Y10 GCSE English and Maths Information

January 2017

Dave Adams, Amanda Delve,

Andy Guy, Charlene Green

Curriculum and Assessment Reform

• The main features of the new GCSEs are:

• A grading scale of 9 to 1 rather than A* to G

• More challenging knowledge-based content, extended writing; fewer bite-sized questions

• No modular exams; all examinations will be taken at the end of the course

• Exams will only take place in the summer (except for a resit opportunity in English language and maths in November of year 12).

Future UK GCSE Grades

Estimated proportion of UK students gaining

• Grade 9 will be about 4%

• Grades 7 and 8 about 17%

• Grades 4, 5 and 6 about 48%

Entry to DHSB Sixth Form 2018

Entry requirements remain as now but converted to the new grade system • the applicant needs to have achieved an

Average Points Score of 6.0 or higher from their best eight GCSEs and at least a grade 5 in both English and Mathematics.

• For unreformed GCSEs grades will be converted as follows: A*=8.5, A=7.0, B=5.5, C=4.0, D=3.0, E=2.0, F=1.5, G=1.0.

• DHSB students have priority for places

GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE Guide to GCSE June 2018

English Language

Paper 1:

Explorations in Creative

Reading and Writing

Paper 2:

Writers’ Viewpoints and

Perspectives

Non-Examination

Assessment: Spoken

Language

What is assessed?

Section A: Reading

● One literature fiction text

Section B Writing

● descriptive or narrative

writing

What is assessed?

Section A: Reading

● one non-fiction text

● one literary non-fiction text

Section B: Writing

● to present a viewpoint

What is assessed?

● Presenting

● Responding to questions

and feedback

● use of Standard English

1hr 45 mins exam, 80 marks

50% of GCSE English

Language

1hr 45 mins exam, 80 marks

50% of GCSE English

Language

Teacher assessed

Separate endorsement

Reading, 40 marks, 25%

one single text, 4 questions:

Q1 - 4 marks

Q2&3 - 8 marks

Q4 - 20 marks

Writing, 40 marks, 25%

1 extended writing (24 content,

16 technical accuracy[20%])

Reading, 40 marks, 25%

two linked texts

Q1 - 4 marks

Q2&3 - 8 and 12 marks

Q4 - 16 marks

Writing, 40 marks, 25%

1 extended writing (24 content,

16 technical accuracy [20%])

English Literature

Paper 1

Shakespeare and the 19th Century Novel

Paper 2

Modern Texts and Poetry

What is assessed?

Section A

● Shakespeare: Macbeth

Section B

● 19th Century Novel: Jekyll and Hyde

What is assessed?

Section A

● Modern texts: An Inspector Calls

Section B

● Poetry: AQA Anthology

Section C

● Unseen Poetry

1 hour 45 min exam, 64 marks

40% of English Literature GCSE

2 hour 15 min exam, 96 marks

60% of GCSE

Section A: One question on Shakespeare

● write in detail on a given extract making

reference to the play as a whole

Section B: One question on a novel.

● write in detail on a given extract making

reference to the novel as a whole

Section A

● one essay question from a choice of two

Section B

● one comparative question on one named

printed poem and one other of choice

chosen from the anthology cluster

Section C

● one question on one unseen poem

● one question comparing this poem with a

second unseen poem

English Language Assessment Objectives

Reading

AO1: Identify and interpret explicit and implicit information and

ideas. Select and synthesise evidence from different texts.

AO2: Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use

language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers,

using relevant subject terminology.

AO3: Compare writers’ ideas and perspectives as well as how

these are conveyed across two or more texts.

AO4: Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate

technical references.

English Language Assessment Objectives

Writing

AO5: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively,

selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different

forms, purposes and audience. Organise information and ideas,

using structural and grammatical features to support coherence

and cohesion and texts.

AO6: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for

clarity, purpose and effect with accurate spelling and

punctuation.

English Literature Assessment Objectives

AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts.

Students should be able to:

• maintain a critical style and develop an informed

personal response

• use textual references, including quotations to support

and illustrate interpretations.

AO2: Analyse the language, form and structure used by a

writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject

terminology where appropriate.

AO3: Show understanding of the relationships between texts

and the contexts in which they were written.

AO4: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for

clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and

punctuation.

Literature texts - all closed texts

Shakespeare: Macbeth

Modern texts: An Inspector Calls

19th century novel: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Poetry: AQA Anthology poems Power and Conflict

Unseen poetry: we will teach a range of skills through the

poetry study which will help the boys access this component

of the exam.

How best to help our year ten boys?

• It is essential that they keep all their English exercise books along with

teacher feedback and targets.

• Copies of set texts are available through WisePay £15

• Share these with your sons

• Let them teach you what they know about the literature texts we are studying.

• Help them remember quotations and their significance

• It’s not about learning by rote - it’s about enjoying the experience. Making

those texts mean something and understand the key themes and issues that

authors and poets are exploring.

• Help them understand that all works of fiction are crafted by an author.

Characters, settings, action and plot are there to manipulate an audience - to

make us feel, think and react.

• Read newspapers and watch the news together. Discuss what is going on in

the world, encourage them to question and explore what they are being

asked to believe.

• Enjoy film, theatre and television together - read reviews and commentaries.

Consider the different ways in which texts communicate with an audience.

• Encourage them to read widely and regularly. We have a suggested reading

list.

• Help them with SPG. Use BBC Bitesize, Grammar Monster etc to help.

Sixteen by Sixteen

KS4 Suggested Reading – Classic Fiction Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice; Emma James, Henry

Turn of the Screw; Portrait of a Lady

Bronte, Charlotte

Jane Eyre Joyce, James Dubliners; Ulysses

Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights Lawrence, D.H. Sons and Lovers; Women in Love

Collins, Wilkie The Woman in White Pasternak, Boris Doctor Zhivago

Conrad, Joseph Heart of Darkness; Lord Jim Shelley, Mary Frankenstein

Defoe, Daniel Robinson Crusoe Stevenson, Robert Louis

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Treasure Island

Dickens, Charles Great Expectations Stoker, Bram Dracula

Dostoevsky, Fyodor

Crime and Punishment Swift, Jonathan Gulliver’s Travels

Doyle, Arthur Conan

The Sherlock Holmes Adventures Tolstoy, Leo Anna Karenina; War and Peace

Dumas, Alexandre

The Count of Monte Cristo; The Three Musketeers

Twain, Mark Huckleberry Finn; Tom Sawyer

Eliot, George Middlemarch; Mill on the Floss Wilde, Oscar The Picture of Dorian Gray

Hardy, Thomas Tess of the D’Urbervilles Woolf, Virginia Mrs. Dalloway(ML); The Waves

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

The Scarlet Letter

KS4 Suggested Reading – Modern Fiction Banks, Iain The Wasp Factory Irving, John Cider House Rules

Boyne, John The Boy in Striped Pyjamas Kesey, Ken One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Donnelly, Jennifer A Gathering Light Lee, Harper To Kill a Mocking Bird

Du Maurier, Daphne

Rebecca Martel, Yann The Life of Pi

Evans, Nicholas The Horse Whisperer McEwan, Ian Atonement

Fitzgerald, F. Scott The Great Gatsby Orwell, George Animal Farm; Nineteen Eighty-four(1984)

Frazier, Charles Cold Mountain Rand, Ayn The Fountainhead

Golding, William Lord of the Flies Roy, Arundhati The God of Small Things

Greene, Graham Brighton Rock Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye

Haley, Alex Roots Singh, Simon Fermat’s Last Theorem

Heller, Joseph Catch 22 Steinbeck, John Of Mice and Men; The Grapes of Wrath

Hosseini, Khaled The Kite Runner; A Thousand Splendid Suns

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Huxley, Aldous Brave New World

KS4 Suggested Reading – Popular Fiction

Almond, David Skellig

Anderson, Rachel Asylum

Ashley, Bernard Little Soldier; The Trouble with Donovan Croft

Blackman, Malorie Noughts & Crosses Series

Brooks, Kevin The Bunker Diary

Burgess, Melvin Junk; Nicholas Dane; Billy Elliott

Collins, Suzanne The Hunger Games Trilogy

Cross, Gillian Where I Belong

Curtis, Vanessa Zelah Green

Earle, Phil Heroic

Ellis, Deborah The Breadwinner; Parvana’s Journey; Mud City

Flood, C.J. Infinite Sky

Freeman, Hilary Lifted

Green, John The Fault In Our Stars

Haddon, Mark Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

New Maths GCSE ...for first examination, summer 2017

the course

“The new mathematics GCSE will demand deeper and

broader mathematical understanding. It will provide all

students with greater coverage of key areas such as ratio,

proportion and rates of change and require them to apply their

knowledge and reasoning to provide clear mathematical

arguments. It will focus on ensuring that every student masters

the fundamental mathematics that is required for further

education and future careers. It will provide greater challenge

for the most able students by thoroughly testing their

understanding of the mathematical knowledge needed for

higher level study and careers in mathematics, the sciences

and computing.”

From: Department for Education and

The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP

The GCSE course focuses on Maths as a challenging and

fulfilling discipline in its own right, allowing students to:

• enjoy the abstract

• develop mathematical thinking, reasoning and problem

solving

• acquire sound basic techniques

• appreciate clear communication, justification and simple

proof

It also concentrates on using Maths as an essential tool for

life and work, including:

• mathematical understanding of the world

• everyday situations, e.g. finance and science

• functional skills, i.e. representing, analysing, interpreting

• emphasising relevance and purpose

This will be the second year of the new GCSE

specification. GCSE Mathematics has a

Foundation tier (grades 1 – 5) and a Higher tier

(grades 4 – 9).

The highest grade available on the Foundation

paper will exceed the demands of the current

GCSE grade C; additional content will reflect the

increased challenge.

● The examinations are taken are the end of year 11

● There is a mix of question styles, from short, single-mark

questions to multi-step problems.

● Students can be said to have confidence and competence

with mathematical content when they can apply it flexibly to

solve problems

first look at the new questions

familiar but non-routine

new topics

not to answer, but to explain

What we are doing?

Teaching over 3 years

Brand new resources to

match the new specification

Online access to many of our

new resources

Resources that develop

problem solving skills

“The new GCSEs in English and mathematics set higher

expectations; they demand more from all students and provide

further challenge for those aiming to achieve top grades.” DfE

Regular assessment points

Topic specific assessments

Diagnostic Questions

Inspect the Spec

Subject ambassadors

Online maths forum

resources

www.kerboodle.com

Steps to Achieve Excellence

• Decide to ‘Go For It’! Be ambitious

• Analyse areas where you can improve

• Provide, and accept, support

• Get regular, quality feedback

• Act on the feedback to improve performance

• Focus on the detail – make gains everywhere you can

• Help those around you improve too

• Stay motivated – be resilient

• Prepare effectively

Preparing for GCSEs • 3 years preparing for GCSE

– Need for excellent mastery, revision and memory

• Exam experience – Year 9 exams were ¼ way through course – Year 10 exams - ½ way through course – Year 11 mock exams in November - ¾ through course – Make time for revision and follow-up

• Make sure to answer the question – Understand differences in ‘Command Words’ – eg ‘State’, ‘Describe’, ‘Explain’, ‘Justify’ etc…

• Improve literacy skills: – Spelling, punctuation and grammar – Wide reading of fiction and non-fiction

Preparing for GCSEs

• Keep on top of assignments

– Homeworky lists all homework assignments for the students and the deadlines for completion

– Classcharts will show if any assignment deadlines have been missed

• Act on feedback given

– Deal with misconceptions as you go through the course – don’t leave it for y11 final revision.

How do YOU revise? How could you do it better?

◦We learn:

◦10% of what we read

◦20% of what we hear

◦30% of what we see

◦50% of what we both see and hear

◦70% of what is discussed with others

◦80% of what we experience personally

◦90% of what we TEACH to someone else

Revision websites...

• www.getrevising.co.uk

• www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize

• www.studyzones.com

• www.s-cool.co.uk

• www.schoolsnet.com

• www.gcse.com

• www.mymaths.co.uk

• www.sparknotes.com

• www.kerboodle.com

Apps for Revision:

There are plenty of apps available in the Apps store / Google Play store designed to help your revision. Many are

subject specific, however, below is a list of apps that can help you with your revision across all of your subjects:

Memrise is an app designed to help you learn key words and their definitions through matching games and

scheduled repetition. It will send you notifications when it’s time to revise again and once downloaded doesn’t need

an internet connection to run.It works brilliantly with languages, but there are courses on Memrise available for

nearly every subject. If the one you want isn’t there, you can even make your own.

Quizlet is a flashcard game. Sets of flashcards for a range of subjects are available to search through but, again, you

can make your own personalised sets too. Once you have a set, you can use them in any way you would normally

use a flachcard, including matching games against the clock.

Have trouble organising your revision? Trello is a To Do List app that can help you keep on top of your schedule and

keep you well organised with your revision.

Apps for Revision

StudyBlue is another flashcard based app that lets you arrange your cards into subject and topic groups and

collaborate and compete with others at a range of games and quizzes based on your flashcards.

Like to talk? Audioboo lets you record short podcasts and share them. You can use it to make short revision podcasts

to listen to over and over and over again.

SimpleMind+ is an app that lets you create digital mind maps. If making mind maps to help you visualise the content

in a topic helps you, this might be the app for you. It means you can keep all of your mind maps with you on your

phone / tablet to revise from anywhere.

Cold Turkey is the app for you if you find it difficult to switch off from everything while you revise. It allows you to

block all social media, games and even specific websites from your phone for a set time and you can’t undo it until

the timer wears off! Perfect if you can’t be away from snapchat for more than 2 minutes….

Apps for Revision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reXXzWdfAyc

Flippity - Create Flashcards etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GHNkBWexbA

PiXL Maths and English Apps