Trinity School Year 8 Expectation Evening March 2014

National changes Ofsted framework Progress measures Early entry Removal of levels Changes to exam grades Vocational

GCSEs and your child 1.New GCSEs in English Language, English Literature and Maths. 2.New GCSEs have new content and will be structured, assessed and graded differently from current GCSEs. 3.All students will follow both English Language and Literature. 4.Changes to most other GCSEs will follow one year later. 5.Importance of spelling punctuation and grammar. – 20% of the marks in the new English Language paper – 5% in the Literature paper 6.Linear courses with terminal exams. 7.Tiering only in Maths 8.Increased challenge in content 9.Importance of English and Maths 10.New grading system

New grading system Current grades A* A B C D E F G Could be Or

Implications of the new GCSE for KS3 English

GCSE English & Literature from 2015 Specifications must make significant demands on students Study of high quality, intellectually challenging & substantial whole texts Externally assessed 3.5 hours total exam time for English Language 3.5 hours total exam time for English Literature Unseen English Language – emphasis on comprehension and extended writing Both exams – heavily pre 20 th Century Literature – very focused on ‘cultural heritage’ No digital texts Spoken Language (compulsory but unweighted)

What we are doing at KS3 to prepare for the new demands of GCSE? Key challenges are to prepare students for: Increasing linguistic demands of both courses Formal academic styles of writing Extended writing Comparative & evaluative writing Reading of substantial whole texts (pre 20 th Century) Deepening students’ understanding of the above & poetry Social, historical & cultural contexts

Implications of the new GCSE for KS3 Maths

1.Well they haven’t told us anything yet but……….. 2.Increased rigour and challenge in content 3.Move downwards of existing content Higher to Foundation 4.Reduction in application of number and increase in problem solving. 5.More recollection (e.g. formulae) 6.Continuation of study beyond yr11

How do we navigate through this maze?

So what are we doing as a school? 1.Changes to the curriculum model in year 9 (4 lessons of English and 4 of maths.) 2.Start new GCSE work in year 9. 3.Formal year group exams ( immediately after Easter) 4.Focus on full texts, extended writing and spelling, punctuation and grammar in English 5.Focus on problem solving, recollection and extension in maths. 6.Investigation of use of GCSE grades in some subjects in year 9. 7.Keep parents and students informed.

Learning Themes Getting ready for learning and KEQS Five Rs and Five Cs Responsibility, peer and self assessment Thinking Skills Improving your memory Five W,H

KEQS KEEP YOUR KEQS ON!

KnowledgeKnowledge is things you need to know how to do in a specific subject. ExperienceWhat have you experienced that will help you with your studies QualitiesQualities are your characteristics and personality. You need to be confident, hard working, resilient, a good listener and so on. SkillsYou need to have many skills to be a good learner and you must want to learn new things and listen to the task given too you.

Five Rs and Five Cs

An Olympic Bronze Matthew Wells “Really pleased to come away with something”

What will make us say something like that about you?

Five Cs – Coordinator – Communicator – Clarifier – Charter – Creator

Five Rs Responsible Reflective Reasoning Resilient Resourceful

Responsibility, peer and self assessment

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Take a good look inside Ask yourself questions... How am I doing? How can I do even better?

Self assessment Do I know what I’m learning about? Do I know what a good piece of work looks like? Do I know how to improve my work? Do I know how my learning fits together? Do I work well with others? Do I join in? Can I talk about my work? Do I know what questions to ask? Do I get on with my work independently? Do I make good progress?

Responsibility Grid (Assessment for Learning) RESPONSIBILITY GRID Basic ResponsibilityMore responsibilityGood responsibilityExcellent Responsibility I know that there are learning objectives.I am clear about what I am trying to learn. I have a a clear understanding of what I am trying to learn (and value having learning objectives). I understand what I am trying to learn and can talk about it confidently using the correct words for each subject. I know what I have to do, but am not sure about what I am trying to learn. I know some features of a good learning outcome. I am clear clear about what a good piece of work looks like (the success criteria) and can, with my teacher's help, use this to see how good my work is and the work of others in the class. I know the best way to improve my work. I always work out what a good piece of work looks like (success criteria) for myself and use this to help myself improve. I want to get better in all that I do. I can, with the teacher's help, identify some strengths and weaknesses in my work and suggest how to improve it. I can, with my teacher's help, join in to decide what makes a good piece of work (the success criteria.) I can relate the lesson to recent lessons. I can see how the learning today builds upon things I've already learned. I can see how the learning today builds upon things I've already learned and what I will learn next. I can relate this learning to other subjects. I understand how the learning in this lesson relates to the key concepts and skills I am developing. I can work with others in my class. I am sometimes comfortable contributing to discussions. In whole-class discussions I listen to others. I am confident to join in. In whole-class, group or paired discussions I develop my thinking and learn from others. I think talking about learning is important and use it to advance my thinking. I take responsibility for starting and leading whole-class discussions; In a group we work independently of the teacher to complete tasks as a team. I am sometimes confident to talk about my work. In paired or group discussions I join in and learn from others. I remain focused on what we have been asked to do. I am confident to take risks by sharing answers that I'm not fully sure about and can question other people's views in a helpful way. I can use high-level thinking to give clear and detailed answers, often saying why I think something and giving examples or evidence to support what I think. I usually make progress in my learning. I make progress in relation to what we should be learning (the learning objectives.) I make good progress, in relation to what we should be learning (the learning objectives.) I can get on with my work with some independence. I really want to learn: I can see what I need to do next in my learning for myself and so I make excellent progress.

How do others see you?

Peer assessment Others can see things that you miss It helps you learn when you look at someone’s work

RESPONSIBILITY! With great power comes great responsibility

Upside down With great responsibility comes great power

Thinking Skills

What would happen if we moved Trinity School to Uganda???

Improving your memory

Five W, H What, where, when, who, why, how

YEAR 7 FREEZE DAY

Year 8 thinking skills

GET THINKING

Timeline for the morning Period 1 – Assembly – To classrooms to begin planning and investigating Period 2 – Prepare for first press conference – Deliver first press conference – 10.10am – Continue investigating, compile evidence and prepare evidence wall – Prepare and deliver second press conference – 10.50am Period 3 – Look at success criteria for presentations – Prepare presentation – Deliver presentation – 11.50am – Reflection time

In action!