AST M Temple, 30Jan09

KS3 English

Year 9 Speaking and Listening Unit – Term 6

‘Different Cultures and Traditions’
This unit has been created to raise the attainment levels of
speaking and listening skills. It is crucial that these skills are
practised regularly during key stage 3 in preparation for GCSE
English. It will build on the work students completed in term 5,
when they worked in groups, analysing non-fiction text types. This
unit focuses on four poems from the anthology in the ‘Different
Cultures’ selection. It will be a creative way for students to gain a
wider knowledge of the context of the poems. However, the
assessment piece is more flexible this time, either a drama
performance or a presentation to the class of a creative visual
piece, depending on the class, the teacher and the time remaining
before the summer holidays. It is a great way for students to gain
another S and L grade in Year 9, preparing them for the GCSE
course.

The key assessment foci will be Speaking and Listening AFs 2, 3

and 4 (in bold type on unit); however, there will be some lessons in
which some reading skills will also be developed.

Assessment Foci covered in this unit

KEY AFs: Speaking and Listening

AF1: Talk in purposeful and imaginative way to explore ideas and
feelings, using body language and other features.
AF2: Listen and respond to others, identifying main ideas and
how these are presented.
AF3: Adapt what you say and how you say it according to your
subject, purpose and audience.
AF4: Contribute ideas and suggestions to your group.

Reading
AF3: Deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from
texts.
AF5: Explain and comment on writers’ use of language, including
grammatical and literary features at word and sentence level.

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Overview of lessons
Introductory ideas
1. Divide the class into half down the middle: working in pairs,
half of the students are to write a definition for ‘traditions’;
other half to write a definition for ‘cultures’. Use two different
coloured A5 pieces of paper for each side of the class and one
student from each pair to come to the front and stick paper
onto white board. (SL AF2 and AF4)
2. Teacher to select a couple of different definitions from each
side of the white board to read and ask who wrote it and to
explain their ideas and meanings further.
3. In groups of 4, students are to use large sugar paper to
brainstorm ‘British Cultures and Traditions’. Go round the
class taking feedback to write onto flip chart. Discuss ideas
as a class. (SL AF2 and AF4)

Exploring poems
1. Teacher to hand pairs of students, one line from four different
poems. Students are to analyse each to explore the culture of
each, making inferences and deductions from the language
used. (R AF3 and AF5)
2. Teacher is then to hand each group one complete poem from
the previous line selection, to analyse further. A selection of
four poems around the room. Question: How can the reader
tell that this poem is about another culture? Students are to
analyse features at word and sentence level in their chosen/
given poem. (SL AF4; R AF3 and AF5)
3. Feedback from each group. Teacher to show each poem on
the screen for other students to see. Invite students to the
front to annotate poem. (SL AF2)

Creative visual task

1. In the same groups, students are to spend 2 lessons creating
a visual piece that presents the culture of that poem e.g.
pictures of buckets stuck onto a large piece of paper and
underneath each bucket, information about that culture.
(‘Blessing’) Students could also write words and lines from
their poem to use a background e.g. ‘There never is enough
water’ from ‘Blessing’, written in drops of water amongst the
buckets. Students are to then present their piece to the class
explaining their choices and what they have learned. Possible
GCSE S and L piece. (SL AF1 and AF3) Use the GCSE grade
criteria on A3 sheets for students to peer mark.

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Dramatic piece
1. If time, students are to perform a reading of the poem, using
a range of dramatic devices. Use the GCSE moderation DVD
for an example of this done with the poem ‘Limbo’. Possible
GCSE S and L piece. Use the A3 GCSE grade criteria sheet to
peer and self assess. (SL AF1 and AF5)

Resources
 A5 coloured paper and blue tack
 Sugar paper and marker pens
 Flip chart
 A4 sheet with lines from four poems
 Copies of four different poems for group work
 GCSE S and L grade criteria on A3 sheet
 GCSE Moderation DVD
 Resources for creative piece: range of papers, glue etc.