Key Stage 3 · Year 7 - Foundations · Term 1

Term 1

Year 7 opens with a contemporary dual-narrative novel - *The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle* by Victoria Williamson. Two girls (Caylin, a Glasgow native presented as tough and defensive; Reema, a Syrian refugee carrying memories of Aleppo and her brother Jamal) cross paths in a story that asks how first impressions form, how loneliness hides itself, and how empathy can be earned. The term anchors KS3 reading habits - echo reading, sentence stems, WHAT/HOW/WHY paragraphs - and writes our shared analytical vocabulary.

Set text

The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle by Victoria Williamson

Big skill jump

Students arrive identifying surface meaning; by end of term they can independently write one analytical paragraph anchored in a self-selected quotation using WHAT / HOW / WHY and "This shows…".

Vocabulary themes

first impressions, hidden struggles, loneliness
identity, belonging, empathy, change

Term 1.1 - First half

End-of-half-term assessment

Google-Form reading quiz (Chapters 1-5) + 20-minute mini analytical paragraph: "Who do we feel more sympathy for so far - Caylin or Reema?"

Week 2

Chapter 1, pp. 1-4

Caylin is introduced - first impressions vs hidden struggle.

inferencelonelydefensive

Week 3

Chapter 2, pp. 5-9

Reema introduced through a race - physical struggle interlaced with memories of Aleppo and her brother Jamal.

refugeedisplacedresilience

Week 4

Chapter 3, pp. 10-14

Caylin's home life surfaces - money worries, sibling responsibility. Readers begin to feel sympathy.

povertyresponsibilityashamed

Week 5

Chapter 4, pp. 15-19

Reema's memories surface - Jamal, Aleppo. Physical running, emotional return.

grieflossidentity

Week 6

Chapter 5, pp. 21-26

Caylin becomes more sympathetic - struggle, loneliness, pressure.

judgementstereotypemisunderstood

Week 7

Chapters 1-5 (consolidation + T1.1 assessment)

Consolidation + Term 1.1 assessment week.

isolationbelongingoutsider

Term 1.2 - Second half

End-of-half-term assessment

Term 1.2 formal assessment - analytical response: "How does Victoria Williamson show that understanding others can change the way we see them?"

Week 8

Chapters 8-9 + read Chapters 10-11 for homework

Both girls experience prejudice and loneliness differently - first comparative writing.

prejudiceassumptionstereotype

Week 9

Chapters 12-13 + read Chapters 14-15 for homework

empathysimilarityrelationship

Week 10

Chapters 16-17 + read Chapters 18-19 for homework

symbolismmetaphorrepresent

Week 11

Chapters 20-22 + read Chapters 23-29 for homework

acceptancefriendshiployalty

Week 12

Chapters 29-31 + read Chapters 32-33 for homework

identityempathycommunity

Week 13

Chapters 34-36 + revision

Final week - independent analytical reading + Term 1.2 formal assessment.

resolutiontransformationperspective

Key Stage 3 · Year 7 - Foundations · Term 1

Term 1

Year 7 opens with a contemporary dual-narrative novel - *The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle* by Victoria Williamson. Two girls (Caylin, a Glasgow native presented as tough and defensive; Reema, a Syrian refugee carrying memories of Aleppo and her brother Jamal) cross paths in a story that asks how first impressions form, how loneliness hides itself, and how empathy can be earned. The term anchors KS3 reading habits - echo reading, sentence stems, WHAT/HOW/WHY paragraphs - and writes our shared analytical vocabulary.

Set text

The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle by Victoria Williamson

Big skill jump

Students arrive identifying surface meaning; by end of term they can independently write one analytical paragraph anchored in a self-selected quotation using WHAT / HOW / WHY and "This shows…".

Vocabulary themes

first impressions, hidden struggles, loneliness
identity, belonging, empathy, change

Term 1.1 - First half

End-of-half-term assessment

Google-Form reading quiz (Chapters 1-5) + 20-minute mini analytical paragraph: "Who do we feel more sympathy for so far - Caylin or Reema?"

Week 2

Chapter 1, pp. 1-4

Caylin is introduced - first impressions vs hidden struggle.

inferencelonelydefensive

Week 3

Chapter 2, pp. 5-9

Reema introduced through a race - physical struggle interlaced with memories of Aleppo and her brother Jamal.

refugeedisplacedresilience

Week 4

Chapter 3, pp. 10-14

Caylin's home life surfaces - money worries, sibling responsibility. Readers begin to feel sympathy.

povertyresponsibilityashamed

Week 5

Chapter 4, pp. 15-19

Reema's memories surface - Jamal, Aleppo. Physical running, emotional return.

grieflossidentity

Week 6

Chapter 5, pp. 21-26

Caylin becomes more sympathetic - struggle, loneliness, pressure.

judgementstereotypemisunderstood

Week 7

Chapters 1-5 (consolidation + T1.1 assessment)

Consolidation + Term 1.1 assessment week.

isolationbelongingoutsider

Term 1.2 - Second half

End-of-half-term assessment

Term 1.2 formal assessment - analytical response: "How does Victoria Williamson show that understanding others can change the way we see them?"

Week 8

Chapters 8-9 + read Chapters 10-11 for homework

Both girls experience prejudice and loneliness differently - first comparative writing.

prejudiceassumptionstereotype

Week 9

Chapters 12-13 + read Chapters 14-15 for homework

empathysimilarityrelationship

Week 10

Chapters 16-17 + read Chapters 18-19 for homework

symbolismmetaphorrepresent

Week 11

Chapters 20-22 + read Chapters 23-29 for homework

acceptancefriendshiployalty

Week 12

Chapters 29-31 + read Chapters 32-33 for homework

identityempathycommunity

Week 13

Chapters 34-36 + revision

Final week - independent analytical reading + Term 1.2 formal assessment.

resolutiontransformationperspective