Page 172 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: English, 2007 (Revised)

and issues in the texts (e.g., collaborate with peers to create dialogue for and enact a scene that represents a different resolution from the one in a story they have read; write in role as a central character who is reflecting upon his or her choices and the possible consequences of each; create a concept map of the figurative allu- sions in a text to help identify some underlying ideas in the text)
Teacher prompts: “What connections were you able to make between the poem you studied in depth and other texts you’ve read in the course?” “What observations did you make about the author’s writing style as you read the story?” “What recurring themes can you identify in this poet’s work? Do you find these themes relevant to your personal experience?”
Exploring Background Information
2.2 use information from secondary sources to understand how historical, political, and cul- tural contexts influence the presentation of ideas, issues, and themes in texts (e.g., conduct research into the historical period in which a novel is set to identify social and economic fac- tors that would have affected the life choices of the novel’s male and female characters; create a web page for other students that summarizes how the historical, political, and social conditions of the time may have influenced the writing of a particular text; identify factors that might influ- ence or explain the behaviour of the characters in a text, such as familial expectations or pres- sures, faith, attitudes about homosexuality or sexual identity, or attitudes about the supernatural)
Teacher prompts: “What historical event has the author depicted in the novel and how has the event been incorporated into the story?” ”Is the particular political situation portrayed in the novel of major or minor importance to the theme and/or action in the text?”
Analysing Texts
2.3 analyse texts in terms of the information, ideas, issues, and themes they explore, providing evidence from the texts to support their analy- sis (e.g., identify imagery that communicates a central theme of a text; make inferences about a character’s psychology on the basis of the char- acter’s actions; write a new scene for a play to highlight an aspect of its theme; infer the social class of the characters in a story based on their speech in passages of dialogue; compare the arguments in two essays and write a summary of each author’s thesis/position)
Teacher prompts: “What details in the story suggest or reveal the nature of the conflict between the characters?” “How do the poem’s images relate to its theme?” “What new insight is provided by the author’s repetition of this phrase from earlier in the story?” “What evi- dence in the text supports your inference about the character’s motivation?”
Text Forms
2.4 explain how the characteristics of different text forms help communicate meaning in a variety of literary texts (e.g., explain the effect of dis- ruptions in chronological order – such as flash- backs or flash forwards – in a novel; select a scene from a text and rewrite it in a different form – such as by converting an excerpt from a novel into a news report; explain what informa- tion the shift from metre to free verse in a poem conveys to the reader; write a parody of a poem)
Teacher prompts: “Where is your eye drawn first in the graphic novel – to the illustrations or the text? How does this affect the way you navigate through the text?” “How does the prologue to the play prepare the audience for what follows? By establishing a mood? By provoking curiosity? Or in some other way?” “How effectively does the pre-title sequence in this film version of the play communicate the opening mood of the play?” “What would happen to the novel if its events were related in a different order?”
Elements of Style
2.5 identify various elements of style used in texts and explain how they help communicate meaning and enhance the effectiveness of the text (e.g., analyse the syntax of sentences in a paragraph to clarify the meaning of the paragraph, and assess the effect created by the syntax; assess how the use of multiple narrators affects the pacing, tone, and revelation of themes in a novel; view a role play of a scene from a text and assess the clarity and authenticity of the characters’ voices; write an essay tracing the use of a partic- ular image throughout a text and evaluating its effectivenes in conveying the theme of the text; write and deliver a persuasive speech related to an issue in a text, using rhetorical devices simi- lar to those employed in the text)
Teacher prompts: “What effect is achieved by the poet’s unusual syntactical constructions?” “What details in the dramatic monologue reveal the speaker’s inner motivations and values most clearly?” “How does the use of an extended metaphor or analogy heighten the impact of the essay’s thesis?”
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Studies in Literature
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