Teacher Resource Bank

GCSE English Unit 1 and English Language Unit 1

Schemes of work
Schemes of work are suggestions and ideas about how you might deliver GCSE English Unit 1 and
English Language Unit 1. You can use these suggestions, adapt them to better suit your students or use
your own schemes of work.
However you deliver GCSE English, English Language or English Literature, you can rely on AQA’s
comprehensive support package – online, on paper and in person – including resources, specimen exam
questions, training meetings, continuing professional development (CPD), guidance and advice.
This guide to Schemes of work is part of your invaluable Teacher Resource Bank, which includes a
Resource list, Planning grids, Summary of changes and more.
You also have free access to our online Resource Zone at aqa.org.uk/englishzone
You can visit the Resource Zone to find a comprehensive collection of downloadable materials and
documents all in one place.
If you have any enquiries about GCSE English, English Language or English Literature, you can speak
directly to the AQA English team by e-mail english-gcse@aqa.org.uk or telephone 0161 953 7504.

Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. MSD1058.09 61216
Teacher Resource Bank
Schemes of work

GCSE English Unit 1 and English Language Unit 1

Medium term plan
Unit 1 Understanding and producing non-fiction texts Duration: 7 weeks teaching time.
Year: KS4
GCSE English Unit 1 and GCSE English Language Unit 1 Plus exam practice.

Assessment objectives:
GCSE English A02 Reading/ GCSE English Language AO3 Understanding written language
• Read and understand texts, selecting material appropriate to purpose, collating from different sources and
making comparisons and cross-references as appropriate.
• Explain and evaluate how writers use linguistic, grammatical, structural and presentational features to
achieve effects and influence and engage the reader.
GCSE English AO3 Writing/ GCSE English Language AO4 Writing
• Write clearly, effectively and imaginatively, using and adapting forms and selcting vocabularly appropriate to
task and purpose in ways that engage the reader.
• Organise information and ideas into structured and sequenced sentences, paragraphs and whole texts,
using a variety of linguistic and structural features to support cohesion and overall coherence.
• Use a range of sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate punctuation and spelling.
This unit engages with all The National Curriculum 2007 English Programme of
Key Concepts

Competence
Study elements of Competence (1.1 a-e)
Candidates will be expected to make fresh connections between texts (1.2a)
Creativity
and should manipulate form to suit the purpose of a text (1.2b)
Candidates will understand how written language may be used in response to
Cultural understanding
technology e.g. in studying multimedia texts (1.3c)
This unit engages with all The National Curriculum 2007 English Programme of
Critical understanding
Study elements of Competence (1.4 a-d)
Links to functional skills:
This unit embeds the functional elements of English reading and writing and therefore covers all the skills
standards for these elements.
Key questions for this unit:
Can candidates transfer reading skills to any non-fiction text, employing various reading strategies and being able
to make informed comments about texts?
Can candidates adapt writing skills to produce texts that are fit for purpose?
Throughout this unit, students should be reminded of the need for accuracy in their writing. Starter activities could
be used to focus on spelling and or aspects of grammar as necessary.

MSD1058.09 61216 Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

GCSE English Unit 1 and English Language Unit 1
Topic Outline
Week 1
Approaching non-fiction texts
Reading
Identifying form; genre; audience;
purpose/s of a range of non-fiction texts
including multi-modal texts (those with
pictures and also those with sound/
moving image).
Understanding, summarising, giving
overviews, following lines of argument
and ideas.
Writing
Planning a non-fiction text-targeting
audience and purpose.
Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
Teacher Resource Bank
Schemes of work
Additional notes, including
Teaching approach
resources
Candidates should be encouraged to Teachers should use any non fiction
bring in their own non-fiction texts e.g. text at this stage. Candidates should,
leaflets; pages from websites; magazine however, be encouraged to select their
articles; information texts they are using own texts and to realise that these skills
in other subjects. They could make are transferable.
collages/start scrapbooks of annotated
texts. The AQA Glossary of terms of Unit 1.
Encourage candidates to think outside The following site is a service
the labels ‘inform/persuade’ etc when which gives schools a free licence
identifying purposes and ask them to be to use newspaper resources:
more specific about these. www.newspapersforschools.co.uk
Candidates should learn to summarise
or give ‘the gist’ of a text. They should
then learn to trace how the points
develop through the text. This can be
linked to writing, where they are asked
to represent the information in the text
in another form e.g. they have read an
information text about looking after pets
and they have to produce a handout
which summarises the main points.
Using features they have been
identifying in reading tasks, candidates
should plan a writing task. There is no
need to write the piece at this point- it is
more important that they are aware of
the need to target audience and purpose
and to plan for style and structural
devices that will suit this purpose.
MSD1058.09 61216
Teacher Resource Bank
Schemes of work

GCSE English Unit 1 and English Language Unit 1

Topic Outline
Week 2
Features of non-fiction text
Reading
Identifying layout and presentation
features in a range of texts (including
multi modal texts and letters).
Additional notes, including
Teaching approach
resources
Using a range of texts, candidates As week one.
should consider the use of presentation
devices. Students should start by identifying the
features they began looking for in week
In looking at illustrations, they should 1 before moving on to this week’s focus.
consider the connotations of colour,
angle of shot etc – comments on which
should be clearly linked to the text. They
should consider the different uses of
photographs, illustrations, charts etc
and why these choices are made. They
should consider how font styles and
colours are linked to the subject of the
text. They should discuss the purpose of
bullet points and other devices, relating
these to the nature of the text.
They should also look at the layout of
more formal texts, such as letters and
formal e-mails.

Writing In writing, they should use relevant style

Planning and using layout features.
features in producing a text for a specific
audience and purpose and should
experiment with colour etc, identifying
the different connotations created by
different choices. Note that this should
always be linked to the text under
consideration.

They should prepare formal letters and

e-mails, using the relevant layout.

MSD1058.09 61216 Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
 Teacher Resource Bank
Schemes of work

GCSE English Unit 1 and English Language Unit 1

Topic Outline Teaching approach
Week 3 – 4
Close reading skills
Reading After summarising and understanding
Developing close reading skills and the gist of texts, candidates should
Identifying key words and phrases. learn to identify key words and
phrases in texts, using them to support
interpretation and commenting on
effects.
Commenting on language. They should consider: persuasive and
emotive vocabulary; discursive markers;
rhetorical devices; formal and informal
choices; pronoun choices etc.
Writing In planning a writing task, candidates
Candidates should use their close should be encouraged to prepare by
reading skills to inform their own choices noting the kind of key language features
in writing. they may need and using, for example,
a thesaurus to find vocabulary they may
wish to use. They should become self-
conscious writers, being able to explain
why they have made language choices
in their own writing.
Additional notes, including
resources
As above.
Students will not need to name
language devices but will need to
comment on the effectiveness. For
some students, however, having the
technical terminology gives them a
vehicle to discuss effects. For example,
candidates may say that ‘the writer uses
“we” to include the audience and make
his ideas seemed shared’. They do not
need to identify that ‘we’ is a first person
inclusive pronoun.
Candidates could annotate a piece
of their own writing, identifying where
they have used language for effect.
Alternatively, they could do this on a
peer’s text.
At this point, they should practise exam
style questions.

Additional notes, including

Topic Outline Teaching approach
Week 5
Comparing texts
Reading Using texts linked loosely by theme,
Identifying similarities and differences in students should use all the approaches
genre; meanings and ideas; audience; developed in weeks 1 – 4 to draw points
purpose; presentation and language. of comparison. This could initially be
done in the form of a table.
They should practise writing comparative
responses to reading, using comparative
markers and integrating examples when
necessary.
resources
The specimen question papers can be
used. However, once again, it will give
students greater ownership if they are
encouraged to find their own linked texts.
The specimen pre-release materials
for the mature option can be used.
Candidates should be able to select any
combination of texts to use in looking for
connections and links.

Writing In writing, they should write two short

Recognising how writing on a theme
needs to be adapted to be fit for
purpose.
texts on a theme, for different audiences
and/or purposes and/or genres and
possibly even with a different point of
view. They should identify the choices
they have made to make their writing
different in each case.

Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. MSD1058.09 61216
Teacher Resource Bank
Schemes of work

GCSE English Unit 1 and English Language Unit 1

Additional notes, including
Topic Outline Teaching approach
resources
Week 6 – 7
Producing and completing an
exam paper
Students should use the materials The specimen materials should be used
they have gathered, or should gather as a guide to the type/length/complexity
their own at this point, to produce an of texts needed as sources and as a
examination paper, using the specimen model of how the questions should be
question papers as a guide. This helps written.
embed the structure of an examination
paper. It allows students to choose a
topic of interest to them.

They can then swap papers and have a

go at answering each others’ papers.

MSD1058.09 61216 Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
 Teacher Resource Bank
Schemes of work

GCSE English Unit 1 and English Language Unit 1

Notes:

Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. MSD1058.09 61216
Teacher Resource Bank
Schemes of work

GCSE English Unit 1 and English Language Unit 1

Notes:

Copyright © 2010 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. aqa.org.uk
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number
3644723) and a registered charity (registered charity number 1073334). Registered address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
Version 1.1
MSD1058.09 61216