Academic vs. Applied
What’s Right for You?
Academic / AppliedLeads to the university/college stream (can switch levels after grade 9 if course material is too challenging) / Leads to college/workplace stream(can switch levels after grade 9 if not challenged enough)
For students who enjoy reading and writing / For students who find reading and/or writing challenging and unsatisfying
Assignments will involve a number of creative and critical thinking tasks (essays, seminars and reader responses) / Assignments will focus on a few creative and real-life tasks (news reports, journals, opinion pieces and presentations)
Students will study a variety of literary texts (novels, Shakespearean plays and essays) / Students will study a variety of print texts (novels, plays, short stories and graphic novels)
Very focused and specific analysis of concepts and ideas / General and broad analysis of concepts and ideas
Challenging Curriculum / Engaging Curriculum
Critical thinking and critical analysis required / Guided analysis and prompts
Individual accountability for learning / Monitored learning (homework checks, in-class work checks)
Concept and theory based / Less theory-practical application
Class and group discussions for learning (literature circles) / Teacher led discussion
Oral comprehension skills required (lecture, verbal discussion, verbal instruction) / Guided lessons and instructions (hands-on, oral and written instruction)
Independent reading (a lot is read outside of class) / Novel units and short stories read together as a class with explanations throughout
(assistive technology and resources provided)
Some class time for assignments but class work outside the instructional time is expected / Class time provided to complete most assignments
Faster pace / Slower pace
Homework daily (dependant on teacher) / Homework assigned less often
Note-taking skills required (from teacher lectures, overheads, etc) / Handouts with notes and worksheets generally provided
Group work and group assignments / Pair-based work
How do you decide?
First and foremost, listen to your Grade 8 teacher’s recommendation.
Look at your marks in English and base your decision on that.
Take a piece of your writing and compare it to the samples provided.
Try to answer the questions provided.
Think about whether you want to go to university or college.
Lastly, listen to your Grade 8 teacher’s recommendations
University vs. College
University / College•More theoretical
•Jobs creating and engineering
•Teachers, lawyers, doctors, accountants, engineers, architects / •Good with your hands, building or making things
•Application of knowledge
•Jobs such as child and youth worker, practical nursing, dental hygienist, marketing, culinary arts
Sample Reading
Academic / AppliedSONNET 18-William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee. / For You-Anavi Potts
My love for you is simple, sweet, and strong.
It flows like a deep river from my heart,
A wave of an uncomplicated song,
Sung with much desire and little art.
I cannot tell my love, but it will show
In ways that even I cannot foresee;
A Love as full as mine must overflow
Into everything that makes me, me.
Just as the sun must shine to be the sun
And trees burst forth in blossoms every year,
So I must love in ways that everyone
Can see or sense or reason out or hear.
Still, I'll tell you of my love in this:
For fear, despite all, you might my love miss.
Sample Questions
Academic / Applied- What is the metaphor in this passage? What is the message it conveys?
- Can you find an example of alliteration in this passage? Write it down.
- What is the overall theme of this poem?
- Now that you know what makes a sonnet, try writing your own sonnet.
- Are there any clues in the poem’s title?
- How does the poem make you feel? Why?
- What do you find out about the narrator?
- What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
- How many syllables are in each line?
- Are there any patterns or literary devices in the poem?
- Describe what each section of the poem is discussing.
- What is the crucial moment in the poem?
- What aspect of the poem did you like or not like? Why?
Literary Devices
Academic / AppliedAlliteration- the repetition of the initial consonant. There should be at least two repetitions in a row. i.e. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Simile - figure of speech involving a comparison between unlike things using like, as, or as though. i.e. She floated in like a cloud.
Hyperbole - a figure of speech involving exaggeration.
Personification - is giving human qualities to animals or objects. i.e. The daffodils nodded their yellow heads.
Metaphor - A comparison in which one thing is said to be another. i.e. The cat's eyes were jewels, gleaming in the darkness.
Allusion – A reference to a famous person or event in life or literature. i.e. She is as pretty as the Mona Lisa.
Image is language that evokes one or all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching.
Theme is the general idea or insight about life that a writer wishes to express / Alliteration- the repetition of the initial consonant. There should be at least two repetitions in a row. i.e. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Simile - figure of speech involving a comparison between unlike things using like, as, or as though. i.e. She floated in like a cloud.
Academic / Applied
Level 4
When something is deemed inappropriate, it is often censored. In Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Rushdie shows his disapproval of censorship through allegory. This is seen in the character of Khattam-Shud throughout the novel. In addition, it is present in the masses of the Chupwalas. Finally, the constant reminder of the need for Freedom of Speech goes against censoring. Thus, Rushdie clearly wanted to take a stand against censorship without ever directly stating so.
Level 1
Having censorship in society is bad. In Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories, some people re censored and it wrecks their lives. We see this all the way through the novel and in characters like Khattam-Shud, Haroun and Rashid. / Level 4
I think the movie Disturbia should be in this Suspense book because it has a lot of suspense and it has thriller as well. Kale is under three months house arrest by punching his teacher in the face, Kale passes his days spying on the neighbors. It’s all fun and games until things take a horrifying turn for the worse. Kale thinks his neighbor next door is a serial killer. Kale can’t prove this nighbor is because he can’t leave his house without the alarm goes on. Kale’s friends help him. He is determined to tell the truth but they already have taken more then they believe they had, with a murderer on the loose.
Level 1
This Story is about four kids named Peter, Susan, Edmut and Lucy that go in a Dressing room and they find a magic forest And there is a witch that tries to kill them but there is a loin called asland that help them along the way to defeat the witch.
Academic / Applied
•Spelling and grammar is decent to fairly strong (ie. no errors in capitalization, no run-on sentences, good paragraph writing)
•Strong readers who read frequently / •Answers questions efficiently, but in short sentences
•Struggles with paragraph writing, spelling, etc.
•Infrequent readers