English (National 4)

The National Parent Forum of Scotland is grateful for the support of the Scottish Government, the Scottish Qualifications Authority and Education Scotland in the preparation of this series. For more detailed course information: SQA: English National 4: www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/45672.html Education Scotland: www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nationalqualifications/index.asp Curriculum for Excellence Key Terms and Features Factfile: www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/CfEFactfileOverview_tcm4-665983.pdf NATIONALS IN A NUTSHELL The National Parent Forum of Scotland Summary of English National 4 3 UNITS HISTORY ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION - the receptive skills of reading and listening to understand, analyse and evaluate texts CREATION AND PRODUCTION – the productive skills of writing and talking to create oral and written texts LITERACY – the four skills of reading, listening, writing and talking in forms relevant to learning, life and work ADDED VALUE UNIT: ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT WHAT WILL MY CHILD EXPERIENCE DURING THE COURSE? • Active and independent learning by setting personal targets, reviewing and reflecting on progress and deciding next steps • A blend of classroom approaches including whole class, small group or one to one discussions; direct interactive teaching • Collaborative learning: in groups or pairs to encourage team-working, relationship-building, the verbalisation of ideas; with learners in other curricular areas to reinforce and transfer skills • Space for personalisation and choice: selecting texts and ways of showing evidence (presentation, e-document, critical essay); choice of Assignment topic • Applying learning • Embedding literacy skills: selecting and assessing information, presenting findings; evaluating; debating; listening, reading, writing • The Added Value Unit (Assignment) allows learners to choose a topic, research it and present their findings orally or in writing. ASSESSMENT • To gain National 4, learners must pass all Units including the Assignment • Units are assessed as pass or fail by the school/centre (following SQA external quality assurance to meet national standards) • Unit Assessment (or ‘evidence of learning’) could be digital or spoken presentations, posters, leaflets, extended writing, notes or podcasts. Learners may use these to build a portfolio to show their progress through the Units • The Assignment will involve an oral presentation or an essay. National 4 progresses onto National 5 ENGLISH LANGUAGES NATIONAL 4 What skills will my child develop? • understanding, explaining, analysing and evaluating straightforward texts (language, literature and media) both orally and in writing • creating, structuring and producing straightforward texts for different purposes • using technology to communicate • social and interpersonal skills • identifying sources, selecting and using information • planning, researching and decision-making • effective questioning and reflection • understanding how language works and applying language skills in different contexts • communicating ideas, views, feelings and information orally and in writing with technical accuracy • creative thinking + ADDED VALUE UNIT