Course Title:

English, Grade 12, College Preparation (ENG4C)

Course Name:

English

Course Code:

ENG4C

Grade:

12

Course Type:

College Preparation

Credit Value:

1.0

Prerequisite:

ENG3C, English, Grade 11, College Preparation

Curriculum Policy Document:

English, The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12, 2007 (Revised)

Course Developer:

Daryk High School

Department:

English

Department Head:

Mrs.Nahal

Development Date:

2018

Most Recent Revision Date:

2019

Course Description

This course emphasizes the consolidation of literacy, communication, and critical and creative thinking skills necessary for success in academic and daily life. Students will analyse a variety of informational and graphic texts, as well as literary texts from various countries and cultures, and create oral, written, and media texts in a variety of forms for practical and academic purposes. An important focus will be on using language with precision and clarity and developing greater control in writing. The course is intended to prepare students for college or the workplace.

Teaching & Learning Strategies:

Students are exposed to a variety of genres throughout the course and develop skills to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of texts which may include poems, short stories, novels, non-fiction texts, plays, videos, and songs or other media texts from a wide range of cultures and time periods. Students identify and use various strategies including building vocabulary, learning to understand and use features and organization of texts, and developing knowledge of conventions. Throughout the course, students develop into stronger readers, writers, and oral communicators while making connections to the workplace and international events.

Teachers differentiate instruction to meet the diverse learning needs of students. Instructors also use electronic stimuli including Discussion Boards and Portfolio to assist students in reflecting on their learning, and in setting goals for improvement in key areas while developing 21st century skills. These tools facilitate and support the editing and revising process for students as they create texts for different audiences and purposes.

  • Identifying and developing skills and strategies – through modeling of effective skills, students learn to choose and utilize varied techniques to become effective readers, writers, and oral communicators.
  • Communicating – several opportunities are provided for students to write and communicate orally.
  • Generating ideas and topics – teachers encourage students to design their own approaches to the material by maintaining frequent (often daily) online (because of this pandemic) communication with students, by allowing some freedom in how students respond to topics and questions, and by encouraging students’ independent thinking through discussion posts.
  • Researching – various approaches to researching are practiced. Students learn how to cite sources and provide a works cited page at the end of longer assignments using MLA formatting.
  • Thinking critically – students learn to critically analyze texts and to use implied and stated evidence from texts to support their analyses. Students use their critical thinking skills to identify perspectives in texts, including biases that may be present.
  • Producing published work and making presentations – students engage in the editing and revising process, including self-revision, peer revision, and teacher revision all of which strengthen texts with the aim to publish or present student work.
  • Reflecting – through the Portfolio and other elements of the course, students reflect on the learning process, focus on areas for improvement, and make extensions between course content and their personal experiences.

Assessment Methods and Tools

Term Assessment and Evaluation: 100%: (Tests, Exams, Assignments, Projects)

Knowledge and Understanding (25%): Knowledge of content (e.g., facts, terms, definitions and procedures.) Understanding of content (e.g., concepts, principles, theories, relationships and methodologies)

Thinking and Inquiry (25%): Planning skills (e.g., focusing research, gathering information, selecting strategies, organizing a project) Processing skills (e.g., analyzing, interpreting, assessing, reasoning, gathering ideas, evaluating, seeking a variety of perspectives, forming conclusions)

Communication (25%): Expression of original ideas and information (e.g., logical organization) in oral, visual, and written forms

Application/Making connection (25%): The use of the knowledge and skills to make connections within and between various contexts.

Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting Strategies of Student Performance:

Our theory of assessment and evaluation follows the Ministry of Education's Growing Success document, and it is our firm belief that doing so is in the best interests of students. We seek to design assessment in such a way as to make it possible to gather and show evidence of learning in a variety of ways to gradually release responsibility to the students, and to give multiple and varied opportunities to reflect on learning and receive detailed feedback.

Growing Success articulates the vision the Ministry has for the purpose and structure of assessment and evaluation techniques. There are seven fundamental principles that ensure best practices and procedures of assessment and evaluation by Daryk High School teachers. DHS assessments and evaluations,

  • are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students;
  • support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning the language of instruction (English or French)
  • are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences of all students;
  • are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the course and at other points throughout the school year or course;
  • are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
  • provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement;
  • develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning.

For a full explanation, please refer to Growing Success.

Final Grade:

The evaluation for this course is based on the student's achievement of curriculum expectations and the demonstrated skills required for effective learning. The final percentage grade represents the quality of the student's overall achievement of the expectations for the course and reflects the corresponding level of achievement as described in the achievement chart for the discipline. A credit is granted and recorded for this course if the student's grade is 50% or higher. The final grade will be determined as follows:

  • 70% of the grade will be based upon evaluations conducted throughout the course. This portion of the grade will reflect the student's most consistent level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration will be given to more recent evidence of achievement.
  • 30% of the grade will be based on final evaluations administered at the end of the course. The final assessment may be a final exam, a final project, or a combination of both an exam and a project.

The Report Card:

Student achievement will be communicated formally to students via an official report card. Report cards are issued at the midterm point in the course, as well as upon completion of the course. Each report card will focus on two distinct, but related aspects of student achievement. First, the achievement of curriculum expectations is reported as a percentage grade. Additionally, the course median is reported as a percentage. The teacher will also provide written comments concerning the student's strengths, areas for improvement, and next steps. Second, the learning skills are reported as a letter grade, representing one of four levels of accomplishment. The report card also indicates whether an OSSD credit has been earned. Upon completion of a course, DHS will send a copy of the report card back to the student's home school (if in Ontario) where the course will be added to the ongoing list of courses on the student's Ontario Student Transcript. The report card will also be sent to the student's 

home address.

Considerations for Program Planning:

Instructional Approaches

Teachers in the school are expected to:

  • clarify the purpose for learning
  • help students activate prior knowledge
  • differentiate instruction for individual students and small groups according to need
  • explicitly teach and model learning strategies
  • encourage students to talk through their thinking and learning processes
  • provide many opportunities for students to practise and apply their developing knowledge and skills
  • apply effective teaching approaches involve students in the use of higher-level thinking skill
  • encourage students to look beyond the literal meaning of texts 

Teachers use a variety of instructional and learning strategies best suited to the particular type of learning. Students have opportunities to learn in a variety of ways:

  • individually
  • cooperatively
  • independently with teacher direction
  • through investigation involving hands-on experience
  • through examples followed by practice
  • by encouraging students to gain experience with varied and interesting applications of the new knowledge. Rich contexts for learning open the door for students to see the “big ideas” of mathematics that will enable and encourage them to reason mathematically throughout their lives.

Education for Exceptional Students:

All students require support from teachers, classmates, family, and friends in order to thrive and to gain full benefit from their school experience. Some students have special needs that require supports beyond those ordinarily received in the school setting. These needs may be met through accommodations. Accommodations to meet the needs of exceptional students are set out in their Individual Education Plans. There are three types of accommodations. 

  • Instructional accommodations are changes in teaching strategies, including styles of presentation, methods of organization, or use of technology and multimedia.
  • Environmental accommodations are changes that the student may require in the classroom and/or school environment, such as preferential seating or special lighting. 

Assessment accommodations are changes in assessment procedures that enable the student to demonstrate his or her learning, such as allowing additional time to complete tests or assignment, or permitting oral responses to test questions.

Program Considerations for English Language Learners

Teachers must incorporate appropriate strategies for instruction and assessment to facilitate the success of the English language learners in their classrooms. 

 These strategies include:

  • modification of some or all of the subject expectations depending on the level of English proficiency
  • use of a variety of instructional strategies (e.g., extensive use of visual cues, graphic organizers, scaffolding; previewing of textbooks; pre-teaching of key vocabulary; peer tutoring; strategic use of students’ first languages)
  • use of a variety of learning resources (e.g., visual material, simplified text, bilingual dictionaries, and materials that reflect cultural diversity)
  • use of assessment accommodations (e.g., granting of extra time; use of oral interviews, demonstrations or visual representations, or tasks requiring completion of graphic organizers and cloze sentences instead of essay questions and other assessment tasks that depend heavily on proficiency in English).

Antidiscrimination Education

Learning resources reflect students’ interests, backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Learning materials:

  • involve protagonists of both sexes from a wide variety of backgrounds
  • reflect the diversity of Canadian and world cultures, including those of contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples
  • include, in English, use of short stories, novels, magazine and newspaper articles, television programs, and films
  • provide opportunities for students to explore issues relating to their self-identity
  • make students aware of the historical, cultural, and political contexts for both the traditional and non-traditional gender and social roles represented in the materials they are studying.

Literacy and Inquiry/Research Skills

The school emphasizes the importance of the following:

  • using clear, concise communication in the classroom involving the use of diagrams, charts, tables, and graphs
  • emphasizing students’ ability to interpret and use graphic texts.
  • acquiring the skills to locate relevant information from a variety of sources, such as books, newspapers, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, interviews, videos, and the Internet.
  • learning that all sources of information have a particular point of view
  • learning that the recipient of the information has a responsibility to evaluate it, determine its validity and relevance, and use it in appropriate ways. 

Role of Technology

Information and communications technologies (ICT) tools used in many ways:

  • Students use multimedia resources, databases, Internet websites, digital cameras, and word-processing programs.
  • They use technology to collect, organize, and sort the data they gather and to write, edit, and present reports on their findings.
  • Students are encouraged to use ICT to support and communicate their learning. For example, students working individually or in groups can use computer technology and/or Internet websites to gain access to museums and archives in Canada and around the world.
  • Students use digital cameras and projectors to design and present the results of their research to their classmates.
  • The school plans to use ICT to connect students to other schools and to bring the global community into the classroom.
  • Students are made aware of issues of Internet privacy, safety, and responsible use, as well as of the potential for abuse of this technology, particularly when it is used to promote hatred.

Career Education

Students are given opportunities to develop career-related skills by:

  • Students use multimedia resources, databases, Internet websites, digital cameras, and word-processing programs.
  • They use technology to collect, organize, and sort the data they gather and to write, edit, and present reports on their findings.
  • Students are encouraged to use ICT to support and communicate their learning. For example, students working individually or in groups can use computer technology and/or Internet websites to gain access to museums and archives in Canada and around the world.
  • Students use digital cameras and projectors to design and present the results of their research to their classmates.
  • The school plans to use ICT to connect students to other schools and to bring the global community into the classroom.
  • Students are made aware of issues of Internet privacy, safety, and responsible use, as well as of the potential for abuse of this technology, particularly when it is used to promote hatred.

The Role of the School Library

Although Daryk High School does not have an official school library, students are encouraged to use e-books, local libraries, and archives to develop important research and inquiry skills. During this course, students will visit the local library to meet with local librarians and have a library day, to develop important research skills that are critical for post-secondary education.

The Role of the School Library

Although Daryk High School does not have an official school library, students are encouraged to use e-books, local libraries, and archives to develop important research and inquiry skills. During this course, students will visit the local library to meet with local librarians and have a library day, to develop important research skills that are critical for post-secondary education.

Health and Safety

Daryk High School Language Department is not usually associated with health and Safety issues. At Daryk High School, classroom practices and the learning environment complies with relevant federal, provincial, and municipal health and safety legislation and by-laws, including, but not limited to, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), the Food and Drug Act, the Health Protection and Promotion Act, the Ontario Building Code, and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).

Plagiarism/ Late and Missed Assignment Policies

OIC has zero tolerance to cheating and plagiarism. Instructors are responsible for teaching students the appropriate methods of research and citation criteria in accordance with MLA/APA standards. Teachers will identify any suspicious work and will bring it to the attention of the school administration at which point an investigation will begin.

The administration in close collaboration with the teachers will:

-instruct students on the importance of submitting for evaluation their own work and on the importance of acknowledging the work of others.

-explain the gravity of academic plagiarism regardless of cultural differences and prior educational system rules and regulations regarding academic offenses

-consider behavioral and academic responses based on the grade level of the student, the maturity of the student, the number and frequency of incidents, and the individual circumstances of the student.

-inform students of the academic consequences of plagiarism (deducted marks for the work, up to and including the full value of the test/assignment/etc.)

-a meeting will be held between a student, a teacher, and an administrative staff; there will be records of this meeting and a teacher will be responsible for keeping observation notes about a student and his/her future behaviors

-the penalty of deducted marks will not be taken into consideration for the calculation of the final grade if the student’s behavior has improved throughout the semester

If a student missed a test due to a plausible reason (in the professional judgment of the Instructor) or has a documented reason for missing a test, he/she can rewrite the test at the date arranged with the Instructor and approved by the Dean.

A student who misses a test without any prior permission from the Dean or the Registrar will be:

-provided alternative assignments or tests/exams where, in the teacher’s professional judgment, it is reasonable and appropriate to do so. Extra fees will be applicable;

-deducted marks for late assignments, up to and including the full value of the assignment (Growing Success, p.43).

If a student knows he/she will be absent for a test, he is required to notify the teacher in advance and, if possible, write the test before the rest of the class. If a student missed a test because of a medical reason, then the test will be written before the next scheduled period for which he/she is present. In such case, the student must submit a written request for a retake of the test to the Dean and at the same time produce a certificate issued by a licensed surgeon or physician to substantiate the medical reason for the absence.

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