Exploratory language enables students to organize and give meaning to experiences. Students use exploratory language to share thoughts, ideas, and experiences, and to express and acknowledge emotions. Exploratory language enables students to discover and understand what they think and who they are. It also helps them reflect on themselves as language learners and language users. In addition, exploratory language helps them establish and maintain relationships.
1.1 Discover and Explore
- express and shape ideas to develop understanding through a variety of means [such as talking, mapping, representing, rehearsing, drafting...]
- seek and consider the ideas, observations, and opinions of other people to expand understanding through a variety of means [such as interviews, research on the Internet, discussion, questionnaires, consulting experts, surveys...]
- experiment with language and forms [such as vocabulary, structure, metaphor, diagrams, maps, charts, graphs, notes...]
- explore a variety of unfamiliar texts and genres to expand interests and preferences
- establish goals and plans for language learning based on preferences, achievements, needs, and interests
1.2 Clarify and Extend
- clarify and shape understanding by assessing connections between new and prior knowledge, ideas, and experiences
- explain opinions with considered reasons; anticipate other viewpoints
- connect ideas and experiences to gain understanding using a variety of strategies [such as diagrams, charts, webs...]
- explore the ways in which real and vicarious experiences affect opinions, values, and viewpoints
General Outcome 2: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to comprehend and respond personally and critically to literary and media texts.
Making meaning of oral, literary, and media texts is fundamental to the English language arts. Through these texts, students experience a variety of situations, people, and cultures, and learn about themselves. Students can respond personally to texts by relating them to their prior knowledge, to their feelings and experiences, and to other texts. Through personal response, they explore and form values and beliefs. They respond critically to texts by making interpretations and evaluating ideas, forms, and techniques. Students use a variety of strategies and cueing systems before, during, and after interacting with various oral, literary, and media texts.
2.1 Use Strategies and Cues
- apply personal experience and prior knowledge of text and language to develop understanding and interpretation of a variety of oral, literary, and media texts
- select, describe, and use comprehension strategies [such as inferring, visualizing, summarizing, replaying, reviewing...] to monitor understanding and develop interpretation of a variety of oral, literary, and media texts
- use textual cues [such as introduction in a speech, stage directions in a play, opening scene in film...] and prominent organization patterns [such as compare and contrast...] to construct and confirm meaning and interpret text
- use syntactic, semantic, and graphophonic cueing systems [such as word order and sentence patterns, connotations, word analysis...] to construct and confirm meaning and interpret text
2.2 Respond to Texts
- experience texts from a variety of cultural traditions and genres [such as talking circles, human interest stories, sit- coms...]; explore responses expressed by others
- respond personally and critically to people, events, and ideas presented by a variety of Canadian and international texts
- discuss how elements and techniques [such as point of view, word choice, sentence variety and order...] create particular effects in oral, literary, and media texts
2.3 Understand Forms and Techniques
- discuss the appropriateness of various genres [such as meetings, pamphlets, posters] for particular purposes and audiences
- explain how various techniques and elements [such as anecdote, protagonist, fade or dissolve...] are used to create an impression or mood in oral, literary, and media texts
- examine how factors [such as audience, purpose, situation...] affect langauge choice; recognize that vocabulary and idiom are influenced by other cultures and languages, developments in science, technology, and popular culture
- discuss how creative uses of language and symbols influence thought, emotion, and behaviour
- create original texts [such as editorials, CD covers, displays, photographs, slide or tape presentations...] to communicate and enhance understanding of forms and techniques
General Outcome 3: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to manage ideas and information.
The ability to manage information is important in school, in the workplace, on the land, and for personal growth and satisfaction. Students learn to access and communicate information and to enhance the clarity and effectiveness of communication through the language arts. They learn to interpret and analyze texts, ask questions, and gather and evaluate information.
3.1 Plan and Focus
- determine inquiry or research focus based on personal knowledge and interest and on the expertise of others
- formulate inquiry or research questions to focus a topic
- collaborate to determine group knowledge base and to define purpose and parameters of research or inquiry
- develop and follow an inquiry or research plan to access relevant information and ideas from a variety of sources
3.2 Select and Process
- evaluate and select relevant personal and peer knowledge, experiences, and perspectives related to an inquiry or research topic
- identify and discuss the purpose and usefulness of specialized information sources [such as magazines, documentaries, hobby or sports materials, multimedia resources...] relevant to particular inquiry or research needs
- determine the credibility and accuracy of a variety of information sources for a particular inquiry or research plan
- select and use appropriate information retrieval skills or tools to accomplish a task
- identify and analyze factors that affect meaning [such as the presentation of information, use of examples, expression of emotion, use of visuals...]; skim to determine overall meaning
3.3 Organize, Record, and Assess
- organize information using appropriate forms [such as charts, diagrams, outlines, electronic databases and filing systems, notes...] for specific purposes
- select and record key information and ideas using an organizational structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and information sources; document sources accurately
- evaluate information for completeness, accuracy, usefulness, and relevance
- integrate new information with prior knowledge to draw logical conclusions and to refine understanding; consider alternative ways of reaching inquiry or research goals
General Outcome 4: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to enhance the clarity and artistry of communication.
In school and in daily life, students are required to communicate ideas and information using clarity and artistry. Their thoughts should be well-organized and clearly expressed using precise language. They are also required to use artistry to communicate their ideas through a variety of oral, literary, and media texts.
4.1 Generate and Focus
- generate and combine ideas from personal experiences and other sources to focus a topic, according to audience and purpose
- use a variety of forms [such as applications, résumés, cover letters, dramatizations, visual representations, short stories...] appropriate to content, audience, and purpose
- choose from organization structures and techniques to enhance oral, written, visual texts; use effective introductions and conclusions to engage and sustain audience interest
4.2 Enhance and Improve
- share drafts in a variety of ways; appraise own work and respond to work of others with constructive suggestions on content, form, and correctness
- analyze and revise drafts to ensure appropriate content and to enhance accuracy, completeness, and clarity
- enhance legibility by use of appropriate features [such as underlining, spacing, margins, left/right justification...] for audience, purpose, and situation
- enhance artistry and impact through a variety of means [such as music, tone, appeal to emotion, stylistic effects...]
- enhance the clarity of presentations through the use of communication devices [such as diagrams, sound effects, demonstrations...]
4.3 Attend to Conventions
- experiment with word, sentence, and grammatical usage to achieve clarity and desired effect [such as formal and informal vocabulary, sentence types appropriate for intent, active and passive voice...]
- know and apply spelling conventions for familiar and new vocabulary; monitor for correctness
- know and apply capitalization and punctuation conventions to clarify intended meaning, using handbooks when required
4.4 Present and Share
- present ideas and information using a variety of print and non-print resources, and interactive approaches [such as dramatizations, multimedia presentations, photos/slides, audio-tapes...]
- use appropriate voice-production factors [such as pitch, tone, pause...] and non-verbal cues to clarify intent in personal and public communication [such as dramatic readings, panel discussion, asking questions in public forums...]
- demonstrate active listening and viewing behaviours [such as notetaking, play and pausing audio and videotapes...] to understand, and to respond using a variety of forms [such as small group discussion, personal writing...]
General Outcome 5: Students will listen, speak, read, write, view, and represent to celebrate and to build community.
Language is necessary for working together. Students learn collaboration skills by discussing in groups, by building on others' ideas, and by planning and working together to meet common goals and strengthen community. Students also learn that language is important for celebrating events of personal, social, community, and national significance. In their language learning and use, they develop their knowledge of language forms and functions. As well, they come to know how language preserves and enriches culture. To celebrate their own use of language, students display their work, share with others, and delight both in their own and others' use of the language arts.
5.1 Develop and Celebrate Community
- demonstrate respect for the ideas, evidence, and viewpoints of others when discussing, describing, and recording experiences
- identify and discuss ways in which oral, literary, and media texts reflect cultural and social influences
- discuss ways that individual and community values and behaviours are portrayed in oral, literary, media texts
- use language to celebrate special occasions and traditions [such as organizing a commemorative event, making a video to celebrate season events...]; recognize that language, symbols, and images perform important functions
5.2 Encourage, Support, and Work with Others
- make and encourage contributions that assist a group's ideas or thinking [such as taking accurate notes, exploring others' viewpoints...]; take responsibility for developing and expressing a point of view
- demonstrate effective skills and strategies for group interaction
- recognize and analyze how language, symbols, and images are used to include or exclude others across race, gender, age, and ability
- reflect on and assess individual and group efforts and products
