Super Curriculum Guide - Year 8
What is the ‘Super Curriculum’?
• The curriculum is what you study and learn in your lessons
• The extra curriculum is the things you do in school that have nothing to do with your lessons – sports, clubs, volunteering for example.
• The super curriculum is what you do outside of school on your own to go into greater detail about what you have learned in class; for example, you have read a ghost story in class and in your own time you might:
o Read another story by that author
o Try one by a different author
o Research the author’s life and work
o Visit a place associated with the author.
The ‘Super Curriculum’ provides you with a range of activities that take your regular curriculum further. These activities can take many forms including reading, watching videos online, downloading podcasts, attending lectures, visiting museums or entering academic competitions.
Engaging in super curricular activities will help you develop a love for your favourite subject or subjects. Developing a passion for a particular subject, or subjects, can begin at any time so we have provided a list of potential activities that students can try from KS3 - KS5. This list is not exhaustive but merely an indication of the possibilities available to students.
You may come up with some ideas of your own, so these suggestions may just help to get you thinking! We hope you enjoy exploring what interests you and going beyond the classroom on your own.
Key to Activities
Reading Activity
Writing Activity
Watching Activity
Listening Activity
Research activity
Trip or Visit
Internet Activity
Creative Activity
Student-led Task
Listening to song Task
Art
Watch an inspiring series about Art Careers such as ‘Creative’
Challenge yourself to draw as much as possible from observation. Buy a small sketchbook and try to make a drawing a day for two weeks. Spend anything from 5 minutes to one hour.
Use the Google Art and Culture App to discover new artists from around the world.
Take part in drawing events such as Inktober and share your outcomes with somebody.
Champion a Black Artist by recreating on of their artworks during Black History Month in November.
Read activities from The Marker and The Paintbrush playbooks by Ana Montiel
Create an Artwork to celebrate Earth Day on 22nd April Using only sustainable materials.
‘Make Do And Mend’ Repair an item of clothing or accessory that you would have otherwise thrown away.
Enter the Yearbook Cover Competition by creating an artwork that represents our school.
Write a Dada inspired poem with a friend. Cut out the words and rearrange the order.
Join an Art Club in or outside of school. Encourage your peers to come along and try a new technique.
Natural History Museum (mnhm) to see the displays for taxidermy and dioramas. Make drawings from the collection of specimens as you around.
Write a Review of an exhibition you have visited in person or online.
Watch a video on Khan Academy online about a specific painting.
Challenge yourself everyday with an ‘Exploration of the Day’ from Keri Smith
Where it all started
Watch the TedTalk on birth of the modern computer from its 16th century origins to the hilarious notebooks of some early computer engineers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF692dBz WAs
Listen to a Computing Podcast
Learn about a whole range of topics including: artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data security and the advent of computing https://player.fm/podcasts/Computers
Learn about KS4 & KS5 Courses
Watch videos, complete resources, view their mini websites and explore the glossaries
http://www.teach-ict.com/
Unisys Computer Museum Belgium
Plan a visit to the Computer Museum NAM-IP Henri Blès Street 192A, 5000 NAMUR
http://www.nam-ip.be/NAM-ip-Coll2.html
The British Informatics Olympiad
Enter the computerprogramming competition
http://www.olympiad.org.uk
Computing
Raspberry Pi
Why not get yourself a credit sized computer? There are so many projects you can complete with this tiny computer. Take a look here for inspiration
https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/
Learn Coding
Develop your programming skills by challenging yourself to complete as many tasks as you can, from building websites to analysing data:
https://www.codecademy.com/
Doddle Learn
Why not complete the mini quizzes on algorithms, programming basics, binary, Boolean logic, flowcharts and logical operators.
Attend a Coding Workshop
Based in Kirchberg and offers weekend sessions. Starts with simple drag and drop programming and then creating your own animation, story, game or mobile application!
http://www.workshop4me.org/calendar.ht ml
Real Lives: Alan Turing
Read this book by Jim Eldridge about the famous code breaker and computer scientist.
Join a Coding Club
Why not join a club out of school? It will allow you to develop skills such as learning to program, improving numeracy, problem-solving, design, creativity and collaboration skills
https://codeclub.lu/
Prepare for GCSE
Develop your Python 3 programming skills and HTML coding by challenging yourself to complete as many tasks as possible on Snakify. There are over 200 exercises and video clips.
https://snakify.org/en/
The Universal Computer: The Road from Leibniz to Turing
Read through this book by Martin Davis on the origins of the computer and the mathematicians involved.
The
Year 2100
Image that it is the Year 2100. What will the world be like? How will technology have changed? What new inventions will have been created? Sketch a picture of a large city giving a perspective on what you think 2100 will look like.
History of Computing
Watch the short computing videos from the YouTube channel playlist below https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse
Drama
Write a monologue based on a character you have encountered so far this term in your drama lessons. Be as creative as you can.
Use the website http://www.dialectsarchive.com/ to research an accent. Can you work to master this accent? Maybe you can think of a performance that you could incorporate it into.
Create a poster on one of your units of work for the Drama display area. This can be Darkwood Manor, Mime and Movement, Shakespeare or Pantomime.
Visit a local theatre or another school to see a performance and feedback to your class about how you found the performance.
Use the website www.digitaltheatre.com to view plays and listen to audio scenes to develop your understanding of theatre.
When you are at home, watch how a specific member of your family walks. Where do their arms stay, how do their feet move when walking, do they walk with feet pointing outwards or inwards? Try to copy them!
Watch a live theatre performance at any theatre and spend 15 minutes talking to someone about it. What did you like? Which actor/actress stood out? Why?
What star rating would you give the show?
Attend one performance on the Arts extracurricular schedule up around school. Feedback to anyone who took part in the event.
Through a discussion with your teacher, organise a flash mob in school to demonstrate something you have been working on in lesson and a lunch time.
English
Do some research on the Holocaust to help you contextualise ‘’The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’’.
Look for a writing competition you can enter.
Volunteer to teach your English class a new - and useful - word next lesson!
Visit one of the castles in Luxembourg, such as Vianden or Bourglinster, and use it as the setting for your own Gothic story.
Enter the COBIS Poetry Competition.
Research an issue that particular interests you and write a persuasive speech to convince people they need to act. Video yourself if you like!
Watch a film based on one of the Gothic stories you have read.
Visit one of the exhibitions of Edward Steichen’s photography at Clervaux or Dudelange and write a description of one photograph of your choice.
Watch a production of The Tempest that you have not seen in class.
Try a new book by an author you particularly like
Try writing your own Gothic story
Take a newspaper article you have found interesting and summarise it in 200 words to share it with your class.
Geography
National Geographic Magazine
https://www.nationalgeographic.c om/magazine/
https://www.youtube.com/user/G eographyNow
General Geography knowledge
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/s ubjects/zrw76sg
BBC Bitesize
Research an environmental initiative taking place in Luxembourg.
Happisburgh (coasts)
http://happisburgh.org.uk/
Research and write a review of a tourist destination.
Watch and review a documentary presented by David Attenborough.
Global population & environmenthttp://www.nova.org.au/earthenvironment/populationenviron ment
Research a current environmental crisis and prepare a presentation.
Coasts, Isle of Purbeck
https://www.dorsets.co.uk/purb eck
Explore https://worldmapper.org/
Watch ‘Slumdog’ Millionaire and write a film review. To what extent is it a fair portrayal of India?
Keep track of the latest migration crisis. International Organisation for Migration – www.iom.int
Keep a scrapbook or notebook on stories about India or China in the news.
Watch Andrew Marr’s Megacities on YouTube.
Horrible History: The Terrible Tudors, Terry Deary
‘Elizabeth’, 1998 (film)
‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’, 2007 (film)
Royal Myths: Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada – Lucy Worsley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= CQYX-aUC9tQ&t=2645s
Crowns, Parliaments and People, from the school library
Investigate the super curricular bookshelves in L009
History
Horrible Histories: Even More Terrible Tudors
The Tudor Dynasty, David Starkey
https://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=5mRFbmSga_4&list= PLoxq8ialZ9JnO0fv8JUJQX9yslE83lbZ
The Gunpowder Plot BBC https://www.youtube.com/w atch?v=lBVrPurrqCw&list=PL 6B0309E79C5FA1D6
What did the Tudors do for me? This is in the school library
In Our Time Radio 4 ‘The Death of Elizabeth I https://www.bbc.co.uk/progr ammes/b00n5nqr
The Tudors and Stuarts, Usborne History of Britain, Fiona Patchett
The Supersizers Go…Elizabethan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =cShPalPzXSE&t=2s
English Civil War: The Turbulent Reign of Charles I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =eqK8yrZeaiI
Explore primary resources and the views of historians on Henry VIII from the British Library http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onli neex/henryviii/index.html
Learn more about life in Tudor England https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =pJUveC1DONI
Maths in 100 Numbers
Look through this book by Colin Stuart. Choose several of the numbers contained within and learn about why they are significant in maths.
Zero
Research the history of the number zero. Why is it absent from ancient number systems? When was it first used and how was it denoted?
Simultaneous Equations
Research simultaneous equations and the different methods used to solve them. When is it better to use which method?
The Traveling Salesman
Research this famous mathematical problem. What are the real life applications? What is the method of solution?
Number Sets
Research the different number sets. What types of numbers do each contain?
Mathematics
Crossnumber
Try to complete this number crossword, which was part of the UKMT Team Maths Challenge in 2018.
TEDx Talk
Watch this TEDx talk by Dr. Randy Palisoc entitled, “Math isn’t hard, it’s a language.”
“Band Around the Earth” Puzzle
Try to solve this puzzle involving a metal band surrounding the Earth.
Mathematics: The Science of Patterns
Read this book by Keith Devlin to learn about concepts such as symmetry and motion, alongside a selection of mathematical history.
Circle Theorems
Research a few circle theorems and learn about the relationship between the angles in triangles/quadrilaterals inside of circles.
Tug of War
Use your knowledge of fractions, decimals, and percentages to win the tug of war. On myiMaths, in the library dropdown box select Games-Mental Games-Tug of War.
Ancient Number Systems
Research number systems of the past. Why are they not useful in today’s mathematics? What is our number system called and where does it come from?
Adventures of Penrose
Read “The Adventures of Penrose, the Mathematical Cat” by Theoni Pappas, and learn about fractals, infinity, tessellations and the Mobius strip.
Trigonometry
Learn about trigonometry and how it is used to find missing sides and angles of right-angle triangles. What is the mnemonic that is commonly used in trigonometry?
UKMT Junior Maths Challenge
Attempt as many questions as you can from this UKMT Junior Maths Challenge paper from 2017.
MFL (French/German)
Watch one newsflash a day on RTL Express and summarise in one line the different reports.
https://5minutes.rtl.lu/photos-etvideos/rtl-express-fr
Watch your favourite film in German/French with English subtitles OR borrow one French/German film from our library and write a short review on it.
Try to eat healthy for one week and keep a diary where you describe what you have eaten each day (French or German).
Find a famous German band and write a short presentation of them. Afterwards pick one song and listen to it.
Watch the daily ARTE Journal Junior and summarise the different news reports in one headline (for each)
https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/RC014082/arte-journal-junior/
Visit a town/city in Germany or France and order food/drinks in a café or restaurant.
Go to Trier in Germany and visit 3 famous places (Porta Nigra, Dom, Hauptmarkt), take a picture there and write what you have done in German.
Read one French magazine and pick 3 facts you have learnt and explain them in French.
Ex.: Géo Ado Ça m’intéresse OkapiorPhosphore
Find a city in Germany and create one quiz with 12 questions on KAHOOT or QUIZIZZ. https://kahoot.com/ https://quizizz.com/
Create a vocabulary booklet and add each day 5 new words that you will look up in a dictionary (French or German)
Listen to one podcast a week on the website ‘Coffee break German’ https://radiolingua.com/category/c offee-break-german/
Take one photo each day of your holiday and create a timeline with the photos and write one sentence for each photo.
Go to the local cinema and watch a film in French with subtitles in English.
https://kinepolis.lu/fr
Visit the BibliothèqueNationale in Kirchberg and find out how to borrow books. Make a selfie in front of the Bibliothèque and post it on Instagram. www.bnl.lu
Research 5 important traditions in France or Germany and produce a poster with them. Add some interesting details. When? How? Why?
Music
Watch a Documentary about the history of Hip Hop and write a review.
Watch a Youtube documentary on a IZ, the famous ukulele player from Hawaii.
Take a free voice or instrument lesson on Youtube
Choose one piece of music that features an instrument from the orchestra, and write a song review.
Watch a live music event and write a review
Watch a live or Youtube Orchestra performance.
Create a poster display that diagrams the seating arrangement of the orchestra.
Create a poster that displays MAD-TSHIRTS and writes about the elements of music.
Write an original song.
Take a video of you playing through major and minor scales on your selected instrument.
Participate in an Open Mic event.
Give a friend music lessons on the instrument you play.
Find a picture that inspires you and compose a piece of music around it, using garage band or another free app.
Audition for the AMIS festival
Create your own youtube type lesson with your instrument or voice.
Develop the habit of watching TED talks regularly
TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics from science to business to global issues.
Volunteer Your Time
This does not have to be out of school. You could see if any help is required in the library, school office, with your Head of Key Stage or your Form Tutor. If out of school why not help a next door neighbour or an elderly relative.
Enter a Student Competition
There are several reasons why participating in a competition is a worthwhile activity, you learn lots, have a better chance of winning than you think and can gain valuable experience for your CV.
https://studentcompetitions.com/compe titions
Gratitude Journal
Studies suggest that writing in a gratitude journal three times per week has a very positive impact in your happiness. Try it for at least 3 weeks and evaluate your progress.
Gratitude Journal
PSHE
Mindful Mini-Courses
Each course offers video, audio, and transcripts so you can choose your favourite way to engage with each practice.
https://www.mindful.org/practicemindfulness/
Financial Capability
Make a dream board of the things you’d like to have in your life, the places you’d like to travel to, your aspirations, hopes and dreams. Which of these will take more than a year to save up for? What are short term and long term goals?
Random Acts of Kindness
Live and breathe kindness, share knowledge and lead by example. Try to provide at least one random act of kindness daily
https://www.randomactsofkindness.org
The mind, explained
Watch episodes 3 and 4 of the docuseries “The mind, explained” on Netflix. Episode 3 – Anxiety. Episode 4 –Mindfulness.
www.netflix.com
Raise Money for Charity
There may be a specific charity that you wish to support. If raising money requires time and/or resources at school then write a brief rationale about what you want to do and pass this to your Head of Key Stage for approval.
Plan your Food Diet
Eating a healthy, varied diet and keeping active is important for good health. Why not research and then plan a week’s worth of healthy food!
https://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/li festages/teenagers.html
Read the News
The news provides information and general knowledge. The news provides information about a country's economic situation, sports, games, entertainment, trade and commerce. Reading the news will widen your outlook and will enrich your knowledge.
Learn to be Reflective
Reflective practice is a tool for improving your learning as a student and life experiences. Although it will take time to adopt the technique of reflective practice, it will ultimately save you time and energy. https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/reflectiv e-practice.html
PE
Write a short article (75 words) about your favourite sport/player.
Watch a major sporting event on TV or the internet. Write a 75 word report about what happened.
Listen to a sports podcast. Take a screen shot and send it to your teacher as evidence.
Lead a warm-up or cool down during a PE lesson.
Read about a sports event on the internet. Write a 50 word report about what you learned.
Attend a live sporting competition or match at an elite level. Take a selfie at the game as evidence.
Attend a Sports Club regularly in school.
Go to the library and select a sports book to read. Write a 50 word report about what you learned.
Go to a local Sports Club to watch/play a live game. Take a photograph as evidence.
Create a three page scrapbook of any sport, sportsperson or sporting event from social media.
Watch a sports programme on Netflix. Write a 75 word report about what you learned.
Represent the school in a sports competition.
Science
Visit the Smithsonian Museum (virtually)
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtualtour
Learn the story behind an element: www.rsc.org/periodic-table/podcast
‘David Attenborough : A Life On Our Planet’ on Netflix
‘The Science of Everyday Life: Why Teapots Dribble, Toast Burns and Light Bulbs Shine’ by M. Jopson
‘Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World’ by R Ignotofsky
Try a science experiment at home with www.rigb.org/families
Visit Mars (virtually) https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/
Watch 3 videos from ‘Minute Physics’ on YouTube
‘Wonders of the Solar System’ from the BBC (narrated by Brian Cox)
Natural History Museum, Luxembourg www.mnhn.lu
Use the ‘Britannica School’’ website to write a report about Antoine Lavoisier
Make a revision quiz on Powerpoint or Kahoot! for a topic and ask to use it in class