Reading in Year 9

One of the things we are very keen to do in Year 9 is to encourage the boys to develop and continue good reading habits and an enjoyment of books. Parents can now find a reading list on the English page of the Learning Environment - www.wbsLE.org - which covers a wide variety of story-styles and is graded by the demands of the book - there should be something for everyone! We will be running a number of initiatives centered around reading in the near future so please encourage the boys to use and enjoy the list. Any suggestions for other additions would be warmly welcomed.

Exam Top Tips

Be aware of what will be in the 3 papers:

READING – 1 hour 15 mins
3 texts – fiction and non-fiction, 15 mins reading time.
A range of comprehension questions.
You are assessed on your understanding and how writers have presented ideas – not your writing skills.

WRITING – 2 TASKS
Longer Task (45 mins)
You are asked to show your writing skills in a longer piece, eg. argument/story.
Time is given for planning.
You are tested on content, ability to structure piece, variety of sentence structures and punctuation.
Shorter Task (30 mins)
Writing concisely and precisely.
Assessing your ability to write for audience with clear purpose.
Examiners look at paragraph linking, choice of language and spelling.

SHAKESPEARE – 45 Minutes
One written task to assess understanding of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, in particular Act 4, sc 1, lines 196-325 and Act 5, Sc 4 (whole scene).
Question will test ideas and themes or character and motivation or language of text or text in performance.
You must mention both scenes or you will score 0 marks.

REMEMBER: KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THE TIME!