Indeed Shakespeare is the ideal starting point for reflections on a curriculum. Structure, sequence, denouements, he had them all. The expert planner and executor of a vision, Shakespeare led the way. He would know where to start with sequencing in English curriculums and starting, of course, is always the hardest part.
Putting curriculum planning at the heart of the leader’s job again is essentially the very best news for any English team. A refreshing opportunity to return wholeheartedly to what we love and examine how we go about it. Great! But with English, such a complicated and vast subject, the level of thought and planning prior to any real thought and any real planning is key. (But it will of course feel like procrastination!)
Sequencing is a very crucial aspect of any English curriculum. Thinking beyond ‘order’ into the level of build-up of knowledge and skill is a very intricate process. The mere volume of stuff pupils may, or indeed may not need to know is overwhelming at times. Take Shakespeare himself. Everything they learn and don’t always draw on if a particular character or theme isn’t the focus… the endless context and language….and yet they often still cannot spell his name! The pinpointing of the aims of teaching here is an excellent starting point. What do we really want them to know? This is at the crux of the English curriculum issue. What is really important? What do we value? (I think we would all say spelling his name correctly for a start…!)
Perhaps though, it’s not the most practical starting point. Perhaps we are benefited the most by exploring the KS2 curriculum and fully considering what pupils indeed come to us knowing. And be warned: that is a lot. What have they learnt about grammar, approaches to writing? Reading? And what about those pupils who have not learnt these things? What next for them? The sequence starts right there, in that very first phase of Year 7. What is it and why? Being able to justify and have conviction in the starting point is key- it’s setting the tone for the whole sequence of course. More than that, it’s setting the tone for English.
Furthermore, there’s the end point. Forget progress 8, Grade 9 or the academic aspirations, what is the intention for pupils on departure? What is their entitlement from English? What do you want to leave them with? Herein lies the parting gift: what will they leave you knowing and being able to do? Grades aside…How can you influence their thoughts, even after they have left you? This is the visionary part, the idealistic part, the inspirational aspect of English. What can we make them think and feel? Empowerment feels like an overused word these days, but it is what is at the core of this curriculum, it’s the heart of it. For us at Mercia, it’s an absolute entitlement to the very best literature that they can call on at any time in their lives. Something that cannot be taken away. I would also add here that it seems to be most ravished by the vulnerable, for it is often these pupils who see the real power in it. For them, it’s not intellectual fodder, it is real life.
So how do we give this? We start with the beginning. Yes it’s chronological in approach for us, but chronology itself is not a sequence. The past was a murky, messy place and writers don’t always write what you want when you wanted them too. Chronology helps for clarity, of course. In a knowledge curriculum, knowing who did what when is central, of course it is. But it’s not enough. It’s an order, not a sequence. The sequence comes from the concepts. The knowing of the ideas and concerns and how they build. It’s about understanding that many civilisations use story tell as a means through which to understand their own world and in doing so we can understand it more ourselves. It’s about knowing the fears and expectations of a society and how maybe that’s led us to where we are now, with our present fears and imaginings. It is the recognition of a voice that sometimes even mirrors our own voice. It is literature based for us, but it’s actually all about language. How power becomes a hierarchy, becomes about the domineering and the submissive, about marginalisation and superiority…how hubris steps in and narcissism dictates, how patriarchy is fundamentally not Lady Macbeth wanting a king for a husband. It’s the subtle and complex accumulation of huge concepts. And it is of course, concepts that really drives excellence in English.
When the concepts are big, the language is huge. The level of expression required is enhanced, and that is of course part of the sequencing for vocabulary for us. The concepts and the vocabulary to express them build cumulatively and therefore a sequence starts to become evolving and feel more natural than initial planning may make it look. It starts to come to life in the lessons. Text choice is key here and the consideration of one text to another is vital- pupils feel empowered if they can take something with them and apply it again. If they can see the patterns themselves, the hard work of explaining what is being done and why diminishes. The sequence is the learning.
It’s relentless keeping it alive, the checking, the knowing and the comprehending. It’s in knowledge organisers, regular quizzes, interleaving quizzes, creative writing, it’s also the themes of texts, explored again and again but in different contexts. What is racism like for Shakespeare compared to Steinbeck? Which society hasn’t battled with power and control? Which generation didn’t care about their environment? The romantics offer some real inspiration here for pupils. It’s about carefully considering the slow and steady build-up of English subject knowledge. With this knowledge, skills flourish. Skills are a pleasure to practise, skills are an opportunity to explore, and skills become a point of pride.
Of course, there’s still more though. There’s spelling and writing and grammar. So where does this fit? Well right alongside. Given what pupils come knowing- one can easily explore the complex grammar of classical texts, can anyone make a sentence run longer than Dickens? If there’s a metaphor for it, Shakespeare probably wrote it… That’s the issue with classics, they offer you the rich source of analysis that you want from pupils, the best literature requires pupils to step up to it and of course, they do. This is so important when it comes to a skill like evaluation. Pupils need to know what good is, to be able to comment on it. A good English curriculum should show them. Sequencing the very best texts is a brilliant move.
And so to exams, best not to be seen as the end of the sequence, as we are truly not saving the best for last here. Over teaching the exam is ruinous for English and the best sequences will ensure pupils are prepped by building up the way they evaluate and analyse texts; increasing exposure to unseen and developing writing over time. The sequence has developed strong writers over time, as they have explored many different styles; pupils know themselves that they are better writers, as they are better readers. Building confidence is part of the sequence. It should be such a subtle culmination of knowledge and skill that the pupils themselves see it as an opportunity to develop their own personal voice, one that’s informed and knowledgeable and creative and one that may indeed become a classic. Maybe thinking it might make it so.
Ruth Is Reading... 