Year 8 Benchmark Statements

Year 8 Benchmark Statements

Art

Students can explain how art/design can change over time, and reasons why (historical events; cross-cultural and other diverse influences), with special focus on the 20th C. They show awareness of varied/ changing roles of art, craft and design in the world today, informed by art/influences of past

Students develop and apply specific drawing/painting skills (perspective, colour, tone, hues, tints) for a variety of effects and purposes. They can research leading to development of personal final outcomes;

Students express views and opinions and show depth of analysis, breadth of vocabulary, quality presentation and layout. They are able to respond to longer, sustained and involved sequences of work (making ‘creative connections’) and building upon/extending prior understanding and achievements. They can develop meaningful, informed personal outcomes to a variety of starting points.

Drama

When creating – able to respond to a variety of texts or stimuli. Can work sensitively and supportively with others. Can experiment with objects and space to create images and symbols.

When performing – can concentrate and control the body. Can perform in a variety of theatre styles. Can show awareness of audience. Can understand the relationship between content and form.

When evaluating – can use a range of drama terms to analyse own work and that of others. Can make constructive comments about own work and that of others. Can make connections between a variety of drama types.

English

In their reading: Students demonstrate they can identify and explain explicit and implicit information and ideas in a range of texts and choose evidence to support opinions. They begin to analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers, comparing writers’ ideas and how these are conveyed, and can evaluate the success of a text.

In their writing: Students use a wide range of vocabulary and sentence structures, and demonstrate increasingly accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar. They write clearly and imaginatively for different purposes and audiences, organising writing into sentences and paragraphs for deliberate effect.

In speaking tasks: Students listen and respond to others, understanding and challenging viewpoints; use a range of increasingly effective non-verbal techniques to aid meaning and guide an audience; and perform confidently and fluently in a range of scenarios, e.g. presentation, debate, group discussion, drama activity.

History

Students can explain why events happened in lots of detail and explain links between ideas. They can explain in detail the different ways in which people/events have been described differently. Students can explain what a source suggests as well as what it says and explain similarities and differences between sources and suggest reasons why the sources agree/disagree. They contrast and compare interpretations and select and combine information from many sources to answer questions about the past and can summarise their conclusions.

Students can explain what is useful and/or reliable about a source and use extracts from the source to support your ideas (where necessary). Their written work has an introduction, a conclusion and clear paragraphs linked with connectives.

Geography

Students demonstrate a knowledge of physical and human geographical phenomena and demonstrate a comprehension of important geographical ideas, concepts, generalisations and processes to analyse interrelationships between people and their environment and to recognise the dynamic nature of changes in these relationships. They can recognise how conflicting demands on the environment may arise between different groups of people. Students show more detailed knowledge about parts of the UK and World Geography.

They can analyse them in simple terms to observe, record and attempt to classify geographical data; to use a range of source materials, including maps; to draw simple sketch maps and construct diagrams such as a bar graph; to communicate information by brief statements. Students can makes a number of valid statements about the source material with some explanations attempted.

Mathematics

During Key Stage 3 students follow programmes of study developed around the National Curriculum. Throughout this time students will undertake study in four main areas of mathematics.
Number: Students will work on their arithmetic skills and build on their understanding of directed numbers with applications to algebra. They will be given the opportunity to learn about operations with fractions, problems involving ratio and proportion and tackling problems with percentages.
Handling Data: Students learn basic techniques involving averages and probability.
Shape and Space: Students learn about areas of compound shapes and will meet new concepts such as Pythagoras and Trigonometry at the higher levels during KS3.
Algebra: Students build on their existing knowledge of algebra to solve equations involving fractions as well as being introduced to topics such as expanding brackets and in some cases, factorising.

Modern Foreign Languages

Students can understand construct two tenses (present/past) and manipulate authentic materials more effectively. Students can use target language to communicate with teacher and friends. They offer opinions, both orally and written on a wide range of topics and justify these where appropriately. Students can demonstrate an appropriate use of connectives to link sentences and ideas and make writing and speaking more sophisticated. Students can listen for keywords in longer spoken target language spoken by native speakers. When speaking, students’ pronunciation is adequate for them to put their point across to a sympathetic native speaker.

Music

Students can play music in a wide range of styles using a variety of instruments. They demonstrate a firm technical understanding of the techniques and devices required to successfully perform in a variety of situations. They can successfully perform solos. In an ensemble they are able to listen and respond to each other as well as play their own part. Students can compose more complex compositions that demonstrate a secure understanding of musical form and structure. They can offer detailed notation of their compositions. Students can identify music from some different periods in western art music and from some diverse cultures around the world. They can use appropriate terminology to describe the music they are hearing, including recognising different instruments and genres. They can recognise some complex rhythmic and harmonic differences between music in different cultures and eras.

Religious Education

Students use a large vocabulary to show a good understanding of a range of religions and beliefs and analyse issues and questions of meaning and truth. They can explain the influence of history and culture on religious life and explain why the effect of belonging to a faith is not the same for all people.

Students use different sources, evidence and forms of expression to respond critically to religion, spirituality and ethics and clearly explain personal and critical responses to ultimate and religious questions and ethical issues. They can use evidence and example, evaluate the importance of religious and other views for understanding human relationships and ultimate questions

Science

In Year 8 students should be able to select and use methods to collect enough data for investigations, measure with precision, use instruments with fine scale divisions, and identify the need to repeat measurements and observations. They should be able to recognise a range of risks and take action to control them. They should be able to record data effectively, choosing appropriate scales for graphs. They should also be able to draw conclusions that are consistent with the evidence and use scientific knowledge and understanding to explain them and account for any inconsistencies in the evidence, make valid comparisons and draw valid conclusions. The should have good knowledge of digestion, heat transfer, that all substances are made from atoms, elements and/ or compounds, respiration in plants and animals, how magnetism is related to electricity, how microbes can be useful and dangerous, some of the properties of light and sound and the relationships of organisms in an ecosystem.