Page 103 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: English, 2007 (Revised)

Grade 12, University Preparation
3. Applying Knowledge of Conventions
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | English
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Teacher prompt: “What tone would the antag- onist use to express herself? Which specific words in your soliloquy evoke that tone?”
Diction
2.3 use a wide range of descriptive and evocative words, phrases, and expressions precisely and imaginatively to make their writing clear, vivid, and compelling for their intended audience (e.g., replace general diction with concrete and specific language; use figurative language and literary and stylistic devices appropriately and effectively in a short story; review their writing for examples of imprecise or clichéd expressions, and replace them with more precise or imagina- tive wording, as appropriate)
Teacher prompt: “What effect are you trying to create in your short story – shock or delight? Which words create the effect? Could you use other words to heighten the effect?”
Sentence Craft and Fluency
2.4 write complete sentences that communicate their meaning clearly and effectively, skilfully varying sentence type, structure, and length
to suit different purposes and making smooth and logical transitions between ideas (e.g., use antithesis and parallel structures to convey ideas vividly and effectively; use parallelism and bal- ance to aid clarity4,5)
Teacher prompts: “Can you trace the links from one idea to another that give your para- graph coherence?” “How could you rearrange the sentences in this paragraph to emphasize your point more forcefully?”
Critical Literacy
2.5 explain, with increasing insight, how their own beliefs, values, and experiences are revealed in their writing (e.g., examine their writing to check for bias and to determine whether their language and ideas are inclusive and appropriate;6 explain how a script they have written for a scene between two co-workers sub- tly depicts one as patronizing the other)
Teacher prompts: “What does your writing reveal about your cultural background and your expectations?” “Does your writing assume that the social reality of your life is
also that of other members of your communi- ty, your country, and the world at large?” “Is power an issue in any of the relationships you describe in your writing, either obvious- ly or in an underlying way? If so, how have you depicted it?”
Revision
2.6 revise drafts to improve the content, organiza- tion, clarity, and style of their written work (e.g., ensure that their controlling idea is appropriate and clear; reinforce their arguments with com- pelling evidence; rephrase passages or combine sentences in a narrative to improve clarity or to make their writing more compelling 7)
Teacher prompts: “Have you incorporated supporting information from other sources into the development of your thesis smoothly and coherently?” “How could you vary your sentence and paragraph structures to make this narrative more compelling?” “Where do you need more emphasis?” “Does your revised draft capture the tone you were aiming for?”
Producing Drafts
2.7 produce revised drafts of texts, including increasingly complex texts, written to meet criteria identified by the teacher, based on
the curriculum expectations (e.g., adequate development of information and ideas, logical organization, appropriate use of form and style, appropriate use of conventions)
Teacher prompt: “How can you change your critique to make your tone more authoritative?”
By the end of this course, students will:
Spelling
3.1 use knowledge of spelling rules and patterns, a variety of resources, and appropriate strategies to recognize and correct their own and others’ spelling errors (e.g., use print and electronic spelling resources judiciously, demonstrating awareness of variant spellings, such as U.S. spellings, and homonyms;8 use irregular spelling in comments attributed to an opponent they are caricaturing in an editorial; identify words that they regularly misspell and implement appropri- ate strategies to avoid repeating the errors)
Teacher prompts: “Why is it dangerous to rely on a spell-check program to catch all the spelling errors in a piece of writing?” “What steps have you taken to avoid repeating the same spelling errors over and over again?”
Vocabulary
3.2 build vocabulary for writing by confirming word meaning(s) and reviewing and refining word choice, using a variety of resources and strategies, as appropriate for the purpose
4. TLE 10-12 “Revising and Editing Modelled Writing” 50 5. TLE 10-12 “Revising and Editing: The Verb ‘To Be’” 56 6. TLE 10-12 “Crawling Inside the Text ... to Find Who’s There and Who’s Not” 30 7. TLCC 7-12 “Revising and Editing: Asking Questions to Revise Writing” 128 8. TLCC 7-12 “Proofreading Without Partners” 137