What will I learn?

This section aims to give you a realistic view of the subjects and some idea about what you might be expected to learn in the first year in at Tytherington.

Homework
We might as well start with homework – everyone wants to know about homework!

Homework at THS

What is this section about?

This section gives you an idea about how much homework you can expect and the sort of tasks you are likely to be set.

Why do I get homework?

The purpose of homework is

• to give you the responsibility for your own learning (attitude)
• to give you the experience of independent learning (skill)
• to add to the time you spend in class to ensure you cover all the work and allow for longer term research (content/knowledge)

What sort of homework tasks will I be given?

Tasks will all be relevant to the work done in school and could include

• preparing for the next lesson
• completing tasks set in the lesson
• using time to carry out your own research
• consolidating content of lesson through further exercise/learning
• consolidating skills learnt through carrying out an individual project

It is your responsibility to write down details of homework set in your planner, and to make sure that your parents know what has been set.

How much homework will I get?

In Year 7, you should expect to do about one hour's homework each night. This will gradually increase so that by Year 10 you will have about 2½ hours' worth.

What happens if I fail to hand in my homework?

Naturally, it is expected that completed homework will be given in on time. This gives you valuable experience of working to deadlines and helps the teachers mark the work ready for the next lesson.
If you do not hand in your homework, appropriate action is taken, for example:

• the class teacher will talk with you to find out if there was a good reason for not handing in the work; any reason should be written in the planner by the parent
• the teacher may contact your parents
• you may be given a detention

Back to subjects

The main subjects

As you would expect, you will continue to be taught all the subjects you have been used to in your Primary school. You may find, however, that some subjects, Modern Foreign Languages, for example, will take up more of the timetable and others, such as Design Technology, which you may have met only as part of Topic work, are now subjects in their own right.
Although many Primary schools have bought a lot more computers in recent years, you might be surprised at just how many you will come across in your new school; they are likely to be used as a regular resource in several subject

Links to subjects

English – Tips for writing

Key Stage 3 reading List

English: producing a piece of writing.

What is this section about?

This section takes you through the process of producing a piece of writing from the very beginning (simply getting some ideas down on paper or on screen) to the final copy.
You will probably notice that these notes don't describe much that you haven't already been doing in your Primary School. If that's the case, then you won't have any nasty surprises waiting for you, will you!

Getting Started
When you write your first draft, put down all your ideas as they first come out. Do not worry about punctuation, spelling or crossing out. These will be dealt with as you redraft.

Just write!

It is YOUR responsibility to correct your piece of writing, not anyone else’s. YOU own the piece of writing and can change it at any time.

Now follow these steps to produce a final copy:

Check punctuation

Go through your work and check that you have capital letters and full stops in the right places.
Ensure your sentences make sense – only one idea per sentence- only one “and” per sentence.

Omissions and deletions

Read each sentence one at a time, if possible out loud. Add in any words missed out, cross out any which are not necessary. Change got, went, etc into something more interesting.

Identifying incorrect spellings

Underline all the words you think don’t look right.

Correcting spellings

Try to write out each word in a different way five times with different combinations of letters until you find the right one. You will recognise the correct spelling when you find it. If you have tried five times and not found it, then look it up in a dictionary or ask your teacher.

Paragraphs

A paragraph is a group of sentences all dealing with the same topic or stage in a story. Make sure you indent them if writing or block them if typing.

Expanding a piece of writing

Altering words

Find places where you can add a word, probably an adjective or adverb, to give more information, detail or interest.

Asterisks

Use asterisks to identify where you can use one or more sentences to add more information or interest to your story. Asterisks can add:

• Description about someone, something, a place, a time.
• Why, when, how something happened.
• Feelings- yours or the people’s involved.
• Information about the past
• Future plans –what do you or your characters think will happen?
• Any other new information.

Now write or type your final copy

English: List of suggested books for Key Stage 3

What is this section about?
We always recommend reading books. Obviously, we would hardly expect you to read all these and, anyway, you have probably already read some of them, but they are our suggestions for books to choose from.