English is taught every day at King’s Magna and builds the foundation for reading, writing, spelling, grammar, speaking and listening.
Learning often extends beyond the classroom with opportunities to meet authors and guest speakers, and to participate in Shakespearean productions with the support of a local theatre company.
Year Six
Year 6 students are taught English by specialist subject teachers. Lessons follow a bespoke curriculum that bridges Key Stage Two and Three learning rather than following the SAT curriculum. Topics taught in lessons are cross-curricular, much like the Key Stage Two structure in Chapter House. For example, one of the Year 6 topics is “An Introduction to Shakespeare” which covers the plays, history and performing arts.
Key Stage Three
At Key Stage Three, students study a wide range of texts. In the first term, they read novels like Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby and The Woman in Black. In the second term, they study Julius Caesar, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. Then, in the third term, students explore a wide range of poetry and work towards entering the “Poetry by Heart” competition, whilst also developing their skills in speaking by performing a speech on a topic of their choice for the Public Speaking competition.
Reading skills such as skimming and scanning are developed throughout the year, with summary and language analysis work. Critical thinking is encouraged in responding to texts, as well as a focus on effective descriptive and narrative writing. Students are also encouraged to become digitally competent.
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Help The English DepartmentThe English Department is always looking for new Ambassadors and student Mentors to assist other students with their work. Older students from QE Faculty and College regularly visit King’s Magna to help in English lessons. Similarly, King’s Magna students can volunteer to be librarians. |
Fun Events And Trips Throughout the Year
Every year, students participate in a Shakespeare workshop with Sky Blue Theatre who bring to life the characters and inspir students to perform in a fun and engaging way. In addition, Years 6 and 9 visit local theatres to watch modern plays come to life.
Teachers celebrate World Book Day with several challenges for students; we also celebrate Poetry Day, as well as the birthdays of Dickens and Shakespeare.
There are termly competitions for each year group to get involved in, such as the Animal Farm challenge, or students may choose to compete in external competitions like Creative Writing, Prose from the Heart, Poetry by Heart, Public Speaking and Vocabulary.com championships.
