Paignton Community and Sports Academy
KS3 ENGLISH
ENGLISH PROGRESS
A STUDENT & PARENT
GUIDE TO IMPROVING
LEVELS AT KS3
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
KEY TO SUCCESS
READING
READING MEANS ACHIEVING…
 It is essential to read as much possible as this will
help you widening your vocabulary and to use
and understand punctuation more effectively.
 It might be a magazine, a newspaper, a website
article, a biography.
 It does not always need to be a whole book.
 Read about a topic you are interested in. Let your
child read what they want to read.
 Let them re-read a book they have enjoyed.
 Talk about books that you have enjoyed.
 Try and read together.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
Suggestions for improving Reading
The following techniques will help your child achieve in school.
Student Checklist: Do I?
Improving reading: developing reading for information skills.
Developing and adapting active reading skills and strategies
Skim and scan to find information quickly- ask questions that require
them to do this.
Find a quotation which could support my ideas.
Find information in the fiction and non-fiction texts I am reading.
Understand the connection between the purpose of a text and its layout
and organisation.
Use clues from the text to work out what the writer means even when it
is not stated directly.
Find the main ideas in a text and support them with evidence.
Use a range of imaginative reading strategies when I read, such as
speculation, prediction, questioning, empathy and visualisation
Use empathy to make judgements about a character
Use clues from the text to work out what the writer means even when it
is not stated directly
Explain why I like or dislike a text
Improving reading: independent reading skills
Understanding and responding to ideas, viewpoint, themes and
purposes in texts
Choose the best reading strategy to work out the meaning of words I do
not know
Scan long sentences to make sure that I know where they end and how
they are organised
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
READING Targets for pupils working towards
LEVEL 4 in Key Stage 3
AF2
1. Skim and scan to find information quickly.
2. Select the information I need in a text.
3. Pick out some words or phrases to back up my comments.
AF3
1. Comment on what clues in a text are showing me.
2. Find clues from different parts of a text to help me answer a question.
AF4
1. Identify the layout or structure the writer has used.
2. Comment on how the writer has shaped the text.
AF5
1. Identify the sorts of words the writer has used.
2. Comment on the sorts of words the writer has used.
AF6
1. Work out the writer’s main purpose in a text.
2. Comment on what a text makes readers think or feel.
3. Explain why I like or dislike a text.
AF7
1. Comment on similarities between texts.
2. Comment on a text’s setting or background.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
READING Targets for pupils working towards
LEVEL 5 in Key Stage 3
AF2
1. Identify most of the main points in a text.
2. Support my comments with suitable quotations or references to the
text.
AF3
1. Explain what clues from different points in a text are showing me.
2. Make sure I can find evidence in the text to support my comments
when I read between the lines.
3. Write a paragraph with a point, some evidence and some explanation
(PEC).
AF4
1. Explain why I think a writer has organised a text in a particular way.
AF5
1. Explain why I think a writer has chosen particular words or phrases.
AF6
1. Understand the writer’s general point of view in a text I am reading.
2. Explain the likely effect of a text on its readers.
3. Understand that writers of stories create narrators with particular
viewpoints.
AF7
1. Comment on similarities and differences between texts or versions.
2. Explain the importance of a text’s setting or background.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
READING Targets for pupils working towards
LEVEL 6 in Key Stage 3
AF2
1. Identify the relevant points in a text.
2. Bring together information from different sources or from different places in the
same text.
3. Use a short, well-chosen quotation within a sentence to show that I can refer
closely to a text.
AF3
1. Explore different possible meanings in a text.
2. Comment on the wider importance of events or ideas in a text.
AF4
1. Comment on the impact of how a text is organised.
2. Explore how a writer’s theme or purpose is presented across a text.
AF5
1. Explain in detail how language is used at different points in a text.
2. Comment on how language choices can contribute to a text’s overall
effectiveness.
3. Use the appropriate terms when I comment on a writer’s techniques.
AF6
1. Use clear examples from across a text to explain how a writer puts across a
particular point of view.
2. Use clear examples from across a text to explain how a writer creates particular
effects on readers.
AF7
1. Comment on the typical features of texts from different times.
2. Discuss examples of a how a text’s meaning is changed by the time and place in
which it is written and read.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
READING Targets for pupils working towards
LEVEL 7 in Key Stage 3
AF2
1. Select evidence precisely to help me argue my point about a text.
2. Refer to other sources to help me argue my point about a text.
AF3
1. Make connections between my insights into a text to make an overall
interpretation.
AF4
1. Give my own judgement on the effectiveness of some of the writer’s
choices about structure and organisation.
AF5
1. Make precise comments analysing how language is used in a text.
2. Show how a wide range of language features contributes to the
overall effect of a text on the reader.
AF6
1. Analyse the position of the writer, the narrator and the readers in a
text.
2. Show my understanding of a writer’s use of irony.
3. Evaluate how viewpoints are established and managed in a text
AF7
1. Analyse how a text is influenced by earlier texts of the same type.
2. Analyse how different meanings and interpretations of a text relate to
the contexts in which it is written and read.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
Fiction Reading List
Below is a selection of fiction authors and stories that our students might enjoy:
Adams, Douglas Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy
Adams, Richard Watership Down
Adebayo, Yinka Livin’ Large
Adebayo, Yinka Ragga to Riches
Almond, David Skellig
Arksey, Neil MacB
Ashley, Bernard Ten Days to Zero
Ballard, J.G. Empire of the Sun
Blume, Judy Tiger Eyes
Booth, Martin Music on the Bamboo Radio
Boyne, John Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Breslin, Theresa Remembrance
Bronte, Charlotte Jane Eyre
Christopher, John Empty World
Cross, Gillian Demon Headmaster
Dahl, Roald Boy
Dahl, Roald Going Solo
DeFelice, Cynthia Lucas Whitaker
Dickens, Charles Oliver Twist
Dickens, Charles Great Expectations17
Doherty, Berlie Granny was a Buffer Girl
Durrell, Gerald My Family and other Animals
Elboz, Stephen The House of Rats
Fisher, Catherine Corbenic
Fine, Anne Flour Babies
Fine, Anne The Road of Bones
Fisher Staples, Suzanne Storm
Fisk, Nicholas Trillions
Fletcher, Charlie Stoneheart
Frank, Anne The Diary of Anne Frank
Gallico, Paul The Snow-Goose! A Small Miracle
Garner, Alan The Owl Service
Gavin, Jamila Coram Boy
Gibbons, Alan Shadow of the Minotaur
Gibbons, Alan Caught in the Crossfire
Golding, William Lord of the Flies
Harris, Rosemary Zed
Higson, Charlie Double or Die
Hines, Barry A Kestrel for a Knave
Hines, David Batman Can’t Fly
Hinton, Nigel Buddy
Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders
Hinton, S.E. Tex18
Holme, Anne I am David
Holman, Felice Slake’s Limbo
Horrowitz, Anthony Alex Rider Series
Jacques, Brian Redwall
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
May, Paul Defenders
Maxwell, Gavin A Ring of Bright Water
Morpurgo, Michael War Horse
Morpurgo, Michael Robin of Sherwood
Muchamore, Robert CHERUB series
Nix, Garth Mister Monday
O’Brien, Robert Z of Zachariah
Oppel, Kenneth Dusk
Paolini, Christopher Eragon
Paulson, Gary Hatchet
Pratchett, Terry Truckers
Pratchett, Terry Any Disc World19
Pullman, Philip His Dark Materials
Reeve, Philip Mortal Engines
Richter, Hans Peter Freidrich
Riordan, James When the Guns Fall Silent
Riordan, James Sweet Clarinet
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter Series
Sacher, Louis Holes
Sacher, Louis Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes
Sedgwick, Marcus My Sword Hand is Singing
Serrailler, Ian The Clashing Rocks
Serrailler, Ian The Silver Sword
Shan, Darren The Cirque du Freak
Shearer, Alex Bootleg
Smucker, Barbara Underground to Canada
Stewart & Riddell The Edge Chronicles
Storr, Catherine The If Game
Sweeney, Matthew Fox
Swindells, Robert Brother in the Land
Taylor, Mildred D. Roll of Thunder, Hear my
Cry
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Twain, Mark The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Twain, Mark The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn
Ure, Jean The Secret Life of Sally Tomato20
Voight, Cynthia The Runner
Walsh, Jill Paton A Parcel of Patterns
Watson, James Talking in Whispers
Wells, H.G. The Time Machine
Westall, Robert The Machine Gunners
Willis, Jeanne Rocket Science
Withrow, Sarah Bat
Wyndham, John Chrysalids
Wyndham, John The Day of the Triffids
Zephaniah, Benjamin Face
Zephaniah, Benjamin Refugee Boy
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
WRITING
Parents looking for a study aid book to support writing at Key Stage Three, will find
plenty to choose from. The National Curriculum requires pupils to be able to plan,
draft, edit, revise, proofread and present a text with readers and purpose in mind.
The writing can fall into one of four writing triplets:
1. writing to imagine, explore, entertain;
2. writing to inform, explain, describe;
3. writing to persuade, argue, advise;
4. writing to analyse, review, comment.
Some ideas:
• When your child is given a piece of written work to do, help him/her to plan out
ideas first.
Teachers will often do this with a class beforehand, so s/he will be familiar with the
idea. As your child writes, remind him/her of the need to break ideas down into
manageable paragraphs.
• Encourage your child to use linking words to join ideas fluently and build up
sentences. Simple words like 'and', 'but', 'if' and 'when' should be familiar from
primary school. Help your child to use more sophisticated words in his/her writing,
too, such as 'however', 'furthermore', 'in conclusion' and 'therefore'.
• When your child is writing about a text, s/he will be asked to include quotations to
back up the points. If your child asks you for help, encourage him/her to skim-read
the page to find a suitable phrase and to choose a short quotation rather than
copying out several lines. Remind him/her to put the quotation in quotation marks
("...") too.
• Help your child to check his/her own spelling and punctuation - avoid going
through the work and changing it yourself, as this can be demotivating and won't
help the teacher to identify any problems.
• Targets written at the end of marked work are a useful way to focus your child’s
attention.
• Encourage your child to experiment with vocabulary.
• Encourage your child to experiment with sentence lengths and punctuation.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
WRITING Targets for pupils working towards
LEVEL 4 in Key Stage 3
AF1
1. Include more detail when I write.
2. Make sure that everything I write is connected with the topic and does not go off the
point.
3. Make sure the reader understands my point of view.
AF2
1. Choose a way of writing that matches the purpose of the task and try to stick to it.
AF3
1. Organise my writing with a good beginning and ending.
2. Plan and organise my writing so that my reader will be able to follow it easily from
beginning to end.
AF4
1. Begin to use paragraphs/sections to organise my writing using topic sentences to help my
reader make sense of the text.
2. Begin to link paragraphs/sections of my writing together.
AF5
1. Vary my sentences in length and structure.
2. Use a wider range of connectives such as if, when, because.
AF6
1. Write in sentences that start with a capital letter and end with the right punctuation mark.
2. Use commas to break down long sentences.
3. Use speech marks correctly.
AF7
1. Choose words that match my topic.
2. Use describing words and phrases to add detail, interest and variety to my writing.
AF8
1. Use a range of strategies to improve my spelling.
2. Improve my knowledge of common spelling patterns, including words that sound the
same but have different spellings and meanings.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
WRITING Targets for pupils working towards
LEVEL 5 in Key Stage 3
AF1
1. Add more detail to my writing to make it clearer and more interesting.
2. Make my point of view very clear and make sure it stays the same all the way through a
piece of writing.
AF2
1. Choose a style that matches the task and keeps my reader interested.
2. Be clear about the purpose of my writing and stick to it.
AF3
1. Plan my writing so that I know how it will develop all the way through.
2. Organise my sentences into paragraphs.
3. Make sure that my paragraphs follow on from each other.
AF4
1. Use paragraphs to show my reader how I have organised my ideas.
2. Use connecting words to link my paragraphs together.
AF5
1. Vary my sentences in length and structure.
2. Use a wider range of connectives to show the links between my ideas.
3. Choose the kind of sentence to write by thinking how it will affect my reader.
AF6
1. Use punctuation accurately to show the beginnings and ends of sentences.
2. Use punctuation for speech.
3. Use commas correctly in long sentences to mark clause boundaries.
AF7
1. Use a wide range of words in my writing.
2. Choose words that will have an impact on my reader.
AF8
1. Identify my most common spelling mistakes and find my own way to reduce them,
including words with syllables that you don’t hear.
2. Make sure that I understand how prefixes and suffixes work.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
WRITING Targets for pupils working towards
LEVEL 6 in Key Stage
AF1/AF2
1. Plan my writing so that I am using an appropriate style.
2. Choose and sustain an appropriate style right through my writing.
3. Adapt the conventions of the text type where this will add originality and interest.
AF3
1. Link paragraphs together so my reader can see clearly how my piece of writing is
developing.
2. Organise my writing in a way that will have an impact on my reader.
AF4
1. Structure my paragraphs in a way that helps to communicate what I want to say to my
reader.
2. Connect the sentences within paragraphs so that my meaning and purpose are clear.
AF5
1. Choose to write the kinds of sentences that will give the effect I want.
2. Make sure I use a variety of sentences.
AF6
1. Use commas and other punctuation correctly in longer sentences to help the reader follow
my meaning.
2. Check my writing for the grammar mistakes I commonly make, for example, using
commas instead of full stops.
AF7
1. Choose my words carefully and ambitiously so that my writing is precise and has an
impact on the reader.
AF8
1. Check my writing for the spelling mistakes I commonly make.
2. Learn the spellings of uncommon and difficult to spell words that I want to use, especially
those with syllables that you don’t hear.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
WRITING Targets for pupils working towards
LEVEL 7 in Key Stage
AF1/AF2
1. Sustain my writing in a formal way when I need to.
2. Write with my reader in mind, using and adapting the conventions of
text types flexibly.
AF3
1. Shape my writing so that my reader responds in the way I want.
AF4
1. Craft my paragraphs to create an impact on the reader.
AF5/6
1. Use the full range of punctuation to create an effect on my reader.
2. Use a variety of sentences to create effects that emphasise what I
want to say.
AF7
1. Choose my words carefully and ambitiously, so that my writing is
precise and has an impact on the reader.
2. Choose and use words imaginatively, in ways that match my purpose
and my reader.
AF8
1. Use the strategies I have learnt to ensure correct spelling throughout
my work.
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
SPELLING
Spelling is important in helping us communicate in writing, and
unfortunately incorrect spelling can make a writer seem ignorant and
not to be taken seriously.
SPELLING STRATEGIES
Here are some simple ways to help children learn spellings:
1) Look, Say, Cover Write Check
Look at the word
Say the word aloud
Cover it - try to picture it in your mind.
Write it out once.
Check to see if it is correct.
If you get it right, write it out three times covering it each time.
If you get it wrong, underline the incorrect letters.
Repeat the process, check you can remember the word in 2 days time and in 7 days
time, until you remember it correctly!
2) Look for patterns and words within words
I will be your friend to the end, or vegetable
Or take a word like dissatisfied,
• The prefix rule dis + satisfied (so it has two Ss)
• Think of other linked words - satisfactory, satisfy
3) Highlighting
Highlight the difficult part of the word. For example “separate” find a way of
remembering the problem letters.
“There’s a rat in separate.”
4) Syllables
Break the word down into syllables. Each syllable should have a vowel – a, e, i, o, u.
Man-u-fac-ture
5) Look at word families
light might night fight tight
strength length
6) Mnemonics
A mnemonic is a way of helping you to remember.
e.g.
Necessary - never eat chips eat salad sandwiches and raspberry yogurt
Rhythm – rhythm has your two hips moving
Make up your own mnemonics.
7) Say it!
Say the word as it looks, rather than how it is spoken.
Wed-nes-day
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
Key Stage 3 Spelling List
The following list of spellings was compiled by a number of secondary schools
who all identified the following words as common errors among this age group.
Most pupils will know how to spell most of the words, but it is recommended that
early in Year 7, pupils should be helped to learn those spellings about which they
still are uncertain.
accommodation
actually
alcohol
although
analyse/analysis
argument
assessment
atmosphere
audible
audience
autumn
beautiful
beginning
believe
beneath
buried
business
caught
chocolate
climb
column
concentration
material
meanwhile
miscellaneous
miscellaneous
mischief
modern
moreover
murmur
necessary
nervous
original
outrageous
parallel
participation
pattern
peaceful
people
performance
permanent
persuade/persuasion
physical
conclusion
conscience
conscious
consequence
continuous
creation
daughter
decide/decision
definite
design
development
diamond
diary
disappear
disappoint
embarrass
energy
engagement
enquire
environment
evaluation
evidence
potential
preparation
prioritise
prioritise
process
proportion
proposition
questionnaire
queue
reaction
receive
reference
relief
remember
research
resources
safety
Saturday
secondary
separate
sequence
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
explanation
February
fierce
forty
fulfil
furthermore
guard
happened
health
height
imaginary
improvise
industrial
interesting
interrupt
issue
jealous
knowledge
listening
lonely
lovely
marriage
sincerely
skilful
soldier
soldier
stomach
straight
strategy
strength
success
surely
surprise
survey
technique
technology
texture
tomorrow
unfortunately
Wednesday
weight
weird
women
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
Common homophones and confusions
advise/advice
quiet/quite
conscience/conscious
allowed/aloud
bought/brought
threw/through
practise/practice
thank you
choose/chose
affect/effect
source/sauce
course/coarse
our/are
braking/breaking
to/too/two
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
Top Literacy Tips for Writing
1. Always plan your work – this can be a list or a spider diagram.
2. Ensure your work is well structured. Each paragraph should contain a new
idea. TIPTOP – Ti = A new time period. P = A new place. TO = A new topic.
P = A new person speaking.
You will need to develop your work with an introduction and a conclusion at
the end. Follow the plan.
3. Punctuation – try and show a variety of punctuation. Good punctuation will
help your work make more sense!
. A full stop is always used at the end of a sentence.
, A comma is used when you make a pause in a sentence, or for a list of
things.
: A colon is used at a start of a list, dialogue or definitions.
; A semi-colon Semicolons separate things. Most commonly, they separate
two main clauses that are closely related to each other but could stand on their
own as sentences if you wanted them to.
? Always use a question mark at the end of a question.
! An exclamation mark is used to show any surprise or strong emotion.
… Ellipsis – this is used if words have been left out.
“ “ Quotation marks are used to indicate that something is being said and
for “Quotes”
‘ An Apostrophe is used to show something belongs to someone, or a letter
has been left out – John’s bag – I didn’t
Make a check list for every piece of work so you can check that you have used
the above correctly.
4. Use a variety of sentences – Strengthen your writing by using some short,
some long, some simple and some more complex sentences.
5. CAPITAL LETTERS – always a capital I, at the BEGINNING of EVERY
sentence, for any NAME – , address, person’s name, for any PLACE – town,
city, country and TITLES e.g. Mr, Mrs or the title of a book, play, song.
6. CONNECTIVES – Try and link your paragraphs together with connectives:as well as/however/therefore/nevertheless/meanwhile/
consequently/although
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013
Paignton Community and Sports Academy
USEFUL WEBSITES:
Below is a selection of some online resources, including games, to improve spelling,
vocabulary, punctuation and grammar. Some sites have games/apps which can be
downloaded to a mobile phone.
Simple spelling rules and tips
http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/spelling-rules-and-tips
A selection of strategies to learn how to spell
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/spelling.htm
Spelling and word games
A selection of games to train for the Times Spelling Bee for 11 & 12 year olds, including a
phone app. http://www.timesspellingbee.co.uk/
Games to help students learn to spell the words most commonly misspelt in Year 7.
http://www.what2learn.com/content/samples/Literacy/literacy.htm
An excellent selection of games to improve many subjects from BBC bitesize for Key Stage 3.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/game/
Good spellers might like to take on Hard Spell, a game against the clock which is more
challenging. http://www.bbc.co.uk/hardspell/starspell_game.shtmlhttp://www.kidsspell.com/
Rules for English grammar and punctuation
http://www.grammarbook.com/english_rules.asp
http://correctpunctuation.explicatus.info/index.php?Correct_Punctuation
International Children’s Digital Library – This online library hosts nearly 5,000 high-quality
digital books in more than 50 different languages. Books contain both text and illustrations
and can be discussed in a community forum
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
Book Blogs
DogEared – Dog Eared is a National Geographic book blog written by kids for kids. The blog
offers reviews, book recommendations, and a book of the month feature
http://kidsblogs.nationalgeographic.com/blog/dogeared/
www.gcsebitesize.com – Revision skills
Anne Freeman/Kim Morgan – February 2013