Licensed by the Ontario Ministry of Education

Course Description

This course enables students to develop their skills in producing and presenting art by introducing them to new ideas, materials, and processes for artistic exploration and experimentation. Students will apply the elements and principles of design when exploring the creative process. Students will use the critical analysis process to reflect on and interpret art within a personal, contemporary, and historical context.

Teaching and Learning Strategies & Strategies for Assessment

There will be many strategies for learning and assessment. Teaching and Learning Strategies (include, but are not limited to):

1. Conferences
2. Instructional Tutorials & Performance Test Assessments
3. Structured Discussions
4. Collaborative Learning Platform
5. Research and Analysis (in print)
6. Components of Art History
7. Scans and photos

The teacher will obtain assessment information through a variety of means as indicated in the chart below. Assessment and Evaluation Strategies are to include the evidence or proof the teacher sees in the Product, Observations and Conversations related to the curriculum expectations. The student must demonstrate achievement of the course expectations. Once demonstrated, the student is assigned a level of achievement.

Assessment For: takes place in preparation for course or unit learning.

Assessment As: takes place during or while learning.

Assessment Of: takes place after learning.

These assessments and evaluations take place throughout the course.

Assessment, Evaluation & Reporting

Key Ideas from Growing Success:

The Seven Fundamental Principles state:

• 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), and those who are First Nation, Métis, or Inuit;
• 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 school year or course and at other appropriate 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. (Growing Success, pp 6)
• For Grades 9 to 12, a final grade (percentage mark) is recorded for every course. The final grade will be determined as follows:
• 70% of the grade will be based on evaluation conducted throughout the course. This portion of the grade should reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration should be given to more recent evidence of achievement.
• 30% of the grade will be based on a final evaluation administered at or towards the end of the course. This evaluation will be based on evidence from one or a combination of the following: an examination, a performance, an essay, and/or another method of evaluation suitable to the course content. The final evaluation allows the student an opportunity to demonstrate comprehensive achievement of the overall expectations for the course. (Growing Success, pp 41)
• There is further broken down this 30% into RST and exam components. The following pages show the breakdown of this 30%, by curriculum and course.

Teaching & Learning Strategies

Teachers differentiate instruction to meet the diverse learning needs of students. Instructors use Discussion Boards, Google Apps for Education, Multi-Media element, constant valuable feedback, Google docs, Google forms, Google slides, Google drive to meet the needs of students and to assist students in reflecting on their learning, and in setting goals for improvement in key areas while developing 21st century skills. These tools help facilitate the development of 21st century learners and ensure the development of students that can self-assess, work independently and demonstrate their ability to critically analyze text.

Identifying and developing skills and strategies – students learn to choose and utilize varied techniques taught through assignments, activities, and student exemplars to become effective readers, writers, and oral communicators.

• Communicating – several opportunities are provided for students to write and communicate orally and for teachers to assess work based on conversation and observation.
• Generating ideas and topics – teachers encourage students to design their own approaches to the material by maintaining frequent (often daily) online communication with students, by allowing some freedom in how students respond to topics and questions, and by encouraging students’ independent thinking through discussion posts.
• Thinking critically – students learn to critically analyze texts and to infer through their deeper analysis. Students use their critical thinking skills to identify themes, morals, and the use of literary elements and devices.
• 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 variety of assignments, lessons and discussions, students reflect on the learning process, focus on areas for improvement, and make world to text, self to text and text to text connections between course content and their personal experiences.

The evaluation for this course is based on the student’s achievement of curriculum expectations and the demonstrated skills required for effective learning.

The 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 for this course 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.
• 10% of the grade will be based on a Rich summative task administered in the last weeks of the course. This RST will be based on an evaluation of achievement from all four categories of the Achievement Chart for the course and of expectations from all units of the course.
• 20% of the grade will be based on a final examination administered at the end of the course. This exam will be based on an evaluation of achievement from all four categories of the Achievement Chart for the course and of expectations from all units of the course. This exam includes well-formulated multiple-choice questions, long-answer type questions and an essay.

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 Needs Improvement, Satisfactory, Good and Excellent. 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.

Program Planning Considerations

Teachers who are planning a program in the Arts must take into account considerations in a number of important areas. Essential information that pertains to all disciplines is provided in the companion piece to this document, The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: Program Planning and Assessment, 2000. The areas of concern to all teachers that are outlined here include the following:

• types of secondary school courses
• education for exceptional students
• the role of technology in the curriculum
• English as a second language (ESL) and English literacy development (ELD)
• career education
• cooperative education and other workplace experiences
• health and safety
• Financial literacy
• Critical Thinking
• Environmental Education

In planning courses, teachers should take into account the needs of exceptional students as set out in their Individual Education Plan. English courses reflect the creative part of our literary world, which offers a vast array of opportunities for exceptional students. Students who use alternative techniques for communication may find a venue for their talents as writers. Just as English responds to the needs and demands of the greater world of work, English courses are largely shaped by the needs and demands of students who will all eventually end up in this greater world.