Year 8 learning
Lesson Hub
Choose what you want to learn. Every objective opens the lesson that teaches it — no separate recommendation journey.
Maths
Use integer powers and associated real roots, recognise powers of 2, 3, 4 and 5, and distinguish between exact representations and truncated or rounded decimals
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Chapter 1: Operations, powers and roots
Work interchangeably with terminating decimals and their corresponding fractions, and define percentage as 'number of parts per hundred'
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Percentage increase and decrease
Round numbers and measures to an appropriate degree of accuracy and use approximation to check answers
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Rounding and estimating to check answers
Simplify and manipulate algebraic expressions by collecting like terms, multiplying a single term over a bracket and factorising into a single bracket
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Chapter 4: Expressions: expand, collect and factorise
Use algebraic methods to solve linear equations in one variable, including all forms that require rearrangement
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Chapter 5: Solving linear equations
Work with coordinates in all four quadrants and recognise, sketch and produce graphs of linear functions
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Chapter 6: Coordinates and straight-line graphs
Divide a given quantity into two parts in a given part:part or part:whole ratio, and express the division of a quantity into two parts as a ratio
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Sharing in a given ratio
Solve problems involving percentage change, including percentage increase and decrease and original value problems
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Percentage increase and decrease
Solve problems involving direct and inverse proportion, including graphical and algebraic representations
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Direct proportion and rates
Use compound units such as speed, unit pricing and density to solve problems
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Direct proportion and rates
Use scale factors, scale diagrams and maps
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Scale factors and scale diagrams
Derive and use the sum of angles in a triangle and use it to deduce the angle sum in any polygon
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Chapter 8: Triangles and polygons
Identify and construct congruent triangles, and construct similar shapes by enlargement, with and without coordinate grids
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Congruent triangles and similar shapes
Understand that the probabilities of all possible outcomes sum to 1
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The probability scale and summing to 1
Enumerate sets and combinations of sets systematically, using tables, grids and Venn diagrams
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Listing outcomes with tables and Venn diagrams
Describe, interpret and compare observed distributions of a single variable through appropriate measures of central tendency and spread
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Percentage increase and decrease
English
Read critically, knowing how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text structure and organisational features, presents meaning
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Reading a source closely
Compare and contrast the treatment of themes and viewpoints across two or more texts
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Comparing two viewpoints
Write accurately, fluently, effectively and at length for pleasure and information, including well-structured formal expository and narrative essays
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Draft an article that earns trust
Write for a wide range of purposes and audiences, selecting and organising ideas and information appropriately
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Building an argument that holds
Amend the vocabulary, grammar and structure of their writing to improve its coherence and overall effectiveness
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Building an argument that holds
Study the effectiveness and impact of the grammatical features of the texts they read
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Reading a source closely
Draw on new vocabulary and grammatical constructions from their reading and listening, and use these consciously in their writing and speech
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From reading into writing: ambitious vocabulary that works
Give short speeches and presentations, expressing their own ideas and keeping to the point
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Building an argument that holds
Recognise a range of poetic conventions and understand how these have been used
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Form, structure and poetic convention
Consciously control levels of formality, including through the use of Standard English, and know when it is appropriate to use
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Register: spoken and written English
Science
Select, plan and carry out the most appropriate types of scientific enquiry to test predictions, including identifying independent, dependent and control variables
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Chapter 5: Investigation — does the evidence support the claim?
Make and record observations and measurements using a range of methods, and evaluate the reliability of methods
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Measuring accurately and judging reliability
Interpret observations and data, including identifying patterns and using observations to draw conclusions
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Food webs and energy transfer
Present observations using appropriate methods, including tables and graphs, and communicate ideas using scientific terminology
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Chapter 5: Investigation — does the evidence support the claim?
Understand the structure and functions of the gas exchange system and the effects of exercise, asthma and smoking
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Breathing and gas exchange
Understand the tissues and organs of the human digestive system, including the role of enzymes and the importance of bacteria in the gut
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Digestion and the gut
Understand reproduction in humans, including the structure and function of the male and female reproductive systems and the menstrual cycle
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Human reproduction
Understand the reactants in, and products of, photosynthesis, and a word summary for photosynthesis
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Food webs and energy transfer
Understand aerobic and anaerobic respiration in living organisms, including the breakdown of organic molecules to enable all the other chemical processes necessary for life
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Respiration: releasing energy
Understand the role of leaf stomata in gas exchange in plants and the dependence of almost all life on Earth on the ability of photosynthetic organisms to use sunlight
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Photosynthesis and stomata
Understand the interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem, including food webs and insect pollinated crops
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Food webs and energy transfer
Understand how organisms affect, and are affected by, their environment, including the accumulation of toxic materials
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Food webs and energy transfer
Understand differences between species and the variation between individuals of the same species
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Adaptation and natural selection
Understand changes in the environment that may leave individuals within a species, and some entire species, less well adapted to compete successfully and reproduce, which in turn may lead to extinction
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Adaptation and natural selection
Understand atoms, elements and compounds, and the use of chemical symbols and formulae
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Atoms, elements and compounds
Understand the concept of a pure substance and how mixtures can be separated through filtration, distillation and chromatography
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Separating mixtures
Understand diffusion in terms of the particle model, and the concepts of solutions, solvents, solutes and solubility
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Diffusion, solutions and solubility
Understand chemical reactions as the rearrangement of atoms, represented by word and symbol equations
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Chemical reactions and equations
Understand reactions of acids with alkalis to produce a salt plus water, and use the pH scale for measuring acidity
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Acids, alkalis and the pH scale
Understand energy changes and transfers, including comparing power ratings and energy values of fuels and foods
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Comparing power and energy values
Understand energy as a quantity that can be quantified and calculated, and the total energy has the same value before and after a change
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Conservation of energy
Understand fuels and energy resources, including renewable and non-renewable resources
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Fuels and energy resources
Understand pressure in fluids and atmospheric pressure, and pressure on surfaces
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Speed, distance and pressure
Understand the similarities and differences between light waves and waves in matter, and frequencies of sound waves measured in hertz
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Sound waves and hearing
Understand the transmission of light through materials, reflection, refraction and the colours of the light spectrum
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Light: reflection, refraction and colour
Understand electric current, measured in amperes, in circuits, series and parallel circuits, and potential difference measured in volts
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Current, potential difference and circuits
Understand gravity force, weight and mass, and the relationship between them on Earth and other bodies
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Gravity, mass and weight
Geography
Understand geographical similarities, differences and links between places through the study of human and physical geography of a region in Africa and a region in Asia
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How settlements grow and change
Understand how geographical processes interact to create distinctive human and physical landscapes that change over time
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Erosion, transport and deposition
Understand weather and climate, including the change in climate from the Ice Age to the present
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Why biomes sit where they do
Understand the key processes in biology relating to biomes, vegetation belts and ecosystems
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Why biomes sit where they do
Understand population and urbanisation, including international development and the causes and effects of migration
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Why people and animals move
Interpret Ordnance Survey maps, including using grid references, scale, topographical and other thematic mapping, and aerial and satellite photographs
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Reading an Ordnance Survey map
Understand rivers, coasts and glaciation and the physical processes that give rise to landscapes, and how they change over time
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Glaciation and the landscapes it left
Understand tectonic processes and hazards, including earthquakes and volcanic activity
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Inside the Earth and the theory of plate tectonics
Use geographical information systems (GIS) to view, analyse and interpret places and data
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GIS and presenting geographical data
Understand the physical and human characteristics of an area of the UK and a wider region of the world beyond Europe
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Living with tectonic hazards: prediction, protection and planning
History
Understand the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the English Reformation and its impact
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Lesson 1: England on the eve of Reformation
Understand the changing role of the monarchy and the causes and consequences of the English Civil Wars
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Tracing a theme through British history
Understand ideas, political power, industry and empire in Britain 1745-1901, including the Industrial Revolution and its impact on society
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Chapter 1: Britain before the factories
Understand Britain's transatlantic slave trade, its effects and its eventual abolition
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Britain, trade and transatlantic slavery
Understand a study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils' chronological knowledge beyond 1066
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Tracing a theme through British history
Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims
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Chapter 5: Workers, children and factory evidence
Understand the development of the Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the theory and practice of monarchy and the origins and progress of the English Reformation
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Lesson 1: England on the eve of Reformation
Understand how the emergence and growth of Parliament shaped political power in Britain
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Tracing a theme through British history
Understand Britain's transatlantic slave trade, its effects and its eventual abolition, in the context of empire
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Britain, trade and transatlantic slavery
Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources, and how and why historians have interpreted the past in different ways
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Chapter 1: Britain before the factories
Computing
Design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems
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Sequence, selection and iteration
Use two or more programming languages, at least one of which is textual, to solve a variety of computational problems
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Variables, lists and debugging
Use a variety of data structures, including lists, tables or arrays, and design modular programs that use procedures or functions
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Designing a useful dataset
Understand simple Boolean logic and some of its uses in circuits and programming
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Boolean logic: AND, OR and NOT
Understand how numbers can be represented in binary, and be able to carry out simple operations on binary numbers
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Data representation and honest visuals
Understand how instructions are stored and executed within a computer system, and how data of various types can be represented and manipulated digitally
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Designing a useful dataset
Understand the hardware and software components that make up computer systems, and how they communicate with one another and with other systems
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How a web page reaches you
Understand how computer networks, including the internet, can provide multiple services such as the World Wide Web
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How a web page reaches you
Undertake creative projects that involve selecting, using and combining multiple applications to achieve challenging goals, including collecting and analysing data
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Creative projects combining apps and data
Create, reuse, revise and repurpose digital artefacts for a given audience, with attention to trustworthiness, design and usability
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Creating trustworthy digital artefacts
Design and develop modular programs that use procedures or functions, and test and correct them systematically
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Variables, lists and debugging
Understand the hardware and software components that make up computer systems, and how they communicate with one another to process data
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Hardware, software and how they communicate
Art & Design
Increase their proficiency in the handling of different materials
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Line, tone and looking properly
Use drawing to record ideas and observations with control of line, tone, texture, shape and proportion
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Recording with control: line, tone and proportion
Work in three dimensions and with other media such as printmaking, collage and digital imaging
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Beyond the pencil: 3D, print and digital media
Use a range of techniques and media, including painting, to develop and refine their ideas
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Composition: where things sit and why
Analyse and evaluate their own work, and that of others, in order to strengthen the visual impact or applications of their work
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Reading an artwork in context
Research and gather visual and other source material to inform and develop a personal creative response
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Researching and gathering source material
Understand about the history of art, craft, design and architecture, including periods, styles and major movements from ancient times up to the present day
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Reading an artwork in context
Study the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing differences and similarities and making links to their own work
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Comparing artists and makers
Citizenship
Understand the development of the political system of democratic government in the United Kingdom, including the roles of citizens, Parliament and the monarch
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Parliament, the monarch and you
Understand the operation of Parliament, including voting and elections, and the role of political parties
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Elections and political parties
Understand the functions and uses of local government and how decisions are made in the local area
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How local government works
Understand the nature of rules and laws and the justice system, including the role of the police and the operation of courts and tribunals
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Rules, laws and the justice system
Understand the difference between criminal and civil law, and how the legal system deals with young people
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Criminal law, civil law and young people
Understand the functions and uses of money, the importance and practice of budgeting, and managing risk
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Percentage increase and decrease
Understand income, spending, saving and the choices involved in managing personal finances
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Percentage increase and decrease
Understand the roles played by the media and a free press in providing information and holding those in power to account
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The media and holding power to account
Understand a range of financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent
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Financial products and public money
Understand the different ways a citizen can participate actively in democratic and electoral processes, including through community volunteering and campaigning
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Active citizenship in practice
Understand the legal system in the UK, different sources of law and how the law helps society deal with complex problems
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Where UK law comes from
Languages
Transcribe words and short sentences that they hear with increasing accuracy
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Transcribing what you hear
Initiate and develop conversations, coping with unfamiliar language and unexpected responses
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Talking about hobbies and free time
Speak coherently and confidently, with increasingly accurate pronunciation and intonation
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Speaking with confidence
Read and show comprehension of original and adapted materials from a range of different sources
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Reading a short French text for detail
Deduce meaning from a variety of texts, using context and knowledge of word patterns and cognates
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Spotting cognates and false friends
Write prose using an increasingly wide range of grammar and vocabulary, and write creatively to express their own ideas and opinions
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Writing prose creatively
Translate short written text from the foreign language into English, conveying meaning accurately
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Translating into English
Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied
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Present, past and future in French
Use accurate grammar, spelling and punctuation, including gender, agreement and word order as appropriate to the language
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Gender and agreement
Read and understand the main points and some detail from a range of authentic and adapted materials, including some longer texts
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Reading longer French texts
Describe matters of personal and social interest clearly, both in speech and in writing, presenting facts and expressing opinions
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Writing about personal and social interests
Apply linguistic knowledge of the language to derive meaning of unfamiliar words, including through use of a dictionary
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Working out unfamiliar words
Design & Technology
Identify and solve their own design problems and understand how to reformulate problems given to them
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Understanding a design problem
Develop specifications to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that respond to needs in a variety of situations
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Writing a design specification
Use a variety of approaches to generate creative ideas, including biomimicry and user-centred design
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Getting ideas: biomimicry and user-centred design
Develop and communicate design ideas using annotated sketches, detailed plans, mathematical modelling and computer-based tools
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Communicating a design: sketches, plans and CAD
Select from and use specialist tools, techniques, processes, equipment and machinery precisely
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Choosing and using specialist tools precisely
Select from and use a wider, more complex range of materials and components, taking into account their properties
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Choosing materials for the job
Analyse the work of past and present professionals and others to develop and broaden their understanding
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Learning from professional designers
Test, evaluate and refine their ideas and products against a specification, taking into account the views of intended users
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Testing and refining against a specification
Understand and use the properties of materials and the performance of structural elements to achieve functioning solutions
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Material properties and strong structures
Understand how mechanical systems such as levers, linkages and gears create movement and change forces
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Mechanisms: levers, linkages and gears
Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients
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Where our food comes from
Become competent in a range of cooking techniques, including selecting and preparing ingredients and using a range of equipment safely
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Building competent cooking techniques
Music
Improvise and compose, and extend and develop musical ideas by drawing on a range of musical structures, styles, genres and traditions
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Improvising and developing musical ideas
Play music with technical control, keeping in time with others and responding to a conductor or leader
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Ensemble skills: timing and following a leader
Use staff and other relevant notations appropriately and accurately in a range of musical styles, genres and traditions
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Rhythm notation and note values
Compose music for a range of purposes using the inter-related dimensions of music
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Composing for a purpose
Use music technology appropriately to capture, change and combine sounds
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Using music technology
Develop a deepening understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history
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Music through the eras
Identify and describe music from different times, places and traditions, using appropriate musical vocabulary
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Traditions and styles from around the world
Read and use staff notation, including pitch and rhythm notation, with increasing fluency
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Reading pitch on the staff
PE
Develop their technique and improve their performance in other competitive sports, such as athletics and gymnastics
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Movement mechanics: levers, force and technique
Perform dances using advanced dance techniques within a range of dance styles and forms
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Advanced dance technique and styles
Use and develop a variety of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in invasion, net and striking and fielding games
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The mind of a performer: goals, arousal and feedback
Analyse their performances compared to previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best
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Components of fitness and how to test them
Understand the rules, roles and responsibilities of officials and players, and apply them fairly in competition
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Rules, officials and fair play
Take part in competitive sports and activities outside school through community links or sports clubs, and lead healthy, active lives
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Principles of training and designing a programme
Develop components of fitness through sustained physical activity, understanding the effects of exercise on the body
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Bones, joints and muscles in movement
Take part in outdoor and adventurous activities which present intellectual and physical challenges, working in a team and building trust
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Outdoor and adventurous activities
Solve problems individually and as part of a group, encouraging others and working collaboratively to meet a challenge
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Solving problems as a team
These objectives come from the fixed KS3 curriculum pathway. Your lesson progress updates here automatically.