Curriculum Notes - Year 7

On this page you can find the curriculum notes for Year 7, for the Autumn , Spring and Summer Terms.

 

English

Within the English curriculum there is constant graded development of the following which underpin all the English courses:

  • Grammatical knowledge
  • Handwriting
  • Vocabulary development
  • Phonic awareness
  • Sentence building
  • Punctuation skills
  • Essay planning, editing, presenting
  • Reading skills
  • Skills of listening and speaking
  • Writing book reviews
  • Poetry recitation and appreciation


Autumn Term

 

English

Reading:

  • recognising techniques of non - fiction
  • poetry and recognising poetic techniques
  • class text for CE

Writing:

  • to inform, argue, discuss, persuade
  • structuring analytical responses to non-fiction and poetry
  • letter writing

7MH

  • Subject and theme in poetry and prose
  • Discursive writing
  • Descriptive writing
  • Essay planning
  • Developing comprehension skills
  • Analysis of poetic techniques
  • Rhythm and rhyme
  • Connotation and denotation
  • Writing to imagine
  • Writing a personal response to a fictional text.

 

Maths

  • Directed Numbers
  • Equations & inequalities
  • Factors, prime factors & squares, cubes etc.
  • Decimal places & significant figures
  • Estimation
  • Averages
  • Speed, distance & time
  • Constructions
  • Charts & graphs
  • Four rules + decimals

 

Science

Biology

Cells & Reproduction
Use of microscope. Preparation of slides. Structure of typical plant & animal cells & functions of key parts. Simple work on DNA, inheritance etc. Different cells adapted to function. Gametes. Fertilization, development of foetus in humans.

Chemistry

Combustion and rusting
Products of combustion, test for carbon dioxide and water, introduction to carbon cycle, greenhouse gases and climate change. Conditions causing rusting, preventing rusting.

Particle model of Solids, Liquids & Gases
Arrangement of particle in solids, liquids & gases. Particle model of changes of state including sublimation. Particle explanation of simple chemical reactions. Conservation of mass in chemical reactions.

Physics

Space
Movement of the Earth causes apparent movement of other bodies, the role of gravity in keeping bodies in orbit the planets of the Solar System moons as satellites the phases of the Moon, the Universe, galaxies, history of manned space travel, artificial satellites & their uses.

 


French

Topics
  • Going out
  • Saying how often or not one goes out
  • Places in town one goes to
  • Talking about individual sports and team sports
  • Describing other people’s leisure activities
  • Asking others what they do
  • Describing pets’ habits

 

Grammar

  • Reinforcement of ‘er’ verbs
  • Position of adverbs
  • Revision of avoir, être, aller.
  • The use of ‘on’
  • Conjugation of more irregular verbs: courir, boire, dormir
  • The use of prepositions: au, à la, aux and chez
  • Introduction to conjunction parceque
  • Possessive adjectives

 

7MH
Topics

  • Revise classroom vocabulary
  • Ma maison
  • Ma routine
  • Time
  • Transport
  • Household chores
  • My school
  • Clothes
  • Describing oneself and other people
  • Ma famille et mes animaux

 

Grammar
  • Revision of irregular verbs
  • Regular er, ir, re verbs
  • Prepositions
  • Infinitives
  • Possessive adjectives
  • Irregular adjectives


History

The Making of the United Kingdom 1500-1750. Part I.
The Tudor Era.

  • Bosworth Field and the end of the War of the Roses
  • Henry Tudor: his problems at succession
  • Henry VII: solving these problems and establishing royal authority
  • The rebellions of Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck
  • Henry VIII: the character of the young prince
  • The Reformation: the difference between Catholic and Protestant
  • The Reformation: was the Catholic Church in England still healthy in 1500?
  • The Reformation: why did Henry VIII make himself Head of the Church? -“The King’s Great Matter”
  • The causes and consequences of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
  • Rebellion: The Pilgrimage of Grace
  • Henry VIII: Catholic or Protestant?
  • Four men called Thomas: Wolsey, More, Cranmer and Cromwell. Their roles in Henry’s government.

 


Geography

  • Topic: Map Reading
    Aims: to help pupils interpret maps at a variety of levels and guide them towards a better understanding/appreciation of the information displayed on maps.
  • Topic: The Structure of the Earth/Earthquakes
    Aim: To help pupils understand how the earth works. To help them appreciate that there are links between what is happening beneath the crust and above the crust.
  • Topic: Basic Geology
    Aim: for pupils to appreciate that there are many different types of rocks, they have different qualities and produce different landscapes.

 


R.S.

World Religions:

Study of Islam
  • The Qur’an
  • Festivals – Id-Ul-Fitr, Id-Ul Adha

Biblical Theology:

The Creation Stories

  • Science and faith
The Fall
  • Morality – right and wrong
  • Connection between the Fall and Christmas
Cain and Abel
Abraham and Isaac
  • Sacrifice

7MH:

  • The Creation Stories – Genesis 1 & 2
  • Arguments for the existence of God
    • Cosmological argument
    • Teleological argument – from design
    • Moral argument
  • The Fall – Genesis 3
  • The problem of evil – across world faiths
  • Moses, the Covenant, the Ten Commandments – Exodus 19 & 20
  • Law and rules
  • Social responsibility – across world faiths
  • Prejudice



Classics

4 lessons a week and 1 prep
Main focus: to enable pupils to handle longer and more complex pieces of Latin with confidence.
Course Books: Minimus Secundus; Latin Prep Book 1
Background topics to include the Roman army, slavery and selected stories from Greek mythology.

  • Consolidation of all language points covered last year
  • Pronouns
  • The Infinitive
  • More about cases
  • Negative imperatives
  • The Imperfect tense

7MH LATIN

As per Sets 1 & 2 but with greater emphasis on technical grammatical terms and sophistication in translation.

7MH GREEK

1 lesson a week
Course Books (from Spring Term): Greek – A New Guide for Beginners, Kristian Waite
Main Focus: to learn the Greek Alphabet, to enable pupils to begin to read fluently in Greek and to introduce them to Greek culture.
  • Mastering the Greek alphabet
  • Transliteration practice
  • Exploring links between Greek and English
  • Introduction to the history and geography of Greece


Art

  • Ceramic mobiles
  • Line and wash Autumn still life arrangement
  • Silk painting using South American folk art
  • Water colour Christmas card.
  • Christmas frieze for school dining room.

 


Music

  • Revision of note values, rests, scales, keys and performance directions
  • Composition with a given framework
  • Preparation of material for the Choral Workshop held in the Spring Term

 


Design Technology

Mechanisms
Design and make an automaton with at least two moving parts.

 


Drama

  • Drama from poetry
  • Drama from images & art
  • Drama from abstract sources ie obituaries and dreams

 


P.E.

Swimming – 2 weeks. Synchronized swimming skills condensed into small partner sequences. Basic water polo rules and competitive play.

Badminton – 2 weeks

Hockey – 2 weeks. Strategies and tactics in set plays. Rotational play of forwards. Competitive match play in mixed teams.

Health and Fitness – 7 weeks. Knowledge and understanding of the elements of fitness and how to test for endurance, agility, flexibility, power and strength. What effects fitness and how to improve it. Sports related injuries.

 


Boys' Games

  • Rugby – 15-a-side game introduced
    Same as Colts but with 8 man scrum taught. Fly hacking taught. Hand off taught Basic skills practised by set plays and match situations. Positional responsibilities. 8 man lineout. ICT use videos/cameras
  • Football / Hockey – pre-season training begins in December with skills and practice matches
  • Cross Country - Increase distance and difficulty
    Senior Course run every week.
  • Fixtures and competitions - Relays

 


Girls' Games

  • Hockey
    Training on astro-turf once a week – Wednesday matches. Learn strategies to capitalise on strengths and exploit weaknesses in team structure. Develop different formations in 9 and 11-a-side games. Greater range of set players. Develop ability to ‘read the game’. Goal scoring manoeuvres in the D.
  • Netball
    Develop confidence and consistency with passing and catching on the move. Recap on set pieces. Channelling. Positional play.
  • Cross-Country
    Timed runs weekly on senior course.

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Spring Term

 

English

Writing:

  • to describe, entertain
  • revision of writing to persuade, review, argue and discuss

Reading:

  • close study of CE text
  • modern poetry

7MH

  • Writing for radio
  • Review of themes from previous term
  • Writing to persuade
  • Discursive writing
  • Presenting an argument
  • Oral presentation
  • Imaginative writing

 


Maths

  • Factorising
  • Bearings & Scale Drawings
  • Fractions, decimals & percentages
  • Substitution
  • Ratio & proportion
  • Sequences
  • Metric & imperial units

 


Science

Biology

Plant Nutrition

Equation for photosynthesis. Role of the leaf & importance in food chains. Test for starch. Need for light. Oxygen production (in Elodea). Role of roots & root hairs. Mineral salts from the soil. Microscopic structure of the leaf.

Chemistry

 

Elements, Compounds & Mixtures
Definitions of ‘chemical element’ and ‘atom’. Variety of chemical elements. Physical properties of metals & non-metals. Periodic table. Difference between compounds & mixtures. Reactions between pairs of elements e.g. Fe/S, Al/I. Formation of oxides & difference between metal & non-metal oxides. Air, sea water, rocks etc as mixtures.

Physics

Forces & their Effects
Balanced & unbalanced forces. Friction, brakes & stopping distances. Timing moving objects & calculation of speed. Gravity & the difference between mass & weight. Springs & Hooke’s law.

 


French

Topics
  • Places in a town
  • Time
  • Going to a café
  • Description of a person
  • Transport

Grammar

  • Regular and irregular verbs
  • Regular and irregular adjectives
  • Possessive adjectives
  • Prepositions

7MH

Topics

  • Places to visit
  • Leisure activities
  • Weather and seasons
  • Holidays
  • Going to a restaurant
Grammar
  • revision of the future tense with ‘aller’
  • ‘ir’ and ‘re’ verbs
  • irregular verbs
  • le passé composé
  • prepositions
  • demonstrative adjectives

 

History
  • The Royal Succession – Edward VI’s minority
  • Edward VI and the advancement of Protestantism
  • The Protector Somerset – The Prayer Book Rebellion and Kett’s Rebellion
  • Kett’s Rebellion in detail
  • Protector Northumberland – the royal succession and Lady Jane Grey
  • The triumph of the Lady Mary – the accession of Mary I
  • Mary I and the Spanish marriage – Wyatt’s rebellion and its consequences
  • Mary I and the return to Rome.
  • “Bloody Mary” – a reputation deserved?
  • The Lady Elizabeth – her character and early life
  • The Elizabethan Religious Settlement – Elizabeth’s middle way.
  • Mary, Queen of Scots – an overview of her life
  • Mary, Queen of Scots – the problems she caused the English crown – catholic plots, regicide and Spanish invasion

 


Geography

Topics: Coast Lines

  • Aim: for pupils to understand why our coastline is irregular. The link with the previous topic of Geology. To be able to identify coastal features and explain their formation.

Topic: Industry

  • Aim: to help pupils understand the criteria that we use to classify different sectors of Industry. To show pupils how the industrial process works and the factors that can affect where industries are located.

 


R.S.

World Religions:

Study of Islam

  • Family Life
  • Birth ceremonies
  • Funeral rites
  • Marriage

Revision of Judaism
  • Beliefs
  • Family life
  • Life cycle – birth to Bar Mitzvah

Biblical Theology:

Moses and the Ten Commandments
  • Importance of rules in society
  • Contemporary relevance
  • Punishment and retribution
  • Arguments for and against capital punishment
David and Jonathan
David and Bathsheba
  • Abuse of power

7MH

  • The Sermon on the Plain – St Luke 6
  • The sanctity of life – across world faiths
    • capital punishment
    • euthanasia
    • just war
  • Environmental issues, stewardship
  • Animal rights


Classics

  • The Imperfect tense
  • sum and its compounds – present and imperfect
  • Consolidation of 1st and 2nd declension nouns (3 cases)


7MH Latin

  • As per Sets 1 & 2 but with greater emphasis on technical grammatical terms and sophistication in translation.

7MH Greek

  • Introduction to Greek culture
  • The Present tense
  • Improving fluency


Art

  • Mono tone water colour landscapes.
  • How to use pastels to create a still life.
  • Textile project inspired by school grounds and buildings.

 

 

Music

  • Composition within a given framework
  • Recording, typing, printing and performance of individual compositions
  • Performance – Year 7 Choral Workshop (which also includes instrumental music)

 


Design Technology

Resistant Materials
Design and make a clock using Perspex as the main material.

 


Drama

  • (Play Preparation)
  • Drama from story; Poe
  • Elements of comedy

 


P.E.

  • Badminton
    Shot development. Serve and return of Serve. Positional play/ Tactics. Small Team Games. Tactics of Singles and Doubles.
  • Volleyball
    Dig, Set and Smash. Over arm serve. Basic Tactics. Matches.
  • Orienteering
    Intro to basic map reading. Problem solving. Co-operation. Games.

 


Boys' Games

  • Football 11-a-side game
    Senior teams, 1st, 2nd and 3rd XI
    Skill development – passing long, back spin, one touch passing, into space. Shooting – both feet, accuracy and pace development. Heading – defensive heading and attacking headers. Set plays, tactics and strategies..
  • Hockey: Tactics and strategies development
    Match play – 9-a-side Teamwork. Shape of play. How to defend and attack. Set plays. Skill work developed. Formations, defending attacking. Principles of play – gain and keep possession.

 


Girls' Games

  • Netball
    Warm –up styles. Ball handling. Linking moves. Video analysis. Umpiring practice.
  • Tennis
    Continue to develop individual skills. Match practice.

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Summer Term


English

  • Preparation for exams by review of year's work
  • Preparation of exam technique – comprehension, composition in timed conditions
  • Second class reader for CE

7MH

  • Writing a summary
  • Oratory
  • Play scripts
  • Writing to advise
  • Writing from experience
  • Writing to analyse

 


Maths

  • Mensuration
  • Symmetry
  • Transformation
  • Angles
  • Averages
  • Probability

 


Science

Biology

Ecological Relationships
Food chains linked to form food webs. Predator-prey relationships. The Hunting Game. Population estimates using quadrats & capture-recapture simulation. Further factors affecting population size.


Chemistry

Acids & Alkalis
Indicators, including plant extracts. The pH scale and pH values for strong/weak acids & alkalis & neutral substances. Neutralisation & salt formation. Common uses in medicine & agriculture. Reactions of acids with metals & carbonates. Chemical weathering.Plants and Photosynthesis

 

Physics
Electrical Circuits

Parallel circuits, factors affecting brightness, use of switches, etc. Use of ammeters. Resistance, fixed & variable resistors. Diodes & LEDs. AND & OR circuits & truth tables.

Density
Density defined as ‘heaviness for size’. Finding the density of regular solids, irregular solids and liquids.

 


French

Revision of all topics covered in Formule X 1

Topics
  • Preparation of 1st C.E. oral topic
  • Myself
  • My family
  • Jobs
  • My best friend
  • My pets
  • My favourite pastime
  • Language preparation for French trip

 

Grammar

  • Introduce ‘ir’ and ‘re’ verbs
  • Regular and irregular adjectives
  • Regular and irregular verbs
  • Introduce ‘passé composé’ with ‘avoir’

 

7MH

Topics

  • Presents one buys
  • Food one buys in supermarkets
  • New places one goes to
  • Inviting someone to go out
  • Asking for and giving directions
  • Language preparation for French trip

 

Grammar

  • Direct object pronouns
  • Past tense with être auxiliary
  • Interrogative pronouns
  • Negative forms
  • Use of verb devoir
  • Revision of au, à la , aux, en and aux
  • Partitive articles
In this first year of preparation for scholarship, pupils are encouraged to learn as many verbs as possible in their present, past and immediate future forms.

 

History

  • The Armada – Why did Philip II plan to invade England?
  • The Armada – A detailed examination of the campaign
  • “God blew and they were scattered.” Why did the Armada fail? The consequences for both England and Spain
  • Glorianna – the politics of the portraits of Elizabeth I
  • Elizabethan England - social history depth study
  • Poverty – changing attitudes to the poor 1500-1600. The Elizabethan Poor Law
  • Theme tracking – charting the changes to religion in England from 1500 to 1600
  • European expansion into the New World 1450-160

Part of this summer term’s work will be dedicated to the revision of topics covered during the year prior to Common Entrance trials papers.

 


Geography

  • Geography Coursework begins : Pupils will ask the question – Does the width, depth and speed of the River Coln change at different points along its course?
  • Topic: Settlement
    Aim: to help pupils understand how settlements become established, how they grow and how they can change.

 


R.S.

World Religions:

Religious buildings
  • Mosque
  • Synagogue
Revision of Jewish festivals
The life of Muhammad

Biblical Theology:

Solomon
  • Leadership

7MH

  • Study of different religions
  • Pluralism in today’s society



Classics

  • General introduction to noun cases
  • Learning of Level 1 CE vocabulary
  • Preparation for Summer examination
7MH LATIN

7MH cover more of Latin Prep Book 1 than the other Year 7 sets.

7MH Greek

  • 1st declension nouns
  • Use of the negative

 


Art

  • Aboriginal dream time paintings
  • A printing project inspired by the work of William Morris
  • Observational drawing - a study of shoes or similar
  • Clay hand modelling - 'Gargoyles!'
  • Sketching outdoors

 


Music

  • Digital recording using a live microphone directly onto CD-ROM
  • Manipulation of recorded sound – to slow it down or to speed it up
  • Introduction to “The Orchestra” educational software

 


Design Technology

Textiles
Design and make a pair of shorts.

 


Drama

  • The Elements of Drama.
  • Create and perform short play.
  • Script formatting.

 


P.E.

  • Swimming
    Revision of all strokes. Starts and turns. Tumble turns. Relay practices. Time trials.
  • Tennis
    Develop Topspin on forehand and backhand. Improve serve and volley. Doubles Tactics.

 


Boys' Games

  • Senior Cricket – Year 5 & 6. 1st, 2nd and 3rd XI
    Captaincy & responsibilities of team members. Fielding as a team, individual skills practiced. Batting – building an innings. Bowling – practiced and how to set fields to different types.
  • Athletics
    Full programme of events developed. Long distance and short distance. All throwing and jumping events (weights change through years).
  • Tennis
    Skills furthered. Tactics and strategies developed. Team play and competitions explored. Devising and understanding types of tournaments.

 


Girls' Games

  • Rounders – Knowledge behind strategies. Teamwork. Spin bowling. Rules.
  • Tennis – Practice for school matches.
  • Athletics – All Track and field safety and techniques.

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Carswell Manor
Faringdon
Oxfordshire
SN7 8PT

(01367) 870700