Empower
Educators

09·English · KS3 to A Level

Confident Readers,
Confident Schools

One book for the whole department — the head of English who has to lead it and the teacher who has to teach period four. Built on what AQA, Pearson Edexcel, Cambridge OCR and Eduqas actually require, read from all eighteen current specifications.

  1. 1Curriculum
  2. 2Reading
  3. 3Writing
  4. 4Evidence
  5. 5Standard
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72 pages · 69 sections · 4.5 MB

Cover of Confident Readers, Confident Schools

English is two qualifications taught by one department, and they are not the same subject. Language and Literature are examined differently, weighted differently and lost differently — and a scheme of work that treats them as one thing quietly costs marks in both.

This booklet is written for the whole department at once. A head of English can read it as a curriculum and quality-assurance document; a teacher can open it at the page they need on a Monday. All eighteen current specifications were read in full rather than summarised, and where the boards differ — and they differ more than most departments assume — the difference is stated rather than blended away.

Written to
All eighteen current AQA, Pearson Edexcel, Cambridge OCR and Eduqas specifications
Intended for
For heads of English, subject leaders and every teacher in the department
Extent
72 pages · 69 sections

·Look inside

Real pages, straight from the PDF

Click any page to see it full size.

·Contents

All 69 sections

Taken from the booklet's own contents page, so the page numbers are the real ones.

THE CASE

01Two Subjects, One Departmentp3
02Where English Departments Driftp4

THE THEORY

03How Reading Actually Developsp5
04How Writing Actually Developsp6

THE PRACTICE

05Pillar 1 — Curriculum: The Spinep7
06Pillar 2 — Reading: Taught, Not Setp8
07Pillar 3 — Writing: Modelled, Not Assignedp9
08Pillar 4 — Recall: Closed Book by Designp10
09Pillar 5 — Standard: Knowing What Good Looks Likep11
10How a Skill Actually Progressesp12
11What Should a Year 7 Actually Arrive Knowing?p13
12KS3: Three Years, Not a Waiting Roomp14

TEACHING LITERATURE

13Close Reading: What Does It Say → What Else Could It Meanp15
14Teaching Poetry Without Killing Itp16
15Teaching Shakespeare as Drama, Not as Difficultyp17
16Teaching the Novel: Whole Text Firstp18
17Teaching Drama and Modern Textsp19

TEACHING WRITING

18Grammar as a Tool for Meaningp20
19Vocabulary: Taught, Not Caughtp21
20From PEE to Argumentp22
21Feedback That Changes Writingp23
22The Analysis Chainp24

ORACY

23Oracy: Talk That Earns Its Placep25

QUESTIONING & MODELLING

24Questioning: Seven Levelsp26
25Modelling: I Do, We Do, You Dop27
26Where English Marks Are Actually Lostp28

THE OUTSTANDING LESSON

27What Makes an Outstanding English Lesson?p29
28The Observer’s Lensp30
29Six Lesson Architecturesp31

SHOW, DON’T TELL

30One Extract, Four Answersp32
31The Analytical Paragraph, Four Waysp33
32Creative Writing, Four Waysp34
33The Literature Essay, Four Waysp35
34Transactional Writing, Four Waysp36
35A Level Critical Writing, Four Waysp37

ASSESSMENT

36What the AOs Look Like in Real Workp38
37Exam Preparation Without Destroying Englishp39

EVERY STUDENT

38SEND and EAL in English, Specificallyp40
39Intervention That Is Worth the Timep41

THE FOUR BOARDS

40GCSE English Language, Comparedp42
41GCSE English Literature, Comparedp43
42AQAp44
43Pearson Edexcelp45
44Cambridge OCRp46
45WJEC Eduqasp47

A LEVEL

46A Level English Literature, Comparedp48
47GCSE to A Level: The Handoverp49
48A Level English Language, Comparedp50

CULTURE

49Reading Culture Without Gimmicksp51
50Choosing Texts: A Defensible Listp52
51AI and Englishp53
52The English Classroomp54
53Where English Leadsp55

FOR LEADERS

54The Head of Englishp56
55The English Department Meetingp57
56Quality Assurance Without Fearp58
57Teacher Development in Englishp59
58The Marking Loadp60

THE TOOLKIT

59Template 1 — Department Self-Auditp61
60Templates 2–4 — Curriculum, Reading and Writing Mapsp62
61Templates 5–7 — Trackers and Student Work Reviewp63
62Templates 8–10 — Moderation, Intervention and Observationp64
63Templates 11–13 — Vocabulary, Oracy and A Levelp65
64Templates 14–16 — Intervention and Progressp66
65Templates 17–19 — Meetings, Compliance and Mock Analysisp67
66Templates 20–21 — For Studentsp68

CLOSING

67One Book, One Department, One Standardp69
68Sources and Verificationp70
69Exam Board Source Bankp71