Year 7
Curriculum Outline 2018-19
Year 7 Curriculum Outline 2018 - 19 Pastoral Leader – Mrs Claudia Freeman Assistant Pastoral Leader - Dr Lucy Hosker
Form Tutors: 7VAF - Miss Vicki Franks 7LAH - Dr Lucy Hosker 7JET - Mr Joe Tillen 7BJK - Mr Ben Keeble and Miss Jane Kilner 7NLH - Miss Natasha Hammond 7ALM - Dr Alison Maguire
ENGLISH Key Topics Students study a range of fiction and non-fiction texts which will include at least one novel, a Shakespeare play (either ‘The Tempest’ or ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’), some poetry and short stories. They might also study some Greek myths or some Beowulf, depending on which teacher they have. A wide range of speaking and listening, reading and writing activities will provide students with the opportunity to develop their analytical, language and creative writing skills. Grammar is taught in context throughout the year.
Assessment ● ●
No formal assessments during the year; regular written assignments allow teachers to monitor progress Summer assessment
MATHEMATICS Key Topics ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Properties of numbers Negative numbers Algebraic manipulation Averages Angles Properties of 2D shapes Metric units and estimation Co-ordinates Function machines Plotting graphs Gradient of a line Constructing triangles Area and perimeter Whole number arithmetic Order of operations Arithmetic with decimals Arithmetic with fractions Equivalence of fractions, decimals and percentages Sequences Ratio and proportion
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Transformations 3D shapes
Assessment ●
Normal assessment in lessons, half-termly tests, summer assessment
BIOLOGY Key Topics ● ● ● ● ●
Structure of living organisms Skeletal and muscular systems Human reproduction and variation Ecology and interdependence Flower structure and seed dispersal
Assessment ● ●
Short end-of-topic tests Summer assessment
Trips/curricular enrichment ●
Visit to nature reserve
CHEMISTRY Key Topics ● ● ● ● ●
Safety and bunsen burners pH and neutralisation Particles Solutions and separation Chemical reactions
Assessment ● ●
Short end-of-topic tests Summer assessment
PHYSICS Key Topics ● ● ● ● ●
Practical skills Forces and motion Electromagnetism Waves Energy
Assessment ● ●
Short end-of-topic tests Summer assessment including practical assessment
GEOGRAPHY Key Topics ● ● ● ●
Introduction to Geography Geography of sport Plate tectonics Energy
Assessment ● ● ●
Ongoing assessment throughout the year End-of-topic assessments Summer assessment
HISTORY Key Topics ● ● ● ● ● ●
Battle of Hastings Limits of royal power: Crown vs Nobles Magna Carta Crown vs Church: Becket Crown vs People: Richard II and the Peasants' Revolt Yalding - a case study in to everyday Medieval life
Assessment ● ● ●
Ongoing assessment throughout the year End-of-topic assessments Summer assessment
RS and PHILOSOPHY Key Topics A study of three world religions: Hinduism, Judaism and Sikhism ● Beliefs and practices ● How the lives of the followers of these religions are affected by those beliefs and practices
Assessment ● ● ●
Ongoing assessment throughout the year End-of-unit tests Summer assessment
Trips/curricular enrichment ●
A visit to at least one of the places of worship studied this year
DESIGN ENGINEERING Key Topics Students will design and make two projects: an acrylic sculpture/holder and an electronic plant moisture sensor. This is mainly a skills-based course but there are opportunities to develop sketching and CAD skills as well as becoming more familiar with basic materials and processes.
Assessment ●
Ongoing, using project outcomes, development and research
Trips/curricular enrichment In the Summer Term students will participate in a joint walking tour of Cambridge with the Visual Arts department; the focus will be on art and architecture. Lunchtime and after-school clubs are available for students to extend their interest in making.
DRAMA Key Topics A wide range of activities and topics designed to build confidence, encourage collaboration and creativity and develop individual performance skills, including: ● Mime ● Physical theatre ● Mask work ● Improvisations prepared in small groups from a given stimulus ● Spontaneous improvisation games and exercises ● Interpreting text for performance ● Using sound and lighting to enhance a performance ● Considering the role of theatre design elements such as costume, masks and set ● Learning to evaluate performance work using basic theatrical terminology ● Summer Term project on World War I and Michael Morpurgo’s ‘War Horse’
Assessment ● ●
No formal assessments Performance work will be informally shared with the class throughout the year and each term culminates in a more structured piece of performance work.
MUSIC Key Topics In Year 7 our students take part in an active music curriculum, which combines performing, composing and listening by exploring a wide range of music organised into topics: ● All in the rhythm ● Music on stage ● Making links ● Music in context ● Musical transformations
Assessment ●
No formal assessments
Performing and composing work will be informally shared with the class throughout the year.
VISUAL ARTS Key Topics In Year 7 our students begin to learn about how the Formal Elements interact to become the building blocks for artistic expression. We aim to encourage an experimental approach to learning through investigation and critical inquiry. Students learn about the development of 'modern' art in the 19th and 20th Century, through the lenses of line, tone, texture, colour, pattern, shape and form. They investigate how artists adapt their practice in the light of technological change and the impact of social upheaval, examining the movements of Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism and Futurism.
Assessment Assessment is ongoing, using project outcomes and development and research in the student sketchbook. There is no homework set at this stage, however we encourage students to try to draw daily, take visual notes and use colours in their note making to extend recall and cognition. Students wishing to develop their own work outside of lessons are more than welcome.
Trips/curricular enrichment ● ●
In the Summer Term we aim for students to participate in a visit to Kettle’s Yard to see the exhibitions and the tour the house Weekly clubs held during the school day with different craft and drawing activities led by staff and scholars - these are limited in capacity so students need to sign up for these at the start of each term
LATIN Key Topics Students will develop their understanding of the mechanics of the Latin language and also its connection with English today. Cultural context will be a key part of the course, and they will be studying aspects of Roman religious belief, Roman festivals, and Roman ideology (such as concepts of a hero and divine favour / punishment).
Assessment ● ●
Regular consolidation testing and written language work Written analysis and engagement with primary evidence from the Roman world
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Whole year progress tests in the second half of the Autumn Term, and in the Spring Term Summer assessment
FRENCH Key Topics ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Meeting Greeting Introductions School Family Home Animals Celebrations Weather Sport Town Daily routine Time Food
Main grammar points ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Present tenses Main regular and irregular verbs in the present tense Numbers up to 100 Definite and indefinite articles Possessive adjectives Asking questions Regular and irregular adjectives Prepositions Some examples of reflexive verbs Partitive articles
Assessment ● ●
Regular vocabulary and grammar tests Summer assessment
Trips/curricular enrichment ●
Onatti play at the Senior School
SPANISH Key Topics ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Greetings Personal descriptions School Numbers and dates Family Pets Colours Town descriptions
Main grammar points ● ● ●
Genders Adjectival agreements Present tense
Assessment ● ● ●
Regular vocabulary and grammar tests Whole-year assessment at end of Autumn Term Summer assessment
GAMES Autumn Term - Girls ● ●
Hockey is our main sport Students will also get the opportunity to take part in gymnastics
Autumn Term - Boys ● ●
Football is our main sport Students will also get the opportunity to take part in touch rugby
Spring Term - Girls ● ●
Netball is our main sport Students will also get the opportunity to take part in football
Spring Term - Boys ● ●
Hockey is our main sport Students will also get the opportunity to take part in basketball
Summer Term - Boys/Girls ● ●
Cricket is our main sport Students will also get the opportunity to take part in tennis and athletics
PSHE Off-timetable events ●
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Monday 10 September: Digital Citizenship – sessions on e-safety, technology and health, the school’s Technology Acceptable Use policy etc. to prepare students for the introduction of iPads Tuesday 25 September: Managing Change I – thinking about coping with some of the changes that can result from the move up to Senior School and this transitional age in general Tuesday 27 November: Project Day Thursday 7 February: Managing Change II – a further look at some of the changes that can affect young people during the pre-teen years. Date TBC: Citizenship I – a look at the UK’s political system and how the government works
Morning PSHE sessions Healthy and safer lifestyles: ● ● ● ● ●
Personal Safety First impressions/self-reflection Individual vs. community values Friendships Bullying
Citizenship: ●
Rights and responsibilities
Personal responsibility/development: ● ●
Organisation Revision/study skills
Summer Assessments All students in the Senior School will sit some school assessments halfway through the Summer Term. We are currently reviewing the format, but the aim of these assessments is to develop students’ skills in preparing for and sitting exams, and making use of feedback. Teachers will guide their students through a revision process and strategies appropriate to their subject.
KEY DATES Please note that event details are subject to change - we will email you if there are changes to the dates below. For more detailed information on events throughout the school year, please see the Senior School calendar on our website.
Event
Date
Day
Y7 Introduction to the Year Evening
12 September
Weds
PSHE Parent Information Evening
10 October
Weds
Y7 Parents’ Evening
21 November
Weds
Carol Service – Great St. Mary’s
12 December
Weds
PSHE Parent Information Evening
22 January
Tues
Y7 Parents’ Evening
6 March
Weds
PSHE Parent Information Evening
29 April
Mon
Senior School and 6th Form Speech Day
TBC
TBC
Senior School and 6th Form Sports Day
11 July
Thurs