A curriculum that
keeps building.

Week 1 · The Last Seat

Establish literal understanding, a plausible inference and independent sentence control; notice existing vocabulary knowledge.

Write a short scene in which a young person joins an unfamiliar group. Show a change in their feelings through what they notice, say or do. You may invent the place and characters. Do not retell Maya’s scene.

Week 2 · The Spare Key

Test an inference against more than one detail. Repair comma splices and join contrasting ideas with but. Reveal a feeling through action and dialogue.

Write a scene in which someone wants a responsibility but tries to hide how much they want it. Let the reader infer their feelings from actions and dialogue. Use at least one correctly joined sentence with but.

Week 3 · After the Last Train

Explain how a particular word contributes to tension in its context. Use a subordinate clause without losing the main clause.

Write a scene in which an ordinary place briefly feels threatening. Control what the reader learns: offer a small clue, delay its explanation, then reveal an ordinary cause. Include one clear complex sentence and one purposeful short sentence.

Week 4 · The Window Seat

Distinguish poet and speaker and test an interpretation against another detail. Write a first-person poem in which an ordinary object changes in significance.

Write a poem of 10–14 lines in the first person about feeling outside a group and then making a small connection. Use one ordinary object whose meaning changes. You do not need to rhyme. Aim for precise details rather than many emotion words.

Week 5 · Keep a Quiet Corner

Distinguish viewpoint, reason and evidence. Build one justified paragraph whose sentences serve a clear claim.

Write one developed paragraph to the student council arguing for one realistic improvement to a shared school space. Make a clear proposal, justify it with a concrete example, and respond fairly to one possible objection. Choose your own space rather than the library or playground.

Week 6 · The Untied Rope

Transfer the first five weeks' learning to unfamiliar material. Revise one weakness with a stated reason.

Write a short scene in which a young person attempts an unfamiliar activity with other people. Show a change in their feelings through what they notice, say or do. You may invent the place and characters. Do not retell Owen’s scene.

Week 7 · The Doll's House part 1 and a short context note

Track the opening setting and the children's social world.

Distinguish narrator from character. Use precise noun phrases.

Week 8 · The Doll's House part 2

Explain how dialogue and action reveal exclusion.

Maintain pronoun reference and punctuate speech accurately.

Week 9 · The Doll's House part 3

Connect the doll's house and lamp to developing meanings without treating every object as a symbol.

Control cause and contrast.

Week 10 · The Doll's House conclusion and the full plot timeline

Explain how an ending changes the significance of an earlier detail.

Link paragraphs through a developing idea.

Week 11 · Original complete microfiction about a difficult choice

Recognise opening, disruption and resolution in a compact whole text.

Plan a narrative around one change.

Week 12 · Student narrative draft and a contrasting model ending

Complete and revise a coherent short narrative.

Choose detail and sentence length to serve meaning.

Week 14 · Two original letters about opening a local library later

Distinguish a claim, a reason and supporting evidence.

Construct because, but and so relationships accurately.

Week 15 · A short evidence dossier and two competing headlines

Distinguish observations from conclusions and consider how source and sample affect a claim.

Use cautious wording.

Week 16 · Original speech advocating a public space for young people

Explain how voice and address serve a particular audience.

Use parallel structures selectively.

Week 17 · Paired objections to the same proposal

Represent an objection fairly and answer it with a reason.

Use concession clauses with although or while.

Week 18 · Student speech draft and a brief editorial model

Organise a sustained argument and remove repetition.

Distinguish revising reasoning from correcting punctuation.

Week 19 · Unseen original proposal about a local park

Transfer argument and reliability routines to a new topic.

Write a controlled viewpoint independently.

Week 20 · Christina Rossetti Who Has Seen the Wind

Read a complete poem aloud for sense and explain how repeated structure shapes an idea.

Control an explanatory sentence.

Week 21 · William Blake A Poison Tree

Track a developing metaphor and a change across stanzas.

Combine contrasting ideas clearly.

Week 22 · Paul Laurence Dunbar We Wear the Mask

Explain how historical context can illuminate voice without fixing every meaning.

Use embedded quotations accurately.

Week 23 · Claude McKay The Tropics in New York

Explain contrasting sensory images and the turn towards homesickness.

Maintain precise reference across sentences.

Week 24 · An original contemporary poem about arriving somewhere new

Compare voices and experiences with McKay using one shared question.

Use comparative connectives meaningfully.

Week 25 · A fresh original poem and one chosen studied poem

Interpret unfamiliar poetry independently and construct a focused comparison.

Revise for precision.

Week 27 · The Tempest Act 1 Scene 1 selected opening lines

Follow speakers and stage action in an unfamiliar dramatic form.

Explain how interruption suggests conflict.

Week 28 · The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2 Prospero and Miranda selection

Recognise a character's version of past events and consider its perspective.

Use clear chronology.

Week 29 · The Tempest Act 1 Scene 2 Caliban and Prospero selection

Compare competing claims about authority and ownership.

Integrate evidence without endorsing a character's language.

Week 30 · The Tempest Act 2 Scene 2 comic encounter selection

Explain how performance choices can alter tone.

Distinguish audience knowledge from character knowledge.

Week 31 · The Tempest Act 5 Scene 1 forgiveness selection

Relate an ending to earlier conflicts.

Use a qualified judgement that considers a counterexample.

Week 32 · A fresh short Tempest extract with plot context

Transfer dramatic reading and explanation independently.

Revise an interpretation using a missed detail.

Week 33 · Original complete Gothic microstory of about 400 words

Recognise setting, withheld information and resolution.

Distinguish atmosphere from a list of scary adjectives.

Week 34 · Charles Dickens The Signal-Man opening extract

Parse a longer sentence and explain how setting and dialogue establish unease.

Control subordination.

Week 35 · H G Wells The Red Room selected passage

Compare a narrator's confidence with evidence of fear.

Use modal verbs to calibrate interpretation.

Week 36 · R L Stevenson Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde selected setting

Explain how contrasting descriptions construct place.

Vary sentence length without losing punctuation control.

Week 37 · Student story plan and original model of a turning point

Plan and draft a complete Gothic story with one central change.

Manage viewpoint and the release of information.

Week 38 · Student Gothic draft and a short unseen ending

Revise structure and language deliberately; explain what an unfamiliar ending changes.

Edit recurrent errors.

Week 40 · Mary Seacole Wonderful Adventures selected travel passage and original modern travel account

Summarise each account accurately and select a meaningful comparison.

Use clear comparative syntax.

Week 41 · Two original reports describing the same public event

Distinguish differences in fact selection from contradiction.

Explain how omission can shape a reader's impression.

Week 42 · A short original editorial and an opposing letter

Evaluate the strength of a specific argument while representing it fairly.

Develop a reasoned counterargument.

Week 43 · A compact sourced dossier on redesigning a shared public space

Select and synthesise relevant information for a purpose.

Plan a coherent article for a local audience.

Week 44 · Student article plan and draft

Sustain an argument across paragraphs and acknowledge a relevant trade-off.

Revise reasoning before polishing.

Week 45 · A fresh pair of original non-fiction accounts

Compare viewpoints and write a justified recommendation independently.

Transfer source-based writing to a new topic.

Week 46 · Unseen original prose with a short context note

Select useful reading strategies independently and explain a whole passage.

Choose evidence rather than accumulate it.

Week 47 · A fresh original poem and a short studied-poem reminder

Transfer poetry interpretation and comparison without a paragraph frame.

Make a qualified, precise claim.

Week 48 · Unseen short original dramatic scene

Read dialogue as action and justify a performance choice.

Write a concise argument about a character.

Week 49 · Choice of original narrative prompt or evidence-based viewpoint prompt

Plan and draft independently for a defined audience and purpose.

Apply a personal accuracy target.

Week 50 · Student independent draft and individual teacher feedback

Revise for meaning and coherence before editing.

Explain the effect of specific changes.

Week 51 · Two earlier independent samples and one recent sample

Judge progress using evidence, identify a remaining gap and prepare a realistic next step.