Find out about a range of teaching approaches to help pupils build, develop and secure their skills in relating texts to the social, historical and cultural contexts in which they were written. Read about how to recognise pupil progression from Year 7 to Year 11, including extension.
Teaching approaches
Find out about about skills and strategies you might aim to address and revisit over the course of a pupil’s learning. You can also help pupils to build, develop and secure the skills they need to relate texts to the social, historical and cultural contexts in which they were written by using a staged approach.
The following pages also include an overview of key areas of learning to support progression in the reading and appreciation of Shakespeare across Key Stages 3 and 4. You can also help pupils to build, develop and secure their skills in this area by using a staged approach.
Recognising pupil progression
You can support progression in this substrand by giving pupils opportunities to:
- learn about the great traditions of English literature and about how modern writers see the world today
- compare texts from different cultures and traditions through their study of language and literature, developing their understanding of continuity and contrast and gaining an appreciation of the linguistic heritages that contribute to the richness of spoken and written language
- compare texts and explore ideas of cultural excellence, engaging with the ways in which culture develops and exploring the culture of their society
- explore, discuss, debate and write about the moral and philosophical issues posed by texts, developing their awareness of how these texts both grow from, and also inform, the social and political issues of their time.
Select the relevant Year headings below to find out which specific skills you might want to emphasise depending on the level of your pupils.
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Year 7
- Understand the different ways in which texts can reflect the social, cultural and historical contexts in which they were written.
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Year 8
- Explore the concept of literary heritage, why certain texts are important within it and how some texts have influenced culture and thinking.
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Year 9
- Develop an informed understanding of how ideas, experiences and values are portrayed in texts from different cultures and traditions.
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Year 10
- Make informed connections and comparisons between texts and writers that are different in time, culture and literary tradition, exploring their influence on each other and on culture as appropriate.
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Year 11
- Analyse the values and assumptions of writers by drawing out connections and comparisons between texts and their relationship to social, historical and cultural contexts.
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Extension
- Demonstrate originality of analysis and interpretation when evaluating texts in context to produce critical comparisons of the literary, moral, philosophical and social significance of texts from a range of cultures and times.
