OLC40 – Literacy, Grade 12

COURSE OUTLINE

Name of School: Brooklyn College

Principal: Amy Patel

Department: English

Course Developer/Teacher: Johanna Niemela

Course Development Date: May 10, 2014

Course Reviser/Revision Date: N/A

Course Title:OLC40- Literacy

Grade: 12

Course Type: Open

Ministry Course Code:The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course

Credit Value: 1

Name of Ministry Curriculum Policy Document(s): Ministry of Education: The Ontario Curriculum English, The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course, Grade 12, 2003; Ministry of Education: Growing Success Documents 2010.

Prerequisite:Students who have been eligible to write the OSSLT at least twice, and who have been unsuccessful at least once, are eligible to take the course.

Course Description

This course is designed to help students acquire and demonstrate the cross-curriculum literacy skills that are evaluated by the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). Students who complete the course successfully will meet the provincial literacy requirements for graduation. Students will read a variety of informational, narrative, and graphic texts and will produce a variety of writing, including summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces, and news reports. The course will be taught online,as well as in class instruction. Students will maintain and manage a portfolio containing a record of their reading experiences and samples of their writing.

Overall Curriculum Expectations

Building Reading Skills
  1. Demonstrate the ability to read and respond to a variety of texts
  2. Demonstrate understanding of the organizational structure and features of a variety of informational, narrative, and graphic texts, including information paragraphs, opinion pieces, textbooks, newspaper reports and magazine stories, and short fiction;
  3. Demonstrate understanding of the content and meaning of informational narrative and graphic texts that they have read using a variety of reading strategies.
  4. Use a variety of strategies to understand unfamiliar and specialized words and expressions in informational, narrative and graphic texts.

Building Writing Skills
  1. Demonstrate the ability to use the writing process by generating and organizing ideas and producing first drafts, revised drafts, and final polished to complete a variety of writing tasks
  2. Use knowledge of writing forms and of the connection between forms, audience and purpose, to use summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces (for example, series of paragraphs expressing an opinion), news reports, and personal reflection, incorporating graphic elements where necessary and appropriate.

Understanding and Assessing Growth in Literacy
  1. Demonstrate understanding of the importance of communication skills in their everyday lives-at school, at work, and at home.
  2. Demonstrate understanding of their own roles and responsibilities in the learning process
  3. Demonstrate understanding of the reading and writing processes and of the roles of reading and writing in learning.
  4. Demonstrate understanding of one’s own growth in literacy during the course.

Outline of Course Contents

Unit # / Unit Title / Time Allocation
Unit 1 / Reading and Writing for Personal Success / 30 hours
Unit 2 / Community Voices Through Reading and Writing / 40 hours
Unit 3 / Reading and Writing as Community Action / 20 hours
Unit 4 / Demonstrating Success in Reading and Writing / 20 hours
Total / 110 hours

Teaching and Learning Strategies

A wide variety of instructional strategies are used to provide learning opportunities to accommodate a variety of learning styles, interests and ability levels. These strategies include, but are not limited to:

Anticipation guide Sentence Frames Summary writing Cooperative Techniques
Whole-class response Games Guided writing Elicitation Group Discussion
Guided reading Oral representation In-class Loud Reading

Strategies for Assessment & Evaluation of Student Performance

Assessment and Evaluation
Evaluation in this course will be continuous throughout the year and will include a variety of evaluation methods. The tools highlighted will be used for the three different types of assessments:
Assessment as Learning / Assessment for Learning / Assessment of Learning
Student Product:
_ Journals/Letters/Emails (checklist)
_ Learning Logs (anecdotal)
_ Entrance tickets
_ Exist tickets / Student Product:
_ Assignment
_ Journals/Letters/Emails (checklist)
_ Pre – tests (scale/rubric)
_ Quizzes (scale/rubric)
_ Homework
_ Rough drafts (rubric)
_ Portfolios (rubric)
_ Posters (rubric/scale)
_ Graphic organizer (scale)
_ Peer feedback (anecdotal/checklist)
_ Report (rubric)
_ Essays (rubric)
_ Webbing/Mapping (rubrics/scale)
_ Entrance ticket
_ Vocabulary notebooks (anecdotal)
_ Visual thinking networks (rubric) / Student Product:
_ Assignments
_ Journals/Letters/Emails (checklist)
_ Tests (scale/rubric)
_ Exam
_ Rough drafts (rubric)
_ Portfolios (rubric)
_ Posters (rubric/scale)
_ Graphic organizer (scale)
_ Reports (rubric)
_ Essays (rubric)
_ Visual thinking networks (rubric)
_ Individual Presentation
Observation:
_ Whole class discussions (anecdotal)
_ Self – proofreading (checklist) / Observation:
_ Class discussions (anecdotal)
_ Debate (rubric)
_ PowerPoint presentations (rubric)
_ Performance tasks (anecdotal/scale) / Observation:
_ Debate (rubric)
_ PowerPoint presentations (rubric)
_ Performance tasks (anecdotal/scale)
Conversation:
_ Student teacher conferences (checklist)
_ Small group discussions
_ Pair work (checklist)
_ Debate (Rubric) / Conversation:
_ Student teacher conferences (checklist)
_ Small group discussions (checklist)
_ Pair work (anecdotal)
_ Peer – feedback (anecdotal)
_ Peer – editing (anecdotal)
_ Oral pre – tests (scale/rubric)
_ Oral quizzes (scale/rubric) / Conversation:
_ Student teacher conferences (checklist)
_ Question and answer session (checklist)
_ Oral tests (scale/rubric)

The Final Grade

The percentage grade represents the quality of the students’ overall achievement of the expectations for the course. Student product will be comprised of reading and writing work,which is 70% of the overall course grade. The final assignment will be 30% of the grade, incorporating four components: reading comprehension, summary, and an informational and opinion piece.
Percentage of Final Mark / Categories of Mark Breakdown
70% / Teamwork
Reading (2 Narrative Texts, 4 Graphic Texts and 5 Informational Texts)
Writing (2 Summary, 2 Information Paragraph, 2 Series of Paragraphs Expressing an Opinion and 2 News Reports).
30% / Final Summative Evaluation
Reading(1 Text with an oral/written response to indicate direct understanding, indirect understanding and the ability to make connections between personal life and text).
Writing(One Summary, Informational Paragraph and Self Reflection of reading and writing skills in an Opinion Piece).
The categories, defined by clear criteria, represent four broad areas of knowledge and skills within which the expectations for any given literacy course are organized. The four categories should be considered as interrelated, reflecting the wholeness and interconnectedness of learning.
The categories of knowledge and skills are described as follows:
Knowledge and Understanding: Subject-specific content acquired in each course (knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning and significance (understanding). Examples: Forms of text, strategies used when listening, speaking, reading, writing and viewing, literary concepts, ideas, opinions and relationships.
Thinking and Inquiry: The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes, which include planning, processing, critical/creative thinking processes. Examples: generating ideas, organizing information, drawing inferences, interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, critical analysis, metacognition)
Communication: The conveying of meaning through various oral, written, and visual forms. Examples: clear expression, logical organization, use of appropriate style, voice and point of view, proper use of conventions (grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage) vocabulary and terminology.
Application: The use of knowledge and skills to make connections within and between various contexts. Examples: Literary strategies and processes, literary terminology, concepts and theories, and making connections between the text, personal knowledge and experience, other texts and the world outside of school)
In calculating the student's final mark, the following weighting will apply:
Knowledge & Understanding: 30%
Application: 30%
Communication: 20%
Thinking, Inquiry & Problem Solving: 20%
A Summary Description of Achievement in each Percentage Grade Range
and Corresponding Level of Achievement
Percentage Grade Range / Achievement Level / Summary Description
80 – 100 % / Level 4 / A very high to outstanding level of achievement. Achievement is abovethe provincial standard.
70 – 79% / Level 3 / A high level of achievement. Achievement isatthe provincial standard.
60 – 69% / Level 2 / A moderate level of achievement. Achievement isbelow, but approaching, the provincial standard.
50 – 59% / Level 1 / A passable level of achievement. Achievement isbelowthe provincial standard.
Below 50% / Level R / Insufficient achievement of curriculum expectations. A credit will not be granted.
Considerations for Program Planning
The Role of Technology in the Curriculum / Students will use technology throughout this English course to enhance their learning and support their understanding of course content. The course will be delivered through online and in class instruction with learning activities, assignments and research. Students can access course content and instruction online via Engrade.
Career Education / The course is designed to educate English learners with the knowledge and skills to become productive members of society, and successfully transition to their chosen post secondary destinations.
English as a Second Language / The instructor will ensure that appropriate modifications to teaching, learning and evaluation strategies are made to meet the needs of students who require instruction in English as a second language or English literacy development. The instructor will provide these students with many opportunities to develop their ability to use the English language confidently.
Academic and Related Policies
Plagiarism Policy(Ministry of Education Guidelines) / All student work will be original. Plagiarism includes the following:
  • Borrowing from someone else (When you borrow another writer’s words and/or ideas and include them in your work, you must acknowledge this whether it is a direct quotation or a restatement of an idea).
  • Downloading all or part from the Internet
  • Copying from a book or other source
  • Buying
  • Letting your others do your work for you or help you too much
1st offence: Verbal warning by the teacher
2nd offence or more: Discussion with the principal and possible expulsion
Late Assignments/
Tests / In accordance with Growing Success teachers will monitor students’ submissions and make students aware of the necessity of submitting work on time. This may entail the implementation of a student contract, meeting with the principal to discuss the importance of meeting deadlines, informing parents/guardians or any other methods that will further student success.
Late assignments will be accepted after the due date with an automatic 2% deduction per day, up to three days, after which the assignment will not be accepted. This policy can be waived in exceptional circumstances by arrangement with the teacher and administration, for legitimate reasons – e.g., illness, family emergency.
Missed Work / It is the responsibility of the students to update him or her on any missed work.
Homework / Students are expected to complete to complete their homework on time, read the materials as indicated and be ready for the scheduled contacts with the teacher and the fellow class members and for the assessments/evaluations scheduled throughout the course. If this is not done, it is quickly evident through the many assessment and evaluations embedded throughout the course content. Actions such as meeting with principal, informing parents will be applied to encourage students to complete their homework.
Cellphone and Electronic Devices Policy / Under no circumstance will students be permitted to use any cell phones or electronic devices in class. If students are caught using them, the item will then be confiscated and be given to the admin inthe office. Repeated unauthorized use of such devices will lead to further disciplinary action

Teaching / Learning Resources

Textbooks: Complete English Smart 3-8; Azar, B., Fundamentals of English Grammar, Third Edition, Longman, 2003.

Practise! Practise! A readiness guide to the Ontario Secondary School Litercy Tes;, Hersh, J

OSSLT The Key Study Guide; Rao, Gautam, Castle Rock Research Corp., 2011.

Paper, pencil/pen, laptop, internet connection

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