Page 78 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: English, 2007 (Revised)

Teacher prompts: “Which research sources did you find most useful?” “How do you know your sources are credible?” “What did non- print resources [e.g., taped interviews] con- tribute to the information you collected?”
Organizing Ideas
1.4 identify, sort, and order main ideas and sup- porting details for writing tasks, using a variety of strategies and organizational patterns suited to the content and the purpose for writing (e.g., use a clear statement of their topic or thesis to highlight the main points they plan to cover in a persuasive magazine article; 3 identify appropriate classification categories and use them to itemize the characteristics of a protagonist in a story or play; use a cause-and-effect chart to organize an argument for an essay;4 develop an extended metaphor as a prompt for writing a poem; use a web diagram to show how quotations from a text support their argument in an opinion piece; clas- sify images from song lyrics for a music review; use a timeline to trace the development of a trag- ic hero for an in-class essay)
Teacher prompts: “Why would it be more effec- tive, in some writing pieces, to begin with the most important points?” “Why should you use adjectives sparingly in this writing selection?”
Reviewing Content
1.5 determine whether the ideas and information gathered are relevant to the topic, accurate, and complete and appropriately meet the require- ments of the writing task (e.g., verify information in another source; review supporting quotations to ensure that they accurately illustrate the intended point; use a checklist to ensure that all main points are adequately supported)
Teacher prompts: “How do you know that your data are valid?” “Are there inconsisten- cies in your information?” “Are there signifi- cant omissions that need to be addressed?”
2. Using Knowledge of Form and Style
By the end of this course, students will:
Form
2.1 write for different purposes and audiences using a variety of literary, graphic, and informational forms (e.g., a speech to persuade their peers to take action on an issue; a myth or updated fairy tale for young children; a review of a music CD or a song to be shared with the class; the cover for a“talking books”CD for a senior; a biography about a family member)
Teacher prompts: “What changes would you need to make to a persuasive essay to convert it into an effective speech?” “What standard elements of a fairy tale should you be sure to include in your new version? What elements could you leave out?”
Voice
2.2 establish a distinctive voice in their writing, modifying language and tone skilfully to suit the form, audience, and purpose for writing (e.g., rewrite a story by a favourite author, adopting the point of view and voice of a character other than the original narrator, or of an entirely new character; use a formal, impersonal voice in an essay to communicate their intention to maintain objectivity; use imagery that reveals or reflects their mood or attitude in a lyrical free verse poem)
Teacher prompt: “What kinds of images might give the reader clues about whether the ‘speaker’ in your poem is happy or sad?”
Diction
2.3 use appropriate descriptive and evocative words, phrases, and expressions to make their writing clear, vivid, and interesting for their intended audience (e.g., identify concrete, specific words they can use to depict objects and events vividly and with exactness; identify long-winded expressions they can replace with more concise language5)
Teacher prompts: “What tells you more about the kind of food the characters ate, the phrase ‘gooey dark chocolate fudge cake’ or the word ‘dessert’?” “Is there a shorter way to say ‘The fact of the matter is’, or ‘At this point in time’?”
Sentence Craft and Fluency
2.4 write complete sentences that communicate their meaning clearly and accurately, varying sentence type, structure, and length to suit different purposes and making smooth and logical transitions between ideas (e.g., use a variety of sentence structures, including compound- complex sentences; use prepositional and par- ticipial phrases and adjectival and adverbial clauses to add details and/or qualifying informa- tion; insert rhetorical questions for emphasis in an argumentative essay; insert a sentence fragment to interrupt the flow in a paragraph for effect;6 use subject-verb inversion to vary sentence rhythm)
Teacher prompts: “How could you change some sentences in the paragraph to avoid using the same sentence patterns over and over again?” “How could you add this necessary informa- tion without writing a complete new sentence for each separate detail?”
WRITING
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3. TLE 10-12 “Developing and Organizing Ideas: Writing a Series of Paragraphs to Express an Opinion” 42 4. TL Library Research 7-12 “Developing and Organizing Ideas: Looking for Relationships” 24 5. TLE 7-9 “Writing with Precision” 44 6. TLE 10-12 “Revising and Editing Modelled Writing” 50
English
ENG2D