English Language Arts 20 advocates a unit approach to instruction and suggests themes of interest to students at the Secondary Level. Students learn about language through purposeful and challenging experiences designed on these themes.
The themes (and subthemes) for English Language Arts 20 are:
Teachers are expected to teach two 50-hour units based on the stated learning objectives for the course. A 50-hour sample unit is presented in the curriculum guide for the Recollections theme.
The focus of the English Language Arts 20 curriculum is on the development of students’ language skills. It is centred on the belief that language is the base for communicating, learning, and thinking. In particular, the curriculum:
Teachers using the English Language Arts 20 curriculum are expected to:
Throughout the curriculum, teachers are supported as reflective practitioners using their knowledge of language and individuals’ learning needs to guide their decisions about classroom instruction, activities, and resources.
Four elective courses at the 20 level will be available for implementation in the fall of 1998. Students require English Language Arts A10 or B10 as a prerequisite for each elective course.
Communication 20 is designed to help students develop further their transactional language skills for various situations requiring effective oral, written, and visual communication. Students learn to gather, organize, deliver, and interpret information in a variety of ways including writing and presenting reports, delivering persuasive speeches, and taking part in discussions and projects.
The curriculum consists of 16 modules. The first module is compulsory and totals 20 hours. Teachers plan the course by selecting optional oral, written, and other media modules in addition to the compulsory module to total 100 hours. The course can be planned according to student interests and needs.
The compulsory module is an Introduction to Communication which introduces students to the idea that communication is a multifaceted process. It explores the purpose of transactional writing and introduces students to situations where they might be required to write and speak formally or informally for a variety of audiences and purposes.
Optional modules (10-20 hours each) include:
Creative Writing 20 is designed to develop students’ creative writing abilities and to refine their writing skills. In this course, students explore and develop their own ideas, a variety of writing strategies, and a range of writing forms. By reading and discussing a variety of texts and by tapping their personal experiences and imaginations, students have an opportunity to create and prepare for possible publication their own texts. They are encouraged to explore their own voices and to reflect on and respond critically to their own and their peers’ writing.
The emphasis of the curriculum is on student writing. Necessary content about writing is taught within the context of the student’s own projects and the need for information. Through mini-lessons, students’ presentations, conferencing, and discussion, students explore the creative process, writing issues, and the role of reading for a writer. A significant amount of time is spent learning about what inspires writers to write and exploring sources for their own writing.
The introductory module helps students to explore different approaches to pre-writing, drafting, and revising, and to find strategies that work for them. Through discussions, one-on-one critiques, and peer workshopping in this and subsequent modules, students have an opportunity to discover their individual creative processes and voices.
The remaining modules are organized by context and by genre. The context modules include Ideas from the World Around Us, Popular Culture, Anything Can Happen in the Imagination, and Differing Perspectives. The writing genre modules include Writing Poetry, Writing Fiction, Writing Plays, and Writing Creative Nonfiction.
Whether the teacher chooses to organize the course by context or by genre, students experience all four writing genres and have the opportunity to experience an independent project which focuses on selecting subject matter and writing genres that are important to them so they can begin to learn what interests them about writing. The independent study module allows for projects such as the pairing of individual students with recognized authors to explore their craft and art and to gain feedback from these professional writers.
Journalism Studies 20 is designed to help students learn how to gather, write, edit, publish, and broadcast news for print and electronic media as well as study the art of journalism. Students are given opportunities to explore the various media used by journalists and the issues associated with journalism. Throughout this curriculum, students have an opportunity to learn about the principles—social, ethical, and legal—governing the publication or production of each medium. Students become knowledgeable about journalism as a career and learn to organize their time, meet deadlines, establish schedules, and write creatively and objectively.
Introductory Module: Print Journalism (35 hours)
This module allows students to explore the process involved in gathering and writing news, preparing an editorial, writing feature and sports stories, using effective photos, and contrasting newspapers with magazine journalism.
Module Two: The Electronic Media (Television, Radio, and the Internet ) (35 hours)
This module allows students to apply their understandings of print journalism to one of the electronic media—television, radio, or the Internet. Students have an opportunity to explore the differences in writing for electronic media and writing for print media as well as exploring the conventions of the electronic media.
Module Three: On Assignment (30 hours)
This module gives students an opportunity to choose one aspect of journalism and explore it in more depth. Projects suggested include creating a community or school newspaper, creating a magazine (E-zine) or newsletter, creating an electronic production, and creating and selling advertising.
Media Studies 20 is designed to help students better understand mass communication. Students explore the impact of novels, magazines, photography, radio, film, video, and the emerging communication technologies on the individual and society. Students have an opportunity to read, view, write, and discuss critically as they examine the media that influence their lives.
Introductory Module: Media Awareness (20 hours)
This module introduces students to the key concepts of the media studies curriculum. It shows students how the media pervade their lives. Students analyze media messages, particularly advertisements, to determine how these messages convey values and lifestyles.
Module Two: Television (30 hours)
This module shows students how television, one of the most pervasive and powerful mediums of contemporary society, works and affects their lives. Students explore a variety of television texts (e.g., sitcoms, news, advertisements, movies …) to analyze how meaning is constructed in each of them.
Module Three: Optional Module(s)--a minimum of one (30 hours)
This module builds on and reinforces the basic understandings of mass media introduced in the first two modules. Sample optional modules include advertising, the radio and recording industry, print (newspapers, magazines, mass-market paperbacks), film, video, posters, billboards, photographs, and emerging technologies.
Module Four: Media and Cultural Studies Project (20 hours)
This module brings closure to the course and allows students individually or in small groups to examine one aspect of mass media and popular culture in depth. Project guidelines and suggested topics and issues are outlined.
A sample letter to parents/guardians regarding the new 20 level curricula is found in Appendix B. An overview of the new courses for students is found in Appendix C.
Schools implementing the elective courses might begin the courses in the second semester of 1998-1999 in order to give teachers adequate preparation time. It is important for schools to carefully consider which elective course or courses they are prepared to offer based upon student and teacher interests.
Larger schools could offer two or more elective courses each semester while smaller schools could offer one, or more, elective course on a rotating cycle (e.g., year one: Journalism Studies 20, year two: Communication 20, year three: Media Studies 20). Some timetabling options for schools who wish to offer all four electives follow.
Possible Scenarios for Larger Schools
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Semester One |
Semester Two |
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Journalism Studies 20 Media Studies 20 |
Creative Writing 20 Communication 20 |
Possible Scenarios for Smaller Schools
Two-year Cycle
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Year One | |
|
Semester One Journalism Studies 20 |
Semester Two Creative Writing 20 |
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Year Two | |
|
Semester One Communication 20 |
Semester Two Media Studies 20 |
Three-year Cycle
|
Year One | |
|
Semester One |
Semester Two Creative Writing 20 |
|
Year Two | |
|
Semester One |
Semester Two Media Studies 20 |
|
Year Three | |
|
Semester One |
Semester Two Communication 20 Journalism Studies 20 |
Prior to the development of the grade 11 elective courses in English language arts, several schools and school divisions received approval for locally developed courses (LDCs) in Journalism Studies, Media Studies, and Creative Writing.
As the new elective courses in English language arts at the 20 level become available for implementation, it is necessary to review the status of LDCs that may have parallel or overlapping content or skill development. Locally Developed Courses in Journalism Studies, Media Studies, Creative Writing, and other courses that focus on the Mass Media will need to be resubmitted for review in relation to the new English language arts curricula.
Generally speaking, LDCs that have been designed as production-oriented and technical will continue to be recognized within the Practical and Applied Arts framework. LDCs that are language-based and concentrate on writing style or quality, or the analysis of how a particular medium works will be deemed to be similar to the provincially-developed courses in English language arts. Approvals for these LDCs will be discontinued.
Existing LDCs in Media Studies, Journalism Studies, and Creative Writing will be reviewed and evaluated to ensure they develop students’ knowledge and skills in preparation for the 20 level (10L) or extend the objectives beyond the new provincially developed courses (30L).
If your school division is among those that currently offer approved locally developed courses in these areas, please be prepared to submit the appropriate documentation for review.