A Parents Guide to KS3 & KS4 Bishop Wordsworth s School English Department
BWS English Department: Assessment at Key Stage Three Parents Guide Introduction Many thanks for taking time to read this brief explanation of how we organise and assess work in the English Department at BWS. Should you wish to clarify any points or find out more, please contact me via the school, and I will be very happy to discuss matters further. Teachers of all Key Stage Three groups are issued with a Teacher Planner for each of the KS3 groups they teach. On this, they will record the one major written assessment will be set for each class in each of the six terms over a year. This task should be set alongside the relevant class reader. There is a requirement for pupils to cover the range of genres (prose fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry + two additional texts of the teacher s choice) and a range of six assessment tasks (composition, non-fiction reading and writing, comprehension, unseen poetry, whole text study and comparison). In addition, at least one text will be an English Literary Heritage text, and another will be a text from another culture. This is done in order to lead neatly into the key igcse components that boys will face once they are in Year 10. Some tasks will be under examination conditions and classroom based; others will be partly completed in the pupil s own study time at home, as part of their homework. Please note that other tasks will be set alongside this; it is departmental practice that teachers will mark two pieces of work (including the assessment pieces mentioned) per 6/7 week term, and check exercise books at least once. The six main tasks, though, will form the basis of our overall assessment of your son s progress. Pupil s Record When a pupil completes one of the six major written assessments he does over a year, the teacher will give him his pupil Record Sheet to fill out. He will have to record the task set (this can be dictated to the class or copied from the top of the assignment) and the teacher s comment (again this can be copied across by the pupil). This will be initialled and dated by the teacher, alongside the mark and grade awarded. The pupil will also use the sheet to record teacher-set targets after each assessment. The marked pieces of work should be retained by the pupil, and stuck into the correct place in their exercise books. Exercise books should therefore contain all planning, draft and final work relating to these assessment pieces. Following this, the record forms will be collected in and kept centrally by your son s teacher. Admin support will periodically transfer marks into the central departmental records. With this, we have a central record of marks; teachers and pupils are able to track their progress through a year and across the Key Stage. It is also a record that can be shown to you at parents evenings. The first English Department meeting of an academic year will also be an opportunity for there to be a handover of groups and sheets as pupils move up to the next year group. The records will therefore also be used to inform us about setting as boys go into years 9 and 10 (see later section on setting). Speaking and Listening Records All pupils are issued with these. They record just three formal Speaking and Listening assessments (presentation / group / role-play) per pupil over the academic year. Other assessments can take place, but these are formal ones that will go on record. Again, they will need to be kept centrally so that we can transfer records and marks across. The forms we use can be seen over the next three pages.
BWS English Department Teacher s Planner (KS3) Teacher: Group: Academic Year: Composition Assessment Types Please insert term taught (1-6) in appropriate column Non-Fiction (Reading & Writing) Non-Fiction (Comprehension) Unseen Poetry Study Whole Text Study Comparison Main Tasks Set Please briefly summarise the main task set Please ensure that one task uses one or more texts from the English Literary Heritage set list, other than Shakespeare (indicate with initials ELH) Please ensure that one task uses one or more texts from Other Cultures (OC) Prose fiction Text: Task Set: Prose Non-Fiction Text: Task Set: Drama Text: Task Set: Poetry Text: Task Set: Additional Text 1: Task Set: Additional Text 2: Task Set: Record to be retained by teacher within a class folder. Please have available at parents evenings
BWS English Department Pupil s Record of Work (KS3) Pupil: Group: Teacher: Academic Year: Task (please also write in the text studied) Composition Teacher Mark & Comment (please initial and date) Pupil Targets (Write at least two) Non-fiction (Reading and Writing) Language Non-Fiction (Comprehension) Unseen Poetry Study Whole Text Study Literature Comparison Record to be kept within class folder. Please have available at parents evenings
BWS English Department Speaking and Listening Record KS3 Pupil: Group: Teacher: Academic Year: Brief description of task Individual Presentation Teacher Comment (please initial and date) Targets Group-Based Work Drama-Based / Role-Play Record to be kept in class folder. Please have available at parents evenings
Setting for English in Years 9 and 10 From September 2012. the English Department is setting pupils across these year groups. We use exam, report and assessment data from the last two years to determine which set each pupil should be in. Each year group is divided into five sets: Set A is the higher set; Sets B, C and D are the middle sets; and set E is the lower set. This enables teachers to focus on extending and stretching the very able at the top end, whilst (by having a smaller group) helping individuals with subject specific difficulties in the lower set. As this is a selective school, we expect those in the lower set to be setting their sights on B grades or higher at GCSE. Having entered the igcse course in Year 10, all boys are entered for the Higher Tier, and they prepare for the same exams and similar coursework tasks irrespective of the set they are in. The three middle sets are evenly balanced: in each year group, the B set is no higher than the C or D sets, and the texts studied and levels of work set are similar. Teachers continue to work with individuals strengths and weaknesses through whole group or differentiated tasks where appropriate, and there should also be at least one opportunity in the first half of the academic year for us to review the setting, and move any pupils that we feel are misplaced either up or down accordingly. Years 10 and 11: The Two Year igcse course Since 2011, we have been following the AQA igcse as we believe that it offers the flexibility that will lead to effective teaching and learning. The AQA igcse English Language specification can be accessed by clicking on the link here. The AQA igcse English Literature Specification can be accessed by clicking on the link here. A summary of the specifications can be found on the next page. The ways in which we deliver the course as a department are always under review, but we teach units in parallel in order that we can share good practice and facilitate pupils moving between sets if possible or necessary. Our Two- Year plan for years 10 and 11 can be seen following the specification summary.
AQA igcse: Summary of the Course English Language Speaking and Listening: Presentation / Discussion task (10%) Written Paper 1 (50%): Section A: one non-fiction passage for close study; about 3 questions on it. Section B: Writing task description / story / written argument Coursework: Written task (about 1000 words) with explanatory commentary using at least five research texts. (40%) English Literature Paper 1: Section A unseen poetry single open-ended question; Section B Study of a prose or drama text: View from a Bridge Doll s House Journey s End My Mother Said I Never Should Romeo and Juliet Pride and Prejudice Great Expectations Never Let Me Go The Curious Incident (60%) Coursework: Comparison from free choice of texts (different from above) (40%)
AQA igcse: Year 10 Term Plan 2012-13 Term English Language English Literature Term 1 For the first 2-3 weeks: settle sets in by introducing an Original Writing task. Tasks could be based on Lang Paper Section B formats and possibly use mark scheme from spec. After Original Writing work, introduce a literature text (not exam or CW choices) and explore aspects of analysis and essay planning and writing. Term 2 Through both terms, work on and produce Language reading and writing coursework Term 3 (not under Controlled Conditions); each student also to take a linked Speaking and Listening assessment. In the second half of Term 3, introduce and begin studying first Lit CW text for comparative essay Term 4 Half way through Term 4, introduce the Term 5 At the end of Term 5, compact revision based work for the Year 10 exam (Language Paper Section A non-fiction extract) second Lit CW text, moving through into controlled Assessment style essay in the final weeks of Term 5. Year 10 exam either at end of Term 5 or beginning of Term 6 Term 6 Post exam Unseen Poetry work (Lit Paper SectionA) NB: Summer Holidays - Issue set text for Lit exam either in Term 6 or just before the holidays for holiday reading.
AQA igcse: Year 11 Term Plan 2012-13 Term English Language English Literature Term 1 Second speaking and Listening task linked to Lit set text (see right) Study set text for Lit exam (prose or drama see notes) Term 2 November Prelim: Language Paper Section B; Literature Paper Section B. Following prelim, study for unseen poetry (Lit Section A) Term 3 OPTIONS - EITHER: Work on a new language piece if the first wasn t strong enough OR: Work on a new Lit CW piece (based on same 2 texts)n if the first wasn t strong enough OR: Extension / possible acceleration work for top students (i.e. those who have produced top A* pieces for both already) Possibly recreative writing in anticipation of AS task? CW should ideally be completed by the end of TERM 3, but may extend a little way into term 4 if necessary. Term 4 Revision and exam-based work individual teachers to plan Term 5 Term 6 Craig Ennew Head of English, BWS