Topic title: Leave Taking
Year group: 9
When taught: January to Easter
What are we learning?
• How to explore texts and how context shapes meaning.
• Reading a modern play and poetry which links to ideas of race and identity.
• Understanding the importance of context, writer’s intentions and poetic form.
• How characters can represent larger sections of society / have symbolic importance.
• How writers can raise the status and critique issues in society, while also celebrating people’s heritage and identity.
Why is this important to know?
• We are developing student’s analytical ability when exploring plays and poetry.
• We are developing student’s ability to think creatively and critically.
• We are building up student’s understanding of staging, poetic craft and authorial intention.
• We are developing student’s cultural capital and understanding of the wider world, while also developing more empathic citizens who understand the difficulties of living in a different country.
Where does this link into our past and future learning?
• Links to the isolation felt in The Woman in Black and ideas of struggle.
• Leave Taking offers an opportunity to have discussions around mature topics such as race, identity, religion and gender prior to exploring Romeo and Juliet.
• We are developing a more critical point of view which is then highlighted in student’s independent research projects.
• This topic deepens skills which are fundamental to success in English throughout secondary school.
How will we be assessed on this topic?
• The Year 9 formal assessment will be an analysis of what Enid’s character represents in Leave Taking.
• This also forms the basis for an individual research project which is delivered as a presentation to peers and marked using spoken language criteria bespoke to KS3.
What makes a strong piece of work in this topic? What are teachers hoping to see?
• Good choice of quotations which have a clear link to the message of the play.
• Using correctly key terms such as symbolism, characterisation, staging, writer’s intentions, effect on the audience, context, theme.
• Giving balanced answers that analyse language in depth.
• At the highest level, pupils will begin to explore how the writer has created a range of meanings and analyse language with a more critical, observant perspective.
• A clear discussion of multiple connotations of words used in quotations.
What key words are there in this topic?
Characterisation, symbolism, Identity, prejudice, stereotype, context, identity, persona, atmosphere, injustice, conflict.
What can I try if I want to stretch and challenge myself on this topic?
• Read a range of diverse authors – poetry, prose and plays.
• Discuss and explore viewpoints and perspectives on injustice and prejudice.
What wider reading can be done on this topic?
Langston Hughes
Benjamin Zephaniah
Grace Nicholls
Imtiaz Dharkar
Supporting documents
Leave Taking Knowledge Organiser
