Year 11 English

Course Overview

Term 1
Close Reading to Creative Writing: Engage critically and creatively with a range of anthologised and self-selected short texts.

Students will read, analyse and report back on an anthology of short thematically connected texts. They will then use these as inspiration for their own creative writing in the style of the authors whose work they have studied.

Topic Learning Objectives: Students will…
1. select and read texts for personal enjoyment and literary analysis
2. identify a growing range of written language features and explain their effects
3. recognise the author’s purpose and begin to recognise how a text can position a reader
4. begin to make connections between the ideas of a text and their context
5. use studied short texts as a basis for their own creative works which develop and structure ideas
6. employ a wide range of language features in their creative writing for effect and to sustain interest
7. establish habits to self-evaluate, edit, and craft their writing for accuracy and fluency

Term 2
Literary Analysis of Extended Written/Dramatic Text: Perform literary analysis of an extended written or dramatic text.

Students will read and analyse a novel or play, exploring the socio-historical context of the text alongside author’s purpose and the ideas they raise. They will communicate and personally reflect upon this knowledge through literary essay writing.

Topic Learning Objectives: Students will…
1. recognise that there is more than one way to read a text
2. understand comprehensive ideas and how they are generated by the text
3. confidently articulate the connections between the ideas and context of the text
4. explain how the conventions of a text work together to create meaning and effect
5. personally reflect upon how the author’s purpose and how they position the reader
6. construct a literary argument based on inferences from the text

Term 3
Inter-Textual Investigation: Examine and articulate connections between four texts.

Alongside two texts that have been studied earlier in the year, students will self-select a further two texts and craft a report that examines the connections between all four. These connections could be centred on genre, character, setting or themes and ideas.

Topic Learning Objectives: Students will…
1. select and read a series of connected texts
2. make connections by interpreting ideas between texts from a range of contexts and forms
3. recognise how different contexts can be connected through similar aspects
4. understand and interpret how the conventions of the selected texts work together for effect
5. construct and argument based on personal inferences from the selected texts
6. demonstrate the ability to self-evaluate, edit, and craft their writing for accuracy and fluency

Term 4
Literary Analysis of Visual Text: Perform literary analysis of an extended visual text.

Students will view and analyse a film, exploring the socio-historical context of the text alongside director’s purpose and the ideas they raise. They will communicate and personally reflect upon this knowledge through literary essay writing.

Topic Learning Objectives: Students will…
1. begin to recognise how a text can be viewed through a critical lens
2. understand comprehensive ideas and how they are generated by the text
3. confidently articulate the connections between the ideas and context of the text
4. explain how the conventions of a text work together to create meaning and effect
5. personally reflect upon the director’s purpose and how they position the viewer
6. confidently construct an argument based on inferences from the text