Grade 9 Academic English

Colonel By S.S.

Course Outline

Grade 9 Academic English

ENG1D

The assessment of learning skills

The course descriptor for ENG1D, Grade 9 Academic

Determining the final mark

The development of sound learning skills is essential to the success of our students. Teachers and students will work together to understand and further the development of student learning skills in the areas of initiative, work habits, organization, team work, and independent work.

This course is designed to develop the oral communication, reading, writing, and media literacy skills that students need for success in their secondary school academic programs and in their daily lives. Students will analyse literary texts from contemporary and historical periods, interpret informational and graphic texts, and create oral, written, and media texts in a variety of forms. An important focus will be on the use of strategies that contribute to effective communication. The course is intended to prepare students for the Grade 10 academic English course, which leads to university or college preparation courses in Grades 11 and 12. (Prerequisite: none)

In secondary academic level courses, the final mark is determined using the following procedure: term work comprises 70% of the final mark and end of year summative evaluations comprise 30% of the final mark.

A variety of term assessment and evaluation tasks will be used such as unstructured and structured observations, presentations, discussions, research tasks, quizzes, tests, etc.

Throughout the year, students will be assessed on curriculum expectations, receive feedback on learning, and be given opportunities to improve performance within four categories of learning. In the term grade, the evaluation weight of each category of learning is as follows:

Knowledge / Understanding 25%

Thinking / Inquiry 25%

Communication 25%

Application 25%

The marks in each of the categories of learning will be combined to form the term grade.

Towards the end of the course, students will complete a summative evaluation that will address the overall curriculum expectations for the various strands of the course. This task will be divided into two components comprising a summative task worth 20% and an examination worth 10% of the final grade.

The overall curriculum expectations for Grade 9 Academic English

Oral Communication

By the end of this course, students will:

·  listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes;

·  use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes;

·  reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations.

Reading and Literature Studies

By the end of this course, students will:

·  read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, informational, and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning;

·  recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning;

·  use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently;

·  reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading.

Writing

By the end of this course, students will:

·  generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience;

·  draft and revise their writing, using a variety of literary, informational, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience;

·  use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively;

·  reflect on and identify their strengths as writers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful at different stages in the writing process.

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Media Studies

By the end of this course, students will:

·  demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;

·  identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;

·  create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques;

·  reflect on and identify their strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.

Course of Study

UNIT I: ANTHOLOGY STUDY-- short stories from Sightlines 9

UNIT II: NOVEL STUDY -- To Kill a Mockingbird

UNIT III: MEDIA STUDY (ongoing throughout the year)

UNIT IV: CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY

UNIT V: POETRY

UNIT VI: THE LANGUAGE OF SHAKESPEARE -- Romeo and Juliet

UNIT VIII: PREPARATION FOR THE GRADE 10 LITERACY TEST (ongoing throughtout the year)