This document provides an overview of the secondary subject topics that will be covered in Term 1 of 2017. In English, students will read To Kill a Mockingbird and work on poetry analysis and a personal writing piece. Mathematics covers topics like algebra, geometry, and statistics. The sciences discuss topics such as cell biology, chemical reactions, and waves. Geography analyzes environmental issues and map skills. History explores early peoples and the Atlantic slave trade. Other subjects covered are French, Religious Education, Music, Foods, and Practical Cake Craft.

1. Secondary Topics
Term 1 2017
English
S1/2
 Reading novel To Kill a Mockingbird
o Reading for pleasure, comprehension skills
 Some detailed work on poetry (metaphors, similes, rhyme, rhythm)
 Working on a personal piece of writing
S3/4
 Scottish set text, short stories by Anne Donovan
 Working on a personal piece of writing
 Writing a critical essay on the novel Of Mice and Men
 Work on specific types of language—dialect, colloquial, emotive
Mathematics and Numeracy
S1
 Algebra 1: Terms and Expressions.
 Measure: Perimeter and area of 2D shapes and objects.
 Number – Place value, Scales and Rounding.
 End of term Holistic test
S2
 Integers
 Proportion and Ratio
 Square numbers and square roots
 Time, distance speed
 End of term Holistic test
S3
 Gradients
 Straight line graphs
 Expressions and equations – Index laws, Distributive law and factorising
 Areas and Volume
 Shape , position and movement
 End of term Holistic test

2. S4 National 4
Statistics – Constructing frequency tables
 Calculating averages
 Representing raw data in a pie chart
 Probability
 UASP 1: Expressions and Formula testing by outcome as and when
appropriate.
S4 National 5
 Applying algebraic skills to algebraic fractions:
o Reducing an algebraic fraction to its simplest form
o Applying one of the four operations to algebraic fractions
 Applying algebraic geometric skills linked to the use of formulae:
o Determining the gradient of a straight line, given two points
o Circle geometry: Calculating the length of the arc or the area of a
sector of a circle
o Calculating the volume of a standard solid
o Rounding to a given significant figure
 UASP Expressions and formulae testing
Sciences
S1/2
 Forces: By contributing to investigations of energy loss due to friction, pupils will
suggest ways of improving the efficiency of moving systems.
 Where are the living things?: Pupils will sample and identify living things from
different habitats to compare their biodiversity and suggest reasons for their
distribution.
S3 Biology: Cell biology
 Transport across cell membranes.
 DNA and the production of proteins.
 Proteins.
S3 Chemistry: Chemical changes and structure
 Rates of Reaction.
 Atomic structure and bonding related to properties of materials.

3. S3 Physics
 This term we shall be continuing with our topic 'Waves and Radiation'
covering the electromagnetic spectrum, light and its reflection, refraction and
diffraction and the colour spectrum. This involves lots of practical activity as
we look at the way light behaves.
S4 Biology: Multicellular Organisms
 Control and communication: Nervous control, Hormonal control.
 Reproduction.
 Variation and inheritance.
Social Subjects: Geography
S1/2
How Can We Protect and Use the Environment? ( Weeks 1-6).
 What are Environmental Issues?
 Why should some areas be protected?
 I) How do we use and protect the Cairngorms? Or
II) How is Orkney using Renewable Energy to help save the Environment?
 I) Why should we protect Coral Reefs? Or
II) Why is Mount Everest Under Threat?
Map Skills ( Weeks Week 7-8 ).
This aims to recap on the skills already studied in S1 and during Primary.
 4 & 6 Figure Grid References.
 Measuring Height on a Map.
 Scale.
 Latitude and Longitude.
S3/4
Development and Health ( Weeks 1-8 ).
 Measuring Development (Recap if required).
 Health:
o Diseases in ELDC’s.
o Diseases in EMDC’s.
o Malaria.
o Heart Disease.
o AIDS.
o End of Unit Assessment

4. National 3 Coursework & National 4 Value Added Unit ( S4 Only ) ( Weeks 1-8 ).
 Individual write up using data collected over the Summer Holidays.
Students will be involved with processing this data, then analysing it and
finally writing their findings and conclusions as a report.
Social Subjects: History
S1/2
Early peoples 10,000BC – 900AD in Scotland and Britain ( 8 Weeks ).
 Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age 7000BC
 Neolithic Age or New Stone Age in Scotland 4000BC, Skara Brae ( example
of a Stone Age Village ) 2500BC
 Bronze Age People 2000BC
 Iron Age 700BC
 Celtic People 700BC- 446AD
 Picts 200-900 AD
S3/4
Module 1: the Atlantic Slave Trade 1770-1807: ( 8 Weeks ).
 What is a Slave?
 What was the Atlantic Slave Trade?
 The British Empire & the Slave Trade.
 What was Africa like before the Slave Trade?
 The start of the Slave Trade.
 What were the effects of the Slave Trade on Africa?
 Captured in the Africa & Slave Factories.
 The Middle Passage.
Health and Food Technology
S1
This term we will be continuing with our topic of 'Food Hygiene and Health'. We will
be considering the conditions for bacterial growth and food poisoning, the safe
storage of food and food preservation techniques. Then we shall move on to look at
Food and Health and start to think about the energy we get from food and our
physical activity. We shall also be doing practical work and making a variety of
recipes that are topic-related.
This term we will be continuing with our topic of 'Food and the Consumer'. We will be
looking at the things that affect our food choice in our daily lives, cultural and
religious aspects of food, and Chinese and Indian food. We shall also be undertaking
practical work associated with these topics.

5. S2
This term we will be continuing with our topic of 'Food and the Consumer'. We will be
looking at the things that affect our food choice in our daily lives, cultural and
religious aspects of food, and Chinese and Indian food. We shall also be undertaking
practical work associated with these topics.
S3/4
This term we shall be continuing with our topic of 'Food for Health' looking at the
Scottish Dietary Goals and the ways to meet them, the nutrients in food; such as fat,
carbohydrates and proteins, the vitamins and minerals in food and what they are
needed for, diseases associated with food, and diet through the life stages. There
will of course be some practical cooking associated with these topics.
Practical Cake Craft
S4 CAKE CRAFT
Practical Cake Craft - This term we shall be focusing on skills and technical
knowledge associated with various aspects of the course due to the announcement
from the SQA earlier in the year about the introduction of a written exam. We shall
also be making sure that we have covered all varieties of cakes and relevant
decoration techniques.
French
S1 French topics:
C’est perso:
 Talking about likes and dislikes (using regular –er- verbs –je, tu il/elle)
 Talking about your survival kit (using avoir – je, tu, il/elle)
 Describing yourself (understanding adjective agreement – singular)
 Talking about other people (understanding adjective agreement – plural)
 Describing a musician (using the present tense – je, tu il/elle)
 Introducing yourself in detail:
S2 French topics:
T’es branché(e)
 Talking about television programmes (present tense of –er- verbs)
 Talking about films (present tense of AVOIR and ETRE)
 Talking reading (-ir- and –re- verbs)
 Talking about the internet (irregular verbs ALLER and FAIRE)
 Talking about what you did yesterday evening – the perfect tense
 Talking about your favourite television programmes, films and books

6. S3 French topics:
 Planète Facebook: Talking about Facebook (using present tense verbs)
 Comment tu trouves…? Giving your opinion about someone (using direct
object pronouns)
 Tu viens aussi? Arranging to go out (using the near future tense)
 Ca s’est bien passé? Describing a date (using the perfect tense)
 Fou de musique. Describing a music event (using 3 tenses)
 La fête de la Musique Finding out about musicals around the world
RME
S1 RME: Religious Education Matters
 Beliefs and Belief in action
 Holy books
 Ceremonies
 Festivals
 Customs
S2 RME: Christianity:
 A profile of Jesus
 His teachings
 Time-line
 Maps
 Key beliefs
 Churches
 Church leaders
 Worship
 The Bible
 Christian action
 The Christian year
 Ceremonies
 Pilgrimage
S3 RME: Christianity then & now
 How did it all begin?
 The Day of Pentecost
 Peter & Paul
 Christianity in the Roman Empire
 Christianity arrives in Britain
 “Angels not Angles”
 So many different churches 3

7. Music
 S1/2 – Performing – Guitar/Keyboard/Theory
The S1/2 music course this term focuses on performing in the units on Guitar
and Keyboard.
Pupils will be required to document their practice regime, including target
setting and goals. Teacher input will come in the form of short discussions
with the pupil and help will be given both musically and in goal setting.
Although there will be no formal assessment, pupils will be expected to show
improvement over the duration of this term.
These short units are designed to give the pupils a chance to try instruments
that they may wish to develop skills on further in S1-4. If pupils already learn
one of these instruments then they will be encouraged to learn more
advanced music to keep their learning challenging.
S2 pupils who already receive tuition on two instruments will use the taster
session period on music theory activities.
 S3/4 – Listening and Understanding/Solo Performing
This term the S3/4 class will be studying various musical styles at National 4/5
level. The main unit will be Listening and Understanding which aims to enrich
the pupil with many concepts for aural recognition. These take the form of
Melody/Harmony, Rhythm/Tempo, Structure/Texture/Form and Timbre.
There will be an aural test at the end of this unit covering all concepts learned
at this level. S3 pupils will also undertake some composing, and this will
usually take the form of writing a Scottish Reel, Waltz or Slow Air. Pupils are
encouraged to perform their own compositions. S4 pupils will complete their
own, original composition which will be assessed externally by the SQA.
Pupils will also be continuing their studies in Performance. Pupils will regularly
practise on two instruments and this will culminate in a performance day
where pupils will perform to each other/teachers. They will self-reflect on their
performance highlighting areas for improvement together with aspects they
thought went well.

8. Art & Design
S1/2
 Still Life: Create a tonal still life composition using cylindrical symmetrical objects
while learning the principles of observational drawing. Learn how artists compose
work, use visual language, explore tonal theory, compare and contrast traditional
works with colourful artworks from Patrick Caulfield.
S3
 Expressive unit - Explore the theme of Shore: Collect objects from the shore
line. Consider their qualities and how these can be shown with a range of
materials and techniques. Arrange these objects into a still life composition.
Explore related artists. Practice comparing and contrasting artwork.
Health and Wellbeing
S1/2
At the point of transition in June the new S1 and 2 group, took part in a variety of
activities around team building, their rights and responsibilities and the schools key
words from the vision and aims. Building on this in the beginning of this new
academic year, all secondary pupils will be taking part in discussions which will
inform their programme of study for the year. The focus for learning will be around
the individual’s mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing.
The programme this term will include work on:
 Target setting
 Study skills
 My world of work
 Road Safety
 friendships and peer influences
They will as always be encouraged to celebrate success and look to the future in
planning their own next steps through the use of achievement logs.
S3/S4
At the beginning of this new academic year, all secondary pupils will be taking part in
discussions which will inform their programme of study for the year. The focus for
learning will be around the individual’s mental, emotional, social and physical
wellbeing. The programme this term will include work on:
 Target setting

9.  Human rights
 My world of work
 Road safety
 Friendships and peer influences linked to relationships
They will as always be encouraged to celebrate success and look to the future in
planning their own next steps through the use of achievement logs.
Achieve
S2
During this Term students will be working towards completing the Teamwork Unit of
the Course. The Unit is split into sections with focus areas of:
 Understanding why teamwork is important.
 Understanding roles and relationships within a team.
 Participating in team activities.