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Original poster

what books do kids in year 7 and 8 in english these days?

36 replies

iamnotaprincess · 26/12/2015 09:48

just wondering what books kids study in english at the beginning of secondary. is there a difference between comp and grammar?

OP posts:
Helmetbymidnight · 27/12/2015 11:17

Animal farm, lord of the flies, Shakespeare...war poets

mummytime · 27/12/2015 11:14

My DS studied Beowulf in year 7 at his comp, he loved it and was never top set material (solidly struggling to get a C material).

Normal stuff for 7 and 8: Shakespeare, poetry, Animal Farm, Private Peaceful or War Horse, ghost stories including Edgar Allan Poe.

At GCSE they will do A Christmas Carol if possible (I did Great Expectations and have never got to the end).

thelaundryfairy · 27/12/2015 00:01

I teach English at an independent school. This year I don´t teach Years Seven or Eight, but from memory, we teach titles including Private Peaceful, I Am David, Frankenstein (adaptation), Romeo and Juliet in Year Seven, and Stone Cold, The Great Elephant Chase, Dracula (adaptation), The Moonstone (adaptation), A Midsummer Night´s Dream in Year Eight.

Leeds2 · 26/12/2015 22:11

Can't really remember (DD now in Sixth Form), but I know she did The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas in Year 7.

ravenAK · 26/12/2015 11:05

Lots of texts from the 2010-2015 GCSE spec as the book cupboards are full of them...Wink

Private Peaceful, Holes & Millions are all good solid Y7 staples, but there's an increasing emphasis on 'pale, male & stale' (ie C19th literary heritage) to prepare for GCSE.

If I had my choice I'd plan a KS3 long term plan chronologically through English literature, starting with Beowulf - I know one school that do that brilliantly - & balance Beowulf with A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness as a modern class reader.

The Boy With Two Heads by Andy Mulligan is also excellent.

susannahmoodie · 26/12/2015 10:56

Private Peaceful and The boy in the striped pyjamas in y7.

The Woman in Black in y8.

Of Mice and Men in y9.

They also so a Shakespeare every year.

Changes to gcse mean that many schools with be studying 19th century texts in ks3 to better prepare pupils.....which is no bad thing imo. I remember reading Jane Eyre in y7 and loving it. But it's about striking a balance between challenging kids and putting them off for life.....

AppleSetsSail · 26/12/2015 10:21

My son in year 8 read Of Mice and Men.

EvilTwins · 26/12/2015 10:19

Where I teach, yr 7 do Holes, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas and Tins. The Yr 8 top sets have done Animal Farm this term. Not sure about other sets. I would imagine there shouldn't be much of a difference between top sets in a comp and grammar schools but comps should be differentiating for different abilities within a year group.

CalliopeTorres · 26/12/2015 10:18

Kensuki's (sp?) kingdom according to DD in year 7

Shortandsweet20 · 26/12/2015 10:14

My youngest brother is in year 7 and he is currently reading Private Peaceful if that's any help?
That's in the local state not too sure what they do in independent or grammars.

DancingDuck · 26/12/2015 10:13

Our local comp English teacher told me they'd study Hunger Games as they'd all read it anyway and she wanted to make sure they really got it. which I thought was a clever move. They were also studying extracts from Shakespeare plays - Twelth Night I think. They'll be doing more but those are the only ones I know about.

DC are at an independent school and did My Family and Other Animals, Edgar Allen Poe horror stories, Browning poems and First World War poems. They also did Stone Cold a very grim YA book about a homeless man. Think they've done some Shakespeare too but no homework on it yet.