Objectives

The curriculum goals are reflected in the foundational and learning objectives found in the following charts. The foundational objectives comprise the important knowledge and skills for Secondary Level language arts courses. These objectives guide course planning and evaluation.

Learning objectives describe the specific knowledge and skills that students should develop at each grade level. These objectives guide the unit planning, instructional processes, resource selection, and assessment techniques. Individual student needs and abilities may require an adaptation to instruction, resources, or environment to help students achieve these objectives.

The compulsory English language arts courses are designated as either A or B. Some of the learning objectives are designated for both the A and B courses. This is shown as A/B. In order to ensure that students are exposed to particular language experiences, other objectives are designated for special attention in a particular course. This is shown by the designation A or by the designation B. Remember, however, that if student need arises, objectives designated in one course can also be addressed in another.

Clearly stated objectives that mesh with current research and understanding of teaching are not so easily produced, because one is constantly thrust back to the real question, "Is this objective a worthy one?" (Tchudi & Mitchell, 1989, p. 63)

Oracy: Speaking Oracy: Listening Literacy: Writing Literacy: Reading Language Study Concepts

Oracy: Speaking

Speaking is the oral communication of thoughts and feelings. Speech activities in the English language arts program encourage students' social competence as well as their understanding and facility with language.

Foundational Objectives	Learning Objectives
Students will:
Recognize that talk is an important tool for communicating, thinking, and learning.	Speak to clarify and extend thinking [A/B]. Speak to express understanding [A/B]. Speak to share thoughts and opinions [A/B].
Practise the behaviours of effective speakers.	Recognize and use oral presentation elements effectively (e.g., articulation, pronunciation, volume, tempo, pitch, stress, gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, and poise) [A/B]. Organize information, thoughts, and opinions in an appropriate format [A/B]. Summarize main points and conclusions [A/B].
Speak fluently and confidently in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes and audiences.	Participate in small and large group discussions, observing the courtesies of group discussion [A/B]. Speak to inform and persuade [A/B]. Express own response to a story, poem, play, event, or experience [A/B]. Prepare an oral reading of prose, poetry, or other literature [A/B]. Give prepared talks on familiar topics [A]. Explain and defend personal point of view to others [A]. Introduce people in an informal social setting [A]. Give prepared talks on researched topics [B]. Retell a narrative [B]. Conduct an informal interview [B].

Oracy: Speaking Oracy: Listening Literacy: Writing Literacy: Reading Language Study Concepts

Oracy: Listening

Listening is an active process dependent upon attending to and understanding what is heard. Effective listening leads to understanding.

Foundational Objectives	Learning Objectives
Students will:
Recognize listening as an active, constructive process	Recognize listening as an active process that requires listeners to: anticipate a message and set a purpose [A/B] attend [A/B] seek and check understanding by making connections, and making and confirming predictions and inferences [A/B] interpret and summarize [A/B] evaluate and analyze [A/B].
Practise the behaviours of effective listeners.	Identify speaker's purpose [A]. Follow speaker's sequence of ideas [A]. Recognize and recall main and supporting ideas in presentations [A]. Recognize speaker's overall plan of organization including transitional expressions [B]. Understand the factors that interfere with good listening (e.g., environment, speaker, listener) and filter out distractions [A/B]. Distinguish between fact and opinion [B]. Respond personally, critically, and creatively [A/B].
Listen effectively in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes.	Listen for personal pleasure and aesthetic satisfaction [A/B]. Listen to understand and learn [A/B]. Listen to analyze and evaluate [A/B]. Follow oral directions [A/B]. Analyze the overall effectiveness of group discussions, oral readings, interviews, and talks [A/B]. Summarize and make notes from a presentation [B].

Oracy: Speaking Oracy: Listening Literacy: Writing Literacy: Reading Language Study Concepts

Literacy: Writing

Writing is communicating thoughts and feelings through written rather than spoken language. Writing is a powerful instrument of communication that allows writers to grow personally and affect a change in the world.

Foundational Objectives	Learning Objectives
Students will:
Recognize writing as a constructive and recursive process.	Recognize writing as a process of constructing meaning for self and others [A/B]. Use the writing process [A/B]. Use appropriate pre-writing and planning strategies [A/B]. Develop ideas previously explored into draft form [A/B]. Revise compositions [A/B]. Share/present compositions [A/B].
Practise the behaviours of effective writers.	Write introductions which lead to the topic [A/B]. State a topic sentence clearly and limit the content to pertinent material [A/B]. Develop ideas rather than just restating them [A/B]. Use various methods of development and organization (e.g., chronological, spatial, and logical) appropriate to purpose [A/B]. Demonstrate the ability to organize thought coherently using transition words [A/B]. Compose suitable endings [A/B]. Develop effective paragraphs in narrative, expository, descriptive, and persuasive prose [A/B]. Organize ideas in multi-paragraph compositions [A/B]. Analyze and evaluate their own and others' writing for ideas, organization, sentence clarity, word choice, and mechanics (i.e., capitalization, punctuation, and spelling) [A/B]. Prepare final copy using appropriate conventions of publication (e.g., title page, endnotes, bibliography) [A/B]. Confer with peers and teachers (A/B).
Write fluently and confidently for a variety of purposes and audiences.	Write for a variety of purposes including to: reflect, clarify, and explore ideas [A/B] express understanding [A/B] describe, narrate, inform, and persuade [A/B]. Write an effective character sketch [A]. Write social letters in language appropriate for purpose and audience [A]. Narrate events clearly in an appropriate order while maintaining a consistent point of view [A]. Write an effective descriptive passage [A]. Write a convincing argument in support of a clearly defined position [B]. Write and document a concise factual report [B]. Write business letters in language appropriate for purpose and audience [B]. Write a paraphrase and summary of a speech heard or a passage read [B]. Write a book, film, or video review [B]. Experiment with other forms of writing such as poem, play, anecdote, and short story [A/B].

Oracy: Speaking Oracy: Listening Literacy: Writing Literacy: Reading Language Study Concepts

Literacy: Reading

Reading is making personal connections with text to construct meaning. Reading and responding to literature are integral parts of language learning. Through reading, students extend their language repertoires and increase their understanding of themselves and others.

Foundational Objectives	Learning Objectives
Students will:
Recognize reading as an active, constructive process.	Recognize that reading is an active process which requires readers to: make connections [A/B] find meaning [A/B] make and confirm predictions [A/B] make and confirm inferences [A/B] reflect and evaluate [A/B].
Practise the behaviours of effective strategic readers.	Respond personally, critically, and creatively [A/B]. Recognize the structure and characteristics of a particular poem, play, or prose (fiction or nonfiction) selection [A]. Compare and contrast the structure and characteristics of various selections [A]. Differentiate fact from opinion [A/B]. Skim, scan, and read closely for required information [A/B]. Recognize the structure of a short story, essay, play, poem [A]. Recognize prominent organizational patterns within text (e.g., spatial; chronological or climactic; logical, including listing, cause/effect, comparison/contrast, problem/solution) [A]. Identify the author's purpose, tone, point of view, and theme [A]. Differentiate between literal and figurative statements and between the denotative and connotative [B]. Recognize common allusions and discuss their significance in context [B]. Recognize common literary symbols [B]. Recognize stylistic devices and techniques such as characterization, flashback, foreshadowing, simile, metaphor, hyperbole [B]. Summarize information read [B].
Read a variety of texts for a variety of purposes.	Relate literary experience to personal experience [A/B]. Read a wide range of material for personal enjoyment and extension of experience [A/B]. Explore human experience and values [A/B]. Identify and assess ideas and values against ideas in text [A/B]. Read to stimulate imagination [A/B]. Assess an author's ideas and techniques [A/B]. Make and defend an informed critical response [A/B].

Oracy: Speaking Oracy: Listening Literacy: Writing Literacy: Reading Language Study Concepts

Language Study Concepts

In addition to developing the knowledge, skills, and processes needed to communicate effectively through speaking, listening, writing, and reading, students need to develop an understanding and appreciation of the English language and how it is used.

The English language arts curriculum is designed to widen students' knowledge and appreciation of the English language. Students need opportunities to:

develop an understanding of how language varies according to audience, purpose, and situation
develop an understanding of the structures and conventions of language
develop an understanding that language changes over time.

As secondary school students gain control of their language processes, they increase their understanding of the three broad concepts of language--language varies, language has structural patterns and conventions, and language changes over time.

The "nature of language" is best learned contextually, growing out of students' language production rather than through isolated drills and exercises. Directly or indirectly, the following concepts are best learned when students are actively engaged in using real language processes for their communication purposes. It is expected that students will learn about the following elements of language--texts, sentences, words, and sounds--and their corresponding concepts.

Students in grade ten should understand the following language concepts:

Language Elements/Broad Concepts	Variety of Language: Language Varies According to Audience, Purpose, and Situation	Patterns of Language: Language has Structural Patterns and Conventions	Dynamics of Language: Language Develops and Changes Over Time
Textual Awareness Students will understand that:	Effective communication uses the language appropriate to the subject, audience, purpose, and situation. The purpose for text is to communicate, to express self, and to create an aesthetic form. Different modes of discourse are determined by purpose (e.g., to describe -- description, to explain -- exposition, to tell what happened -- narration, to persuade -- persuasion). These modes of discourse appear in a variety of formats (e.g., article, essay, letter, poem). Written communication usually requires the use of conventional or "standard" English. Common usage problems include jargon, euphemisms, clichés, slang, imprecision, and gobbledygook.	Speakers and writers use a variety of patterns to organize their thoughts (e.g., a paragraph, an essay). In a paragraph a writer frequently expresses a main idea in one key sentence; illustrates, explains, or defines a main idea through chronological, spatial, or another logical order; and then concludes. Longer compositions consist of an introductory paragraph which arouses interest and introduces the main idea (thesis); developmental paragraphs supporting the main idea; a closing paragraph bringing the composition to a smooth conclusion. These organizational features are reflected in a variety of prose forms (e.g., articles, letters, essays). Prose (fiction and nonfiction), poetry, and drama have distinctive and various organizational patterns.	English is an important world language. Many theories are offered to explain the origins of speech and writing.

Language Elements/Broad Concepts

Variety of Language: Language Varies According to Audience, Purpose, and Situation

Patterns of Language: Language has Structural Patterns and Conventions

Dynamics of Language: Language Develops and Changes Over Time

Sentence Awareness
Students will understand that:

Sentences are expressions of ideas.

Spoken and written sentences make different demands of the communicator (e.g., formal written language should contain meaningful and clear sentences devoid of ambiguous expressions).

Word order is important in communicating meaning in English.

English sentences are built on some common "kernel" structures (e.g., Subject-Verb, Subject-Verb-Object, and Subject-Linking Verb-Complement).

Basic English structures can be expanded (e.g., using qualifiers), compounded, and transformed

(e.g., statements become questions, exclamations, expletives, inversions, negatives).

Parallel ideas should be expressed in parallel form.

Formal written language avoids sentence fragments, run-on sentences, excessive coordination, and faulty subordination.

Formal written sentences should be free of misplaced modifiers and dangling participles.

Formal written sentences should have consistency in verb tense, pronoun agreement, clear pronoun reference, appropriate adjectives and adverbs, and agreement of subject and verb.

Punctuation marks clarify the message in the written sentence.

Language Elements/Broad Concepts

Variety of Language: Language Varies According to Audience, Purpose, and Situation

Patterns of Language: Language has Structural Patterns and Conventions

Dynamics of Language: Language Develops and Changes Over Time

Word and Phrase Awareness
Students will understand that:

An appropriate word suits the purpose, audience, and situation.

A word is a representation.

A good word is as specific as possible.

Words can be concrete or abstract.

Words can have connotative as well as denotative value.

Words can have symbolic meaning.

Words can act as allusions.

Words can be formal or informal (colloquial).

Words can act as dialect markers and language users have different oral and written vocabularies.

Words can appeal to the senses (imagery) and affect the imagination (e.g., figurative language).

Context influences a word's meanings.

English has many homonyms (e.g., to, too, two).

Different words have different meanings depending on the context.

Listeners and readers of English consciously and unconsciously figure out the meaning of words by considering:

context (the setting in which a word appears)
structure (the arrangement and meaning of various parts in words, i.e., prefixes, suffixes, and roots)
sound (the clues from the sounds of letters and syllables and the placement of accents)
dictionary (a source for definitions, usage, pronunciation, and etymology).

English spelling has many patterns (e.g., hop and hope, writing and written).

English words have a colourful and varied history (e.g., names and places).

New words are continually being added to the language (e.g., through developments in science and technology and through contact with other languages and cultures).

Sound Awareness
Students will understand that:

Several production factors are important in oral communication (e.g., articulation, pronunciation, tempo, tone, volume, emphasis, pitch).

There are variations in pronunciation dependent on the form and use of a word (e.g., "project" as a noun and as a verb).

Each person's idiolect (an individual's special way of using oral language) is dependent upon individual choice and environment.

Language has sound patterns including rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, repetition.

Clear pronunciation can aid spelling (e.g., accept, except).

Dictionaries provide pronunciation (i.e., diacritical) and syllabication guides.