How to Refresh Your Curriculum
Theme based curricula depress me, because those themes are arbitrary, and could change tomorrow with no loss of quality. The curriculum has to select what you believe to be the most useful knowledge, skills and experiences.
How you define that is influenced by many things. To make this post useful to you, I’ve tried to think about your curriculum as though it were a museum.
The British Museum is a window on the world.
The National Portrait Gallery is a mirror of the nation.
Thinking about your curriculum in these terms will help you make more valuable, interesting and enjoyable choices.
Rather than map out the curriculum I would choose, I’ve enlisted ChatGPT as a personal assistant. (If you think of AI as a tool, you will never get the most out of it).
Prompt
A curriculum is either a window on the world or a mirror of the nation. This explains the difference between the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.
Now imagine a curriculum for KS3 English, from year 7 through to year 9.
Present two curricula side by side, in topics covered for each term in each year group. Include the assessment tasks for each topic.
The first column should be the window and the second column should be the mirror. I am very interested to see the differences in the choices you make. You are an expert in sequencing the curriculum, meaningful assessment and deciding what the most valuable skills and knowledge are for a student.
I also want you to imagine that there is no GCSE, so the English education students receive will end at the end of year 9.
Do you have any questions for me before you start?
ChatGPT
Diversity in the Mirror Curriculum: Should the "Mirror" curriculum reflect a traditional British literary canon (e.g. Shakespeare, Dickens, Romantic poets), or a broader sense of British identity, including regional voices, working-class writers, British writers of colour, and contemporary texts?
Window on the World: Should this include texts in translation and postcolonial voices, or do you also want global English-language voices (e.g. Caribbean, African, Indian, Australian authors)? Should it avoid overlap with British voices, or can some global perspectives include diasporic British authors?
Assessment Tasks: Should each topic include both reading and writing assessment, or would you prefer a mix that shifts over the year (e.g. one term reading-focused, one term writing-focused, one mixed)?
Spoken Language: Would you like formal oracy tasks built in (e.g. debate, performance), or do you want the focus to be on written work?
Themes or Skills: Are you interested in themes that run across the years (e.g. identity, power, justice), or would you prefer a more skill-sequenced curriculum (e.g. close reading > comparative analysis > rhetorical writing > narrative voice)?
My Reply
I think the mirror curriculum should try to do both - teach the traditional and the more contemporary in the ways you have suggested.
The window on the world curriculum will prioritise knowledge which will help students understand their own tradition, but also the wider world. It should prepare them to understand the literary references that might be made in broadsheet newspapers in any decade.
I would like a reading and writing assessment for each topic, so I can choose which I prefer, or choose both.
Please do include worthwhile oracy tasks.
I don't want a theme based curriculum, because it is arbitrary. Think instead about knowledge and skills which are going to be most useful in later life, reading literature in future, employment, further study, and having the cultural capital to fully grasp the ideas and references in broadsheet newspapers.
(I find the final prompt, asking the AI to question you, is always a game-changer).
The Curricula
I don’t have skin in the game here - I’m not pushing one curriculum over the other. Nor am I pushing one topic, or one assessment over another.
I want to look through the options and ask whether it prompts better thinking about my existing curriculum, and the current assessments.
Any that I really like I will build with the aid of an AI personal assistant. That is what you should do if you find any ideas that you want to run with or explore.
Let me know in the comments about any which interested you.
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Assessments
Assessment Task Descriptions – KS3 English Curriculum
Each assessment task from the Mirror and Window curricula is outlined below with three-sentence descriptions explaining student expectations and indicators of success.
Reading – Explain how a writer uses form and language to present society.
Students will annotate extracts from texts such as *Oliver Twist* or *Pride and Prejudice*, focusing on how writers use language, tone, and structure to depict societal norms and class. Their written response will analyse one passage in depth with a clear line of argument.
Success looks like identifying methods, explaining their effects, and linking them to context.
Writing – Write a formal article explaining the value of literature to British identity.
Students will plan and write an article aimed at a broadsheet readership, using rhetorical devices and evidence from the texts studied. They should argue how literature shapes or reflects national values.
A strong piece will feature well-structured arguments, embedded quotations, and formal register.
Reading – Compare how two cultures use myth.
Students will select myths from different regions (e.g. Greek vs West African) and explain similarities and differences in themes, characters, or morals. They must use specific evidence and comment on cultural values.
High-quality responses compare form and purpose with insight into cultural storytelling.
Writing – Create a new myth.
Students invent a myth explaining a natural or human phenomenon, emulating stylistic features from studied myths. Their writing should include archetypal characters and moral lessons.
Success involves clear narrative structure, imaginative content, and echoes of mythic tradition.
Reading – Analyse confusion and control.
Students explore a scene from *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*, annotating how Shakespeare creates comedic confusion or exerts control through magic and authority. The analysis will unpack language and structure.
Strong answers track shifting power dynamics and explain how these create humour or tension.
Writing – Reimagine a scene as radio play.
Students select a key moment and script it for radio, focusing on sound, voice, and mood rather than visuals. They must preserve the characters' intentions while using radio conventions.
Effective pieces show deep understanding of tone and subtext through audio cues.
Reading – Analyse a turning point.
Students identify a pivotal moment in a coming-of-age story and explore its impact on character development. The task focuses on narrative perspective and emotional shifts.
Success involves close analysis and clear explanation of the protagonist’s change.
Writing – Write your own coming-of-age story.
Students write a short first-person narrative in which the character undergoes a formative experience. It must include inner conflict and reflection.
Strong stories show voice, progression, and emotional authenticity.
Reading – Compare two poems.
Students annotate two poems focused on place, exploring imagery, structure, and tone. They will write a comparative essay linking techniques and meanings.
Top responses make detailed links between poetic methods and how place is presented.
Writing – Describe a familiar place.
Students produce a descriptive paragraph about a local environment using sensory detail and figurative language. They must evoke mood and memory.
Success includes varied sentence structures and precise vocabulary.
Reading – Explain metaphor and structure.
Students focus on a global poem’s use of metaphor, enjambment, and stanza structure to convey emotion or identity. They must analyse at least two techniques in depth.
A strong answer will explore how form enhances meaning.
Writing – Write a poem about distance.
Students compose a poem exploring separation or migration using imagery and free verse. It should echo styles seen in Dharker or Nichols.
Effective poems create emotional impact through form and metaphor.
Reading – Analyse how character exposes inequality.
Students examine scenes from *A Christmas Carol* or *Oliver Twist*, identifying how Dickens portrays social injustice through dialogue and setting. They write an extended paragraph exploring methods.
Best responses link to historical context and interpret authorial intention.
Writing – Write a speech about modern poverty.
Students deliver a persuasive speech that draws parallels between past and present poverty. They must use emotive language, rhetorical questions, and facts.
Success is marked by clarity of argument, structure, and audience engagement.
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