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Phrases & Clauses
Grammar & Punctuation
Understand and analyse the function of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, prepositional) and clauses (main, subordinate, relative) in general and in specific sentences, including recognising and correcting misplaced and dangling modifiers
Planning, Revising and Editing Writing
Writing Composition
Plan, revise, and edit writing to improve coherence and effectiveness — considering how the writing reflects its intended audience and purpose, amending vocabulary, grammar, and structure, and proofreading for accurate spelling, punctuation, and grammar
Plot Structure and Character Development
Reading Comprehension
Analyse how plot structure unfolds through episodes or key events, and how characters develop, respond to challenges, and change over the course of a narrative — including the relationship between character, setting, and plot
Poetic forms and conventions
Reading Comprehension
Recognise and understand poetic conventions — including form (sonnet, ballad, free verse), metre, rhyme scheme, stanza structure, imagery, and sound devices (alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia) — and analyse how poets use them for effect
Purpose, audience, and context
Reading Comprehension
Identify the purpose, audience, and context of a text and use this knowledge to support comprehension — recognising how writing aimed at different audiences (academic, popular, persuasive) uses different conventions, register, and tone
Research & Source Evaluation
Writing Composition
Summarise and organise material from reading and research — gathering relevant information from multiple sources, assessing credibility, integrating evidence without plagiarising, and supporting ideas with factual detail
Speaking Formally and Giving Presentations
Speaking & Listening
Use Standard English confidently in formal and informal spoken contexts — give short speeches and presentations expressing own ideas clearly, keeping to the point, and adapting register and vocabulary to the audience
Standard English
Grammar & Punctuation
Know and understand the differences between spoken and written language — including differences in formality, register, grammar, and vocabulary — and between Standard English and other varieties of English, using Standard English confidently in writing and speech
Tracing Theme Across a Text
Reading Comprehension
Determine and analyse the theme or central idea of a text, trace how it develops across the text through key details and events, and provide an objective summary distinct from personal opinion
Types of Sentences
Grammar & Punctuation
Choose among and construct simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal different relationships among ideas, varying sentence patterns deliberately for meaning, interest, and style
Understanding drama and performance
Reading Comprehension
Understand how dramatists communicate meaning through performance — including staging, direction, set design, lighting, and actors' choices — and how different productions can interpret the same script differently
Using and Evaluating Textual Evidence
Reading Comprehension
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly and what can be inferred, distinguishing between strong and weak evidence and explaining how the evidence supports a point
Vocabulary Strategies
Vocabulary
Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases using a flexible range of strategies — including context clues, Greek and Latin affixes and roots, reference materials, and verification of inferred meaning
Wide Independent Reading Across Genres
Reading Comprehension
Read widely and independently across fiction and non-fiction — including whole novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and non-fiction from different genres, periods, and cultures — building stamina, breadth, and personal taste as a reader
Writing Across Genres
Writing Composition
Write for a range of purposes and audiences beyond narrative — including scripts, poetry, personal and formal letters, notes for talks, and other forms — selecting the appropriate form, register, and conventions for each
Writing Character & Dialogue
Writing Composition
Write narratives that develop real or imagined experiences using effective technique — including establishing context and point of view, developing characters through dialogue, pacing, and description, using varied transitions, and providing a reflective conclusion
Writing Techniques for Effect
Writing Composition
Apply growing knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, and text structure to writing — drawing on literary and rhetorical devices from reading (e.g., rhetorical questions, tricolon, anaphora, contrast) to enhance impact
Formal Debates
Speaking & Listening
Participate in formal debates and structured discussions — presenting a position with supporting evidence, responding to others’ points, summarising and building on what has been said, and following rules of discussion
Verb Voice and Mood
Grammar & Punctuation
Understand and use active and passive voice deliberately, and recognise verb moods (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, conditional) and their effects — choosing the appropriate voice and mood for purpose and audience
Ancient Greece and Rome on the Map
Ancient Greece & Rome
Locate Greece and Italy on a map and know they are countries around the Mediterranean Sea where two great ancient civilisations — Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome — grew up thousands of years ago, long after the ancient Egyptians but long before our time
Ancient life vs today
Ancient Greece & Rome
Compare how children in ancient Greece or Rome lived with how children live today — including differences in school (writing on wax tablets, learning to fight in Sparta), food (olives, bread, grapes), games, and clothing (tunics and sandals) — and understand these civilisations existed thousands of years ago
Discovering Tutankhamun's Tomb
Ancient Egypt
Understand that we know about ancient Egypt because archaeologists have dug up and studied objects buried in the sand for thousands of years — and that one of the most exciting discoveries ever was when Howard Carter found the hidden tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, filled with golden treasures
Egypt, the Nile, and the Desert
Ancient Egypt
Locate Egypt on a map of Africa and understand that it is a country in a very hot, dry desert, but the River Nile — the longest river in the world — flows through it, bringing water and rich soil that allowed people to grow food and build one of the earliest great civilisations
Egyptian Gods and the Afterlife
Ancient Egypt
Understand that the ancient Egyptians believed in many gods and goddesses and believed that life continued after death in a wonderful afterlife — which is why they took great care to prepare bodies and fill tombs with food, jewellery, and precious objects for the dead person to use