About the course
This course is designed to help students acquire and demonstrate the cross- curricular literacy skills that are evaluated by the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT). Students who complete the course successfully will meet the provincial literacy requirement for graduation. Students will read a variety of informational, narrative, and graphic texts and will produce a variety of forms of writing, including summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces, and news reports. Students will also maintain and manage a portfolio containing a record of their reading experiences and samples of their writing.
Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course
Course Credit
1
Course Price
$ 550.00
Course Developer
My Learning Oasis
Prerequisite(s) (Text)
Students who have been eligible to write the OSSLT at least twice and who have been unsuccessful at least once are eligible to take the course
Course Code
Department Head & Contact Information
OLC4O
Ravi Sharma (ravi@mylearningoasis.com)
Course Type
OSSD Qualifying Course
Grade Level
Grade 12
Course Development Date
June 10th, 2021
Course Outline
Building Reading Skills
- Use knowledge of the organizational structure and features of textbooks to locate main ideas and specific information
- Use knowledge of narrative structure to identify ways in which fiction and nonfiction narratives are similar
- Explain how the form of a graphic text helps the reader understand the information or message
- Use appropriate pre-reading strategies to preview new texts
- Make connections between personal experiences and the content of texts to consolidate and extend understanding of different types of texts
- Use appropriate strategies to expand their vocabulary through reading
Expected Hours of Instructions: 40 hours
Building Writing Skills
- use appropriate strategies to organize ideas and information for writing, and edit the work
- use knowledge of how to write news reports to create narratives related to other subject areas and personal interests
- 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
- use knowledge of how to write news reports to create narratives related to other subject areas and personal interests
Expected Hours of Instructions: 40 hours
Understanding and Assessing Growth in Literacy
- 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 (e.g., active participation, confidence in their ability to improve, persistence, practice, willingness to reflect on their learning process and learn from their mistakes)
- 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 of the role of reading and writing in the learning process
In using the portfolio to assess their growth in literacy skills, students will: – for each of the required types of texts read (i.e., informational, narrative, graphic) and forms of writing produced (i.e., summary, information paragraph, opinion piece, news report), decide independently which are their most successful reading responses and pieces of writing and explain briefly
Expected Hours of Instructions: 30 hours
Exam
The final exam is worth 30% of the grade. This exam maybe in the form of a presentation and written (as dictated by the Ministry of education)
Expected Hours of Instructions: 3 hours
Total 110 hours
Resources
Resources required by the student:
● An electronic device to communicate with the teacher
● Word processing software (e.g. Microsoft WordTM, Mac PagesTM, or equivalent)
Resources provided by School:
● This course does not require or rely on any textbook.
● Supplemental readings
● Novel and other required readings.
● Every student needs access to an electronic device to communicate with their teacher
● All class notes and assignments will be provided by teachers.
Overall Curriculum Expectations
A. Oral Communication
A1 listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes;
A2 use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes;
A3 reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations.
B.Reading and Literature Studies
B1 read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, informational, and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning;
B2 recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning;
B3 use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently;
B4 reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading.
C. Writing
C1 generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience;
C2 draft and revise their writing, using a variety of literary, informational, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience;
C3 use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively;
C4 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.
D. Media Studies
D1 demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;
D2 identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;
D3 create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques;
D4 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.
Special Accommodations
Only Some students are able, with accommodations, to be part of a regular course curriculum and to demonstrate independent learning. These accommodations allow access to the course without any dilution of the knowledge and skills the student is expected to demonstrate. These required accommodations to facilitate the student’s learning will be identified in his or her IEP (see IEP Standards, 2000, page 11*). It is likely that IEP for may or all courses will reflect the same accommodations. The instructions and accommodations are geared to meet the diverse needs of learners.
The three types of accommodations that are going to be used are:
i) Instructional accommodations - changes in teaching/learning strategies facilitated by different styles of presentation; methods of organization; the use of technology and multimedia.
ii) Environmental accommodations - Certain classroom settings and preferential seating may benefit these students.
iii) Assessment: assessment procedures that enable the student to demonstrate his or her learning, such as Multiple Intelligence Theory, giving more time to complete tasks (see page 29 of the IEP Resource Guide, 2004, for more examples).
For students who require accommodations for only the mathematics courses, the assessment and evaluation of their achievement will be based on the appropriate course curriculum expectations and the achievement levels outlined in this document. The IEP box on the students’ Provincial Report Cards will not be checked, and no information on the provision of accommodations will be included.
* Taken from: Ministry of Education, Ontario. Extracted from The Ontario Curriculum, English: The Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (EOSSLC), 2003; Date of extraction:: Sunday, March 14, 2021
Program Considerations For English Language Learners
Students from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. For many of these students, English is not their spoken language. They may be coming from highly sophisticated educational systems, while others may have come from regions where access to formal schooling was limited. These students offer a rich addition to the classroom experience by way of their background knowledge and experience. All teachers will assist with their English- language development. In mathematics the teachers will include appropriate adaptations and strategies in their instructions and assessments to facilitate the success of the English language learners in their classrooms. Some of these strategies and adaptations are: modification of some or all of the course expectations so that they are challenging but attainable for the learner at his or her present level of English proficiency, given the necessary support from the teacher.
Teaching/Learning Strategy
The key learning strategy at My Learning Oasis Elite Private School is Constructivism. This format facilitates learning by many techniques, most or all of which will be adopted in the classroom. The most dominant of these is group learning. The facilitator places students of different backgrounds in the same group so that they can feed off each other. Each may bring to the table a different reasoning strategy to facilitate problem-solving. Now, each student becomes a learner and a teacher at the same time, as he/she has to communicate his/her solution. This builds the students' knowledge base and by default, increases their confidence to speak in a crowd, albeit a small group at the beginning. The famous educationalist, Vygotsky, proved that by placing students in a group they function at the upper level of their zone of proximal development, each one scaffolding the other.
This strategy is further enhanced by the teacher asking leading questions as opposed to giving the answer outright, then allowing for group discussion. The students are encouraged to make connections between what they have learnt and their life experiences, then share with the group. The effect of this strategy is intrinsic motivation and learning. Each student develops an expanded appreciation of the topic at hand by seeing how it applies in different settings around the world by way of listening to their group members.
This Constructivist approach will be further accentuated by implementing “fish-bowling”. There are many ways to implement this technique. The one that will mostly be used will be by dividing up the larger problem (technical, mathematics, science, or otherwise) into smaller bits and have each student thoughtfully master one part. That student then teaches the group and facilitates a discussion reflection about the strategy (computational or otherwise) used in the solution. Each student in turn does this.
The above techniques enable students to reflect on the material learnt, make real life connections, and develop problem solving skills. One important by-product of the technique of Constructivism is that each student develops an appreciation of each other’s culture. This cultivates healthy people’s skill, which is not only important for the professional world but for life itself.
Constructivism lends itself well to students whose first language is not the language of instruction and who is new to the class. While other strategies will be used for students having difficulty with the English Language, this technique will definitely be used to enhance their English skill.
Assessment And Evaluation
At My Learning Oasis, course facilitators do not wait for a quiz or exam to determine how well a student is doing. Here, evaluation is an on-going exercise. The pedagogical techniques (refer to Teaching and Learning Strategies) used at My learning Oasis are perhaps the best techniques suited for on-going assessment, hence, they being an integral part of our delivery methodologies.
Concrete assessments are made through projects and assignments. However, the evaluation is based on “our flavor” of the Mastery Teaching technique. This ensures that the emphasis is on the quality of learning and NOT grading. Students' projects and homework will continuously be evaluated and re-evaluated with appropriate guidance to meet the school’s and Ministry’s expectations. At My Learning Oasis, we will work with the students until the projects meet a minimum of a B-grade, unless in extreme circumstances where the willful negligence of the students force lower grades. While this is a lot more taxing on the facilitator, it does not matter because My Learning Oasis is a Learner-centered institution NOT a Grade-Centered nor a Teacher-Centered institution.
Four categories of knowledge and skills are outlined in the achievement chart - knowledge and understanding, thinking, communication, and application. Student’s work is assessed and evaluated with respect to these categories, and that achievement of particular expectations is considered within the appropriate categories. A final grade will then be recorded for this course and if that grade is 50% or higher, a credit is granted to the student and recorded for this course. The final grade for this course will be determined as follows:
● For material evaluated throughout the course, seventy percent of the grade will be assigned. This portion of the grade should reflect the student's consistency in his/her level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration should be given to more recent evidence of achievement.
● Thirty percent of the grade will be based on a final evaluation, which is administered towards the end of the course.
Final Exam: 30%
Grading for all course work, projects, presentation, participation, interim quizzes and exams: 70%
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