12 année - The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) OLC4O (2003)

Building Reading Skills

Building Writing Skills

Understanding and Assessing Growth in Literacy

Reading and Responding to Texts

Understanding the Forms of Texts

Using Reading Strategies to Understand Texts

Using Strategies to Understand New Words and Expressions and to Build Vocabulary

Using the Writing Process

Using Knowledge of Forms in Writing

Understanding the Importance of Communication Skills in Their Lives

Understanding Their Own Role in the Learning Process

Understanding the Reading and Writing Processes and the Role of Reading and Writing in Learning

Using the Portfolio to Assess Their Growth in Literacy Skills

demonstrate that they have read a variety of student-selected and teacher-selected texts, including informational, narrative, and graphic texts

demonstrate the ability to read independently for personal, school-related, and career-related purposes

describe, orally and/or in writing, personally relevant texts they have read and their responses to them

use oral language skills, in English or a first language, to support and enhance their reading experiences

use knowledge of the organizational structure of information paragraphs to identify the main idea (often in the topic sentence) and supporting details;

use knowledge of the organizational structure of opinion pieces (e.g., editorials, proposals, short essays in magazines or newspapers) to identify opinions, main ideas or arguments, and supporting details;

use knowledge of the organizational structure and features of textbooks to locate main ideas and specific information

demonstrate understanding of how the organizational structure of informational texts is related to the audience and the purpose for writing

use cue words and features of print to understand the organization and relationship of ideas in the text

Narrative Texts: arrative Texts use knowledge of the organizational structure of different types of non-fiction narratives

Narrative Texts: use knowledge of narrative structure to identify ways in which fiction and nonfiction narratives are similar

Graphic Texts: use knowledge of the organizational structure (e.g., layout, grid pattern) of a variety of graphic texts (e.g., schedules, tables, graphs, maps, labelled diagrams, site maps, websites) to identify the purpose of the text, locate information, and extract pertinent details;

Graphic Texts: explain how the form of a graphic text helps the reader understand the information or message

choose an appropriate approach to reading a text to match the purpose for reading

use appropriate pre-reading strategies to preview new texts, including: informational texts (e.g., scan for text features such as headings and for embedded graphics to make predictions about content); Narrative texts (e.g., read the title and opening paragraph to make predictions about content); Graphic texts

use appropriate strategies to activate and build on prior knowledge of the content of the informational, narrative, or graphic selections

During and After Reading: use appropriate strategies to monitor comprehension when reading informational and narrative texts

During and After Reading: use appropriate strategies to track and record ideas and information while reading informational and narrative textsuse appropriate strategies to track and record ideas and information while reading informational and narrative texts

use appropriate strategies to locate information in different types of texts, including: Informational texts (e.g., search for key words from a question about the selection to locate specific information); Narrative texts (e.g., reread the first sentence of successive paragraphs to identify the sequence of events and/or transitions in scene or changes in speaker); Graphic texts

use appropriate strategies to make inferences about and interpret different types of texts, including: Informational texts (e.g., while reading, predict a writer’s intentions, conclusions, or biases based on his/her presentation of the facts); Narrative texts (e.g., pose questions about the explanations for people’s actions given in a workplace incident report: “Are the explanations convincing?”,“Do they account for all the facts?”,“How could the incident be resolved?”); Graphic texts

make connections between personal experiences and the content of texts to consolidate and extend understanding of different types of texts, including: Informational texts; Narrative texts; Graphic texts.

demonstrate understanding of a variety of informational, narrative, and graphic texts commonly read in daily life (e.g., recipes, manuals, instructions, invoices, e-mails, encyclopedia entries, pamphlets, news reports, short stories, train schedules, bar graphs) by using and/or responding to them appropriately.

use appropriate strategies to discover the meaning of unfamiliar and technical words encountered in their reading

use appropriate strategies to discover the meaning of unfamiliar idiomatic expressions encountered in their reading

use appropriate strategies to expand their vocabulary through reading

identify the topic, the audience, the purpose for writing, and the requirements of the particular writing form;

use pre-writing strategies to generate ideas for writing

use oral language skills, in English or a first language, to develop content for writing

use appropriate strategies for gathering supporting ideas and information from print and electronic sources

use appropriate strategies to organize ideas and information for writing

create a first draft that includes the main and supporting ideas in the required form

revise drafts to ensure that ideas are presented in a logical order, to discard irrelevant ideas and information, to add details where information is insufficient, and to ensure a tone and level of language appropriate to the audience and purpose, using appropriate strategies

quote and/or cite information from sources accurately, and acknowledge all sources of ideas and information used in written work;

use appropriate strategies to edit written work (e.g., read aloud to detect errors; correct errors using personal checklists of “look-fors”, a shared word/grammar wall, a personal grammar guide, and/or computer spelling and grammar programs) to achieve accuracy in the use of the conventions of standard Canadian English, including the requirements of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation: Grammar and Usage: write complete and correct sentences, use consistent and appropriate verb, tense and voice, make verbs agree with subjects, make pronouns agree with their, antecedents in number and gender; Spelling use knowledge of spelling patterns and rules, and a variety of appropriate resources, to spell correctly; Punctuation use punctuation correctly, including period, question mark, exclamation mark, comma, dash, apostrophe, colon, quotation marks, parentheses, and ellipses

explain the purpose and uses of summaries

construct summaries that clearly state the main idea and include important supporting details

explain the purpose and uses of information paragraphs

construct clear, complete information paragraphs, some with graphic elements, for a variety of purposes, using correct paragraph structure

explain the purpose and uses of opinion pieces

construct a series of paragraphs, clearly stating an opinion in the opening paragraph and supporting it in subsequent paragraphs with clear, sufficient, and convincing reasons

use knowledge of how to write summaries, information paragraphs, and opinion pieces to produce informational writing for a variety of personal and school-related purposes

explain the purpose and uses of news reports

construct clear, coherent, and objective news reports that include relevant facts, information, and supporting details, using the five-questions model – Who? What? Where? When? Why?

use knowledge of how to write news reports to create narratives related to other subject areas and personal interests

explain the purpose and uses of personal reflections

construct personal reflections, in paragraph form, choosing a clear focus and using appropriate examples to explain their thinking

explain the purpose and uses of other non-fiction narrative forms, such as incident reports, recountings, or biographies/ autobiographies

describe the communication skills they need to function effectively in a variety of situations at school, at work and in daily life (

explain how the ability to read, write, listen, and speak effectively can help them to succeed at school, at work, and in their personal lives

identify the behaviours and attitudes they need to promote their own learning

demonstrate understanding that reading is an active process of thinking and constructing meaning

demonstrate understanding that the purpose for reading or the requirements of the reading task influence their approach to reading a text

demonstrate understanding that writing is a process that involves a range of thinking and composing skills

demonstrate understanding that their subject, audience, and purpose for writing influence their choices of form, tone, and level of language

demonstrate understanding of the role of reading and writing in the learning process

an inventory, with completion dates, of all the texts read and the reading responses produced;

an inventory, with completion dates, of all the pieces of writing produced, identifying them as working drafts, revised drafts for evaluation, or polished pieces;

all working drafts of reading responses and writing selections produced during the course;

all reading responses and writing selections submitted for evaluation during the course;

all pieces that have been polished (e.g., for presentation and display);

a learning journal documenting the steps taken to monitor their learning during the year

for each of the required types of texts read (i.e., informational, narrative, graphic) and forms of writing produced

review the record of their progress in their learning journal, as well as the readingresponse and writing samples produced during the course, in order to describe their growth in reading and writing skills throughout the course