776 unit a68

Sample Schemes of Work and Lesson Plans

GCSE English & English LanguageOCR GCSE in English: J350 & English Language: J355

Unit A680: Information and ideas

This Support Material booklet is designed to accompany the OCR GCSE English & English Language specification for teaching from September 2010.

© OCR 2010

Contents

Contents 2

Introduction 3

Reading Scheme of work - OCR GCSE English A680 & English Language Unit A680: Information and Ideas 5

Sample GCSE Lesson Plans 1 – 10 - Reading: Information and Ideas - OCR GCSE English A680 & English Language Language A680 12

Writing: Information and Ideas - Introduction - OCR GCSE English A680 & English Language A680: 36

Sample GCSE Lesson Plans 1 - 11 - Writing: Information and Ideas - OCR GCSE English A680 & English Language Language A680 37

This Sample Scheme of Work and Lesson Plan has been updated. The Higher and Foundation papers for Unit A644 and A653 are identical for the GCSE English and the GCSE English Language Specifications. The code number has been changed to A680 for both.

2 of 56 GCSE English Language

Introduction

Background

Following a review of 14 – 19 education and the Secondary Curriculum Review, the Qualifications Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) has revised the subject criteria for GCSEs, for first teaching in September 2010. This applies to all awarding bodies.

The new GCSEs have more up-to-date content and encourage the development of personal, learning and thinking skills in your students.

We’ve taken this opportunity to redevelop all our GCSEs, to ensure they meet your requirements. These changes will give you greater control of assessment activities and make the assessment process more manageable for you and your students. Controlled assessment will be introduced for most subjects.

OCR has produced a summary document, which summarises the changes to English & English Language. This can be found at www.ocr.org.uk, along with the new specifications.

In order to help you plan effectively for the implementation of the new specifications we have produced these Schemes of Work and Sample Lesson Plans for English & English Language. These Support Materials are designed for guidance only and play a secondary role to the Specifications.

Our Ethos

OCR involves teachers in the development of new support materials to capture current teaching practices tailored to our new specifications. These support materials are designed to inspire teachers and facilitate different ideas and teaching practices.

Each scheme of work and set of sample lesson plans is provided in:

PDF format – for immediate use

Word format – so that you can use it as a foundation to build upon and amend the content to suit your teaching style and students’ needs.

The schemes of work and sample lesson plans provide examples of how to teach this unit and the teaching hours are suggestions only. Some or all of it may be applicable to your teaching.

The specification is the document on which assessment is based and specifies what content and skills need to be covered in delivering the course. At all times, therefore, this support material booklet should be read in conjunction with the specification(s). If clarification on a particular point is sought then that clarification should be found in the specification itself.

GCSE English Language 3 of 56

http://www.ocr.org.uk/

A Guided Tour through the Scheme of Work


= Innovative Teaching IdeaThis icon is used to highlight exceptionally innovative ideas.

= ICT Opportunity This icon is used to illustrate when an activity could be taught using ICT facilities.

Sample GCSE Scheme of Work

OCR GCSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNIT A680: INFORMATION

AND IDEAS

SUGGESTED TEACHING TIME

24-28 HOURS

TOPIC SECTION A: NON FICTION AND MEDIA

TOPIC OUTLINESUGGESTED TEACHING AND HOMEWORK ACTIVITIES

SUGGESTED RESOURCES POINTS TO NOTE

Introduction to Reading non-fiction/media texts

Students to conduct a survey of all reading they do within the course of a day:

at school and at home

fiction and non-fiction

print and online

continuous text and bite-size

Teacher to demonstrate a range of texts and lead discussion of key features of texts, and introduce key concepts of audience, purpose and register.

Texts projected onto screen would be useful to identify features of various non-fiction/media texts.

A few up-to-date media texts selected by the teacher (e.g. newspaper report, magazine feature, advertisement, page from website, campaigning leaflet).

The high proportion of non-fiction media texts students encounter in their daily lives.

Introduction of key concepts of audience, purpose and register - also relevant to their Writing work for the English and English Language specifications.

Identifying and evaluating presentational features

Students to identify a range of presentational features in a number of texts.

Move students on from a simple listing of features to evaluation of the intended effects of presentational features on the reader.

Texts to be drawn from those collected by teacher and students.

Sample Lesson Plan 1.

The foundation tier paper Question 2(a) is a direct question (worth 6 out of 40 marks for Section A) about obvious presentational features of media texts.

The mere logging of features will not lead to high reward.




AND IDEAS


24-28 HOURS




Very basic observations such as ‘the title is in large fonts’ and ‘the writing is in columns’ will receive scant reward.




AND IDEAS


24-28 HOURS




Reading texts for meaning: distinguishing between facts and opinions

Issue students with a suitable piece of travel writing.

Students to locate facts and opinions in the text, using highlighter or coloured pens to sort the information in an effective manner.

Students produce their own travel writing, combining facts and opinions.

Travel writing texts from the print or online versions of weekend newspapers.


The ability to distinguish between facts and opinions is important in determining the objectivity or bias of a text or writer.

The shorter questions in the Foundation Tier Question 1 sometimes ask for the identification of facts or opinions.

Identifying the main points of a text clearly, concisely and in own words

Issue students with a suitable text and question (e.g. ‘What are the main points of…?’ or ‘What are the writer’s views about…?).

Explain the importance of close reading of both question and text.

Students to annotate the text briefly as an essential part of sorting information.

Students to write responses summarising the information in their own words – as far as possible.

Past paper Non-fiction texts and questions – these can be easily amended.


At the top end of the Higher Tier mark scheme there must be a ‘comprehensive range of points clearly identified’, and the response must be ‘tightly organised and synthesised’.

Other key features of success are:

clear focus on the task

use of own words (where possible).

A checklist of what is not required can be helpful: i.e. lengthy introductions and




AND IDEAS


24-28 HOURS




Peer evaluation using the band descriptors should help students to strike out unnecessary repetition, explanation and lifting of the original text’s phrasing.

conclusions, repetition, explanation, commentary, lifting.

Band descriptors should be explained in student-friendly terms.



OCR GCSE in English Language Unit A680: Information and Ideas

Suggested Teaching time

24-28 hours

Topic Section A: non fiction and media

Topic outline Suggested teaching and homework activities

Suggested resources Points to Note

Collating from different sources and making comparisons

Issue students with two texts offering different perspectives on a topic of current interest – focus on content rather than use of language.

Building on their skills of summarising information in their own words, students to write a response comparing the texts.

Explain that certain connectives can be used to aid the effective organisation of those points which are similar and those which are different.

Two texts from newspapers or the internet on a topic of current interest – students could be asked to provide texts from which to choose.


Identifying and evaluating writers’ use of language devices

Issue students with a highly opinionative media text and ask them to identify key features of figurative language, sound and rhetorical features.

Students to select a number of language features and evaluate their effect on the reader.

Cross-over piece with Writing: students to assess the text using the GCSE Writing marking criteria.

Teachers could select their own text or use some of the past paper Media texts (from both tiers).


The key point is that logging of features on its own cannot lead to high reward. In recent years, students have deployed ever more exotic terms in their exam answers, thinking that the use of the term is an end in itself; it is not. The key focus is not on such terms; rather it is on the way in which writers use particular words and phrases ‘in order to achieve effects and engage and influence the reader’ (in the words of Reading Assessment Objective 3).





24-28 hours




Brief, apposite quotation is best integrated with clear and concise analytical comment.

There are clear cross-over opportunities with Writing here. Students could be asked to write their own media-style text, deploying a range of appropriate devices. Peer evaluation would determine how ‘engaging’ the resulting writing is.

Developing and sustaining analysis of media texts

Teacher issues students with a suitable text, perhaps a past paper – and also a question that asks for consideration of the use of language and structure in the text.

Students consider their performance against the relevant band descriptors.

Illustrate the key points using good student responses.

Past paper Media text and questions – they may need to be amended slightly.


Top band answers will reveal a ‘perceptive appreciation’ of the ways in which the text achieves its purpose.

Sustained analytical writing of high quality is described in Band 1 as ‘very effective use of apposite supporting references in a full, relevant and consistently analytical response’.

Performance below Band 5 is characterised by descriptive rather than analytical comment, and by the prevalence of unsubstantiated assertions and sometimes the use of inert quotation, i.e. quotation that does not advance the analysis.

Preparing for the foundation tier Section A: Reading

Issue with a Reading booklet and question-and-answer type booklet (see the specimen

Slightly-modified Non-fiction questions from past papers: e.g. the January

There are significant changes in the format of the question paper, which now includes spaces





24-28 hours




Question 1 paper).

Explain the mark and recommended time allocations for 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c).

Students to write up answers.

Students to assess own performance in Question 1(c), using the relevant band descriptors.

2008 ‘Blackpool’ paper or the January 2009 ‘Snow’ paper.


for students’ answers. The total writing time for Section A is 1 hour. Before beginning their answers, students are advised to spend 15 minutes reading and planning for Section A.

The format of the booklet makes it clear how much writing is required for each of Questions 1(a) and 1(b), and that the greater proportion of time (about 20 minutes) should be spent on Question 1(c).

Question 1(c) is a ‘What?’ question, requiring students to re-present information from a defined part of the text concisely and in their own words.

Long introductions or conclusions, repetition and explanations (e.g. of their own views on the topic) will not be rewarded.

Preparing for the foundation tier Section A: Reading Question 2

Explain the mark and recommended time allocations for 2(a) and 2(b).

Remind about the different requirements of the (a) and (b) questions before students attempt them under test conditions.

Peer and teacher evaluation of student performance, using the two sets of band

Slightly-modified Media questions from past papers: e.g. the January ‘Blackpool’ paper or the January 2009 ‘Snow’ paper.


The format of the booklet makes it clear how much writing is required for each of Questions 2(a) and (b) – no more than 10 minutes for (a) and 20 minutes for (b).

Question 2(a) requires consideration of effects and not a mere identification of presentational features. For Band 4, there must be ‘some





24-28 hours




descriptors. evidence of analytical comment’ and ‘use of some appropriate detail for support’.

Question 2(b) is a ‘How?’ question with a significant emphasis on the writer’s use of language. For Band 4, ‘a range of points’ must show a ‘sound understanding of the ways in which information and language contribute to the text’s purpose’. Additionally, there will be ‘appropriate supporting references and an attempt at an analytical approach’.

Preparing for Higher Tier Section A: Reading

Issue students with a Section A reading insert and questions in the style of the specimen paper.

Talk students through the paper and briefly remind them of mark and time allocations, and of the different requirements of Question 1 and Questions 2(a)/(b).

Students to tackle the questions under test conditions.

Past paper Non-fiction and Media texts and questions – these will need to be amended to fit the format of the new paper.

Sample Lesson Plans 9 and 10.

Extracts from past examiners’ reports dealing with student performance in both summary-type and media text analysis questions.

The format of the Reading section is different from that of the 2431/02 paper in the legacy specification. The total writing time is 1 hour, with 20 minutes spent on each of Questions 1, 2(a) and 2(b). Before beginning their answers, students are advised to spend 15 minutes reading and planning for Section A.

Question 1 is a ‘What?’ question, requiring information to be summarised concisely in own words.

Questions 2(a) and 2(b) are ‘How?’ questions





24-28 hours




Students and teacher to evaluate performance, using the relevant band descriptors.

Issue students with extracts from past examiners’ reports containing relevant general advice.

inviting evaluation of how writers present materials and use language. ‘Presentation’ at higher tier includes - but goes beyond - media text presentational features, requiring consideration of how texts are structured (e.g. how an argument is put together).

Past examiners’ reports contain pertinent general advice on how (and how not) to answer both summary-type and media analysis questions.

Teachers might usefully contribute to a departmental archive exemplar responses to be used with subsequent GCSE groups.


Sample GCSE Lesson PlanSample GCSE Lesson Plan 1

OCR GCSE in English Language A680:

Information and Ideas

Considering the effects of presentational features in media texts

OCR recognises that the teaching of this qualification above will vary greatly from school to school and from teacher to teacher. With that in mind this lesson plan is offered, as a possible approach but will be subject to modifications by the individual teacher.

Lesson length is assumed to be one hour.

Learning Objectives for the Lesson

Objective 1 To read and understand texts (R1).

Objective 2 To identify and evaluate the use of presentational features to achieve effects and engage and influence readers (R3).

Recap of Previous Experience and Prior Knowledge

Students will have read a range of non-fiction/media texts during Key Stage 3 and will be familiar with presentational features used in media texts from their reading at school and at home.

Content

Time Content

5 minutes Brief teacher-led discussion of the types of presentational features used in media texts. Words such as ‘title’, ‘strapline’, ‘sub-head’, ‘photograph’, ‘caption’, ‘pull-out quote’ to be displayed on board.

10 minutes Teacher issues students with a range of media texts with strong presentational features. Texts might include newspaper/magazine articles, pages from websites, leaflets, advertisements, and campaigning literature. Students identify in groups the presentational features of the various texts.

10 minutes A general introduction to or revision of key concepts of audience and purpose.

15 minutes Students are asked to construct a table having two columns: the first column to be headed ‘Presentational features’ (identified earlier) and the second ‘Effects on reader’. Students consider what the various effects are by considering the purpose and audience of each text.

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Sample GCSE Lesson PlanConsolidation

Time Content

15 minutes Students report back to the class on their evaluation of various presentational features and their effects – 2 things each.

5 minutes Teacher reviews key outcome: that evaluation of presentational effects requires consideration of their effects and not the mere identification of surface features.

GCSE English & English Language 15 of 56


OCR GCSE in English Language A680


Reading and understanding texts for a purpose



Learning Objectives for the lesson

Objective 1 To read and understand texts (R1)

Objective 2 To distinguish between facts and opinions – selecting material appropriate to purpose (R1)

Students will have been introduced to basic comprehension tasks requiring them to retrieve different types of information during their previous years of education. This lesson focuses on the correct identification of facts and opinions in tasks that require straightforward retrieval of information.

Content

Time Content

5 minutes Brief teacher-led discussion of key terms ‘fact’ and ‘opinion’. Teacher to provide illustrations from a short piece of text (e.g. autobiographical).

5 minutes Teacher issues students with a piece of travel writing (e.g. from weekend newspaper supplement - print or online). Students to read the text and highlight facts and opinions (perhaps using different colours of highlighter pen).

15 minutes Students to work in pairs discussing their annotations; followed by a class review of the exercise. Discussion of any opinions that appear to be presented as facts.


Sample GCSE Lesson Plan

Consolidation

Time Content

20 minutes Students have been asked to bring to the lesson some facts they have researched about a place they like. If ICT facilities are available, this research could be undertaken during the lesson, using an online encyclopaedia. Students then write or type a couple of paragraphs of travel writing combining the facts they have researched and their own opinions of the place (which can be their home town if they wish).

15 minutes The students discuss their writing in pairs, and each identifies the other’s use of facts and opinions. The lesson ends with the reading aloud of two or three examples to the rest of the class who identify the facts and opinions.





Identifying the main points of a text clearly, concisely and in own words




Objective 1 To read and understand texts (R1)

Objective 2 To consider the importance of the use of own words and concision when summarising the information in a text – i.e. selecting material appropriate to purpose (R1)

Students will have been introduced to basic comprehension tasks requiring them to retrieve different types of information during their previous years of education. This lesson will build on their previous skills by stressing the importance of the use of own words and concision.

Content

Time Content

5 minutes Teacher begins by reading a text (less than a side of A4) taken from foundation or higher tier Non-fiction questions in the legacy 2431 question papers and writes the accompanying question on the board. The question should elicit the re-presentation of information (e.g. main points or views) in students’ own words.

5 minutes Students then lightly indicate in pencil on a handout which parts of the text answer the question.

10 minutes Students work in small groups to discuss whether they have located all points. Teacher invites feedback from all groups until all relevant points are exhausted - reference can be made to the Content section of the mark scheme if using past paper questions.


Sample GCSE Lesson Plan15 minutes Teacher introduces two key elements required for effective summarising of

information: (i) the use of own words and (ii) concise expression. Students work individually to re-write their points using (i) own words as far as possible and (ii) concise expression.

Consolidation

Time Content

15 minutes Students are asked to work in pairs, reading each other’s summaries and underlining examples of repetition, explanation and phrases too close to the original text.

5 minutes Teacher lists the following key points of the lesson:

the importance of annotating texts when sifting and sorting information

the need to do as the question asks

the focus on own words (as far as possible) and concise expression.

The lesson ends with a presentation of the teacher’s own version (easily constructed from the online mark scheme if using past questions).

Future lessons, involving cross-over work with Writing, will deal with the need for effective organisation and the usefulness of connectives in achieving this.





Collating from different sources and making comparisons




Objective 1 To read and understand texts, selecting material appropriate to purpose (R1)

Objective 2 To collate from different sources and make comparisons (R1)

Objective 3 To consider the usefulness of connectives which signal comparison and those which signal contrast in written responses to texts (link with W3)

Students will have been introduced to basic comprehension tasks requiring them to retrieve different types of information during their previous years of education. Collating and comparing are high order skills required at GCSE, in both English/English Language and English Literature courses.

Content


Sample GCSE Lesson PlanTime Content

5 minutes Teacher issues two texts (each about half a side of A4) offering different perspectives on a topic of current interest. Students working in pairs read the texts to each other.

15 minutes Teacher writes task on the board: e.g. ‘Compare points made about the use of mobile phones [or whatever your chosen topic is] in these two texts.’

In the same pairs, students then make a list of similar points (if there are any) and contrasting points made in the two texts. [For this introductory exercise the focus in on comparing content rather than writers’ use of language - i.e. a ‘What?’ rather than ‘How?’ question.]

10 minutes Teacher invites feedback from all pairs until all relevant points are exhausted.

5 minutes The teacher lists on the board useful connectives for both comparing (e.g. similarly, likewise, in the same way) and contrasting points (e.g. whereas, instead, on the other hand). Students are then invited to give a couple of examples illustrating how connectives might be used to link points from the two texts being compared.

Consolidation

Time Content

10 minutes Students work individually to write a paragraph in which they make four or five linking points (which may be similar or, more likely, contrasting). Students are reminded of the need for (i) the use of own words and (ii) concise expression.

10 - 15 minutes

Students are asked to work in pairs, reading each other’s paragraphs and underlining examples of repetition, explanation and phrases too close to the original text.

Teacher lists the following key points of the lesson:

the importance of the initial sorting of information

the focus on own words (as far as possible) and concise expression

the use of connectives to aid cohesion when making comparisons in writing.

The lesson ends with a presentation of the teacher’s own version.

Homework: students write up a full answer to the question. A future lesson includes a reading and study of a good student response.





Identifying and evaluating writers’ use of linguistic devices




Objective 1 To identify linguistic devices used to achieve effects (R3).

Objective 2 To explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic, grammatical and structural features to engage and influence the reader (R3).

Objective 3 To consider how audience and purpose affect language choices.


Students will have been introduced during Key Stages 2 and 3 to basic linguistic and literary devices writers use to engage the interests of their readers. Often this knowledge manifests itself in the work of less confident students in the form of feature-spotting. In order to achieve the higher bands at GCSE, students must move beyond identification and description to develop close analytical skills requiring a precise consideration of effects.

Content


Sample GCSE Lesson PlanTime Content

5 minutes Teacher issues students with a highly opinionative piece of writing (eg from a newspaper or magazine) chosen for richness in its use of figurative language, sound and rhetorical devices. The teacher and/or selected students read the text aloud, and students highlight the various devices (using simple annotations such as ‘M’ for ‘metaphor’, ‘RQ’ for rhetorical question).

10 minutes Students work in small groups indicating all the devices they can find.

5 minutes Teacher invites feedback from all groups until all relevant examples are exhausted. Then teacher explains/warns that the mere identification of devices will not lead to high reward (any more than it would in Literature). The next stage of the lesson will move students towards developing skills of analysis.

10 minutes Each student selects four examples of words/phrases/devices they find interesting and explains in writing what effect the writer is trying to achieve. In pairs, they then discuss their examples with their partner.

Time Content

10 minutes In pairs, the students work on one example from each student. The aim is to improve the quality of expression: eg providing as concise a quotation as necessary to make the point; avoiding banal descriptions such as ‘This is a metaphor’.

Consolidation

Time Content

15 minutes As many students as possible feedback to the class their best evaluation of the effect of the use of a particular word or phrase.

5 minutes Teacher reinforces the key learning point: the difference between mere description and analysis.Homework: cross-over work on writing. Students to mark the text used in the lesson, using the GCSE Writing marking criteria. This exercise will enable students to make judgements about the structure of the text, the variety of sentence structures and how the writer sets out to engage the reader’s interest.





Developing and sustaining analysis of a media text




Objective 1 To read and understand texts (R1).

Objective 2 To develop and sustain interpretations of writers’ ideas and perspectives (R2).

Objective 3 To explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic, grammatical and structural features to engage and influence the reader (R3).


Students will have had opportunities in previous lessons to explore the use of writer’s techniques in exercises requiring short responses. They will appreciate that the mere identification or logging of linguistic features will not lead to high reward. The aim is to develop sustained analytical comment on the way a writer uses language and structure to present an argument or views.

Content

Time Content

10 minutes Teacher issues students with a suitable text (eg from a newspaper or magazine, website, leaflet or from the online past Media questions for the 2431 question papers). Students read the text, followed by teacher-led discussion of the text’s audience and purpose.

25 minutes Teacher writes on the board a question inviting consideration of the writer at work (eg how the material is organised and how language is used). Specimen question papers should be used as a guide: Q2(b) foundation, and 2(a) and (b) higher tier. Students plan and write their response.

5 minutes Teacher-led discussion about students’ experience of this first piece of extended analytical writing. Students share strategies they used (eg annotating the text, using quotation, organising their answer).

10 minutes Teacher issues students with copies of the mark scheme band descriptors and


Sample GCSE Lesson Planleads discussion about the standard of Bands 5, 4 and 2.



Time Content

10 minutes In pairs, the students use the band descriptors to mark each other’s response, and add a comment drawing from the wording of the band descriptors.Homework: improve on the first version by re-writing, keeping the band descriptors firmly in sight.



Sample GCSE Lesson Plan 7



Preparing for Foundation Tier Section A: (Question 1)




Objective 1 To read and understand texts, selecting material appropriate to purpose (R1).


Objective 3 To consider the format of the paper, the type of tasks found in Question 1 and examination technique.


Students will have had opportunities to respond to questions which ask for an understanding of content (‘What?’ questions). This lesson will prepare them for the format of the mock paper and in particular for the format of the multi-part Question 1. Legacy Non-fiction texts and questions can be readily amended to fit the format of the new foundation tier question-and-answer booklet.

Content

Time Content

10 minutes Teacher issues students with a reading booklet and a question and answer booklet, and talks them through the contents of each. Students read question 1 and the associated text, and then answer the short questions 1(a) and 1(b).

10 minutes Teacher-led review of the answers to 1(a) and 1(b), referring to the format of the question and answer booklet.

20 minutes Teacher reads the question and leads discussion about the question’s key words. Students answer longer question 1(c).

10 minutes Teacher reads the text aloud and asks the students to give the content points in order, and in own words (as far as possible).



Time Content

10 minutes Teacher issues students with the band descriptors for question 1(c) and leads discussion about what is and is not required for this question.Lesson ends with summary of the format and requirements of question 1.





Reading: Information and Ideas

Preparing for Foundation Tier Section A: (Question 2)




Objective 1 To read and understand texts, selecting material appropriate to purpose (R1).


Objective 3 To explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic, grammatical and structural features to achieve effects and engage and influence the reader (R3).

Objective 4 To consider the format of the paper and the type of questions.


Students will have had opportunities to respond to questions which ask for comment on use of presentation and language (‘How?’ questions). This lesson will prepare them for the format of the specimen Foundation Tier Question 2. Legacy Media texts and questions can be readily amended to fit the format of the new question-and-answer booklet. In the previous lesson (Lesson Plan 7), students have been introduced to the format of question 1.

Content

Time Content

15 minutes Teacher issues students with the Reading booklet and question-and-answer booklet, and (briefly) reminds them of the contents of each. Students read question 2 and the associated text, and then answer the shorter question 2(a).

10 minutes Teacher-led review of the answer to 2(a), insisting on comments about the effects of presentational features rather than simple listing of features.

20 minutes Teacher reads question 2(b) and leads discussion about the question’s key words, pointing out key differences with the long part question 1(c).Students write their responses to question 2(b).


Sample GCSE Lesson Plan10 minutes Teacher issues a simple table on A4 paper, with two columns: one headed with

the wording of the first bullet, and the second headed with the wording of the second bullet (the latter in the specimen question is ‘some of the words and phrases’).In pairs, students list relevant details in the order they come in the text – did they miss important points in their own first responses?

Consolidation

Time Content

5 minutes Teacher issues students with the band descriptors for Questions 2(a) and 2(b) and summarises the requirements of Question 2, and how it differs from Question 1.






Preparing for Higher Tier Section A: Reading Lesson 1





Objective 2 To develop and sustain interpretations of writers’ ideas and perspectives (R2)

Objective 3 To consider the format of the paper and the type of questions.

Students will have had opportunities to respond to questions which ask understanding of content (‘What?’ questions) and those questions which ask for comment on how writers use language, structure and presentation (‘How?’ questions). This lesson and the next will prepare them for the format of the specimen paper. Legacy Non-fiction and Media texts and questions can be readily amended to fit the format of the new A644 paper.

Content

Time Content

10 minutes Teacher issues students with the Reading booklet and question paper, and reminds them of the format of each. The class reads the questions and notes the allocation of marks and what that means for timing. Teacher-led discussion about the key words of each question and the different requirements of Questions 1 and 2.

10 minutes Students read the two texts.

20 minutes Students write their responses to Question 1.

10 minutes Students discuss their responses to Question 1 in small groups, each offering a point in turn until they have exhausted all possible points.


Sample GCSE Lesson PlanTeacher invites responses from each group, and reminds them of the need for own words. Teacher projects all the possible content points onto the whiteboard.

Consolidation

Time Content

10 minutes Teacher issues students with Q1 band descriptors, and leads discussion about the differences between (say) Bands 5 and 4, and Bands 2 and 1.

Students consider their own responses against the band descriptors, and add a band and a comment drawn from the relevant descriptor. Teacher collects answers for marking.






Preparing for Higher Tier Section A: Reading Lesson 2





Objective 2 To develop and sustain interpretations of writers’ ideas and perspectives (R2)

Objective 3 To explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic, grammatical and structural features to achieve effects and engage and influence the reader (R3)

Objective 4 To consider the format of the paper and the type of questions, and examination technique.

Students will have had opportunities to respond to questions which ask understanding of content (‘What?’ questions) and those questions which ask for comment on how writers use language, structure and presentation (‘How?’ questions). This lesson and the previous one prepare them for the format of the specimen paper. Legacy Non-fiction and Media texts and questions can be readily amended to fit the format of the new A644 paper.

Content

Time Content

5 minutes Students are to work on the Reading booklet and question paper distributed during the previous lesson. Teacher reads Questions 2(a) and 2(b) and notes that together they account for a possible 26 out of 40 marks - roughly two-thirds of Section A, so they should spend no more than 20 minutes on 2(a) and 20 minutes on 2(b).

40 minutes Students are reminded of the need for brief annotation of the texts to help them sort the information required for the answers, and of the need for concise references and precise analytical comment in their responses. Students then write their answers to the two questions.


Sample GCSE Lesson PlanAfter 20 minutes, teacher reminds them to finish their response to Q2(a) and to begin answering Q2(b).

Consolidation

Time Content

10 minutes Teacher issues students with Q2 band descriptors, and leads discussion about the differences between (say) Bands 5 and 4, and Bands 2 and 1.

In pair work, students consider their partner’s response to Q2(a) using the band descriptors; they add a band and a comment drawn from the relevant descriptor. Students then discuss each other’s performance relating comments to the band descriptors.

5 minutes Teacher sums up the requirements of the Reading section of the paper, reminding them of mark and time allocations, and the differences between Question 1 and Questions 2(a)/(b).

Homework: students re-draft answer to Question 2(b) in the light of today’s lesson. To be handed in next lesson. Better responses to be used for classroom display.



Introduction to English and English

Language GCSE: Information & Ideas

A680: Writing

Assessment Objectives

Write to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, using and adapting forms and selecting vocabulary appropriate to task and purpose in ways that engage the reader.

Organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts, using a variety of linguistic and structural features to support cohesion and overall coherence.

Use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate punctuation and spelling.

(At least one third of available credit for AO4 should be awarded to the use of a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate punctuation and spelling.)

Introductory Comments

The following lesson plans are suggestions for preparing students for the writing tasks in the examined units in English and English Language. The Question Paper is common to both Specifications and there is, therefore, no need to prepare candidates for English differently from those for English Language.

Students will have practised writing for a variety of purposes and audiences and in different genres during their previous years of education. Their GCSE course will also require them to practise writing for the Controlled Assessment Writing tasks and the suggestions in the following Schemes of Work should be seen as being complementary to and complemented by their preparation for these Controlled Assessment Units. Similarly, students’ reading experience in Key Stage 3 should have made them acquainted with different models of English writing.

It is suggested that preparation for the Examined Units Writing Tasks should be ongoing throughout the course in order to provide students with a cumulative and not necessarily as a one-off session. All or some of the following Schemes of Work Units can be taught consecutively but they can also function as stand-alone units and teachers should use them in their most appropriate way for their individual teaching groups. They should not be seen as prescriptive and teachers are welcome to adapt them as they see fit.

The Examined Units will offer candidates a choice of two Writing tasks under the general heading of ‘Writing’. The subject matter of both tasks will be loosely related to the content of the Reading material in Section A of the Question Paper. However, as illustrated by the exemplar Paper, these tasks will offer a range of topics and allow varied interpretations and will not be limited strictly to factual, informative writing tasks. However, the tasks will not require narrative, imaginative writing as this will be tested elsewhere in the GCSE course.




Writing: Information and Ideas

Audience Awareness




Objective 1 To identify different audiences for writing (W1).

Objective 2 To identify the key features of writing aimed at different audiences (W1).

Objective 3 To use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate punctuation and spelling (W3).


Students will have practised writing for a variety of purposes and audiences and in different genres during their previous years of education. Students’ reading experience in Key Stage 3 will have made them acquainted with different models of English writing.

Content

Time Content

5 minutes Brief teacher-led consideration of the different purposes of writing. Introduction and explanation of the terms ’Audience, Tone and Register’.

15 minutes Teacher issues students with a range of different types of writing eg newspaper reports, text books, travel brochures, instruction manuals. Students discuss in groups the audience at which each is aimed and what features in the text (vocabulary, register, sentence length etc) make it appropriate for that audience.

15-20 minutes Students are given a selection of topics and asked to write two passages on the same topic but aimed at different audiences.

Consolidation

Time Content


Sample GCSE Lesson Plan15-20 minutes Students read their passages aloud to group who try to identify audience.





Audience, tone, register




Objective 1 To understand and practise the use of tone and vocabulary appropriate to specific audiences.


Students should have a reasonable working knowledge of spelling, punctuation and grammar and of conventions of structuring stories and essays and will have written for a variety of purposes and in different genres during their previous years of education. Their previous reading experience should have made them acquainted with different models of English writing.

Content

Time Content

10 minutes Teacher to begin lesson by asking students to consider the different language/vocabulary they would use to give an account of an experience to their peers, their parents and an adult in authority.

20 minutes Teacher to show video clips of speakers addressing different audiences (formal, informal etc). Whole class discussion develops into what may be appropriate for different audiences, perhaps by considering the problems caused by misunderstanding colloquial or slang expressions.



Consolidation

Time Content

10 minutes Students are given a selection of writing tasks (perhaps taken from previous OCR examination papers) and are asked to discuss in groups the register best suited to the stated or implied audience. Specific focus should be given to the sentence length, vocabulary etc they would deploy for each task.

20 minutes Students to write opening paragraph of one of the writing tasks, concentrating on use of an appropriate register for the target audience.





Choose the right word




Objective 1 To select vocabulary appropriate to task and purpose in ways that engage the reader (W1).



Refer back to different types of writing considered in ‘Audience Awareness’ lesson.

Content

Time Content

10 minutes Teacher begins lesson with video clips showing characters performing some dramatic actions conveying particularly strong feelings (e.g. anger, despair etc). Teacher asks class to state what happened and then leads them into consideration of vocabulary which most precisely explains the exact details.

15-20 minutes Teacher asks class to describe verbally what happened in the clips and then leads them into consideration of vocabulary which most precisely explains the exact details. (E.g. ‘The man slammed the door’ is less precise than’ The man quivering with rage shut the door so forcibly that the door frame shook’).

Consolidation

Time Content

10-15 minutes Students to write their own account of characters’ actions for a friend who was not present. It is important that they should choose their vocabulary with care.


Sample GCSE Lesson Plan10 minutes Teacher to discuss individual responses with whole class.





Structure and planning




Objective 1 To organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts.


Recap on previous lessons/references to topic sentences and paragraphing

Content

Time Content

15-20 minutes Teacher presents class with a collection of jumbled paragraphs and asks them to rearrange them into a coherent whole. (ICT/word processing opportunity). Students should be prepared to explain what clues were contained in the writing to lead them to decide on a particular order.

10 minutes Teacher-led whole class discussion concerning structuring of writing and the importance of planning (especially when writing under exam conditions).

10 minutes Teacher to suggest different planning models (spider diagrams, mind maps etc) and refer to importance of using paragraph topic sentences as a basis for structuring work.

Consolidation

Time Content

20-25 minutes Students to write two further paragraphs independently, linking to one of those they have unscrambled.






Topic sentences




Objective 1 To organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced paragraphs (W2).



Continuation from previous lesson.

Content

Time Content

10 minutes Teacher to refer back to previous session and students’ written responses. Explain that a single sentence summarising the teacher’s actions provides the topic sentence from which a descriptive paragraph can develop.Explain main features of a paragraph: a number of sentences related to a single topic.

20 minutes Consideration of main features of a paragraph: a number of sentences related to a single topic.Teacher to illustrate effects to be gained by varying position of topic sentence and discuss effects with class. Some further discussion of ways in which paragraphs can be linked. Linking words such as ‘however, nevertheless, on the other hand etc.’

20 minutes Teacher to provide examples of different features of paragraphing by referring to different types of written texts (interactive white board). Discussion of this with class.



Time Content

10 minutes Students to write two linked paragraphs based on topic sentences provided by the teacher; they are to decide where the topic sentences can most effectively be positioned. Discuss different features of paragraphing by referring to different types of written texts.






Writing in different genres




Objective 1 To communicate in writing using and adapting forms and selecting vocabulary appropriate to purpose (W1).

Objective 2 To organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts, using a variety of linguistic and structural features to support cohesion and overall coherence (W2).



Refer back to previous sessions relating to paragraph building and writing for particular audiences.

Content

NB This is a session which is likely to occupy more than one lesson.

Time Content

15-20 minutes Teacher to introduce and define the word ‘genre’. ‘Mind-mapping’ session to identify the main different genres of writing with which students may be familiar.

20-25 minutes Teacher provides class with hand-outs containing specific examples of writing in different genres; students working in pairs identify and discuss key features of style.



Consolidation

Time Content

30 – 40 minutes

Students to research and find their own examples of specific genres to discuss with group. (Use of library, internet resources etc.)

40 minutes Students to produce a piece of writing in their own chosen genre, imitating the features of the model they have discussed above.






Write what you know




Objective 1 To communicate in writing clearly, effectively and imaginatively, using and adapting forms and selecting vocabulary appropriate to task and purpose in ways that engage the reader (W1).

Objective 2 To organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts, using a variety of linguistic and structural features to support cohesion and overall coherence (W2).



This lesson will follow on from previous sessions in the series. In preparation for this lesson students will have been required to equip themselves with photographs, biographical details, leaflets etc relating to places or persons known to them.

Content

Time Content

15 minutes Teacher recaps on the importance of communicating clearly with readers through apt vocabulary choices, similes, metaphors etc. In particular, emphasis is placed on the value of writers using their own experience to produce a precise description of people or places or accounts of experiences.

15-20 minutes Teacher provides hand-outs containing a variety of texts, particularly autobiographies, travel accounts for students to read and discuss.



Time Content

45-60 minutes Students to write their own descriptions of a character or a scene etc from their own experience and concentrating on precise details which will create a convincing result. The description should be supported by the illustrative material the students have brought to the lesson. Work to be completed as homework.






Technical matters




Objective 1 To practise and improve technical accuracy.


Students should have a reasonable working knowledge of spelling, punctuation and grammar and of conventions of structuring stories and essays and will have written for a variety of purposes and in different genres during their previous years of education. Their previous reading experience should have made them acquainted with different models of English writing.

Content

Time Content

10 minutes Rather than dealing with this important issue in one session, the teacher is likely to want to deal with it in an ongoing way. Key points relating to students’ problems with spelling, punctuation etc will be highlighted as part of normal marking procedures and are best dealt with as short 10 minute starter activities as appropriate.

Consolidation

Time Content

10 minutes Students to be made aware of the particular focus of the teacher’s marking for different activities and should concentrate closely on them. Students to mark and correct each other’s work and discuss their findings.Students to experiment with punctuation in their writing by attempting to produce deliberate ambiguities etc.






Examination Practice: Descriptive writing




Objective 1 To write to communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, using and adapting forms and selecting vocabulary appropriate to task and purpose in ways that engage the reader.

Objective 2 To organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts, using a variety of linguistic and structural features to support cohesion and overall coherence.

Objective 3 To use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate punctuation and spelling.


This and the following writing sessions will build on all previous preparation for writing tasks.

Content

Time Content

20 minutes Teacher to present class with examples of different types of descriptive writing (descriptions of place, characters etc) and follow this with a discussion of writers’ techniques, concentrating in particular on vocabulary choices, similes, metaphors, and ways of appealing to the reader’s different senses.

20 minutes Class to be issued with a passage of descriptive writing from which all descriptive vocabulary has been omitted and asked to provide their own words and phrases in order to discover how different effects can be created.

20 minutes Discussion of outcomes of above task.



Time Content

15 minutes Teacher to introduce task and to emphasise the key features of writing descriptively under timed examination conditions.

45 minutes Students to write two contrasting descriptions of places, characters or objects concentrating especially on precision of vocabulary. Task to be completed under examination conditions.






Examination Practice: Discursive writing








See Descriptive Writing Lesson Plan.

Content

Time Content

35-40 minutes Teacher suggests a range of single-word or short-phrase topics to class and then students, working in groups of two or three, explore into some of the topics through suggesting associations arising from words or ideas which arise and recording their investigations in diagrammatic form on sheets of A3 paper.

20 minutes Whole class review of ideas and groups’ ‘association maps’ displayed in classroom.

Consolidation

Time Content


Sample GCSE Lesson Plan15 minutes Teacher to introduce task and to emphasise the key features of writing

discursively under timed examination conditions.

45 minutes Students to use their ‘association map’ to write discursively on their chosen topic under examination conditions.






Examination Practice: Informative writing








See Descriptive Writing Lesson Plan.

Content

Time Content

45 minutes Teacher presents a topic for discussion to class, ideally some issue for which they have been prepared, and manages discussion which ensues. (An example of a typical topic could be a consideration of the importance and rationale of the school’s rules, attitudes to uniform etc.) Could link with Speaking & Listening.

15 minutes Teacher recaps on main points of discussion. Students to write notes summarising the main issues that arose.



Time Content

15 minutes Teacher introduces writing task related to previous discussion. For example, following on from previous session the task could be to write an insider’s guide to the school and its rules for new students.

45 minutes Students to write their response to the task under examination conditions.


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