Course Description:

This course emphasizes the consolidation of the literacy, communication, and critical and creative thinking skills necessary for success in academic and daily life. Students will analyze a range of challenging literary texts from various periods, countries, and cultures; interpret and evaluate informational and graphic texts, and create oral, written, and media texts in a variety of forms. An important focus will be on using academic language coherently and confidently, selecting the reading strategies best suited to particular texts and particular purposes for reading, and developing greater control in writing. The course is intended to prepare students for university, college, or the workplace.

Aims and Objectives:

• Listen to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes.
• Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• Reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations.
• Read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, informational, and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning.
• Recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate an understanding of how they help communicate meaning.
• Use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently.
• Reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading.
• Developing and Organizing Content:  generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience.
• Draft and revise their writing, using a variety of literary, informational, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience.
• Use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively.
• 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.
• Understanding Media Texts:  demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts.
• Identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning.
• Create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques.
• 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.

Expectations:

• Oral communication

By the end of this course, students will:

1.  Listen to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes.
2. Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purpose.
3. Reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations.

• Reading and literature studies

By the end of this course, students will:

1. Read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, informational, and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning.

• Writing

By the end of this course, students will:

1. Generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience.
2. Draft and revise their writing, using a variety of literary, informational, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience.
3. Use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively.

• Media studies

By the end of this course, students will:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts.
2. Identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning.
3. Create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions and techniques.

Unit-wise Progression:

Teaching/Learning Methodologies:

The English curriculum is based on the premise that all students can be successful language learners. Since the overriding aim of this course is to help students use language skillfully, confidently and flexibly, a wide variety of instructional strategies are used to provide learning opportunities to accommodate a variety of learning styles, interests and ability levels. High-quality instruction will include the following:

• Instruction that is guided by the formative assessment takes into consideration students’ strengths and addresses their learning needs.
• Instructions that clarify the purpose for learning and helps students activate prior knowledge.
• Instruction that is differentiated to meet individual needs.
• Instruction that models learning strategies and encourages students to talk and reflect on their thinking and learning processes.
• Instruction that introduces a rich variety of activities that integrate expectations and provides explicit teaching of knowledge and skills.
• Instruction that provides opportunities for guided and independent practice.
• Instruction that encourages higher-level thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation).
• Instruction that encourages students to think about fairness, equity, social justice, and citizenship in a global society.
• Reading various works
• Vocabulary Building
• Directed Reading Activities
• Multimedia Production
• Direct Instruction
• Research Process
• Independent Study
• Writing Processes
• Portfolio
• Conferencing
• Guided Internet Research
• Expressing Another Point of View
• Guided Writing
• Independent Reading
• Reading Responses
• Media Analysis
• Response Journal
• Creative Writing
• Comparative Essay Writing

E-Learning Approach:

E-learning is not only a training method but it is a learning method that is tailored to individuals. It is found that different terminologies have been used to define learning that takes place online which actually makes difficult to develop a generic definition.

E-learning includes the delivery of content via Internet, Intranet, and Extranet, satellite broadcast, audio-video tape, interactive TV and CD-ROM. The term implies that the learner is at a distance from the tutor or instructor, that the learner uses some form of technology.

With attention to this new system of education that is spreading across the globe its imperative that the content of such study programs are enhanced and modified to serve both the learner and the instructor well whilst dealing with the gap of conventional studying methodologies. Thus the courses promise its reader an experience full of engagement, student-concentric approach, personalization and Interaction.  Using a wide array of multimedia tools, cloud based LMS and diverse repository of subject tailored audio-visual material that student can utilize and learn in a stimulated work environment where he’s in charge of his work hours.

Our e-learners paddle through these courses in the mediation of skilled mentors to the finish line with understanding of their subjects application into real world problems following a futuristic model of education.

Strategies for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Performance:

Assessment is the ongoing gathering of information related to the individual student’s progress in achieving the curriculum expectations of the course. To guide the student to his/her optimum level of achievement, the teacher provides consistent and detailed feedback and guidance leading to improvement. Strategies may include:

• Diagnostic assessment
• Formative assessment
• Summative assessment
• Performance assessment
• Portfolio assessment
• Rubrics
• Checklists

The final grade will be based on:

Resources Required by the Student:

• Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, Power-point etc.)
• A laptop, or Mac, or Android, or any other operating system functional enough to use the web browser and use online software.
• Curriculum Reference: The Ontario Curriculum, English