Subjects

Key Concepts

Key Themes

In year 7 the key thread running through all topics will be the use of the present tense. Students will also meet key past and future phrases via linguistic routines.

Students will compare festivals and other cultural aspects throughout the year.

Contact with our partner schools in France and Spain will give students the opportunity to share and compare their life experiences with other students.

Students will follow a 2 week programme of phonics teaching at the start of each term and then will revisit key phonics throughout the year.

Autumn term 1
Personal information  – This topic begins with the language and syntax required for students to talk about themselves and their families. They will be introduced to the concept of gender, the present tense using primarily the first person singular of a number of regular verbs as well as key irregular verbs. Students will talk about and compare Halloween in target language speaking countries and learn key specific vocabulary.

Autumn term 2
Family and friends – The topic continues with the use of the present tense of familiar verbs in the third person in order to describe family and friends as well as the introduction of a range of regular verbs needed to express opinions. Students will learn to ask as well as answer a number of questions. They will talk about and compare Christmas in target language speaking countries and learn key specific vocabulary.

Spring term 1
Sport – This topic begins with the language and syntax required to talk about sport.  Students will revisit and build on their knowledge of regular verbs in the present tense and will use some irregular verbs  to express a range of activities. Students will talk about and compare Valentine’s Day in target language speaking countries and learn key specific vocabulary.

Spring term 2
Hobbies – The topic continues with the introduction of vocabulary needed to talk about interests other than sport in the first and third person.Students will also revisit familiar verbs when using opinions plus the infinitive. They will also be introduced to the near future. They will learn how to form questions in the near future as well as revisiting question formation in the present tense. Students will talk about and compare Easter in target language speaking countries and learn key specific vocabulary.

Summer term 1
The school day – This topic begins with the language and syntax required to talk about school subjects you like and dislike.  In this topic students will revisit the use of opinion verbs and link them to a range of adjectives to express justification.  They will use their knowledge of numbers to learn how to say the time in French which will enable them to talk about the school day.  Students will also look at the differences between school life in England and that of target language speaking countries.

Summer term 2
School uniform and school routine – The topic continues with the introduction of items of clothing and students will again be able to compare schools when discussing uniform. They will revisit the concept of gender and adjectival endings when describing items of clothing. They will meet a range of regular verbs to enable them to talk about daily activities at school.

In year 8 the key thread running through all topics will be the use of the past tense.  Students will continue to use key present and future phrases via linguistic routines, develop the use of the near future and use more complex opinions.

Students will compare festivals and other cultural aspects throughout the year.

Contact with our partner schools in France and Spain will give students the opportunity to share and compare their life experiences with other students.

Students will revisit key phonics weekly.

Autumn term 1
Holidays present and future – This topic begins with the language and syntax required to talk about holidays in the present tense. Students will meet new verbs linked to the topic as well as revisiting those used in year 7. They will revisit the near future to enable them to talk about future holidays using the infinitive. Students will explore texts depicting Halloween in target language speaking countries.

Autumn term 2
Holidays in the past -The topic continues with the introduction of the perfect tense using  the first person.  This will allow students to talk about past holidays via a range of familiar and new verbs. This topic is well timed following the summer holidays.  Students will compare Christmas traditions via authentic materials from target language speaking countries.

Spring term 1
My town – This topic begins with the language and syntax required to talk about places and facilities in the town. Students will use new constructions such as ‘there is’ and ‘you can’ and will revisit verbs in the present tense as well as the use of the infinitive. This topic gives the opportunity to compare and contrast towns in England with those in target language countries. There will also be the opportunity to revisit the near future and the past tense when talking about a visit to the town. Students will exploit extended texts depicting Valentine’s Day traditions in target language speaking countries.

Spring term 2
My town – Students will combine the new vocabulary and structures with the past and the future tense.  This will provide the opportunity to re-visit and develop  the use of the different time frames within a new context.  Students will talk about and compare Easter traditions via authentic texts from target language speaking countries.

Summer term 1
Cinema and TV – This topic begins with the language and syntax required to talk about films, TV channels and books in the present tense. Students will use a range of familiar verbs as well as new verbs such as to read. The topic gives students the opportunity to discuss likes and dislikes using familiar verbs and to compare film and television preferences with those of young people in target language speaking countries.

Summer term 2
Using the internet – the topic continues with the revisiting of activities using the internet. Students will then revisit both the future and the past to talk about technology using three tenses. Communication with our partner schools will provide the opportunity for pupils to appreciate the similarities in youth culture.

In year 9 the key thread running through all topics will be the use of the simple future tense. Students will also meet key imperfect past phrases via linguistic routines as well as developing the use of the past and use more complex opinions.

Students will compare festivals and other cultural aspects throughout the year.

Contact with our partner schools in France and Spain will give students the opportunity to share and compare their life experiences with other students.

Students will revisit key phonics weekly.

Autumn term 1
Healthy eating – This topic begins with the language and syntax required to talk about healthy and unhealthy lifestyles. Students will revisit the topic of food and drink to describe their eating habits and discuss what constitutes healthy and unhealthy eating. They will learn to use adverbs to express frequency. Students will talk about how they celebrate Halloween using 3 time frames.

Autumn term 2
A healthy lifestyle – The topic continues with smoking, drinking and healthy routines such as sleep patterns. This topic gives the opportunity for cross curricular links with PSHE, Food Technology and Science. Students will revisit all three time frames with an emphasis on the imperfect tense used with the present. Students will talk about how they celebrate Christmas using three time frames.

Spring term 1
World of work  – This topic begins with the language and syntax required to talk about jobs. Students will talk about their job preferences which will provide the opportunity to revisit the near future as well as the introduction of the simple future.  This naturally leads on to the conditional tense. They will revisit vocabulary to describe family and friends when considering jobs done by people they know. They will also use the future and conditional tenses to discuss future intentions other than work.  Students will talk about their opinions of Valentine’s Day.

Spring term 2
Work experience – the topic continues with jobs in the house and work experience which provide the opportunity to revisit all three time frames and opinions with justification. This topic provides cross curricular links with careers education and is well timed as students start to consider their options.  Students will talk about the Easter period using three time frames.

Summer term 1
The environment  – This topic begins with the language and syntax required to talk about local environmental issues.  Students will be equipped with the vocabulary needed to discuss issues they feel passionately about. They will revisit the topic of weather which will provide the opportunity to revisit all three time frames.

Summer term 2
Volunteering and charities – The topic continues with ethical shopping and charity and voluntary work. This exposes students to the idea of voluntary work at home and abroad as well as the benefits for all those involved, again providing a valuable link to PSHE and Geography.

The KS4 curriculum provides students with opportunities to build on their learning experiences gained during Key Stage 3. Students will continue to build on and develop their language skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. They will also develop and use their knowledge and understanding of grammar throughout the course.

Students will study topics within the following themes:

Theme 1 – Identity and Culture
Theme 1 prepares students with the required vocabulary and grammar to talk about relationships with family and friends as well as the use of social media and mobile technology. It also includes several topics related to free-time activities such as music, the cinema, food and eating out and sport. Students are encouraged to compare the lives of young people in target language speaking countries with that of their own by exploring traditions and customs as well as daily life habits and routines. Students will revisit and deepen their knowledge of the three time frames by using the present, past and future tenses of regular, irregular and reflexive verbs. They will also start to use complex linguistic structures such as the superlative and direct object pronouns.

Theme 2 – Local, national, international and global areas of interest.
Theme 2 looks at home, town and the local region as well as foreign travel and tourism. Students will revisit some areas from KS3 as well as exploring social issues such as charity and voluntary work as well as healthy and unhealthy eating. This theme also looks at environmental issues such as pollution and global warming together with poverty and homelessness. There is the opportunity for several cross curricular discussions and allows students to pursue areas they are passionate about now and in the future. Students can share travel experiences as well as their ambitions for future visits to other countries. They are also encouraged to develop a social conscience and to become more sensitive to the world around them locally and globally. They will continue to produce language in the three time frames with familiar tenses, as well as new ones such as the pluperfect.

Theme 3 – Current and future study and employment.
Theme 3 considers life at school and college which will allow students to talk about their subject preferences as well as expressing opinions on the school rules and school environment. The theme also considers post-16 education and university before moving on to  jobs, career choices and ambitions in later life. This theme gives students the opportunity to compare school life in England with that of target language speaking countries. The study of future careers, plans and aspirations gives students the opportunity to reflect on their plans and maybe consider alternatives.  Students will continue to gain confidence in the use of the three time frames gaining experience in the use of a wide range of tenses. They will also be introduced to higher level linguistic structures such as the passive and the subjunctive.