YEAR 7 CURRICULUM BOOKLET

King James’s School A Specialist Science College

Almondbury

YEAR 7 CURRICULUM BOOKLET

CURRICULUM BOOKLET

This booklet gives details of the content of the subjects students study in Year 7. At the end of the book are important dates for the year 2013-14, including parents’ evenings. If you have any queries about the content of this booklet, please contact Mr Kelly, Assistant Principal, at the school. Tel: 01484 412990 Email: [email protected]

CONTACT US King James’s School, St Helen’s Gate, Almondbury, Huddersfield, HD4 6SG

Telephone: Fax :

01484 412990 01484 412991

Email: [email protected] Web address: www.kingjames.org.uk

ART Term 1 the work is centred on building pencil drawing skills from observation of still life. This is then developed into an abstract painting which explores colour theory. Term 2 develops the drawing theme using a variety of media and extends into design in ceramics. Term 3 work is experimental taking students’ drawings of insects and creatures to developing collage and printmaking pieces. The Art Department aims to develop students’ confidence in drawing and creativity, in a variety of media. Students will learn how to use sketchbooks for research, planning and development of ideas. Art styles studied are cubism, abstraction, aboriginal art and mosaic. Homework is set linked to class projects at appropriate times during the year. During the year students have the opportunity to be involved in extracurricular projects and workshops.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY FOOD AND TEXTILES Year 7 Food Project – 18 weeks Licence to cook. Students carry out practical based food activities to encourage healthy eating. In recent years there has been much concern about, and research into, healthy eating and nutritional disorders. Students investigate healthy eating and sources of healthy high energy foods.

Year 7 Textiles Project – 18 weeks A local playgroup is opening in your area and you have been asked to help in the production of a range of puppets that will be used to entertain the children.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY RESISTANT MATERIALS & GRAPHIC PRODUCTS Project 1: Spatula The project introduces students to the design process through the use of research, product analysis, modelling and manufacturing. Students will use a variety of hand craft skills and be introduced to batch production methods through CAD / CAM and templates. The outcome is a hardwood spatula made from beech. Project 2: Biscuit Cutter The students will use their graphical skills, geometric drawing and craft skills to produce a biscuit cutter suitable for batch production. An MDF pattern will be used with a vacuum former to produce the product. Project 3: Tea Light Holder The students will develop their CAD / CAM skills to produce a tea light holder suitable for mass production. They will further develop their ICT skills through TechSoft 2D Design to manufacture an acrylic tea light holder. Students will experience researching a target market, materials research, designing in 2D and 3D, modelling and mass production using a laser cutter.

ENGLISH In English, the Programme of Study for Year 7 is designed to ensure that through the completion of a range of Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing tasks students will cover all the Attainment Targets outlined by the National Curriculum. Over the course of Year 7 a number of written assessments are completed. The assessed pieces are designed to develop your child’s reading skills through exposure to a range of printed material and your child’s ability to write for a range of purposes and audiences. These assessments are marked using National Curriculum Levels and will enable both students and teachers to focus on key skills in English. Formal oral or speaking and listening assessments are also completed throughout the year. All Key Stage 3 schemes of work consist of clearly focused units of work as outlined below:     

Fiction (Novel-based work) Poetry & Pre Twentieth Century Fiction Speaking & Listening – an extended group-based project Non-Fiction & Media Drama/Shakespeare

Key texts studied in Year 7 are :  ‘The Lady of Shallot’ poem by Alfred Tennyson  ‘Millions’ or ‘Coraline’  Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’

FRENCH Course Book: Accès Studio, Units 1 – 13, Studio 1, Module 1. 1.

Vocabulary Topics: French classroom and school bag. Likes and dislikes. Numbers, days and dates. The alphabet. Family and pets. Nationalities and countries. Describing people and yourself. Houses. Time on the clock and timetable. School subjects. Food. Opinions and reasons.

2.

Grammar: Subject pronouns. Regular verbs in the present tense. Irregular verbs: Avoir, être, aller, faire in the present tense. Articles (a, the), possessive adjectives (my, your etc). Questions. Negative statements.

3.

Skills: Pronunciation. Memory techniques – critical thinking. Listening and reading for key points. Looking for clues.

4.

Background: French geography – main towns, rivers and mountains. Schools in France and other French speaking countries. Winter celebrations.

GEOGRAPHY Students are introduced to map and fieldwork skills. They study units on: My Community. Settlement. Changing Patterns of Shopping. Rivers and Flooding. The world of sport. Including fieldwork in Almondbury and York and a cross-curricular day on My Community.

HISTORY Term 1 :  My identity, community and history  The Roman Empire Term 2:  Medieval England. Term 3:  Why did Henry VIII close the monasteries?

ICT In ICT students will receive three lessons over a two week timetable. Throughout the year they will study six projects which will cover a variety of software. Project 1 – E-safety with Baseline Testing We will look at how to log on to the school network and the importance of file management. Baseline assessment to generate end of Year 7 target and end of KS3 target (amalgamate with Yacapaca test results). How to stay safe online and cyber bullying – pupils to create a logo. Project 2 – Murder Investigation Databases In this unit students will look at how databases are used in the real world. Students will be making a hypothesis and they need to prove or disprove their hypothesis. They also need to be aware of databases terminology, and how to run simple queries in access. Project 3 – Endangered Animals Students will create a leaflet about endangered animals in the world, by using their design skills in Publisher, and their English skills to use persuasive language. Their leaflet will be judged by a peer within the group, providing critical feedback before they make these changes and do a final evaluation on their completed piece of work. Project 4 – Fair Trade Animation Students will learn about Fair Trade and the work done by the Fair Trade Foundation. Students will use this knowledge and carry out their own research to create an animation using PowerPoint or Flash to raise awareness of Fair Trade. Project 5 – Prison Me No Way Students are introduced to spreadsheets, and look at key terminology, basic formatting and conditional formatting, basic arithmetic formulas (+, -, *,/, AVE, MAX, MIN), if statements, and goal seek. They also look at how to create suitable fully labelled charts and reading information of charts.

INTEGRATED STUDIES Integrated Studies is a combination of RE and PSHCE. Students will receive one RE (Religious Education) lesson and one PSHCE Education (Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic) lesson a week. In RE students study:  Guidelines for living – focusing on different religions but particularly Christianity.  Beliefs – focusing on the different questions that people have about God such as: Is there a God? Why do some people worship lots of Gods and Goddesses? What did people worship in the past? If there is a God then why does God let bad things happen?  What is it like to be a Muslim today – this unit looks at how Muslims follow Islam and their key beliefs.  Interfaith Project – students will take part in a series of visits throughout the year to different places of worship meeting people of faith. This allows them the opportunity to explore the nature of belief. The students will study the following modules in Year 7 following the Kirklees PSHCE Education Toolkit:      

A place to learn. Safety education. Citizenship: Community Cohesion. RSHE. Drugs education. Careers and Economic education.

LEARNING TO LEARN Learning to Learn is a discrete lesson in which students reflect on and are supported in their learning. In Term 1 the work centres on behaviour and preparation for learning, considering how students must behave within the classroom in order to allow themselves and others to do as well as possible. We then develop students’ research and thinking skills, so they can begin to approach tasks in different ways. We also look at how we can make best use of the school’s VLE (Frog). Term 2 asks students to reflect on the progress they have made in all subjects and to look actively at where they are succeeding and where they might need to improve. We then move onto thinking about individual learning preferences and why people excel in different ways. Term 3 begins by looking at the importance of revision and discusses ways in which students can help themselves in preparation for their forthcoming exam week. We also look at presentation skills culminating in groups making presentations and showing them to the rest of the class.

MATHEMATICS Require: A Scientific Calculator for all students. All Key Stage 3 courses follow the National Curriculum programme of study for year 7. Students The students study 5 or 6 units of work at Support, Core or Extension level each term. Areas of study include: Number, Algebra, Geometry and Measures, Statistics and Probability. Lessons are taught in sets, 1 to 4, so that students can access the curriculum at an appropriate level. In year 7 the sets are based on prior attainment at Key Stage 2 and are identical to their English and Science sets. Students have 4 lessons each week. Students are assessed informally and formally on a regular basis. All assessments, including homework tasks, are designed to inform and support the APP process (Assessing Pupil Progress).

Throughout the Key Stage all students will be developing their own Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS) as well as their understanding and application of Mathematics.

MUSIC Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 study classroom music for 50 minutes each week. Each year is divided into schemes that last for half a term. The schemes develop listening, performing, appraising and composing skills. Students will work independently and in small collaborative working groups. The subjects that students in Year 7 study are: Elements, African Drumming, Chords and Melody, Baroque Music, Reggae Music and Glock Rock. There is also a wide range of extra-curricular activities available in order to enhance and develop skills learnt in the classroom.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION You will have an assessment booklet which will allow you to monitor your progress through all of the sports that you experience. You will follow a sport for 12 lessons and will then be assessed following the National Curriculum. You will be asked to assess other students’ work and this will help you to understand and appreciate your own strengths and weaknesses. Additionally you will have the opportunity to become a Sports Leader through a voluntary course, where you will plan your own sessions, lead them and then evaluate your performance.

SCIENCE Teaching follows the Key Stage 3 Secondary Strategy with a three-part lesson format and a strong focus on How Science Works. Schemes of work also include differentiated objectives/worksheets, personal learning and thinking skills, functional skills, cross-curricular dimensions and scientific enquiry and thinking skills. Lessons are taught in sets one to four, which are determined by their English ability. In doing this, it ensures pupils can access the curriculum at the correct level and therefore work towards their target grade. Pupils follow the Exploring Science Scheme of Work as published by Pearson/Longman. Pupils are taught 12 topics each year which include the following: 7A Tissue and transplants, 7B Sex and science, 7C Ecology matters, 7D Classified, 7E Acids and alkalis, 7F Bubbles, bangs and burning, 7G What a waste!, 7H Materials from the Earth, 7I Energy and sustainable living, 7J Electrical circuits, 7K Forces and their effects and 7L The Solar System and beyond. Pupils are formally assessed throughout the year with three summative assessment tests, one at the end of each term. They will also carry out six APP (Assessing Pupil Progress) tasks throughout the year. The APP tasks are designed to develop a pupil’s How Science Works skills which are needed for successful GCSE study. The APP tasks will be marked, graded and returned with written feedback and will contribute to a pupil’s overall National Curriculum Level issued in the progress reviews. Pupils will also complete 12 Key Homework Tasks. These tasks assess an aspect of each of the 12 modules studied in Year 7. Pupils are expected to complete all tasks to the best of their ability and hand them in on time. Again, these tasks will be marked, graded and returned with written feedback. The effort grades received for these tasks will form the basis of the Homework grades issued in the progress reviews during the year and will help staff reset pupils as they move into Year 8. Homework and APP tasks will also be issued on the FROG website to allow pupils and parents to check their progress.

At the end of Year 7 pupils may change teaching groups and start Year 8 in a class more suited to their level of ability. The group they will be placed in is dictated by their performance in Year 7. Teachers will look at their three end-of-term test scores from Year 7, the six APP tasks they completed and the quality of their Key Homework. In doing this, it ensures pupils can access the curriculum at the correct level and therefore work towards their target grade.

IMPORTANT CONTACTS

Principal Vice Principal Assistant Principal (Pastoral) Pastoral Leader for Year 7

HEAD OF / RESPONSIBILITY FOR :-

Mr R Lamb Mr I Rimmer Miss R Walton Mrs J Noble

ART DESIGN DRAMA ENGLISH GEOG HISTORY ICT MATHS MFL MUSIC PE IS SCIENCE

Mrs G Sykes Mrs A Turner Miss R Hamlett Mrs Z Sunderland Miss K Rutherford Mr I Williamson Mrs P Kang Mr D Price Mrs L Rattigan Mr B Wilson Mrs K Clarke Mrs A Terry Dr A Hoyle

MAJOR ASSESSMENTS Year 7 Progress Review to parents Year 7 Progress Review to parents Year 7 Progress Review to parents Year 7 Report to parents

25th October 2013 13th December 2013 7th March 2014 17th July 2014

PARENTS’ EVENINGS Year 7 Progress Evening Year 7 Parents’ Evening

7th November 2013 20th March 2014

YEAR 7 UKMT Maths Challenge, Selected Students

1st May 2014

YEAR 7 INTERNAL EXAMINATIONS

16th – 20th June 2014