Page 148 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: English, 2007 (Revised)

(e.g., write an additional scene for a Canadian play to provide new insight into its theme; write a poem reflecting the view about a regional or cultural identity expressed in a Canadian text; use visual means, such as a scrapbook, to repre- sent personal connections they have made to Canadian texts; write a letter to a Canadian author expressing respect and admiration for
the author’s work or asking questions about it; create a CD cover and a playlist of songs by Canadian artists that reflect the ideas, themes, or issues explored in a Canadian text; use readers’ theatre to dramatize a text passage that high- lights some aspect of Canadian identity; debate opposing views about the societal impact of the First World War presented in texts by two Canadian authors; create a concept map to trace the evolving use and significance of a motif in a Canadian text)
Teacher prompts: “What are your initial impressions of the novel, based on your reading of the first chapter?” “What questions have emerged from your study of a Canadian writer that you would like to focus on in your seminar presentation?”
Exploring Background Information
2.2 use information from secondary sources to understand how historical, political, regional, and cultural contexts influence the presentation of ideas, issues, and themes in Canadian liter- ary texts (e.g., research the social and economic context of works that depict the Aboriginal or immigrant experience; create a web page linking excerpts from a text to historical photographs; research cultural beliefs, such as ideas about gender roles or religion, that significantly influ- ence the actions of characters in a novel)
Teacher prompts: “What influence did geogra- phy have on the character's development?” “Do historians differ significantly in their interpretation of the historical events depicted in the novel? Which historian's view of the event is closest to that of the author?”
Analysing Texts
2.3 analyse Canadian literary texts in terms of the information, ideas, issues, and themes they explore, providing evidence from the texts to support their analysis (e.g., in a graphic organ- izer, record inferences made about a character based on the speech and actions of the character; outline the principal conflicts in a text and explain the themes that emerge as those conflicts are resolved; identify an object, phrase, or action associated with a character, incident, or theme in a text and explain the connection)
Teacher prompts: “What evidence from the text supports your explanation of the charac- ter's motives?” “What specific quotations from the poem support your interpretation of its theme?” “Does your interpretation of this scene in the play help you understand its purpose in the play's overall structure?”
Text Forms
2.4 explain how the characteristics of different literary text forms help communicate meaning in a variety of Canadian literary texts (e.g.,
use a multimedia presentation to illustrate how changes in narrative point of view create multi- ple layers of meaning in a novel by one of Canada’s Aboriginal writers; adapt a scene from one form of text – such as a short story – to suit a different form – such as a film script; compare the treatment of the same theme or issue in a play and a poem to explore how form affects meaning)
Teacher prompts: “What effect has the writer achieved by using several different text forms within one work?” “How does the addition of music in a film version of a play contribute to our understanding of a scene?” “Why do you think the author uses dialogue so much? Is the dialogue used mainly to reveal charac- ter, or to advance the plot, or both?”
Elements of Style
2.5 identify various elements of style used in Canadian literary texts and explain how they help communicate meaning and enhance the effectiveness of the text (e.g., identify figurative devices used in a poem and explain how they express or clarify the theme; explain how the use of regional or cultural dialects in a text contributes to the depiction of character and amplifies the theme; explain the effect of the
use of multiple narrators in a novel; identify and demonstrate an understanding of the role of rhetorical devices used in a Canadian text by incorporating them into a written appreciation of the text)
Teacher prompts: “How does the author’s use of regional dialect in both narration and dia- logue clarify the theme of the story?” “What types of imagery has the poet used, and what is the effect of juxtaposing the different types of images?”
CANADIAN LITERATURE
147
Canadian Literature
ETC3M