Branksome Heath Middle School

Year 7 Curriculum Review Autumn 2009

 
INTRODUCTION
Your child has now entered their final year at Branksome Heath Middle School and we look forward to a highly successful and enjoyable year for all.  Members of the Year 7 team this term are Mr Rockingham (Year Leader), Miss Paton, Mrs Forbes and Miss Levine.  This pamphlet gives an overview of the curriculum we will be following until Christmas.

LITERACY
For the first part of the term we will be creating our own autobiographies and writing about special events in our lives. During the second part of the term we will be looking at a collection of ghost stories and attempting to produce our own.

NUMERACY
We follow the National Numeracy Strategy and as such, all children will be covering work on problem solving, Algebra, Shape, Space and Measurement, Number and Data handling.  Children who scored Level 3 or below in SATs will be following "Springboard Maths" which is a Government funded scheme designed to boost their performance and enable them to be taught in smaller groups.

SCIENCE
Physics, Chemistry and Biology - We will be visiting each strand at regular intervals.  This term we will be studying The Solar System (Physics), Cells (Biology), Energy and Forces (Physics). The year group will be enjoying the use of the lab for their practical work.

HUMANITIES
Autumn term's focus is on Geography only.  We will study history during Spring and Summer.  During Autumn term we will be studying Mapping skills.  We will then go on to study settlements and their growth using Weymouth as our case study.  We finish the term looking at case studies of earthquakes and volcanoes and how they have affected whole communities.

MUSIC
We will look at different ways of writing music down, learning some notation, note length, basic skills and focusing mainly on using rhythm to create performances.

DESIGN TECNOLOGY AND ART
Key skills in Art and Design and Technology are the building blocks on which all other teaching and learning are based.  Using a carousel system we will ensure all pupils learn these basic skills in resistant materials, food technology and art.

PE/GAMES
To revise and consolidate basic skills and  understanding of invasive games.  Focus on principles of attack and defence, for individual and team.
Dance - compose and perform a series of dances to show control, sensitivity and variety of movement based on Junior Jones' Dance Workshop.

RE
This term we will be studying a new topic.  'Important Questions'.  We shall be asking the children to consider important questions about their beliefs, the perception of the world and life in general.

ICT
Starting the new KS3 ICT syllabus, the student will become competent with using Powerpoint, creating a presentation all about themselves.  They will then design and create a leaflet using desktop publishing.

FRENCH
Our children have 2 hourly sessions of French per week.  The scheme of work follows the National Curriculum Framework for Modern Foreign Languages and this term we will be studying - C'est Parti! - Talking about myself and En familie - All about family and friends.

CITIZENSHIP
We will begin the term researching our family trees.  We will study 'What makes a person a valued member of society, The rights of the child and being responsible for their own actions.  During these sessions we will also be dealing with issues such as co-operation, behaviour, bullying, self confidence etc.  It is a time to air our views and try and find strategies of dealing with issues which arise in class and around the school and which might impinge upon our Rights and Responsibilities.

HOMEWORK
40 minutes per night to be recorded in their Homework Book.  Homework will be given in the following subjects: Literacy, Science, Maths, Humanities, French and Citizenship.