Year 9 Information Evening Monday, 16 October 2017
Welcome to the Year 9 Parents Information Evening Tuesday 3rd October 2017 6pm until approximately 7pm
6pm Introduction from Mr Gannon, Deputy Headteacher Maths Mr Ball, Head of KS4 Maths and Mr Martin, Head of Maths English Miss Woffinden and Ms Stewart, Head of English Science Miss V Stewart, Head of Science Go4Schools 7pm Departure Mr Gannon
Numbers not grades!
How important is the role that parents play?
How can you help as parents? 1. Ensure they are healthy 2. Excellent attendance; 1 day of absence = 5 hours learning lost 3. Punctual to school 4. Help with organisation 5. Effective study place to work at home 6. Check homework is done and is good quality 7. Ensure they are getting enough sleep 8. Limit technology time 9. Check that they know the deadlines for any coursework/controlled assessment/practical exams and prepare well in advance 10. Start revising and making high quality notes
Go4Schools
Praise and Behaviour Policy
Sixth Form
Maths
The new Maths GCSE Two tiers Foundation (5-1) and Higher (9-4) Many topics which traditionally were a higher topic have come down to the foundation tier.
The new Maths GCSE There are also some new topics for both the Foundation and Higher Tier
How the new GCSE is assessed Foundation Level Higher Level Three Papers Three Papers Paper 1 Non- Calculator (1 ½ hours) Paper 1 Non- Calculator (1 ½ hours) Paper 2 Calculator (1 ½ hours) Paper 2 Calculator (1 ½ hours) Paper 3 Calculator (1 ½ hours) Paper 3 Calculator (1 ½ hours) Grades available: 5-1 Grades available: 9-4
Scheme of Work Year 9 Sets 1-3
Scheme of Work Year 9 Sets 4-6
How you can support at home The best way to revise Maths is to practice Maths The following revision materials would be useful to have at home CGP Revision Guide (Foundation or Higher)
Any Questions? Mr Ball Assistant Core Leader (KS4) aball@arthurterry.bham.sch.uk Mr Martin Core Leader mmartin@arthurterry.bham.sch.uk
GCSE English Language & literature
Year 9- pre GCSE year.. Throughout year 9, students will be developing the required skills for their GCSEs in English: Tackling unseen extracts- closed book exams Developing analytical skills- language, form and structure Co sideri g riters crafti g Developing comparative writing skills Co sideri g co text a d ho it i pacts the riter s choices Writing in exam conditions Developing creative writing skills
Year 9- what is studied? Literature: Great Expectations Othello GCSE Power and Conflict anthology of poetry Language: Travel non fiction & Literary non fiction Writing to describe Writing to persuade Assessments: Every half term, students will do an unseen exam as their assessment. At the end of year 9 students will sit an end of year exam which will require revision of the skills and texts studied throughout the year.
What does the GCSE (year 10/11) course involve? Two year course, in which all year 10 students will be entered for English Language and English Literature. At the end of year 11, students will sit four English exams (two Language and two Literature). This means that everything that they study in year 10 they will need to remember and revise for their year 11 exams. In preparation for this, every half term, students will have a mini mock exam (in replacement of assessments) in which they will be tested on what they have learnt in that half term). They will need to revise for this at home.
Year 10 are currently studying this at the moment English Language- 50% reading, 50% writing Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing (1 hour 45 minutes) Paper : Writers ie points and Perspecti es ( hour 45 minutes) Section A: Reading (4 questions) 25% of Language GCSE One literary non fiction text and one non fiction text (from 19th-21st centuries). Section A: Reading (4 questions) 25% of Language GCSE One Literature fiction extract (e.g. an extract from The Jamaica Inn by Daphne De Maurier) Section B: Writing to describe or narrate 25% of Language GCSE 1 extended writing question (24 marks for content, 16 marks for technical accuracy). Section B: Writing to present a viewpoint 25% of Language GCSE 1 extended writing question (24 marks for content, 16 marks for technical accuracy). Increased SPaG
English Language skills Reading: Analysis of language and structure- how has a writer crafted their text and why has it been done in this way? Comprehension- can students understand the text/ meaning and the riter s perspecti es? An appreciation of time- they will have to compare a modern text with a 19th century textcan they appreciate how and why ideas may have changed? Comparison skills- can students make clear comparisons between texts and summarise the differences between them? Writing: Being able to form a fluent and formal line of argument. Planning riti g to e sure reader s e gage e t a d i terest. Understanding how to use language and structural devices to achieve effects. Understanding the differences between descriptive writing and narrative writing and being able to use the appropriate writing conventions for each. Using fluent and creative written expression. Using excellent grammar and spelling throughout, ensuring that they are mastering the use of complex grammatical structures.
English Literature Increased Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th century novel (1 Paper 2:Modern texts and poetry hour 45 minutes) (2 ours 15 minutes) 40% of Literature GCSE 60% of Literature GCSE SPaG Section A: Macbeth One extract based question Closed book 4 marks available for SPaG Section B: A Christmas Carol One extract based question Closed book 20% of Literature GCSE Section B: Poetry One comparison question on a named poem on printed paper and one other from a studied anthology Closed book apart from printed poem Year 10 are currently studying this at the moment Section A: An Inspector Calls One question Closed book 4 marks available for SPaG Section C: Unseen poetry Two questions, one on one unseen poem and one question comparing this with another unseen poem.
English Literature skills Co-teachable and transferable skills Particularly in regards to the analysis of language, form and structure- how has a writer crafted their text and why has it been done in this way? An appreciation of context- students will need to consider the different contextual periods associated with the writers- Dickens, Shakespeare, Priestley and various poets. Students will need to have a developed understanding of the whole text- all exams are closed book- they will need to remember quotations and be able to refer to specific sections of each text Comparison- this will only come into play for the poetry section. Students need to be well equipped to discuss and comment on much more challenging texts. Students will need to be able decipher language and be exposed to more sophisticated and often archaic language. SPaG- there are now an allotted amount of marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar on the Literature paper.
What can you do at home? Get ahead and buy the texts needed: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Macbeth by William Shakespeare An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestly Revision guides are also available- make sure that they are for the AQA GCSE and the NEW specification. Expose students to a range of challenging non fiction texts from across the centuries (19th to today). Practise writing to describe or narrate at home as well as writing argumentative pieces. Many of you purchased the SPaG revision guide and work book last year, make sure this is being used. Discuss learning with the students- keep track of the amount of reading and extra study time that is being done- students will need to fill in any gaps by researching at home.
For more information or questions Please contact Miss C Stewart (KS4 coordinator): cstewart@arthurterry.bham.sch.uk Please look out for emails about work to be completed over the Summer- when entering year 10, students need to have read A Christ as Carol a d ha e atched a fil / stage adaptation of Macbeth.
Science
Year 9 Science curriculum Students in Year 9 have started to cover the content needed for GCSE. Over a two week rotation students will have three lessons in each area of Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), totalling nine hours of curriculum time each fortnight. All students are currently covering the same curriculum content at an appropriate level for them. Over the course of this year and the start of Year 10 students will sit several assessments. We will use this information in consultation with you to place your child on an appropriate pathway.
Combined (trilogy) and Triple Science Year 9 Common content Autumn Year 10 Common content Combined science - 2 GCSEs Triple Science - 3 GCSEs
Combined science content - 2 GCSE s Biology 1. Cell biology 2. Organisation 3. Infection and response 4. Bioenergetics 5. Homeostasis and response 6. Inheritance, variation and evolution 7. Ecology Chemistry 8. Atomic structure and the periodic table 9. Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter 10. Quantitative chemistry 11. Chemical changes 12. Energy changes 13. The rate and extent of chemical change 14. Organic chemistry 15. Chemical analysis 16. Chemistry of the atmosphere 17. Using resources Physics 18. Energy 19. Electricity 20. Particle model of matter 21. Atomic structure 22. Forces 23. Waves 24. Magnetism and electromagnetism
Combined science content - 2 GCSEs There are six papers: two biology, two chemistry and two physics. Each of the papers will assess knowledge and understanding from distinct topic areas. The papers will have short answer, multiple choice and open response questions. Each paper is 1 hour 15 minutes long and will be available in Foundation or Higher tier. Students cannot mix tier of entry. Each paper is out of 70 and worth 16.7% of the GCSEs
Triple Science - 3 GCSE s Biology 1. Cell biology 2. Organisation 3. Infection and response 4. Bioenergetics 5. Homeostasis and response 6. Inheritance, variation and evolution 7. Ecology 8. Key ideas Chemistry 1. Atomic structure and the periodic table 2. Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter 3. Quantitative chemistry 4. Chemical changes 5. Energy changes 6. The rate and extent of chemical change 7. Organic chemistry 8. Chemical analysis 9. Chemistry of the atmosphere 10. Using resources Physics 1. Energy 2. Electricity 3. Particle model of matter 4. Atomic structure 5. Forces 6. Waves 7. Magnetism and electromagnetism 8. Space physics Even though the topic orders and titles are similar we have designed the curriculum so that the Triple Scie ce co te t is t taught until the later part of Year 10.
Triple Science - 3 GCSEs There are six papers: two biology, two chemistry and two physics. Each of the papers will assess knowledge and understanding from distinct topic areas. The papers will have short answer, multiple choice and open response questions. Each paper is 1 hour 45 minutes long and will be available in Foundation or Higher tier. Student can not mix tier of entry. Each paper is out of 100 and worth 50% of the separate GCSEs.
Practical Component of the course For each of the subjects, there are 8 to 10 required practicals that the students will need to carry out in lesson time throughout years 9, 10 and 11. There will of course be lots more practical work, but AQA have specified the practicals for examination purposes. Questions in the written exams will draw on the knowledge and understanding students have gained by carrying out these required practical activities. These questions will count for at least 15% of the overall marks each GCSE qualification.
Internal assessments in Science Progress Assessments Students complete Progress Assessments over the year in normal lessons. These are assessed tasks which take around 15 minutes to complete and cover the work from 3-5 lessons. We regularly use these to identify misconceptions and allow students to address any weaker areas in their subject knowledge throughout the course. Parents will be able to monitor the results of assessments on the relevant page on GO4Schools. Students are given specific areas for improvement from these assessments which they should address in the short term to avoid a backlog of problems, particularly if they are working below their target grade. Unit tests & mock exams Unit tests in all three sciences occur throughout the year usually 2 or 3 per year. Results are available to parents through Go4Schools. We also have Trial Exam periods in each year. This will be a far better gauge for the students as to how they are progressing. Again grades and marks will be available on Go4Schools.
What can you do to support your child? Be aware that the GCSEs now have an elevated demand. More maths, no coursework, no formula sheet and some challenging A level content! Help students with exam preparation throughout each year. Make revision cards, posters, podcasts and revisit them regularly. Encourage Flip learning using the ehub materials and revision guides. We need students to commit facts to memory at home so that we can focus on how to apply them in lessons. Check on Go4Schools how Progress Assessments are going. Use the ehub to support areas that need it.
VLE for KS4 Ehub2
Follow the menu through to screen like this: Topic Title Revision resource Assessment Quiz Please encourage them to keep up with the quizzes and to use the revision resources to help
Revision guides We offer the full text book and a revisions guide at 50% rrp.
Are there any extra resources? AQA Exam Board page:http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse CGP Revision Guide:https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/whoAreYou?page=books_gcse_science_aqa_revision BBC Bitesize Website http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa/ vstewart@arthurterry.bham.sch.uk Djones@arthurterry.bham.sch.uk