UniversityofAlbertaLibrary 1620 1629 2946 * *•""Kin .#•$* —*<M»1 w» mmi i*ri*\Mmu ifiMf t 8 life mm#*~ v **!»& •Ssssr iffir* .«**il*J fc8lT: Mil <»*.< Ml WK fl'*:»*'3 ffi LB 1631 A433 2002 ar. 10-12 NN im CURRGDHT . Ex LIBRIS UNIVERSITATIS ALBERTENSIS Program of Studies for / Senior High School English Language Arts Interim 2002 A\ba\a LEARNING Curriculum Branch Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Alberta Libraries http://archive.org/details/englanguageartsshs02albe flMIVFRQITV IDDadv I ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS INTRODUCTION condition. The study of literature provides students with the opportunity to develop There are two basic aims of senior high school self-understanding and personhood, as they English language arts. One aim is to encourage, in imagine the worlds that literature presents and students, an understanding and appreciation ofthe understand and empathize with the characters that A significance and artistry of literature. second literature creates. aim is to enable each student to understand and appreciate language and to use it confidently and By studying Canadian literature, students are able competently for a variety of purposes, with a to reflect on citizenship from a Canadian variety ofaudiences and in a variety of situations perspective. The study of Canadian literature for communication, personal satisfaction and within a Canadian context helps students to learning. develop respect for the cultural diversity and common values ofCanada. An appreciation of literature and an ability to use language effectively enhance students' By studying works of literature, students come to opportunities to become responsible, contributing understand how text creators use language to citizens and lifelong learners while experiencing produce effects, such as suspense, humour and success and fulfillment in life. As strong language pathos, and to create multiple layers of meaning. users, students will be able to meet Alberta's By studying the craft of text creators, students graduation requirements and will be prepared for develop their own creative and cognitive abilities. entry into post-secondary studies or the workplace. Senior high school students must be The Importance ofLanguage prepared to meet evolving literacy demands in Canada and the international community. The Nature ofLanguage The Importance ofLiterature Language is the basis of communication and the primary instrument of thought. Composed of Literature allows students to experience, interrelated and rule-governed symbol systems, vicariously, persons, places, times and events that language is a social and uniquely human means of may be far removed from their day-to-day exploring and communicating meaning. As well experiences. Literature invites students to reflect as being a defining feature of culture, language is on the significance of cultural values and the an unmistakable mark of personal identity and is fundamentals of human existence; to think about essential for forming interpersonal relationships, and discuss essential, universal themes; and to extending experience, reflecting on thought and grapple with the intricacies of the human action, and contributing to society. Introduction English Language Arts (Senior High) /l ©AlbertaLearning,Alberta,Canada (Interim 2002) Language Development Metacognition Language development is contextual. Students Language study helps students develop an enhance their language abilities by usingwhat they awareness of the strategies that they use to know, continuously and recursively, in new and complete learning tasks successfully and to talk more complex contexts and with increasing about, write about and represent themselves as sophistication. They reflect on and use prior learners. In essence, the study of language knowledge to extend and enhance their language enables students to develop metacognition: it abilities and understanding. By learning and enables them to become more consciously aware incorporating new language structures into their of their own thinking and learning processes and repertoire and using them in a variety ofcontexts, to gain greatercontrol ofthese processes. students develop language fluency and proficiency. Essentially, metacognition involves reflection, critical awareness and analysis, monitoring, and Language Learning and reinvention. Students who are engaged in English Language Arts metacognition recognize the requirements of the task at hand, reflect on the strategies and skills While students learn about language in all subject they may employ, appraise their strengths and areas and in contexts outside of school, English weaknesses in the use of these strategies and language arts teachers have a central role in skills, make modifications, and monitor language learning because of their focus on subsequent strategies. language, its forms and its functions. It is the English language arts teacher who helps students Many ofthe specific outcomes in this program of develop and apply strategies for comprehending, studies emphasize metacognition. Students recall responding to and creating a variety of texts in a and describe what they have done in a particular variety ofsituations. situation, and recount how, when and why. Students then assess the value of the strategies Critical Thinking and Learning through they have used, make modifications to them or Language abandon them in favour of new approaches, and monitor the use of these reworked or new Critical thinking, learning and language are strategies in future situations. interrelated. Students use language to make sense of and bring order to their world and to play an The English Language Arts active role in various communities of learners within and beyond the classroom. They use language to examine new experiences and The senior high school English lan—guage arts program highlights six language arts listening, knowledge in relation to their prior knowledge, experiences and beliefs. They make connections, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing. anticipate possibilities, reflect upon and evaluate ideas, and determine courses of action. By becoming critical thinkers, students also become Senior high school students engage all six self-reliant, successful and contributing members language arts as they studytexts and as they create their own texts in relevant situations for a variety ofsociety. of purposes and audiences. All of the language arts are interrelated and interdependent; facility in one strengthens and supports facility in the others. 2/ English Language Arts (Senior High) Introduction (Interim 2002) ©AlbertaLearning,Alberta,Canada Listening and Speaking Viewing and Representing Oral language is the foundation of literacy. Visual imagery is an integral part ofcontemporary Through listening and speaking, human beings life. By developing viewing strategies and skills, communicate thoughts, feelings, experiences, students come to understand the ways in which information and opinions, and learn to understand images may be used to convey ideas, values and themselves and others. Oral language is used to beliefs. Students increase the effectiveness of tell a community's stories and to convey many of their "reading" of visual texts by identifying and its values, beliefs and traditions. using better reading paths. Critical viewing enables students to acquire and assess Listening and speaking enable students to explore information, appreciate the experiences of others, ideas and concepts, as well as to understand and and understand and evaluate others' ideas and organize their experiences and knowledge. perspectives. Students use oral language to learn, solve problems and reach goals. To become discerning, Representing may be envisioned as the expressive lifelong learners, students need to develop fluency counterpart of viewing. Visual representation and confidence in their oral language abilities. enables students to communicate their ideas They benefit from many opportunities to listen through a variety oftext forms, including posters, and speak, both informally and formally, for a diagrams, photographs, collages, video variety of purposes and with a variety of presentations, visual art, tableaux and mime. audiences. Representing, however, extends beyond the visual. Reading and Writing For example, representations may have an oral A component. speaker's tone of voice can Written language is a powerful means of convey, or represent, his or her feelings and communicating and learning. Reading and writing attitudes. Music and sound effects that are enable students to extend their thinking and their selected to accompany a dramatic monologue, a knowledge and use of language, increase their dialogue or a readers' theatre presentation may be understanding of themselves and others, and representational in that they set a mood and experience enjoyment and personal satisfaction. convey an atmosphere. Reading provides students with a means of Representing is also manifested in print. Tables accessing the ideas, perspectives and experiences and figures that accompany informative texts may of others. By using effective reading strategies, suggest spatial relationships, time sequences, and students construct meaning and develop relationships between and among concepts and thoughtful and critical understandings and ideas. Posters and other examples ofpromotional interpretations ofa variety oftexts. They also use print texts typically employ design principles, reading strategies to reconstruct the meanings of such as alignment and repetition, to represent others. relationships and to create emphases. Writing enables students to explore, shape and clarify their thoughts and to communicate these thoughts to others. By using effective writing strategies, students discover and refine ideas, and compose and revise with increasing confidence and skill. Introduction English Language Arts (Senior High) /3 ©AlbertaLearning,Alberta,Canada (Interim 2002) Text and Context occur in a wide range ofcontexts. Students need opportunities to create and respond to a range of Broadening the Definition of'Text" visual texts; they need to recognize, analyze and respond to ways in which visual texts construct This program of studies defines the word "text" reality and influence theirperceptions. broadly. The texts that senior high school students study in their English language arts Multimedia texts include demonstrations and oral courses include works ofliterature and other texts presentations, videos and films, graphic novels in oral, print, visual and multimedia forms. and cartoon strips, plays, drum dancing, and Students also create texts in a variety of modes Internet Web sites. Any text that combines an oral and media. component with a visual component, a print component with an oral component, or a print Oral texts include storytelling, speechmaking, component with a visual component is a discussion and conversation. Oral texts are used multimedia text. Many multimedi—a texts combine in a wide range of contexts: casual and formal, compon—ents ofall three text types oral, print and immediate and distant. As speakers and listeners, visual to achieve their effects. students need opportunities to use oral texts with a variety ofaudiences for a variety ofpragmatic and Defining 'Context'^JPurpose, Audience and aesthetic purposes. By creating and responding to Situation a variety of oral texts, students obtain and communicate information, build relationships with "Context" includes any element present in a others, and develop self-confidence and communication situation that influences the self-understanding. creation and interpretation of text. This program of studies emphasizes the importance of context, Print texts include books,journals, magazines and including purpose, audience and situation, in the newspapers. Both as writers and readers, students student's engagement with and creation oftext. A need to experience a wide range ofprint texts and text creator's understanding of purpose and use print texts for a variety ofpurposes. Students audience will influence his or her selection and read literary, informative and persuasive texts for development ofform and content. Similarly, other pleasure and knowledge. They write texts to elements of the context within which a text is communicate ideas clearly, artistically and with being produced, such as constraints of time and integrity. Through written response to literature, space and issues ofgender and culture, will affect students come to appreciate the ways in which the production oftext. literature engages the imagination, conveys human experience and comments on the human condition. Students comprehend, respond to and create texts Students write a variety of texts, including for a variety of purposes. When involved in the informative and persuasive texts, to make sense of study and creation of literary texts, and when ideas and to convey these ideas. They write to responding to literature personally, critically and express their own and others' experiences and creatively, students reflect upon the human perspectives and to provide enjoyment for condition and develop and refine their themselves and others. understandings of themselves as human beings. They also leam to appreciate the artistic value of Visual texts include pictures, collages, diagrams, language and how language can engage both mind tableaux, mime and nonverbal communication. and spirit. Visual texts, like their oral and print counterparts, have a variety of purposes and audiences, and 4/ English Language Arts (Senior High) Introduction (Interim 2002) ©AlbertaLearning,Alberta,Canada — — At other times, students comprehend, respond to e.g., using more complicated textual structures, and create texts to present information, to convey rhetorical devices and stylistic techniques, they ideas and to persuade. When involved in studying may demonstrate less control of matters of and creating informative and persuasive texts, correctness. students form understandings about the interplay between fact and opinion, support and This program of studies contains many specific generalization, connotation and denotation, literal outcomes that deal with matters of correctness. meaning and figurative meaning, and argument See subheading 4.2.4 under General Outcome 4. and emotion. In Grade 10, students are expected to consolidate their learnings from the K-9 program of studies In some communication situations, the audience is and to master aspects of correctness, such as imagined by the originator ofthe communication. punctuation, grammatical agreement and sentence This audience can also be somewhat removed construction. In Grade 11 and Grade 12, students fromthe immediate context ofthe communication; are expected to apply this mastery in contexts that and the context itselfcan be free ofconstraints of demand increasing sophistication and complexity. time and space, such as when one reads a novel. In other communicat—ion situations, the aud—ience is Technology and English Language Arts specific and actual a "target" audience and is present within the immediate context of the Primarily, students will learn how to use communication. The context itself may be information and communication technologies by defined by limitations of time and space and by taking courses in Career and Technology Studies expectations influenced by audience (CTS). However, it is appropriate that students be characteristics, such as age, genderand culture. encouraged to apply the knowledge, strategies and skills that they have learned in CTS, at home and Senior high school students must be a—ble to in the community, by using, as appropriate, design communicate well in a variety of contexts for a elements, inquiry technologies and presentation variety of purposes, with a variety of audiences technologies as tools for managing information and given a variety ofsituations. and communicating in their English language arts classes. Balancing Expectations for Matters of Correctness and Matters ofChoice Senior High School English Language Arts Course Sequences Within certain contexts in each course, student mastery of spelling, punctuation and Two course sequences have been developed in capitalization, usage, grammar and sentence order to accommodate a diverse range of student construction is expected. However, the degree to needs, interests and aspirations which such mastery is expected will depend on the English Language Arts 10-1; 20-1; 30-1 and length and complexity of created texts and the English Language Arts 10-2; 20-2; 30-2. familiarity ofcontexts. Both course sequences are organized according to When students are engaged in familiar contexts the same general outcomes—broad statements that straightforward purposes,—familiar audiences and demonstrate what students are expected to straightforward situations control of matters of achieve. Since the two course sequences are correctness is expected. When students are organized in this way, the same number is used to engaged in less familiar contexts and are taking represent the grade level for both course risks by experimenting with matters of choice; Introduction English Language Arts (Senior High) /5 ©AlbertaLearning,Alberta,Canada (Interim 2002) sequences. At the Grade 10 level, the number 10 In terms of student needs, there are different is used. To demonstrate that there are two courses expectations for students in each course. For at a particulargrade level, the numbers 1 and 2 are example, students in ELA 10-2 are given six used. For Grade 10, the courses are 10-1 and additional reading comprehension strategies to 10-2. The courses for Grade 1 1 are 20-1 and 20-2, learn in General Outcome 2, under subheading and the courses for Grade 12 are 30-1 and 30-2. 2.1.2. This is a direct response to the need of students in ELA 10-2 for assistance in developing Both course sequences: their reading and text study skills. On the other hand, students in ELA 10-1 need to develop an • maintain high standards to meet graduation understanding of more complex texts; in General requirements Outcome 2, under subheading 2.3.1, these students • require that students write a diploma have the additional responsibility to "identify and examination upon completion of the 30-level examine ways in which cultural and societal course — influences are reflected in a variety of Canadian • feature the six language arts listening, and international texts." speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing Differences in student interests and aspirations are • encourage student metacognition, student self- reflected in the different degrees of emphasis for assessment, and student collaboration and text study and text creation in the two course teamwork sequences. For example, while both ELA 10-1 and ELA 10-2 require the study ofa broad variety • emphasize correct and effective of texts with the same degree of emphasis, communication in a variety of formats, including the novel or book-length nonfiction, including communication for pragmatic feature film, modem or Shakespearean play, purposes poetry, short story, and visual and multimedia • have a minimum requirement for Canadian texts, a different degree of emphasis is shown in content the two courses with regard to the essay and • connect with some of the information and popular nonfiction. Students in ELA 10-1 are communication technology outcomes required to study the essay, while students in • emphasize careerdevelopment directions ELA 10-2 are encouraged to study it. Yet, • emphasize the importance of context, students in ELA 10-2 are required to study including studying purpose, audience and popular nonfiction, while students in ELA 10-1, situation, in the student's creation and are encouraged to study it. These differences, comprehension oftext along with the differences in texts students create, reflect different student interests and aspirations. • emphasize a definition of "text" that includes oral, print, visual and multimedia forms. The ELA 10-1; 20-1; 30-1 course sequence provides a more in-depth study of "text" in terms There are, however, important differences of increased emphasis on textual analysis. The between the two course sequences. These ELA 10-2; 20-2; 30-2 course sequence provides differences are found in this program ofstudies in for the study of texts at a variety of different General Outcome 2 and General Outcome 4 and in levels of sophistication to meet the needs of a the Minimum Requirements: Text Study and the Minimum Requirements: Text Creation sections. student population that is more diverse in terms of aspirations. Students who aspire to careers that In general, differences between the two course involve the development, production, teaching and sequences correspond to differences in student study ofmore complex texts need to register in the needs, interests and aspirations. ELA 10-1; 20-1; 30-1 course sequence. 6/ English Language Arts (Senior High) Introduction (Interim 2002) ©AlbertaLearning,Alberta,Canada