BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION Commissioning Brief Key Stage 3, Northern Ireland, ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION Overview BBC Bitesize is commissioning content for students studying Key Stage 3 ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION in schools in Northern Ireland. Key Stage 3 students are aged 11 to 14 years old and are in Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10. The first three years of secondary. While KS3 English with Media Education sits within the compulsory area of Language and Literacy it contains both statutory and non-statutory requirements as well as requiring cross curricular skills. KS3 teachers should enable children to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in: • Effective research and information management; • Thinking critically and flexibly, solving problems and making informed decisions; • Creativity and initiative when developing ideas and following them through; • Working effectively with others; • Self-management by systematic working, persisting with tasks, evaluating and improving own performance; • Effective communication in oral, visual and written formats. Awareness of audience and purpose and attention to accuracy creativity and information management We are making content for pupils who have just left primary school while accommodating those about to begin their GCSE’s. In this case it is difficult to cover all levels, and we appreciate that what works or is fun for year 8 may not work with a 14 year old. Learning should be pitched at bringing less able students to a passing grade, while still being of use to all; taking key concepts across the three years, at the appropriate level when they meet them and making the content work for all. This content should capture their imagination whilst being age appropriate. Content will be used for independent learning in the first instance, by teachers in the classroom and to improve understanding of the subject matter. Page 1 of 26 BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION Summary of deliverables We require the following content for ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION: Video: approximately 25 minutes of original video or animation. This could break down to 16-20 short films of roughly 1:30 duration on average. Films can be shorter or longer, we are flexible on the final number. Page 2 of 26 BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION Bitesize brand values and tone • quality learning resources with high production values, tailored to the needs of the audience • clear, concise delivery of the key educational points in bite-sized chunks • accessible to every level of academic ability and learning style • factually correct, high-quality and curriculum-relevant • simple, straightforward language • funny, quirky or irreverent tone where appropriate • innovative educational media format Audience The flexible framework at KS3 allows teachers to establish foundations for key stage 4 study by providing opportunities for pupils to demonstrate deeper understanding; pupils to become more independent learners who will be more adept and experienced in managing their own learning. (CCEA) Key stage 3 students are aged 11-14 years old and in years 8 to 10 Audience research shows that: • the majority of the push to bitesize will come from teachers, especially for less able students through recommendations. • teachers value high quality video content and acknowledge it as a key content offer from the they particularly value BBC video content as being trusted and high quality, safe and relevant. (BBC Audiences) Teachers have told us: o KS3 students are digital natives and used to interactivity o poetry and language is especially difficult and seeing and hearing poetry performed and read would be very useful. o when it comes to media researching online, evaluating fake news and being responsible are the things most often taught. o students may benefit from seeing their peers in video. actually taking part and doing some of the activities talked about o while bitesize might once have functioned as a useful backup for students, during pandemic-induced learning from home the resources will now be much more heavily relied upon…for some pupils who may have scant alternative support. Page 3 of 26 BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION The subject ENGLISH will be broken down into the following topics. Potential films are listed for each topic where relevant. Topics Potential films Details (areas identified as key for the target age group) Fiction texts No films required Non-fiction No films required texts Spelling, Grammar: how to Overall Objective: to make explicit the features punctuation write a complex of a grammatically correct complex sentence, and grammar sentence model a variety of these for students (with clauses shown in different orders) and offer them ways to check for themselves that they have written a complex sentence correctly. NB: can also be used in the ‘Writing Skills: Sentences’ section Shakespeare No films required Understanding Language: provide Overall Objective: Make poetry accessible and poetry examples of ways give students a good grounding in basic poetry into poetry. Looking concepts such as language, tone and structure. at colour or accents This grounding will prepare students for further etc. analysis in their GCSE years. (NB Performing modern poetry may not be possible due to rights issues, but Page 4 of 26 BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION showing a poem and annotations on screen may be ok) Structure: look at the shapes and layouts of poems and how that may contribute to meaning Reading skills Critical reading: how Overall Objective: to break down and show to compare fiction stages of comparing two texts texts Critical reading: how Overall Objective: to make explicit the process to use evidence of using evidence to inform and support a from a text critical essay Critical reading: how Overall Objective: making explicit the possible to compare non- comparative aspects of non-fiction texts and fiction texts how to discuss these critically Critical reading: how Overall Objective: to make explicit what to investigate features form structure in a text, which are structure in non- useful to be discussed critically and how they fiction texts can approach this Page 5 of 26 BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION Writing skills Non-fiction writing: Overall Objective: to show a variety of valid how to write an methods of planning writing, step by step. essay Non-fiction writing: Overall Objective: to help students understand how to write an what is useful/appropriate and what is introduction to an redundant/ineffective in an essay introduction essay Non-fiction writing: Overall Objective: to help generate ideas and how to write a open up ‘ways in’ that assist students in writing speech their own speeches Fiction writing: how Overall Objective: to draw attention to the to use structure for impact structure can have on how a text is effect read, and offer ideas of aspects of structure students can confidently play around with in their own writing Fiction writing: how Overall Objective: to demonstrate ways in to use linguistic which figurative language can affect a reader devices in your and possibly generate interesting ideas for writing approaching use of metaphors or similes in their own writing Page 6 of 26 BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION Non-fiction writing: Overall Objective: to help students understand how to write a what is useful/appropriate and what is conclusion to an redundant/ineffective in an essay conclusion essay This can form a companion piece to the clip of writing an essay introduction Spoken English Speaking Overall Objective: to reassure students about S&L tasks and give them strategies to succeed in these Page 7 of 26 BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION MEDIA EDUCATION will be broken down into the following topics. Potential films are listed for each topic. Topics Potential Films Details (areas identified as key for the target age group) Introduction Introduction to Overall Objective: to make explicit the ways to media media: analysing images are used communicate with us and images draw students’ attention to the meanings they already understand through basics like colour and gesture codes. Introduction to Overall Objective: to give a basic media: what is understanding of what representation means representation? and why it matters Analysing No films required media texts Moving image No films required arts News and No films required journalism Page 8 of 26 BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION Media No films required industries and institutions News values No films required Production No films required and evaluation The commissioned films will cover content from each of the topic areas. A total of approximately 20-25 minutes of material will be split between the topic areas. The 20-25 minutes could break down to 16 short films of 1:30 on average. Some films can be shorter or longer than others, so we are flexible on the final number. Assets from films will be used to create activities. You can view CCEA requirements for English with media education here – • language and literacy - key stage 3 - CCEA • non statutory guidance for English with media education • statutory requirements key stage 3 - language and literacy Page 9 of 26 BBC Bitesize Commissioning Brief – KS3: ENGLISH WITH MEDIA EDUCATION Content for delivery Video/animation Original video o We require a total of approximately 20-25 minutes of original video or animation. Each separate video/animation is likely to be between 1 and 2 minutes in duration and should contextualise or give an overview of the topic. o Videos should be age-appropriate and deliver clear learning outcomes. o Videos can be presenter-led or narrated. o We will require delivery of animation assets or high quality stills photographs from any live action in order to create activities for the article pages.