Working hard in KS3 English

Year 7

In English, Year 7 students have been reading a historical fiction book called The Breadwinner. The book tells the story of Parvana, a young girl in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, who has to struggle to help her family survive. Alongside their reading, children have been exploring the concept of ‘rights’ further, making connections to world events and writing essays about their own human rights.

The class was delighted to have a visit from a parent, who came to speak to them about his experiences of Afghanistan. This was a great way to support children’s learning as he supported details from the story with interesting facts about Afghanistan’s geography, culture and customs; he also graciously answered many questions from his eager audience.

Here are some students connections and reflections about our learning in English this block:

“I have learnt that there is much more than just a war in Afghanistan.” - Natasha

“A connection to The Breadwinner was how the poor people of Turkana are suffering and they don’t go to school.” - Allan

“The Taliban reminds me of the war that’s happening in Ukraine, such as people leaving, refugees and bombings.” - Delisha

“The Breadwinner is like what Malala had to go through in Pakistan. It also reminds me of sibling rivalry with my older sister.” - Saida

Year 8

In Year 8, students have been learning about poetry, focussing on the theme of overcoming obstacles.

The children have learnt about different poetic techniques, tone and themes, and how to decipher the overall mood of a poem. This has involved annotating and analysing different poems with a similar idea, including Invictus by William Ernest Henley and The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost.

The students looked at a range of ways to write poetry themselves, considering line breaks, using figurative language and writing ‘Blackout Poetry’ using old pages from a book - this proved a particular favourite!

The following are a selection of short poems inspired by the Year 8’s climb up Mt Kenya.

Walking in Rocks - Hector

Walking in rocks,

Slowly climbing up hills,

Rolling down slippery places

Frozen toes and fingers

All to get to the top

You’re Almost There - Jade

You can see the crown of the mountain

Perched ever so proud

Snow covers it like a soft blanket

Rocky and steep

A Shadow - Nerissa

Ongoing howls of the sky,

Clashing against my face

Frozen; no energy.

Grasping onto the rocks

Weak; no motivation.

There it was, standing tall

Towering closer,

A shadow.

Trekking the Mountain - Caine

I trekked up

The neverending hill

My legs were going to fall off

Shivering as we ascended

Ground

Making me slip,

At every step

While Dad

Forced me

Up the mountain.