Year 8 Curriculum Overview Welcome to the curriculum engagement booklet for 2022-23. Here you will find an overview of what your child(ren) will be studying in all subjects this year, both in terms of national curricula and potential areas for extension. I hope you will find many stimulating ideas for things to discuss, experiments to do and further reading and writing at home. An important part of Lower School curriculum is exploring new areas of all subjects without the pressure of upcoming public exams and we encourage all pupils to approach their lessons and homework with an open mind and a growth mindset. It is most important for pupils to play an active role in all their lessons, querying things they don’t understand with their teachers and taking every opportunity to discuss ideas and to look for academic challenges that require careful thought yet are within reach with the right amount of help. Below is the outline the curriculum for this year and those that follow. If and when questions arise over the course of this year, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teachers for subject-specific matters. Alternatively, your child’s tutor are always ready to answer more general questions. With best wishes for a successful year of studying, Tanya Khimyak Deputy Head (Teaching & Learning)
The Year 8 curriculum
Additional Year 8 Enrich and Extend Options
Sport
Extra-curricular
Drama
Music
Outdoor
‘The 42’ Lectures (lunchtimes – all years)
Weekly lectures from visiting experts – Michaelmas and Lent
Perse Project Qualification (after half-term)
The PPQ is an internally assessed research award
Societies
Many choices including academic clubs: see booklet
The Year 9 curriculum diagram involves students selecting five options from the choices available as published in the Year 9 choices booklet later in the year. The Year 9 Curriculum
English
Mathematics
Geography
History
Philosophy, Ethics & Religion
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Option 1
Games
Option 2
Option 3
Option 4
PSHE & Emotional Wellbeing
Option 5
PE
Two or more languages, at least one modern, are chosen in the 5 options. In Years 10/11, the humanities and the five Year 9 options are pared down to 4 GCSE electives which combine with English, mathematics and the three sciences to define each student’s GCSE courses (though there is a little scope for flexibility, depending on a pupil’s strengths).
Art Through a variety of projects students in year 8 will explore a range of different environments, thinking about texture, environments, places, spaces, colour, mood and feeling.
Architectural Sculptures Michaelmas term (GCH) Summer term (BDK & LCB) Formal Elements: Line, tone, form and perspective Contextual Studies: Pupils will study architectural styles such as Constructivism, De-constructivism, Bauhaus, exploring the work of both architects and sculptors such as Naum Gabo, Eduardo Ramírez Villamizar, Edwardo Chillida and the design process of Thomas Heatherwick and Richard Sweeny. Materials and Processes: Pupils will develop their understanding of one- and two-point perspective. Investigate mark making through their observed studies. Outcome: Pupils will create a dry point etch using a range of marks to create tone and texture. Extend: Experiment with dry point print techniques, exploring different grounds and use of chine colle to enhance composition.
Architectural Ornament Michaelmas term (MJW) Formal Elements: Line, Tone, Pattern, Form Contextual studies: Pupils will study architectural ornament and pattern from Art Deco. Materials and processes: Pupils will use 2D media to explore ideas for a ceramic 3D outcome looking at pattern and create own stencil designs. Pupils will learn how to make a geometric slabbed vessel with sgraffito and slip decoration. Outcome: A clay vessel with sgraffito and stencil slip decoration. Extend: Pupils are encouraged to visit galleries to observe 3D art at first hand.
Reduction Lino Print Project – Natural environments Michaelmas & Lent term (BDK & LCB) Lent & Summer term (GCH/ MJW) Formal Elements: Line, tone, shape, form, colour, composition. Contextual Studies: Contemporary lino print artist Angie Lewin and her process and composition techniques will be explored, along with the natural form photography of Karl Blossfeldt. Materials and Processes: Through photography and line drawing students will explore the form of natural objects found in their immediate landscape and use these to develop a colour scheme that will be explored using marble inks and collage, which will then be used to develop their lino composition using Photoshop. Outcome: A three colour reduction lino print. Extend: Pupils will be able to explore Photoshop and its colour manipulation and its features to develop abstract composition outcomes, as well as exploring drawing development and mono printing techniques and photography.
Architecture Summer term (MJW) Formal Elements: Line, tone, form and perspective Contextual Studies: Pupils will study architectural styles such as Constructivist and De-constructivist architecture. Materials and Processes: Pupils will develop their understanding of one- and two-point perspective. Investigate mark making through their observed studies. Outcome: Pupils will create a dry point etch using a range of marks to create tone and texture. Extend: Experiment with dry point print techniques, exploring different grounds and use of chine colle to enhance composition.
Biology Fish Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Fish dissection and anatomy Breathing under water Movement and bones Sexual selection Extend: Produce a fact file stating why sharks are classified as fish and whales as mammals. Hint: revisiting MRS GREN may help.
Amphibians & Reptiles Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 Lifecycles Anatomy of frogs Adaptations to arid environments Sex determination in reptiles Evolution by natural selection Homeostasis Extend: Some frog species can survive in freezing environments and can essentially go into hibernation. Research one of these species and write about how it is adapted to living in freezing conditions.
Birds Usual half-term: Lent 1 Migration Flight: bone and feathers Nutrition Reproductive strategies Extend: Many bird species are under threat in the UK. Take part in some citizen science to help monitor the decline via the Big Garden Birdwatch organised by the RSPB.
Mammals 1 & 2 Usual half-term: Lent 2, Summer 1 and Summer 2 Skeletal system Comparative anatomy Genetics Reproductive strategies Extend: Produce an essay/fact file on 'three parent babies' stating which organelle is involved and discussing some of the ethical considerations.
Chemistry Types of chemical reactions Michaelmas 1 and 2 Law of conservation of mass Exothermic and endothermic reactions Oxidation and combustion Thermal decomposition Neutralisation of acids and alkalis Reaction of metals and acid/ metals and water Displacement reactions Precipitation reactions Extend: Research life and work of Lavoisier. Which were the earliest reaction types known to scientists?
Chemistry and the climate Michaelmas 2 and Lent 1 Global warming and greenhouse gases Water potability and water hardness Energy storage (especially chemistry of batteries) Properties of different building materials (metals vs non-metals, composite materials) Metal extraction Extend: Why is mercury a liquid? Can you get metallic hydrogen? Research electric and hybrid cars.
Chemistry of food Lent 2 Why cook food? Molecules found in food and how they change during cooking Yeast as raising agents Baking powder in neutralisation and thermal decomposition reactions Food additives including E numbers Chemical composition of fats and oils How emulsifiers work pH of fizzy drinks Extend: Do solutions exist in the solid state? Research the science of spices. Why can you not have a pineapple jelly? Research alternative sources of protein. Should we eat bugs? What is in football’s vanishing spray? What is a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ fat?
Chemistry of art Summer 2 Origins of natural pigments and synthetic pigment production Thermochromic and phosphorescent pigments Composition of paints as colloids Chemical analysis of art Art conservation Chemistry of perfumes Extend: How are perfumes made in industry? What are the ‘twelve notes’ of a perfume?
Computer Science Data Representation: Colour Images and Text Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Extending the year-7 unit to represent colour bitmap images in binary Understanding of colour depth and true colour Being able to give an expression for the file size of a colour image in KibiBytes Understanding how text is encoded in binary using ASCII Extend: Find out about the file sizes for RAW images
Lists in Python Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1
An introduction to lists as a data structure Using an index to access an element of a list Using the append, pop and remove list methods Using the len() function
Extend: Find out about the insert (), count () and index () list methods
Searching and Sorting Algorithms Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 An introduction to searching algorithms, focusing on linear and binary search An introduction to sorting algorithms, focusing on bubble sort An introduction to comparing the efficiency of different algorithms which perform the same task
The Internet and the Web Usual half-term: Lent 2 Know that the internet is an interconnected network of computers all over the world Understand that the internet and the world wide web are not the same thing Know that a client sends requests to a server and receives data in response Extend: Research the origins of the internet or visit the Centre for Computing History (in Cambridge)
Decomposition and Abstraction Usual half-term: Summer 1 Breaking problems down into smaller, more manageable pieces Looking for common patterns to reduce detail and re-use pieces of an algorithm Extend: Look at the def () in Python and the use of the return statement in functions
Python Sub Programs Usual half-term: Summer 1 Be able to create a user-defined sub-program in Python to perform a task, with no parameters Be able to call a user-defined sub-program in Python, with no arguments Extend: Look at the def () in Python and the use of the return statement in functions
Extend: Find out about other types of sorting algorithms such as merge sort or quick sort
Web Technologies: HTML and CSS
Boolean Logic
An overview of the style sheet, which is used to change the layout and style of a web page An introduction to the principle of separating content and style
Usual half-term: Lent 1 Boolean variables AND, OR and NOT Boolean operators Logic expressions and truth tables Extend: Demonstrate de-Morgan's rule
Python Programming Usual half-term: Lent 1
Recap on getting input and printing variables Recap on using if/elif/else for selection Recap on using while for repetition Using a while loop with a list
Extend: Write python code for a selection sort and an insertion sort in-pace and out-of-place
Usual half-term: Summer 2
Extend: Find out about the history of websites – why did all these elements arise?
Website Authoring Project Usual half-term: Summer 2 Writing a web page in HTML on a topic of interest Using CSS to create a style for your website Extend: Develop your own webpage or blog about a topic that interests you
Design & Technology Roll Me a Six Michaelmas and part of Lent term Electronic die design and make Introduction to control systems, life before the micro-controller Introduction to the Genie system Programmable control of various inputs/outputs Design and make activity: Genie Electronic Dice Research skills Soldering and circuit board assembly Program Electronic Dice CAD (basic 2D design) Laser cutter manufacture General assembly Folio management Evaluation Extend: Research alternative ways of rolling the dice, how could it be modified to show 2 dice? Look into alternative methods of generating random numbers, compare the results with the ‘randomness’ of your e.dice. Further improve Genie programming using a kit easily purchased which can be used at home.
Stand by Me Part of Lent term and Summer term Phone stand design and make Research skills Modelling skills (paper and boards) Iterative design Fretsaw cutting General assembly Evaluation Extend: Practise modelling using a variety of materials, including those you may throw away. What joining methods work best for different materials, glue, tape etc? Experiment using clay/plasticine to make different models to create smooth finishes. Research models made by the experts, such as those made in Harry Potter World. Practise 2D and 3D CAD to improve drawing skills.
English Reading
Drama
Throughout the year Some of the chosen texts could include the following:
Throughout the year Activities of ‘making’, ‘performing’, ‘responding’ and ‘directing’ take place as part of English lessons throughout the course. Dramatic set texts are performed in class. Students write and perform their own scripts as part of textual study and for the Year 8 performance evening.
Prose – I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai; Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman Poetry – A Perse Anthology of poetry covering a range of genres, periods and forms on topics including Diversity, and Travel and Adventure. Drama – The works of William Shakespeare Extension texts: Prose – Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe; Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. Poetry – Poems including works by Robert Frost and Benjamin Zephaniah. Drama – Peter Pan adaptations; extracts from a variety of Shakespeare plays
Writing Throughout the year Genres covered include: Character study and analysis; descriptive, imaginative and creative writing; letter writing; newspaper articles; poetry; literary essays; bridging project; blogging. Extend: Develop one of these pieces into eg. a short novel. Enter a writing competition (internal and external – see Sharepoint for details). Contribution to the school’s Creative Writing Anthologies
Speaking and Listening Throughout the year Students develop: clarity and confidence to convey a point of view or information; use of talk to explore, create, question and revise ideas; the ability to work effectively with others in a range of roles; having a varied repertoire of styles; the skills required for formal debate and argument. Activities include presentations; debates, speeches and questioning; hot-seating. Extend: Learn one of the ‘Poetry by Heart’ poems. Develop one of these activities to enter a debating or public speaking competition (internal and external). Join The Forum (Junior Debating)
Extend: Join Junior Drama Club or audition for a School drama productions – including the Lower School Play and the Perse Players. Write a short play for performance by peers. Attend theatre productions in Cambridge / London.
Literacy Throughout the year Literacy in Year 8 focuses on accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar, as well as developing the skills needed for language analysis. This includes the use of correct literary terminology, connectives to join ideas within an essay, and terms of analysis to show understanding of effect and meaning. Extend: Join Spelling club or enter a spelling competition. Complete Literacy exercises available on SharePoint
Library, Research, Study and ICT Throughout the year Students begin to differentiate between different material on the web and the validity of it. Research skills look at independent study and how to source relevant information, and then use it appropriately for the task. Library skills are developed and utilised in independent study projects. Extend: Read extensively from the Lower School reading list. Attend Library author visits. Join a local library and keep in touch with their activities.
French Mon repas préféré (my favourite meal) Michaelmas Students discover popular foods, drinks and dishes from Francophone countries and compare these to what they eat. They also find out about mealtimes and eating out around the world and learn how to order food when exploring the Francophone world.
Vocabulary: Mealtimes, food and drink items, dishes, places you eat, adjectives and opinions, useful restaurant phrases. Grammar: Revision of present tense, near future tense, prepositions, numbers, articles and quantities, adjectives, intensifiers and conjunctions. Introduction of present tense of key irregular verbs (manger, prendre and boire), perfect tense with avoir (regular and key irregular verbs) and past time phrases.
Extend: Learn the show off phrases in your booklet (idioms, comparatives, direct object pronouns, negatives) / find out about comparatives / try a new French food / prepare a Francophone dish / order in French at a café or restaurant
La Francophonie (the Francophone world) Michaelmas / Lent Students explore Francophonie and the different countries that make up the Francophone world. They also learn how to describe destinations they have visited.
Vocabulary: Francophone destinations, forms of transport, types of accommodation, weather phrases, holiday activities, opinions. Grammar: Further consolidation of present, near future and perfect (with avoir only) tenses, times and dates. Introduction of prepositions with destinations/transport/accomodation, perfect tense with être.
Extend: Learn the show off phrases in your booklet (idioms, object pronouns (le/la/les/y/ça, reflexives in perfect tense) / find out how to use reflexives in the perfect tense or learn how to use the imperfect tense / research a Francophone country / enter the postcard competition
Ma région (my region) Lent / Summer Students explore regions in different Francophone countries and compare these with their region.
Vocabulary: Adjectives and nouns to describe different regions, facilities, activities, environmental issues and solutions. Grammar: Revision of nouns, articles and quantities, prepositions, adjectives, 3 main tenses and opinions. Introduction of adjective position, more complex negatives, present tense of modal verbs (devoir, pouvoir and vouloir), use of il faut + infinitive, key simple future and conditional phrases.
Extend: Learn the show off phrases in your booklet (other tenses, superlatives, ce qui / ce que, idioms) / learn how to use a range of complex grammatical structures (see above) / research a town or region in a Francophone country and make a promotional leaflet
Geography Wicked geographical problems and the megatrends that will define the 21 st Century Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 What is a megatrend? Shifts in global economic power An ageing and growing population Accelerating urbanisation The rise of technology and digitisation Increasing affluence and consumption Climate change and resource scarcity Extend: Investigate what companies deem to be the biggest megatrends (e.g. see EY’s ey-megatrends-final-onscreen.pdf or PwCs Megatrends | PwC). Google ‘Sitra’s megatrend cards’ and play their games. Come up to the Geography department with a friend and read their megatrends poster. Which ones are you worried about? Which ones are you most excited about?
Energy – exploring the (over)consumption of energy and examining solutions to address this key geographical issue. Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 and 2 Extend: Read: A Very Short Introduction – Renewable Energy (Jenkins). Watch: There are entire TED playlists on energy, including https://www.ted.com/playlists/58/the_end_of_oil Listen: Clean Energy Revolution podcast - The Clean Energy Revolution podcast | National Grid Group
Plastics – exploring the (over)consumption of plastics and examining solutions to address this key geographical issue. Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 and Lent 1 Extend: Watch: Charles Moore’s Seas of Plastic Charles Moore: Seas of plastic | TED Talk or one of the other excellent TED talks on plastics plastic | Search Results | TED Explore: Research the concept of the Pacific Garbage Patch and find out some solutions.
Water – exploring the (over)consumption of water and examining solutions to address this key geographical issue. Usual half-term: Lent 2 Extend: Read: Water Supply Day Zero Cities Watch: TED Talk on Virtual Water Listen: Podcast on Water Security Explore: Virtual Water Explained
Food – exploring the (over)consumption of food and examining solutions to address this key geographical issue. Usual half-term: Summer 1 and 2 Extend: Read: A Very Short Introduction – Food (Krebs). Watch: Playlist of five TED talks entitled ‘What’s the future of food?’ What's the future of food? | TED Talks
German The Y8 German course covers key vocabulary from core topic areas, with an introduction to basic grammar points and delivery of culturally specific content throughout the year. Pupils can then build on these firm foundations in Y9 in order to be prepared for the GCSE content in Y10.
Introductions Michaelmas 1 • Introduction to the German language; compound nouns activity • Greetings and introductions • Numbers 1 – 100 • Saying your age • 3. Oktober – Tag der deutschen Einheit/Day of German Unity Extend: internet research - find out about and share knowledge of regional variations of the German language (choose one from the options provided)
My area/festivals Michaelmas 2 Talking about where you live (+ places in town) • •
Festivals: Learn about Martinstag Festivals: Nikolaus/Weihnachten/Silvester – Christmas and New Year traditions
Extend: research a German city/region and create a poster to advertise it (in German) using key vocab from this topic
Personal ID Lent 1 • • • • • • •
Numbers revision (+100 – 1000) Dates Birthdays The German alphabet Introduction to personal ID and family/friends: Family members Physical and personality descriptions
Extend: research a German-speaking personality and create an A4 poster about them (practise 3rd person pres tense).
Personal ID extension & festivals (carnival and Easter) Lent 2 • Learn about Karneval • Physical appearance and personality – review and extend • Parts of the body • Illnesses • Learn about Ostern Extend: design a Karneval mask/costume.
Personal ID – pets/food and drink Summer 1 • Pets and animals • Introduction to food and drink • Eating likes and dislikes Extend: Design a café/restaurant menu (can be themed/based on a particular region).
Food and Drink extension Summer 2 • Role play: ordering & buying food and drink (café/restaurant scenes) • Find out more about regional specialities Extend: mini-presentations by groups on regional foods
History What were the causes of religious change in Early Modern Europe? Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Overview of religion in the Early Modern world Europe and religion in 1500 Focus on causation and primary source analysis The context of Renaissance and Christian Humanism Case Studies: Erasmus Luther Extend: Compare Martin Luther and Martin Luther King: https://www.pbs.org/empires/martinluther/who_said.htm l Explore: the impact of Machiavelli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRIxkLhMpa0
Why did Luther’s ideas go viral? Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 The spread of Lutheranism and Protestantism Focus on causation and relative importance Case Studies: Why did Luther’s ideas go viral? How did Luther survive in 1521? Extend: stories of migration in: https://www.ourmigrationstory.org.uk/oms/by-era/1500%E2%80%931750 Explore: the life and death of another religious reformer: Jan Hus | Biography, Reforms, Beliefs, Death, & Facts | Britannica
What were the consequences of religious change in Europe? Usual half-term: Lent 1 Consequences of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations Focus on consequences and different interpretations Case Studies:
Henry VIII’s Break with Rome Religious persecution – Mary I/Elizabeth I The Council of Trent and the Society of Jesus Growth of Protestant denominations and impact of religious wars
Extend: European witch hunts: interactive map The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe (routledgetextbooks.com) Explore: Counter Reformation Art: Baroque Art and Architecture Movement Overview | TheArtStory
What caused religious change in the Mughal Empire and what were its consequences? Usual half-term: Lent 2 Key features of Islam and Hinduism within this period The growth and decline of the Mughal Empire The will, beliefs and priorities of the Emperor Religious toleration, innovation, orthodoxy and resistance Focus on cause and consequence Case Studies:
Religious toleration under Akbar ‘The Divine Faith’ Akbar The role of Nur Jahan Religious orthodoxy under Aurangzeb Resistance under Aurangzeb
Extend: Investigate the role of Nur Jahan How Nur Jahan ruled the Mughal Empire - BBC Teach Explore: art within the Empire V&A · The Arts Of The Mughal Empire (vam.ac.uk)
What is the impact of Believing Differently? Usual half-term: Summer 1 Opportunity to reinforce understanding through looking at change and continuity/cause and consequence across enquiries Opportunity to compare this year’s study to another region/religion Opportunity to look at specific local, national or international case studies Possible Case Studies:
British Civil War, interaction of Empires, origin of the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Ming Dynasty, Aztec Empire
Extend: the importance of maps as historical sources https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/12/12-maps-that-changed-the-world/282666/ Explore: The Royal Armouries Civil War Collection and video links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNi9YzBhL4s
What makes a successful exhibition of what we’ve learnt??’ Usual half-term: Summer 2 Discussion of class criteria as to what makes a successful exhibition of what we’ve learnt with regard to content and skills. Opportunity to work in groups within each class to plan and produce an exhibition of what we’ve learnt this year. Extend: Europe and the Islamic World, 1600–1800 | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (metmuseum.org) Explore: How to design an exhibition: These 5 tips should be your mantra - MuseumNext
Italian The Y8 Italian course covers key vocabulary from core topic areas, with an introduction to basic grammar points. There will also be regular study of prominent Italian areas of cultural interest. Pupils will be able to choose to continue Italian via our extracurricular route to build on these foundations up to GCSE level.
Introductions
School and plans
Michaelmas 1 • Salutations • Numbers and birthdays • Family descriptions • Nationalities and countries • Personality descriptions
Summer 1 • School subjects and preferences • School description • Describing future plans
Extend: Create a “wanted” poster for an imaginary character. Include a paragraph about his/her/their physical appearance and personality.
Travel and tourism Michaelmas 2 • Modes of transport • Holiday activities • Countries and destinations • Using the passato prossimo to talk about a past holiday Extend: Design a short booklet for a holiday destination in Italy. Include information on how you get there and what you can do. Don’t forget to include a testimony about a past visit using the passato prossimo.
Festivals in Italy Lent 2 • Learn about typical customs and traditions in Italy • Learn about some Italian festivals and how they are celebrated • Research and present on an Italian festival. Extend: Create a poster to advertise an Italian festival e.g. Carnevale, Festa della Repubblica, Il Palio di Siena. Include the key customs and how it is celebrated.
Extend: Create a short vlog about the Perse! Include the key facilities and advantages of our lovely school.
Food, drink and eating out Summer 2 • Food and drink • Café and restaurant vocabulary • Following a recipe • Make your own pizza Extend: find a recipe online for a classic Italian dish. Have a go at making it!
Latin Language Skills Throughout the year By the end of Year 8, pupils will have built upon the language work carried out in Year 7 by finding out about a range of new language features that enable more interesting sentences and stories to be read and understood. These features include participles, irregular verbs, imperatives, as well as time phrases, and we will also meet additional cases of nouns and tenses of verbs. We continue to read stories from de Romanis Book 1 and will practise translating English sentences into Latin. Extend: Can you apply the grammatical knowledge you have gained about Latin to help you understand the way English (or another modern language) works? Do clauses and sentences in English ever behave like Latin ones do?
Life in the Roman World Throughout the year As well as continuing our work on the Latin language, we will be finding out a lot about Religion in the Roman World. This will include exploring what the Romans believed about the Underworld and life after death, the importance of various festivals to their society, as well as the role of fate and prophecy in everyday life. Extend: We hope to be able to visit various sites and museums: Colchester Castle, the Museum of London and Verulamium Museum (St Albans) all give a feel for daily life in Roman Britain, while the British Museum contains Roman and Egyptian artefacts. You can also find out more about the ancient world by attending meetings of our year 7-9 Classics club, “Acropolis”!
Vocabulary Throughout the year During Year 8 pupils learn an additional 120 Latin words from the chapter checklists in de Romanis Book 1 to augment the 100 words they learned during Year 7. Many pupils and parents may find it helpful to use the online vocabulary flashcards available on Quizlet:
o o
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Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Extend: What English words are derived from the Latin words learned during Year 8? Are there similarities between Latin words and words in other modern languages?
Classical Greek Throughout the year All pupils in higher sets will have lessons later in the year devoted to Greek. All those pupils will learn the Greek alphabet and some will be able, by the end of the year, to translate basic sentences, giving them a head-start before the optional Year 9 Gratin course. Extend: A range of extension materials can be found at http://www.cornellcollege.edu/classical_studies/ariadne/index.shtml . Many pupils will also enjoy exploring stories from Greek mythology, available from many sources.
Latin as a Spoken Language Usual half-term competitions in Lent 2 and Summer 1 Latin is notoriously considered a “dead language” but we try to give it new life in lessons by reading it aloud. We discover that “v” was pronounced like a “w”, and that “c” was pronounced like a “k”! Extend: Take part in the local Classical Association Junior Reading Competition and join the cast for our entry to the annual Ludi Scaenici drama competition
The Classical Legacy Throughout the year Throughout the year we hope to make pupils aware of just how much of an impression the ancient world has made on the modern world – from architecture to philosophy, and from drama to languages themselves! Extend: Explore the local Classical possibilities in Cambridge, including the collections at the Fitzwilliam Museum and Museum of Classical Archaeology, and by looking for neo-classical architecture (e.g. Downing College).
Mandarin Chinese The year 8 Mandarin course begins with an introduction to Pinyin and the four tones. The principles of stroke order will be taught, and students will learn about character composition. Students will learn language from core topic areas, with a focus on production of the language and interaction. There will be plenty of opportunities to learn about Chinese customs, traditions, and festivals. Pupils can build on these firm foundations in year 9 to prepare for GCSE content in year 10.
Introduction Michaelmas 1 • The phonetical system of Pinyin • The four tones • Stroke order, radicals and character composition • Greetings and small talk • Mid-Autumn festival, its traditions and its origins (1 lesson) Extend: Practise Chinese tongue twisters to master your pronunciation and intonation!
Myself and my family Michaelmas 2 • Numbers, ages and birthdays • Family members (including pets) • Question formation Extend: Using an example to help, write a poem about your family, pet(s) or an imaginary pet
Food and festivals Lent 1 • Chinese food customs and dining etiquette • Symbolic meanings of certain foods, particularly during Chinese New Year • Chinese New Year origins and activities Extend: Research regional dishes of China’s provinces/ Make your own 春联.
Food, drink and eating out Lent 2 • Chinese delicacies • Food/drink likes and dislikes • Ordering in a restaurant Extend: Design a dream menu in Mandarin
Hobbies Summer 1 & 2 • Hobbies with family • Chinese hobbies • Research a Chinese hobby and present your findings to the class Extend: Describe a recent day in the past (introduction to past tense 了)
Maths Algebra
Number
Basic Algebra
Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1/Lent 1 Simplifying expressions; general indices Multiplication and division of directed numbers Expanding brackets and collecting like terms Constructing formulae Finding a formula for the nth term of a sequence Substituting numbers into formulae Changing the subject of a formula
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Revision of fractions (+, -, ×, ÷) Fractions to percentages Percentages to fractions Finding a % of a quantity One quantity as a % of another Percentage increase and decrease
Extend: Explore the formulae that describe non-linear (e.g. quadratic) sequences.
Indices, Scientific Form and Approximations
Solving Equations
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Solving linear equations Extend: What happens if a linear equation is changed so that each side is the reciprocal of the corresponding side in the original equation? Do the same solutions persist?
Factorisation Usual half-term: Lent 1 Idea of a factor Distributive law Simple algebraic fractions Extend: Try this: http://nrich.maths.org/5777
Extend: Find out about continued fractions. Can you perform calculations using them?
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 Multiplying and dividing numbers in index form Negative and zero indices Scientific form Approximations by rounding Significant figures and decimal places Extend: Find out about the gravitational constant and by what percentage this can vary to allow the universe to persist. Can you find other physical constants with similar properties?
Ratio Usual half-term: Lent 1
Simplifying ratios Division in a given ratio Maps Ratio and proportion Equivalence of fractions, ratios, decimals and percentages
Extend: See if you can source any data on the ratio of ingredients used in Haribo sweets. What might the cost be for the ingredients to make 1kg of sweets?
Shape:
Exterior and Interior Angles
Area and Circles
Usual half-term: Lent 2 Calculating interior and exterior angles for both regular and non-regular polygons.
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Area of a rectangle, parallelogram, triangle and compound shapes Area of trapezium Finding unknown lengths, when the area is known The Circle: circumference and area Extend: Investigate where π crops up in physical applications seemingly unrelated to circles (for example, probability and Buffon’s needle).
Basic Transformations
Extend: Try this problem: http://nrich.maths.org/5642
Trigonometry Usual half-term: Lent 2 Sine, Cosine and Tangent ratios: calculation of lengths and angles in right angled triangles Tangent ratio comparison with gradient Extend: Find out about the use of trigonometry tables by snipers in the armed forces.
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2
Volume
Reflection and translation: invariant points; mirror lines; translations described using vectors Rotation: order of rotational symmetry; centre of rotation; finding the centre and angle of rotation
Usual half-term: Summer 1 Volume of a cuboid Idea of a prism Volume of a prism Volume of a cylinder Density
Extend: The idea of invariance is important in Mathematics. Investigate it and see if you can identify its relationship with any areas of the subject with which you are familiar.
Extend: If a swimming pool is filled with wooden rolling pins, what is the density of the total space enclosed by the swimming pool?
Pythagoras’ Theorem
Construction Techniques
Usual half-term: Lent 1
Usual half-term: Summer 1 Construction of: 60° angle, angle bisector, 90° angle Perpendicular bisector of a line segment
Pythagorean triples Calculation of lengths Application to isosceles triangles and circles Converse of Pythagoras
Extend: In a right-angled triangle with sides of length a, b and c, is it true that an + bn = cn where n is not equal to 2?
Enlargements and Similarity Usual half-term: Lent 1 Enlargements: centre of enlargement; constructing an image Similar triangles: equiangular triangles; finding missing Extend: Explore negative scale factors. Play this game: https://www.mangahigh.com/engb/maths_games/shape/transformations/enlargement__negative_scale_factors
Extend: Look on the internet for shapes that can be constructed using a ruler and compasses. Start with a regular hexagon, and then see what other shapes you can construct.
Graphs: Coordinates and Straight-Line Graphs Usual half-term: Lent 2 Equation of a line through the origin Gradient of a line Equation y = mx + c Parallel lines Extend: Find out about the gradients of perpendicular lines and explore some problems that might arise as a result. Can you apply what you discover to vertical and horizontal lines?
Real-life Graphs Usual half-term: Summer 2 Interpreting graphs Sketching graphs from words Exponential functions Travel graphs Extend: Find population statistics for the USA from 1790. For what periods of time since then was population growth exponential?
Data & Probability Probability Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 Relative frequency Likely and unlikely events Certain and impossible events Sample spaces Extend: Investigate Grime Dice: http://www.think-maths.co.uk/downloads/grime-dice-lesson-resources .
Scatter Graphs Usual half-term: Summer 1 Drawing a scatter graph Line of best fit Idea of positive and negative correlation Extend: How might you draw a line of best fit for a set of data which has a relationship but which is not linear?
Music The Blues
Waltz
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Learn the blues chord sequence Improvise using the blues scale Play a ‘boogie woogie’ bass line Understand the history of the blues Compose a blues song
Usual half-term: Lent 2 Recognise and describe the waltz style Understand the history of the waltz Explore the chords used in a waltz accompaniment Compose a waltz
Extend: Learn a Jazz standard based on the blues chords such as “Green Onions”. Compose a jazz piece based on the blues chords.
Extend: Explore the compositional techniques used in modern waltzes.
Baroque Music
Usual half-term: Summer 1 Recognise and describe the disco style Perform a disco song Compose a disco song using verse/chorus structure
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 Recognise and describe music from the Baroque era Understand basic figured bass notation Name and recognise the musical ornaments Perform a piece of Baroque music Compose a melody over a ground bass Extend: Perform a Baroque piece in a concert. Use figured bass to compose an accompaniment to a Baroque melody.
Latin-American Music Usual half-term: Lent 1 Understand the history of samba music Recognise and play syncopated rhythms Perform a samba using syncopated polyrhythms Perform a Latin-American piece in groups Extend: Discover the composers who have been influenced by Brazilian rhythms. Compose a piece of music based on rhythms of Latin-America.
Dance Music 1
Extend: Discover the music of famous disco artists.
Dance Music 2 Usual half-term: Summer 2 Understand how club dance music developed from disco Recognise the use of technology in club dance music Remix a disco song in a club dance style Extend: Compose a club dance track.
Physical Education Basketball
Dance
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Consolidate understanding of the basic skills and techniques in basketball Dribbling Passing Shooting Develop tactical knowledge Ball protection and triple threat Attacking space and movement Defensive positioning
Usual half-term: Lent 2 Learn how to use a stimulus to create a motif in dance Choreograph and perform a dance using motifs Development of timing in relation to music.
Extend: History of basketball, Lower school basketball club
Gymnastics Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 Building towards vaulting Headstands Handstands Cartwheels Using the springboard Vaulting and flight Extend: Gymnastics club and the opportunity to perform in a Lower School or extra-curricular assembly
Badminton Usual half-term: Lent 1 Understanding of singles/doubles court Building repertoire of shots Backhand drive Backhand over-head clear Forehand drop shot Backhand smash Tournament style play Extend: A series of ‘did you know?’ facts, opportunity to play in a school fixture, House badminton
Extend: Dance club and a Y8 dance competition with the opportunity to perform in an extra-curricular assembly
Athletics Usual term: Summer Gaining a technical understanding of a range of track and field events including: Speed: 100m/200m Throws: Shot Put Jumps: Triple Jump Extend: Athletics club at lunchtimes and competing for the school as a member of the Y8 athletics team
Philosophy, Ethics & Religion What are some of the key beliefs and practices associated with Islam? Michaelmas Term 1 Who was Muhammad (pbuh)? How is Islam practiced? How did Islam develop after Muhammad (pbuh)? What is Islamic art like? What do Muslims believe about sex and gender? Extend: Explore the Hajj through collections held at the British Museum Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca | British Museum.
What are some of the key beliefs and practices associated with Judaism? Michaelmas Term 1b What are some key Jewish beliefs? What is the covenant relationship? How is scripture put into practice? How have Jewish people responded to the Shoah / Holocaust? What do Jewish people believe about the promised land? Extend: Explore some of the objects held at The Jewish Museum, London Judaism Archives - The Jewish Museum London
Whose morals matter? Lent Term 1a What is ethics? Is there such thing as human nature? What is a person? Should we eat non-human animals? How are decisions made? Extend: Read The Pig That Wants to be Eaten by Julian Baggini which is available to borrow from the PER library. Please ask your PER teacher if you would like to borrow a copy.
How are moral decisions made? Lent Term 1b How do we do ethics? How do utilitarians make moral decisions? How do Kantian deontologists make moral decisions? How do virtue ethicists make moral decisions? How do emotivists make moral decisions? Is it in my interests to be selfish? How can we make a fairer society? Extend: Watch the BBC Radio 4 videos on The Trolley Problem (The Trolley Problem - YouTube), The Harm Principle (The Harm Principle: How to live your life the way you want to - YouTube), Kant’s Axe (Kant's Axe - YouTube), Flourishing (Aristotle on 'Flourishing' - YouTube), The Veil of Ignorance (The Veil Of Ignorance - YouTube), and The Life you Can Save (The Life You Can Save - YouTube).
Is there a God? Summer Term How do philosophers analyse arguments? Does the design argument prove the existence of God? Does the ontological argument prove the existence of God? Does the cosmological argument prove the existence of God? Does the existence of evil disprove the existence of God? Extend: Read File 8 from The Complete Philosophy Files by Stephen Law. Copies are available in the PER library. Please ask your PER teacher if you would like to borrow a copy. Or watch this video from TrueTube, Proving God Exists - YouTube.
Physics Experimental Skills Throughout the year Equation – Rearrange – Substitute – Answer – Unit
Powers of ten and common SI prefixes Proportionality & Inverse Proportionality Discrete and continuous data Plotting, reading & interpreting graphs
Independent, dependent & control variables
The concept of a “fair test” Methods and Diagrams Recording data clearly and correctly Accuracy, Reliability, Precision and Validity
Extend: What are the 7 base units and why do we need them? What other systems of units are there? How do they work? What other relationships exist, e.g. exponential, inverse square, logarithmic? How big and how small do the prefixes go? What objects have those sizes? What do we mean by the sensitivity of a measuring instrument? Can you give examples of categoric, ordered, discrete and continuous variables? What types of graph would be best to show relationships between these data? What is the role of the scientific community in establishing the validity of an experiment?
Energy Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Energy as the ability to do work Types of energy Conservation and conversion Dissipation of Energy & Efficiency Thermal Energy on the molecular scale Extend: What can you find out about James Joule? Why is the unit of energy named after him? Research different methods of generating electrical energy. What other heat transfer processes are there? What does E = mc2 mean and how is it useful?
Near Space Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 Sun, Earth and Moon Day and night and shadows Phases of the moon and tides
Seasons Eclipses Extend: Why do we have two tides a day? Where are the biggest tides found? Why does the size of tides vary? Why is the moon getting further away? How do we know that a day used to be shorter?
Electrical Circuits Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 / Lent 1 Electrical charge and current Conductors and insulators Series and parallel circuits Extend: Investigate Kirchoff’s laws. How well do semiconductors conduct electricity? Why does this differ from metals? Why are semiconductors useful? How does lightning happen? How does a fuel cell work and why are they useful? Why does current have the symbol I? Why do we say current goes from positive to negative?
Simple Machines Usual half-term: Lent 1 / Lent 2 Levers and Moments Pulleys Centre of Mass Extend: Identify applications of Simple machines in industry. How were simple machines used to build the Milau bridge? How are pulleys used in sailing? How can simple machines be combined to perform complex functions? Build a machine to move something heavy. Design a way of using machines to rescue a stuck vehicle.
Far Space Usual term: Summer Solar system Life Cycle of Stars Comets and Asteroids Galaxy, Galaxy Clusters, Universe & the Big Bang Exoplanets Extend: Compare the laws of planetary motion of Newton and Kepler. What happens when stars die? How do we know the Universe is expanding? Investigate the scale of the Universe at htwins.net
PSHE Education Health and Wellbeing Michaelmas 1 Personal identity, understanding of diverse identities and how identity can change over time. Puberty and how it affects our bodies and emotions. My rights over my body including FGM. Extend: Pupils can watch BBC’s Series 4: 10 “Operation Ouch: Don’t Panic About Puberty” (2016) https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/my-body-my-rights/
Relationships Michaelmas 2 Understanding gender and tackling gender stereotypes Relationships and building healthy relationships Extend: Explore the childline website section on healthy relationships https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/friendsrelationships-sex/sex-relationships/healthy-unhealthy-relationships/ Ted Talk by Jackson Bird on ‘How to talk and listen to transgender people’
Health and wellbeing Lent
Money skills budgeting and saving Money skills bank accounts, bank statements and borrowing Introduction to Unifrog
Extend: Keep a spending diary. Challlenge them to save on family shopping: Set a shopping list with a target budget and challenge your children to find ways to save money while in store with you. If they need some clues, suggest buying supermarket-own brand items instead of big brands, multipacks, looking out for special offers and perhaps even sacrificing a luxury item.
Health and wellbeing and Relationships Summer Understanding of what is meant by safe consensual sex and different types of contraception Definitions of drugs and their different classifications and their effects Extend: Create of poster of different types of contraception with details on how it works and the positive and negative effects and effectiveness. Students can navigate the talktofrank.com website to research different types of drugs and their effects
Spanish Tourism and talking about the past
Free Time/Shopping
Usual half-term: Michaelmas 1 Language
Usual half-term: Lent 1 Language
Describing an event in the past Comparing with what you did when you were younger Plans for next weekend
Activities on holiday Saying what the weather was like Travel and tourism Past holidays
Grammar
Grammar
Preterite tense – regular and irregular
Revision of tenses: Present, Preterite, Imperfect, Near Future, paso tiempo + ando/iendo direct object pronouns, ordinal numbers, expressions of quantity/size
Extend: Where is Spanish spoken in the world, and how did it get there? Find out about its history and current status in the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara.Research two Spanish regions and make a list of their attractions. Which one do you think would be more interesting to visit and why?
Media and Fashion Usual half-term: Michaelmas 2 Language
TV programmes you enjoy Films you enjoy Describing a film Pros and cons of different media Clothing Where you can buy clothes Clothes for special occasions
Grammar
Past, present, future Opinions Irregular preterite Llevar, gustar, demonstrative adjectives, comparatives/superlatives
Extend: Visit the school library and explore the variety of Spanish books and films on offer (ask the librarians for recommendations for beginners). Research the life and work of an internationally known Spanish designer such as Agata Ruiz de la Prada, Manolo Blahnik, Adolfo Domínguez or Paco Rabanne. Browse the websites of popular Spanish fashion brands such as Pull and Bear, Zara, Mango, Roberto Verino, Springfield and Massimo Dutti. How do clothing styles and fashions differ from those of the UK?
Extend: Research a traditional Hispanic sport, such as pelota vasca, bolos, lucha leonesa, charrería mexicana, and find out where and how it is played. At which sports do any two Hispanic countries particularly excel, and in which are they least successful? Why do you think this is? Research the results of previous international sports competitions to find out.
Come to Madrid! Usual half-term: Lent 2 Language Greetings/Introductions Transport and travel in Madrid Buying travel tickets Planning visits Simple directions and types of shops in town Grammar Preposition a, Relative pronouns (que, lo que as a minimum), asking questions, imperatives Extend: Pick any two provincial capitals in Spain (eg. Palencia and Cáceres) and work out how you would get from one to the other, using only public transport. Find out how long your journey would take and how much it would cost. Use tripadvisor.es to plan a trip based on students’ interests.
Differences in daily routine
Healthy Living
Usual half-term: Summer 1 Language Describing daily activities, traditions and customs in the past, including Easter. Summer assessment revision of all skills: listening, reading, writing, oral Grammar Preterite Soler
Usual half-term: Summer 2 Language
Extend: Study this restaurant’s menu: http://losmontesdegalicia.es/menu-select/ . Look up vocabulary you don’t know. How is it typical of Galician cuisine?
Healthy lifestyle and body Illnesses and injuries At the chemist’s Sport and sporting accidents End of term activities
Grammar
Deber, hay que, tener que, necesitar Doler Impersonal se Imperfect/preterite
Extend: http://www.expatica.com/es/healthcare/Getting-healthcare-in-Spain_101467.html and read about seeing a doctor in Spain and going to hospital. As a foreign visitor, what would you have to beware of?
Lower School Research Research, Enquiry and Scholarship at The Perse A spirit of enquiry is at the heart of a Perse education and pupils are encouraged to develop their research and investigation skills through the core curriculum and an exciting programme of research opportunities beyond the classroom. Together, these enable pupils to develop confidence in information literacy (both digital and 'traditional'), written and verbal communication skills and project management. In engaging with these opportunities pupils will see their research skills and understanding of the research process progress towards full 'university-readiness' by the end of Year 13.
In Year 12 all pupils undertake either an internal Rouse Award Research project or instead choose to complete the demanding and fulfilling EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) which is equivalent to half an A Level. Either project will assist in supporting further education course applications. In Year 10 pupils can join the HPQ (Higher Project Qualification) programme, a more formalised, externally assessed research qualification which stretches them intellectually and personally as they work towards a more developed research assignment.
In Year 9 pupils can enter the Aristotelian Award essay competition, an internally assessed 1500-word essay competition which is organised by the Research Prefects and open to internal and external students across the UK. In Year 8 pupils can work towards the Perse Project Qualification (PPQ) where they have a go at an independent research project. They will work one-to-one with a supervisor to hone their skills and ideas as they produce a 1500-word project. In Year 7 pupils have an independent study homework slot. One of the options is the PRSQ (Perse Research Skills Qualification), which is an online module course introducing and teaching key research skills as a framework to build on as they move up the school.
The Perse Research Model At The Perse students learn about the process of conducting research through The Perse Research Model (left). The Perse Research model is a 5stage model surrounded by the continual need to reflect on the pro-cess and communicate what they have found. They learn that research is a creative but also systematic process. As students engage with the research opportunities in the school they will progress they will develop their skills at each stage in the research model. For further reading to learn about the process of research we recommend the ‘Little Quick Fix’ series on doing research, which can be found in the Rouse library.
Year 8 Perse Project Qualification (PPQ) After the homework induction period in the Michaelmas first half-term, Year 8 pupils will have an option to undertake an independent research project on a subject of their choosing, the PPQ. They will gain research, writing and presentation skills as part of this process. Pupils will be allocated a supervisor who will meet with them through Michaelmas 2 and Lent terms to help guide their project. In the summer term pupils' achievements are celebrated at a research garden party where, as well as having the chance to enjoy seasonal refreshments, pupils meet with expert members of staff and Year 8 pupils who completed a PPQ. The Year 8 pupils will reflect on their experience of undergoing a research project and share what they learnt.
Embedded ICT Skills Students’ digital and ICT skill development can vary depending on their own experiences and natural interest. These skills are increasingly vital however in secondary school, higher education and the workplace and therefore we want to ensure all of our students have a solid, practical grounding.
At The Perse, Computer Science is its own subject in the main curriculum but this is very different from ICT skills and covers the science behind computers, for example how data is stored/manipulated and how to design and test algorithms.
NOTE: Mastering touch typing and improving your typing speed (aim for 50+ wpm) is of benefit to all ages and we encourage students to make use of www.typingclub.com
ICT skills, however, are the practical ones regarding how to use a computer and its major software and applications. All Perse departments take responsibility for delivering ICT through their own subject-based content. A skills feedback assessment is then conducted during summer term internal exams week in which students practise a short series of tasks. The skills below are for Year 8 and build upon the Year 7 skills which are available at http://intranet.perse.co.uk/schools/upper/ictexams
Word Processing Additional Microsoft Word Year 8 skills:
Insert page/section breaks Customise margins and indents Use and format columns Use the word/character count feature Configure paragraph and line spacing Use the format painter tool Merge cells in tables and customising cell alignment Use the equation editor and subscript/superscript Insert basic textboxes, shapes and lines/arrows including outline, fills and alignment Insert date and time e.g. into a footer Insert footnotes, endnotes or citations Add comments and tracking/reviewing changes Insert a screen clipping
Spreadsheets Additional Microsoft Excel Year 8 skills:
Merge cells Setup simple formulae using average, sum and if Add an automatic-filter to a table and filter on more than one column Fill (‘drag’) a formula down a column Use $ to specify absolute cell references in a formula (e.g. = A1/$A$10) Set ‘scale to fit’ print options Add and customise scatter diagrams including specifying axes and title/key
Format cells to change vertical cell alignment and wrap text Format cells to specify numeric formatting e.g. number of decimal places or format as a currency Add basic conditional formatting for adding colour to cells that meet criteria
Presentation software Additional Microsoft PowerPoint Year 8 skills:
Animate an object on a slide (simple) Add object transparency and change z-order (front to back) Change slide setup to A4 size (for poster print) Add content to the slide master Export slide hand-outs to Word Record slide timings & audio narration for a presentation Export to video format Add text ‘notes’ with slides for presenting
Email applications Additional Microsoft Outlook Year 8 skills:
Use folders in Outlook for email organisation Add calendar entries Understand how to use cc and bcc Request a read receipt to an email Delay delivery of an email to a later date/time Understand appropriate sizes for file attachments and the need for email systems to have maximum email size and maximum inbox size limits.
OneNote & Learning environments On OneDrive: Access and use class OneNotes (digital textbook / exercise book) as shared by a teacher in the shared area of a students https://onedrive.com Know how to camera snap work into a student’s area of a class OneNote. Use the ‘share’ function on OneDrive to work collaboratively and share with others Understand version history on OneDrive documents and how to view or restore an older version or restore from their recycle bin for up to 30 days Know that OneDrive and OneNote are only two of the Office 365 apps that are available on office.com and investigate others such as Sway and Forms alongside the mobile apps available.
Photo editing tools Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paint Shop Pro:
Resize an image Resize an image canvas Save as jpg or bmp Add layers, controlling layer visibility and merging layers Use basic toolbox features including pen, fill, crop, selection, eye-dropper, eraser and text tools
Acrobat PDF files: Understand the PDF file format: uses and benefits
Export/save from Office documents to PDF format
Additional skills (not assessed) Massive Open Online Courses: Understand the ‘learning anytime/anywhere’ concept and main-stream implementations such as Khan Academy, Coursera, Udacity, TED talks Have investigated an area of interest (for independent learning or extension) within a structured (& safe) online content provider Blogging: Understand what blogging is: uses and dangers Have awareness of the difference between private and public blogs Know some examples of collaborative school blogs (such as persestudio.org, or Schoology course blogs) and how students can contribute positively. Screen-casting: Know how to create screen-casts e.g. through online tools such as www.screencast-o-matic.com or through the Insert – screen recording option on the PowerPoint toolbars. Add narration to screen-captures and export to video files
Where next? This scheme will continue into Years 9 but students are also able to pursue full ICT skills certification at a time that is right for them. The Perse is a Registered Certiport Centre which means that students can take Microsoft online certification exams on site. Training can be best accessed by students coming to Digital Literacy Club any Thursday lunchtime and telling Mr Baker (pdbaker@perse.co.uk ) or Mr Gwilt (djgwilt@perse.co.uk ) that they would like to start ICT certification training. The training materials can be accessed on site but can also be downloaded at home assuming the corresponding version of Microsoft Office is also installed at home. Following training, we recommend all students take the opportunity to complete Microsoft Office Specialist certification over their time at the school by completing at least the Word, Excel and PowerPoint modules. These are free to take whilst at the School due to our annual subscription programme.
Wider Reading Lists – Lower School Reading is not just a product of intellectual curiosity, but stimulates it, and all Perse pupils are encouraged to read as diverse a range of texts as possible during their time at the school. Reading can be one of life’s great pleasures, and it is important that pupils read books that they enjoy, but it is also a way of developing new interests, understanding and skills when books that may fall outside someone’s normal ‘comfort zone’ are tackled. As a general guide, pupils are encouraged to find some balance between fiction and non-fiction and to try new and different genres at some point over the course of a year. There are numerous events and activities throughout the school year to involve pupils in celebrating their love of reading – visiting authors, competitions and book groups to name just a few. Many of these bring together pupils from multiple year groups (Covid measures permitting!), but there are also many age-specific opportunities ranging from those targeted at our newest school joiners to those applying to university. All pupils are encouraged to set aside some time each week to read – even half an hour provides valuable relaxation and intellectual interest. The Rouse Library holds a wide and diverse range of books (in both traditional and now digital format) which go well beyond the subject reading lists and recommendations (although these can be a great place to start). Ms Alboni and Mrs Suman-Chauhan have a wealth of experience advising young readers and always welcome a conversation with pupils, whether seasoned library users or less confident readers. Subject teachers and departmental literacy coordinators can also make helpful recommendations of texts that would be at the right reading level for a particular pupil and will help them indulge their interests further. A reluctant reader is usually one who hasn’t found the right type of book yet! The following tables highlight certain titles which may prove interesting or stimulating within a context of wider reading. These include a variety of types of text then including some fiction within each subject area. Whilst departments have made every effort to filter the texts listed here, please apply the usual parental judgement when selecting books for students to purchase or borrow – some books will have been included on the recommendation of others or third parties. These books can be requested at The Rouse Library. Students will also be given details on our new Sora ebook service which contains a selection of these texts to borrow that will build up over time. Dedicated e-readers (such as the Kindle) also have certain advantages over tablet/mobile reading, particularly in that that they are not typically back-lit and so are easier on the eyes. Many of the following books can also be purchased at reduced rates on e-book stores.
Wider Reading Lists – Lower School Art
Wendy Beckett: The Story of Painting Peter Dormer: The Art of the Maker Susie Hodge: 50 Art Ideas You Really Need to Know Anthony Janson: History of Art for Young People Stephen Little: Isms: Understanding Art Andy Tuohy: Great Modern Artists Phaidon: The Twentieth Century Book of Art Thames & Hudson: Van Gogh’s Letters
Biology
Malorie Blackman: Pig Heart Boy Michael Crichton: The Andromeda Strain Dave Goulson: A Buzz in the Meadow Richard Kerridge: Cold Blood Mark Lynas: Six Degrees Richard Preston: The Hot Zone Andreas Wagner: The Arrival of the Fittest Alan Weisman: The World Without Us Nathan Wolfe: The Viral Storm
Chemistry
Simon Basher: The Periodic Table (Elements with Style!) Simon Basher: Chemistry – Getting a Big Reaction Jack Challoner: The Elements Roald Dahl: George’s Marvellous Medicine Theodore Gray: Molecules Simon Mayo: ITCH
Computer Science
Jeremy Kubica: Computational Fairy Tales Jeremy Kubica: Best Practices in Spell Design Matt Langley: Black Flag - a Coding Club mission Brian Selznick: The Invention of Hugo Cabret Simon Singh: The cracking code book - how to make it, break it, hack it, crack it Carol Vorderman: Computer Coding for Kids Various: Python Basics, Level 1 (Coding Club) and follow up books Level 2 and Level 3 Mike Wooldridge & Brianna Stuart: Creating Web Pages Simplified Karl Beecher: Brown dogs and barbers - what's computer science all about?
Design & Technology
Sophie Collins: Things That Go Boom Or Float, Fly, and Zoom: 18 DIY Projects to Make Nick Dossis: Brilliant LED Projects: 20 Electronic Designs for Artists, Hobbyists, and Experimenters Donald Norman: The Design of Everyday Things, revised and expanded edition Elaine Stavert: Soaps (Cozy) Various: How Things Work Encyclopaedia (First Reference)
English
Malcolm Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 John Buchan: The Thirty-Nine Steps Susan Cooper: The Dark is Rising sequence Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol Jostein Gaarder: Sophie’s World Susan Hill: I’m the King of the Castle Ted Hughes: The Iron Man Penelope Lively: The Ghost of Thomas Kempe John Steinbeck: Cannery Row Mildred Taylor: Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry BBC - The 2023 BBC Young Writers' Award Poetry By Heart
French
Young Reporters in France series – home, families, special occasions etc. Let’s read in French and English series Easy French storybook series – Boucle d’Or et les trois ours, Cendrillon etc. R. de Roussy de Sales: Easy French Reader Bernard Friot: Nouvelles Histoires Pressées Alexandre Dumas: Les trois mousquetaires Antoine de Saint Exupéry: Le Petit Prince Comtesse de Ségur: Les Malheurs de Sophie Astérix (comic) Tintin (comic) Boule et Bill (comic) Gaston Lagaffe (comic) Titeuf (comic)
Geography
Anita Ganeri: Horrible Geography series – Bloomin’ Rainforests Odious Oceans Earth-Shattering Earthquakes Freaky Peaks Desperate Deserts Wild Islands Raging Rivers Violent Volcanoes Perishing Poles Stormy Weather
German Das große Wilhelm-Busch Album Golik/Uebe: Die Abenteuer des kleinen Piraten Kessler: Die kleine Maus auf dem Bauerhof
History Richard Holloway: A Little History of Religion, C Grey: Leonardo’s shadow, Dominic Sandbrook: Adventures in Time – the six wives of Henry VIII Deepa Agarwal: The Teenage Diary of Nur Jahan,
Latin
Peter Connolly: The Ancient Greece of Odysseus Peter Connolly: Pompeii Terry Deary: The Groovy Greeks Terry Deary: The Rotten Romans Robert Graves: The Greek Myths Caroline Lawrence: “Roman Mysteries” series Rosemary Sutcliff: The Eagle of the Ninth Robin and Kathryn Waterfield: The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold
Mathematics
Michael Blastland: The Tiger that Isn’t Robert Eastaway: How Many Socks Make a Pair? Dr Leila Schnepps: Maths on Trial Enzensberger & Berner: The Number Devil Dr Talithia Williams: Power in Numbers, The Rebel Women of Mathematics Ben Goldacre: Bad Science John Haigh: How to Take a Penalty Katherine Johnson: Reaching for the Moon Eli Maor: To Infinity and Beyond Simon Singh: The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets Ian Stewart: Letters to a Young Mathematician Daniel Tammet: Thinking in Numbers Jeremy Wyndham: How Long is a Piece of String? Dr Vicky Neale: Closing the Gap, The Quest to Understand Prime Numbers
Music Reading
BBC: History of the Blues Classic FM: Baroque Music: A beginner's guide BBC: Music of South America: Samba Vienna Unwrapped: Johann Strauss Vienna Guide Espie Estrella: Disco Music Carl Stanmore: The History of Electronic Dance Music: A Journey Through the Decades
Listening ♦
Elvis Presley: Hound Dog
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Bernstein: 'Mambo' from West Side Story Mendes feat. Black Eyed Peas: Mas Que Nada Bach: Bradenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major Tchaikovsky: 'Waltz' from Sleeping Beauty BBC Radio 3: Classical Mixtape
Philosophy, Ethics & Religion
Stephen Law: The Philosophy Files Julian Baggini: The Pig that Wants to be Eaten Peter Cave: Do Llamas Fall in Love Jostein Gaarder: Sophie’s World
Physics
Jack Challoner: 1001 Inventions that Changed the World Paul Davies: How to Build a Time Machine Willam Guerstelle: Adventures from the Technology Underground Walter Isaacson: Einstein George Johnson: The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments Domenico Laurenza: Leonardo’s Machines Paul Milo: Your Flying Car Awaits Patrick Moore: Can You Play Cricket on Mars? Dava Sobel: Longitude Dava Sobel: The Planets
Spanish
Mafalda books 0,1,2 Lumen Richard Crompton: Guillermo el Travieso Richard Crompton: Guillermo el Travieso, ocho aventuras Walt Disney: El viaje de Arlo Michelle Phillips: Eva y Victoria: las Vacaciones del Verano Steven Rabley: El blog de Daniel Lucy Rosen: Los Minions: larga vida al rey Bob Alonso Santamarina: En busca del ámbar azul Alonso Santamarina: La isla del diablo
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