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Modular GCSE
Principles of teaching
The main difference between teaching a modular GCSE course and a conventional GCSE is that students are constantly being assessed and building up marks towards their final GCSE grade. Students need to be prepared for the assessments in each module as well as building competence in all four skill areas as the course progresses.
Module 1 (September to January)
In Module 1 students are working towards preparing a monologue based on six topic areas. These are:
- Myself and my family
- Where I live
- My school
- My free time
- Routine
- Future plans
Each topic should be taught separately and it would be a wise idea for students to build up content for their monologue gradually. For students aiming at grades C and above, it is important to teach a range of tenses and structures so that they will be able to access the higher grades. Familiarity with the assessment criteria for the speaking, which is contained in the specification, is essential. This should be explained in a student-friendly way so that the students know what they need to do to achieve their full potential.
Guidance on setting the task for Module 1 is provided in the specification. It is essential to point out areas where use of other tenses would be appropriate. For example, in the topic of 'my free time' students should be encouraged to talk about what they did last weekend and what their plans are for next weekend. Also see our guidance on the organisational issues.
Module 2 (February to June)
In this part of the course, the students are working towards a reading and listening examination which is based on the content of Module 1 plus the new content delivered in Module 2, Holiday time and travel. This covers travel, transport and finding the way, tourism, accommodation, holiday activities and services. It is important that all of these topics are covered fully before the external examination. As this part of the course is tiered it is essential that candidates are entered for the correct tier. For most candidates this will be obvious, but there will be some for whom it is not clear. It is important to plan in some time for practice tests so that entry levels can be determined accurately.
Module 3 (Sepember to December)
In module 3, students are working towards a piece of writing based on 5 topic areas:
- Home life
- Healthy living
- Part-time jobs and work experience
- Leisure
- Shopping
Students must submit 2 pieces of writing of approximately 200 words from two different topic areas. The titles are provided by the board and must not be changed in any way. Details are in the specification. To prepare for these pieces of writing, students will need plenty of input to ensure that they can use appropriate vocabulary, grammar and structures to achieve their full potential. This module is not tiered, so students should be encouraged to work hard to achieve their very best as the mark, since the mark gained in this module could improve their overall grade.
Module 4 (January to June)
Module 4 requires students to prepare for examinations in all four skill areas. New topics of character and personal relationships, the environment, education, careers and future plans and social issues, choices and responsibilities need to be taught in this period of time. As well as this, students need to revisit the material covered in modules 1-4 to prepare for external examination.
This can be quite a pressurised part of the course as it is important to ensure that new topic areas are covered since these will feature in the examinations, with questions on some of the topics aimed particularly at higher level candidates. Time needs to be spent practising examination skills and ensuring that the main tenses are secure. Students need to learn vocabulary and a strategy should be planned to ensure that this happens.
