Page 53 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: English, 2007 (Revised)

Grade 11, University Preparation
3. Applying Knowledge of Conventions
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | English
variety of literary devices appropriately in creat- ing a poem; use evocative words and phrases accurately and effectively in describing their response to a text, object, or person; use precise words and clear, straightforward sentences to present information and to answer questions in informational texts)
Teacher prompts: “Are there places in your essay where you could state an idea more clearly or precisely?” “Where could you add descriptive details in this piece?” “How do the literary devices you have used in your poem help to engage your readers?”
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 coordination and subordination, as appropriate, to emphasize ideas in sentences and to enhance readability; repeat sentences of the same type or structure to achieve desired effects5)
Teacher prompt: “Where have you revised this piece of writing to vary the type, structure, and length of your sentences? How would you describe the effect of your changes?”
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 non-discriminatory; explain how their description of a specific event reveals their values, even if these values are not stated explicitly6)
Teacher prompts: “Does your description of this character present her in a good light or a bad one? Who benefits from this kind of description?” “What attitudes and values are revealed in this piece of informational writing, even though they are not stated?”
Revision
2.6 revise drafts to improve the content, organiza- tion, clarity, and style of their written work, using a variety of teacher-modelled strategies
(e.g., add precise and appropriate transitional words and phrases to more clearly show the log- ical relationship between ideas in an argument or position paper; change the order in which images are presented in a poem to enhance the poem’s effect on the reader’s emotions7)
Teacher prompts: “Do the words you have chosen to use in this essay help create a logi- cal argument?” “Have you read your writing aloud to listen for and correct awkward wording or problems with the flow?” “Are there any details in your poem that may detract from the overall impression you
are trying to achieve?” “How could you reorganize this poem so that it will appeal more strongly to your readers’ emotions?”
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 prompts: “If you were to cut your essay into its separate paragraphs and mix the paragraphs up, would you be able to determine the original order?” “What other organizational pattern could you have used in this essay to prove your thesis?”
By the end of this course, students will:
Spelling
3.1 use knowledge of spelling rules and patterns, a variety of resources, and appropriate strat- egies to recognize and correct their own and others’ spelling errors (e.g., use print and elec- tronic spelling resources judiciously, demonstrat- ing awareness of variant spellings, such as U.S. spellings, and homonyms; use irregular spellings for effect in an advertisement aimed at a teenage audience;8 use print and electronic dictionaries to check spelling regularly and without prompting; identify words that they regularly misspell and implement appropriate strategies to avoid repeating the errors)
Teacher prompts: “What steps can you take to remember the correct spelling of that word, so that you won’t repeat that error in the future?” “Where have you seen irregular spellings used on purpose [e.g., in advertising]? Why do you suppose they were used in those cases?”
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5. TLE 10-12 “Revising and Editing Modelled Writing” 50; “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. TLE 7-9 “Sample Text Messages” 34