Co-teaching guide: two year route plan
This suggested programme of study assumes that all students will sit the AS exam at the end of year one.
A range of different factors, for example timetabling structures, may affect a teacher’s ability to follow this programme without some adaptation. For example, if two teachers are sharing one class, each teacher will take a half-term’s text focus and spread that over a whole term (in the Autumn term, teacher one would take introduction to genre and Shakespeare study and teacher two the other drama set text and mock exam practice).
Year one (co-teaching AS and A-level)
| Timeline | Text focus | Skills focus | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Term 1 |
Single poem from poetry anthology |
Introduction to Tragedy or Comedy |
Use ‘The Death of Cuchulain’ from the Tragedy anthology or ‘Not my Best Side’ from the Comedy anthology as an introduction to the genre. The poems offer different aspects of the genre (See specification pages 18-19) but teaching absence of or subversion of aspects is equally interesting and valid. |
| Shakespeare set text |
Drama study Response to passage-based drama essay writing skills (AS Paper 1, Section A and A-level Paper 1, Section A) |
The chosen Shakespeare text should be studied in its entirety as students are required to refer to the text as a whole in the examination. A range of passages should be studied as the passage set for examination is not predictable. |
|
| Autumn Term 2 |
Drama set text |
Drama study Response to single drama text essay writing skills (AS Paper 1, Section B) |
To satisfy the A-level requirements, the drama text must be taken from the A-level set text list for connection at A- level with a poetry or prose text (Paper 1, Section C). Either the drama text or one of the poetry or prose texts must have been written pre-1900. |
| Mock exam practice (optional) | |||
| OPTIONAL. Mock exam in Week 1, Spring Term 1: AS Paper 1 | |||
| Spring Term 1 | Poetry set text |
Poetry study Response to poetry essay writing skills (AS Paper 2, Section A)
|
All poems in the chosen poetry collection should be studied as the poem set for examination is not predictable. Either the poetry or the prose text must come from the A-level set text list (for connection at A- level with the drama text: Paper 1, Section C). |
| Spring Term 2 | Prose set text |
Prose Study Response to single prose text essay writing skills (AS Paper 2, Section B) |
If either the poetry or prose text is taken from the texts appearing on the AS text list only, this text may be used in the NEA at A- level. (Hardy Selected Poems OR Remains of the Day for Tragedy/Betjeman Selected Poems OR Wise Children for Comedy) |
| Summer Term 1 |
Revision of: Shakespeare text Drama set text Poetry set text Prose set text |
Revision of exam writing skills: Response to passage-based Shakespeare Response to single drama text Response to poetry Response to single prose text |
|
AS exams
Paper 1: Literary Genres: Aspects of Tragedy OR Aspects of Comedy (Drama)
Paper 2: Literary Genres: Aspects of Tragedy OR Aspects of Comedy (Prose and Poetry)
Summer term 2: A-level study begins – see Year two below
Year one (A-level)
| Timelines | Text focus | Skills focus | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Term 2 |
Shakespeare |
Drama study Response to whole play essay writing skills (A-level Paper 1, Section B) |
Students will have already studied their chosen Shakespeare text and how to respond to a passage-based question at AS. At A-level, students also need to learn to offer a conventional essay response to a given view on the same play. |
|
NEA Text 1 |
Study of chosen genre for NEA |
Preparation for NEA will differ dependent upon whether: one text is taught to the whole class and the second is independently chosen; both texts are independently chosen by the student; students have already studied an AS only text (Hardy Selected Poems/Remains of the Day/Betjeman Selected Poems/ Wise Children) at AS and are using this for NEA. The Critical Anthology offers students different ways of reading their texts; as such, it may be introduced earlier in the course even though explicit reference to the critical views therein is only required in NEA. |
|
| Critical Anthology | Study of critical theory | To ensure independence, students should be exposed to different sections of the Critical Anthology, from which they can choose critical views to apply. | |
| Summer Holidays | NEA Text 2 | Independent study | One of the two texts studied must be a poetry text and the other must be a prose text. |
Year two (A-level)
| Timeline | Text focus | Skills focus | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn Term 1 | NEA Texts 1 and 2 and Critical Anthology |
Extended essay writing skills Application and evaluation of critical views |
See pages 24-25 of the specification for guidance.
|
| Autumn Term 2 |
Unseen text |
Response to unseen extract essay skills (A-level Paper 2, Section A) |
Choose range of engaging extracts from the chosen genre of study, which cover different elements of the genre as an introduction to it. Extracts from any of the relevant set texts offer a good starting point as the examination extract can come from any of poetry, prose or drama. (See specification pages 21-23 for possible elements and set texts) |
| Set text 1 | |||
| Spring Term 1 |
Set text 2
|
Connective essay writing skills (A-level Paper 2, Section C and Paper 1, Section C) |
|
| Mock exam practice (optional) | |||
| OPTIONAL. Mock exam end Spring Term 1/beginning Spring Term 2: Paper 2, Sections A and C | |||
| Spring Term 2 | Set text 3 |
Response to single text essay writing skills (A-level Paper 2, Section B) |
Across Sections B and C of Paper 2, students need to study one post-2000 prose text, one poetry and one other text, at least one of which MUST have been written pre-1900. |
| Summer Term 1 |
Revision |
Revision of exam writing skills
|
|
|
Paper 1: Shakespeare |
Paper 1: Response to passage-based drama Conventional essay response to given view |
Shakespeare preparation for passage-based will need to reflect the increased demand in assessment between AS and A- level | |
| Set texts | Connective response to drama and poetry/prose texts |
Preparation for Paper 1, Section C should reflect that the drama and poetry/prose texts were used for different assessments at AS. If both poetry and prose texts studied at AS come from the A- level list, both could be revised for connection with the drama text to give students choice in the A-level examination.
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Paper 2: Unseen extract |
Response to unseen extract
|
Students should be prepared for making choices in the examination. Their combination of texts will inform which pair would best answer the chosen connective question in Section C and therefore which single text will be used in Section B. | |
|
Set texts |
Response to single text and connective response |
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A-level exams
Paper 1: Literary Genres: Aspects of Tragedy OR Aspects of Comedy
Paper 2: Texts and Genres: Elements of Crime Writing OR Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing