing how authors structure full texts. In 'Fiction: Read Around the World', pupils analyse structural choices in smaller extracts of texts.

Literary perspectives from the First World War

Fiction reading skills

'After Dark': selecting evidence to support language analysis

'After Dark': writing purposeful language analysis

'After Dark': writing an engaging opening for a description

'Blindness': identifying relevant evidence for structural analysis of an unseen text

'Blindness': confidently writing structural analysis of an unseen fiction text

Structuring a narrative

Accurate sentences

Creating patterns and structuring aural imagery for fiction creative writing

'Suite Francaise': evaluating an unseen text

'Suite Francaise': developing a purposeful argument about an unseen fiction text

'The Cellist of Sarajevo': confident language analysis of an unseen fiction text

'The Cellist of Sarajevo': confident structural analysis of an unseen fiction text

'The Cellist of Sarajevo': confident evaluation of an unseen fiction text

Refining the structuring of a narrative

Effective sentence structuring

Effective paragraphing

Creating a written narrative response

Fiction: read around the world

In 'Perspectives on Gender', pupils write and deliver speeches, presenting clear arguments. In 'Spoken Language: The Language of Change', pupils use rhetoric to create and perform persuasive speeches.

Language as a vehicle for change

Understanding and summarising perspectives

Comparative summaries

Analysing a persuasive speech

Model responses comparing two writers' perspectives

Comparing tone and methods in non-fiction texts

Understanding what makes a powerful speech

Engaging your audience: creating effective opening and closing paragraphs

Using rhetorical devices effectively

Choosing a speech topic and developing ideas

Planning and writing a persuasive speech

Re-drafting persuasive speeches

Non-verbal communication in speeches

Delivering a powerful speech

Spoken language: the language of change

In 'Fiction: Science Fiction', pupils identify and comment on recurring images and symbolism in texts. In 'Fiction: Books that Changed my World', pupils explore multiple interpretations of an author's language choices.

Fiction: books that changed my world

'Journey to the Centre of the Earth': explaining how a writer uses sentence structures for effect

Crafting sentence structures to create specific effects

Using punctuation and sentence structures to create impact

Using punctuation to create specific effects

Semantic fields

Creating effective descriptions

Writing a description of a setting based on an image

'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea': explaining a writer's structural choices

Editing and refining descriptive writing

Revising effective descriptions

In 'Non-Fiction: Changing Views', pupils compare language choices used in non-fiction texts. In 'Non-Fiction: Teenage Kicks', pupils evaluate how authors use language, to express similar or differing viewpoints.

Non-fiction: teenage kicks

Reading skills for non-fiction texts

How to summarise

Making effective inferences

Analysing evidence to support a comparison of attitudes

Identifying and comparing attitudes

Speech writing

Technical accuracy for non-fiction creative writing

Persuasive opinion pieces

Creative essay writing

Planning for effective language analysis

Writing effective language analysis

Refining your reading of non-fiction texts

Aiming high in a comparative summary

Analysing language devices effectively

Structuring a comparison of attitudes

Writing a comparison of attitudes

Crafting a voice in nonfiction writing

Crafting a clear point of view in non-fiction writing

In 'Animal Farm: Barriers to Leadership', pupils evaluate the different types of leadership styles presented in the novella. In 'Animal Farm: Lies and Deception', pupils explore how key images, such as food and the windmill, are used a symbols of the lies and deceit of the pigs.

Modern text: second deep dive

Animal Farm: barriers to leadership

In 'Leave Taking: the power of education', pupils explored how a lack of Black representation in education and literature impacts sense of identity. In 'Leave Taking: an intersectional analysis', pupils focus on the specific experiences of Black Women in the play.

In 'Leave Taking: A Sense of Belonging', pupils explore the themes of immigration and identity in the play. In 'Leave Taking: The Importance of Literature', pupils explore how a lack of representation in literature and other educational materials negatively impacts on sense of self.

Leave Taking: the power of education 

In 'Macbeth: A Tragic Hero', pupils become more critical of Macbeth, analysing the role he plays in his own downfall. In 'Macbeth & Masculinity: The Struggle for Power', pupils explore how Macbeth's insecurity surrounding his masculinity is his hamartia.

Macbeth and masculinity: the struggle for power

'Macbeth' as a tragedy

Macbeth the tragic hero

'Macbeth' and the witches' prophecies

'Macbeth' and the dagger hallucination

Macbeth's internal conflict

Macbeth's noble death

An analysis of Macbeth as a tragic hero

In 'A Christmas Carol: a ghost story', pupils explore the novella in the context of the gothic tradition and in particular examine the characterisation of the ghosts and the gothic settings. In 'A Christmas Carol: A Christian Parable', pupils focus on the Christian foundations of the story and on the use of Christian imagery throughout to gain a more nuanced understanding of the writer's message.

Nineteenth century text: second deep dive

In 'A Christmas Carol: a Gothic Tale', pupils explore the conventions of the Victorian gothic and the ways in which Dickens appropriates this for his tale. In 'A Monster Within', pupils learn about the gothic genre by comparing a series of gothic villains. 

A Christmas Carol: a ghost story

In 'Jekyll and Hyde: the Divided City', pupils explore how the city of London is used as a symbol of Jekyll's duplicitous life. In 'Jekyll & Hyde: Society as the Villain', pupils critically analyse the role the Victorian patriarchy and the class system plays in Jekyll's demise.

In 'Jekyll & Hyde: Duality and Evil', pupils explore how Jekyll creates Hyde to explore his deepest and darkest desires. In 'Jekyll & Hyde, the Divided City', pupils explore how Stevenson uses the setting of London to symbolise the duality of Jekyll.

Jekyll & Hyde: the divided city

In 'Poetry anthology continued', pupils used a range of reading skills to aid in the supported decoding of challenging poems. In 'Unseen Poetry', pupils use these reading skills to decode texts with independence.

Unseen poetry

In 'Poetry anthology' pupils compared the language, form and structure of a variety of poems. in 'Poetry anthology continued', pupils work on making more nuanced comparisons between poems.

Poetry anthology continued

In 'AQA Power and Conflict Poetry continued', pupils used a range of reading skills, to aid the supported decoding of challenging poems. In 'Unseen Poetry', pupils use these reading skills to decode texts with independence. 

Subject

School phase

KS3 & KS4 English

Unit sequence

Highlight a thread

Year group

Year 7

Step into the unknown: fiction reading and creative writing

'The Tempest'

Poetry about place and home

Sherlock Holmes: short stories

'The Twisted Tree': fiction reading

Dystopian settings: descriptive writing

Year 8

Myths and legends re-told: poetry and short stories

'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Taking a stand

Single poet study: Maya Angelou

Victorian childhood: non-fiction reading and writing

A monster within: reading and writing Gothic fiction

Gothic poetry

A history of language

Year 9