Page 89 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: English, 2007 (Revised)

Grade 11, Workplace Preparation
1. Understanding Media Texts: demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;
2. Understanding Media Forms, Conventions, and Techniques: identify some media forms and
explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;
3. Creating Media Texts: create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques;
4. Reflecting on Skills and Strategies: reflect on and identify their strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.
1. Understanding Media Texts
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 11 AND 12 | English
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SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
By the end of this course, students will:
Purpose and Audience
1.1 explain how both simple and complex media texts are created to suit particular purposes and audiences (e.g., documentaries are made for an audience that expects them to be factual and accurate, and they use on-location footage and interviews with experts to support their authenticity1)
Teacher prompts: “How would you character- ize the audience for an afternoon radio call-in show? A late-night jazz program?” “Why do television ‘infotainment’ show hosts give pre- views of upcoming items in the program?”
Interpreting Messages
1.2 interpret simple and complex media texts, identifying and explaining the overt and implied messages they convey (e.g., images of models and uncrowded beaches in travel brochures create specific impressions of the destinations;2
the use of a“movie trailer”format in advertise- ments for video games encourages players to expect excitement and drama from the games)
Teacher prompt: “How do car, truck, and motorcycle brochures use photographs, written text, fonts, and colour to create favourable impressions of their products?”
Evaluating Texts
1.3 evaluate how effectively information, ideas, issues, and opinions are communicated in both simple and complex media texts and decide whether the texts achieve their intend- ed purpose (e.g., determine how well a tele- vision sitcom communicates messages about accepting or accommodating diversity; determine how appropriate an endorsement by a specific celebrity is for a particular product 3)
Teacher prompt: “How well do the signs in this [supermarket/library/big-box store/mall] communicate what customers need to know? How could they be improved to serve cus- tomers of diverse ages, cultures, and abilities as well as possible?”
Audience Responses
1.4 identify and explain different audience responses to selected media texts (e.g., suggest reasons why feature films are rated acceptable for different audiences by the Ontario Film Review Board; suggest reasons why an adult and a teenager might respond differently to
a video game)
Teacher prompt: “Why might you, your par- ents, and your teachers disagree about the age classification on a video game?”
MEDIA STUDIES
OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
By the end of this course, students will:
1. TL Media 7-10 “Exploring the Key Concepts of Media Literacy” 2
2. TL Media 7-10 “Reading Between the Lines (Predictions)” 10 3. TL Media 7-10 “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Media Messages” 28