As with all programmes in the London Nautical School Department of English, the Learning Plan for Year 8 is unique to this year and this group of students. It is devised, within the guidelines set by the over-all Key Stage Three, to best meet the needs and engage the passions of my class and it arises as an extension of my own passions and my best professional judgement about what 12 year old boys should be learning.
As always your feedback about the content of this, or the English department’s over-arching scheme, is most welcome.
Personal Geography
Main Project
SHAKESPEARIAN DRAMA – Romeo and Juliet
Throughout this programme we will be reading this play as a class. We will be enacting key scenes. We will be modernising scenes from the play. Shakespeare’s language will be an important focus for us – particularly his use of the poetic devices of rhythm, rhyme, metaphor and alliteration. We will delve into the universal themes that are implicit in all of William Shakespeare’s works and explore how these apply to our lives today. We will also be running, in parallel, a comparative study of the Baz Luhrmann film Romeo + Juliet and considering how the film re-interprets the symbolism and dramatic devices.
There will be many moments where students skills as readers, writers, viewers, performers and researchers will be tested and extended. Some assessment of these functions will be informal, and some formal – including a literary essay, an enacted modernisation and a visual presentation.
Assessment Focus
Literary Essay – Romeo and Juliet
Scene Re-creation – Script Writing and Film
Thinking Focus and Extension
Tolerance for Ambiguity
Addressing the paradoxical nature of the conversation arising in Romeo and Juliet about the possibility for a person to “change their stars”Language Analysis
Exploring the connections between Shakespeare’s use of language and the messages he is transmitting, with a particular focus on metre, alliteration, rhyme, metaphor and punExtension
Recreate and film a scene from Romeo and Juliet in a modern context replacing the language devices with their equivalent modern counterpart.Write an analytical comparison exploring the differences between the film and play versions of Romeo and Juliet
Wider Reading Focus and Misc
Wide Reading Project
A multi-modal ‘reading project’ that will culminate in a spoken or visual presentation in Term 5Media
Film Enhancement
Romeo+Juliet – studied, in conjunction with the play, as a literary text with an emphasis on comparing setting, symbolism, characterisation and paceMain Projects
NON-FICTION READING AND WRITING, SPEAKING AND LISTENING – Journalism
As these boys have found their feet after 12 months of blogging, this is an opportunity to extend their skills. They will be engaged in the task of producing Television, Radio or Newspaper investigative reports on a range of topics and will be presenting these to a series of deadlines on the online journals.The project will culminate in an “awards” evening where the students will win awards for aspects such as best investigative journalist, best video, best audio, best written text…
Assessment Focus
Writing/Producing – Students work will be assessed against media industry standards for accuracy, style, structure and content.
Thinking Focus and Extension
Decision Making, Integrity and Inquiry Skills
Developing the students capacity to test the veracity of research information and to make swift, clear decisions in tight timeframes. As the students work will be published and broadcast, he ethics of investigative journalism will also be explored and enforced.Extension
This project provides tremendous scope for extension by outcome. The teacher’s experience in the media industry will be recruited to provide additional challenge to relevant students.Wider Reading Focus and Misc
Wide Reading Project
An on-going multi-modal homework-based ‘reading project’ continues this term that will culminate in a spoken or visual presentation in Term 5Main Projects
POETRY STUDY: Sound Poetry, Haiku and Other Forms of Sublime Beauty
Studied as an entrance point into engagement with deeper language interpretation, these poetic forms that resist figurative interpretation will provide a useful conceptual test for these boys. At least one student in the class is a very capable paper-folder, so his talents will be put to good use.NOVEL STUDY: Self-Selected Text
The students will select their own text from a range of options and complete a literary study of it. They must choose a text that connects to at least one other in their wide reading project and they must complete a range of specified literary/analytical tasks in relation to it. They will present the results of this study as part of their end of year wide-reading presentation.Assessment Focus
Original writing using a style adopted from poetry or a text studied this year or read as part of the wide reading project.
Formal Debate – Engaging in a formal inter-class debating competition with students from other Year 8 classes.
Thinking Focus and Extension
Abstraction and the Ineffable
Facing the ‘no metaphor’ rule of Haiku, the students must test their ability to appreciate and analyse language and conceptual effects that are achieved via other means (visual, aural, sensory juxtaposition and conceptual)Extension
All tasks all the time this year have extension components, however a particularly committed student may generate a haiku cycle on a self-selected topic.The fomal debates will culminate in an evening final. Students will also be invited to present individual spoken presentations, recitals and monologues at this event to the assembled audience.
Wider Reading Focus and Misc
Wide Reading Project
A multi-modal ‘reading project’ that will culminate in a crafter written, audio, filmed or spoken presentation explaining the literary features of one text and exploring connections between the texts.
[…] with a lesson stream that tracks and compiles the daily traffic of the classroom, I publish my year plans, exemplars, samples of excellent student work, moderated exemplars, lesson sequences, videos of […]
[…] with a lesson stream that tracks and compiles the daily traffic of the classroom, I publish my year plans, samples of excellent student work, moderated exemplars, lesson sequences, videos of student […]
[…] with a lesson stream that tracks and compiles the daily traffic of the classroom, We publish our year plans, samples of excellent student work, moderated exemplars, lesson sequences, videos of student […]