English as a Second Language, Level 4

Course Description

This course prepares students to use English with increasing fluency and accuracy in classroom and social situations and to participate in Canadian society as informed citizens. Students will develop the oral presentation, reading, and writing skills required for success in all school subjects. They will extend listening and speaking skills through participation in discussions and seminars; study and interpret a variety of grade-level texts; write narratives, articles, and summaries in English; and respond critically to a variety of print and media texts.

Course Title	English as a Second Language, Level 4
Course Code	ESLDO
Grade	All
Prerequisite	ESLDO, English as a Second Language, Level 4, Open or equivalent
Course Developer	Kanata Academy
Course Type	Open
Credit Value	1.0

Units

Unit One	In this unit, students will describe the assessment criteria outlined in the provincial achievement charts; the prerequisites for post-secondary education and training, describe the types of courses offered for Grades 9-12, identify terms such as Ontario Student Record, Ontario Student Transcript, Transfer Course, and Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM), use correctly the grammatical structures and conventions of written English appropriate for this level, describe the types of courses offered for Grades 9-12, describes the types of courses offered for Grades 9-12, and describe the types of courses offered for.	20 hours
Unit Two	In this unit, students will define media and cite its examples, differentiate media platforms from one another, identify the purposes of media, explain the importance of media in your day-to-day life, identify the importance of each era in media development, differentiate between advertisements in media VS real life, understand each element of the communication process, cite examples for each communication process step, identify each step in the communication process of advertising, analyze an advertisement using the communication process, define Media Literacy, understand different media texts and their points of view, create your advertisement for specific purposes and audiences, define and apply each step from the ABCDE Five-Step Strategy to your own experiences; and review and read media texts using the ABCDE Five-Step Strategy, and use correctly the grammatical structures and conventions of written English appropriate for this level.	20 hours
Unit Three	In this unit, students will read “Piecing Me Together,” and demonstrate a grasp of the novel through lessons and reflections on the discussion forum in this unit. Students will also learn how to write a journal entry, see a video of Kimberlé Crenshaw’s TED Talk on the urgency of intersectionality, and draw conclusions about the novel’s character.	20 hours
Unit Four	In this unit, students will demonstrate their knowledge of the writing process by responding to prompts that ask them to express their ideas and feelings about Canadian citizenship and diversity and its diversity by interpreting Watchmojo’s video about Canadian stereotypes, demonstrate their understanding of Canadian citizenship and diversity by interpreting Watchmojo’s video about Canadian stereotypes, and demonstrate their understanding of Canadian citizenship and diversity by interpreting Watchmojo’s video about Canadian stereotypes, use a variety of strategies to read and comprehend news articles about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, demonstrate an understanding of Canadian citizens’ rights and responsibilities by reviewing and responding to sample scenarios, demonstrate an understanding of the three levels of government in Canada, and demonstrate an understanding of the Canadian economy, and use correlative reasoning.	20 hours
Unit Five	In this unit, students will use a variety of connecting devices and transition words and phrases to show relationships between ideas and information in linked sentences and paragraphs, write longer and more complex texts to convey information and ideas for academic purposes in a variety of forms, and use the appropriate grammatical structures and conventions of written English.	20 hours

RST & Final Exam

RST worth 20% of final mark	This is a summative task assigned at the end of the course that brings together many of the expectations covered throughout the course and is created to assess and evaluate a student’s ability to demonstrate their understanding of the expectations through not only the product but through conversation and observation.	8 hours
Final Exam worth 10% of final mark	This is a proctored exam worth 30% of your final grade.	2 hours

Resources required by the student:

• A scanner, smart phone camera, or similar device to upload handwritten or hand-drawn work

Listening and Speaking

Overall Expectations:

By the end of this course, students will

• Demonstrate the ability to understand, interpret, and evaluate spoken English for a variety of purposes.
• Use speaking skills and strategies to communicate in English for a variety of classroom and social purposes.
• Use correctly the language structures appropriate for this level to communicate orally in English.

Reading

Overall Expectations:

By the end of this course, students will

• Read and demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts for different purposes.
• Use a variety of reading strategies throughout the reading process to extract meaning from texts.
• Use a variety of strategies to build vocabulary.
• Locate and extract relevant information from written and graphic texts for a variety of purposes.

Writing

Overall Expectations:

By the end of this course, students will

• Write in a variety of forms for different purposes and audiences.
• Organize ideas coherently in writing.
• Use correctly the conventions of written English appropriate for this level, including grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation.
• Use the stages of the writing process.

Socio-Cultural Competence and Media Literacy

Overall Expectations:

By the end of this course, students will

• Use English and non-verbal communication strategies appropriately in a variety of social contexts.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship, and the contributions of diverse groups to Canadian society.
• Demonstrate knowledge of and adaptation to the Ontario education system.
• Demonstrate an understanding of, interpret, and create a variety of media texts.

Strategies for Assessment and Evaluation of Student Performance

The teacher will obtain assessment information through a variety of means as indicated in the chart below. Assessment and Evaluation Strategies are to include the evidence or proof the teacher sees in the Product, Observations and Conversations related to the curriculum expectations. The student must demonstrate achievement of the course expectations. Once demonstrated, the student is assigned a level of achievement.

• Assessment For: takes place in preparation for course or unit learning
• Assessment As: takes place during or while learning
• Assessment Of: takes place after learning

Final Grade

The evaluation for this course is based on the student’s achievement of curriculum expectations and the demonstrated skills required for effective learning. The final percentage grade represents the quality of the student’s overall achievement of the expectations for the course and reflects the corresponding level of achievement as described in the achievement chart for the discipline. A credit is granted and recorded for this course if the student’s grade is 50% or higher. The final grade will be determined as follows:

• 70% of the grade will be based upon evaluations conducted throughout the course. This portion of the grade will reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration will be given to more recent evidence of achievement.
• 30% of the grade will be based on final evaluations administered at the end of the course. The final assessment may be a final exam, a final project, or a combination of both an exam and a project.

Teaching & Learning Strategies

Students are exposed to a variety of genres throughout the course and develop skills to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of texts which may include poems, short stories, novels, non-fiction texts, plays, videos, and songs or other media texts from a wide range of cultures and time periods. Students identify and use various strategies including building vocabulary, learning to understand and use features and organization of texts, and developing knowledge of conventions. Throughout the course, students develop into stronger readers, writers, and oral communicators while making connections to the workplace and international events. Teachers differentiate instruction to meet the diverse learning needs of students. Instructors also use electronic stimuli including Discussion Boards, Google Docs, Skype, Google Hangout and Screencastify to assist students in reflecting on their learning, and in setting goals for improvement in key areas while developing 21st century skills. These tools facilitate and support the editing and revising process for students as they create texts for different audiences and purposes.

• Identifying and developing skills and strategies: through modelling of effective skills, students learn to choose and utilize varied techniques to become effective readers, writers, and oral communicators.
• Communicating: several opportunities are provided for students to write and communicate orally.
• Generating ideas and topics: teachers encourage students to design their own approaches to the material by maintaining frequent (often daily) online communication with students, by allowing some freedom in how students respond to topics and questions, and by encouraging students’ independent thinking through discussion posts.
• Researching: various approaches to researching are practised. Students learn how to cite sources and provide a works cited page at the end of longer assignments using MLA formatting.
• Thinking critically: students learn to critically analyze texts and to use implied and stated evidence from texts to support their analyses. Students use their critical thinking skills to identify perspectives in texts, including biases that may be present.
• Producing published work and making presentations: students engage in the editing and revising process, including self-revision, peer revision, and teacher revision all of which strengthen texts with the aim to publish or present student work.
• Reflecting: through the ePortfolio and other elements of the course, students reflect on the learning process, focus on areas for improvement, and make extensions between course content and their personal experiences.

Assessment and Evaluation and Reporting Strategies of Student Performance

Our theory of assessment and evaluation follows the Ministry of Education’s Growing Success document, and it is our firm belief that doing so is in the best interests of students. We seek to design assessment in such a way as to make it possible to gather and show evidence of learning in a variety of ways to gradually release responsibility to the students and to give multiple and varied opportunities to reflect on learning and receive detailed feedback.Growing Success articulates the vision the Ministry has for the purpose and structure of assessment and evaluation techniques. There are seven fundamental principles that ensure best practices and procedures of assessment and evaluation by Kanata Academy teachers. KA assessments and evaluations,

• are fair, transparent, and equitable for all students;
• support all students, including those with special education needs, those who are learning the language of instruction (English or French), and those who are First Nation, Métis, or Inuit;
• are carefully planned to relate to the curriculum expectations and learning goals and, as much as possible, to the interests, learning styles and preferences, needs, and experiences of all students;
• are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the course and at other points throughout the school year or course;
• are ongoing, varied in nature, and administered over a period of time to provide multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
• provide ongoing descriptive feedback that is clear, specific, meaningful, and timely to support improved learning and achievement;
• develop students’ self-assessment skills to enable them to assess their own learning, set specific goals, and plan next steps for their learning.

For a full explanation, please refer to Growing Success.

Student achievement will be communicated formally to students via an official report card. Report cards are issued at the midterm point in the course, as well as upon completion of the course. Each report card will focus on two distinct, but related aspects of student achievement.

First, the achievement of curriculum expectations is reported as a percentage grade. Additionally, the course median is reported as a percentage. The teacher will also provide written comments concerning the student’s strengths, areas for improvement, and next steps. Second, the learning skills are reported as a Needs Improvement, Satisfactory, Good and Excellent. The report card also indicates whether an OSSD credit has been earned.

Upon completion of a course, Kanata Academy will send a copy of the report card back to the student’s home school (if in Ontario) where the course will be added to the ongoing list of courses on the student’s Ontario Student Transcript. The report card will also be sent to the student’s home address.

Program Planning Considerations

Cheating and Plagiarism

Kanata Academy commits to having policies for assessments that minimize the risk of cheating. We also commit to begin each course with refresher learning on academic integrity.

In the event of incidences of academic dishonesty, the student, Academic Director (and, in the case of students under 18, their parents) will be notified of the occurrence, of the consequence, and of the potential consequences of subsequent incidents.

• Improper Citation
  • Grades 11 and 12
    • First Instance: A warning and an opportunity to redo the piece.
    • Subsequent Instance: An opportunity to redo the piece to a maximum grade of 75%.
• Unaccredited Paraphrazing
  • Grade 11 and 12
    • First Instance: An opportunity to redo the piece to a maximum grade of 75%.
    • Subsequent Instance: An opportunity to redo the piece to a maximum grade of 50%.
• Unaccredited Verbatim
  • Grade 11 and 12
    • First Instance: An opportunity to redo the piece to a maximum grade of 50%.
    • Subsequent Instance: A grade of zero. No opportunity to resubmit.
• Full Plagiarism
  • Grade 11 and 12
    • First Instance: A grade of zero. No opportunity to resubmit.
    • Subsequent Instance: A grade zero. No opportunity to resubmit.

Instructional Approaches

Teachers will use a variety of instructional strategies to help students become independent, strategic and successful learners. The key to student success is effective, accessible instruction. When planning this course of instruction, the teacher will identify the main concept and skills of the course, consider the context in which students will apply their learning and determine the students’ learning goals. The instructional program for this course will be well planned and will support students in reaching their optimal level of challenge for learning, while directly teaching the skills that are required for success.

Understanding student strengths and needs will enable the teacher to plan effective instruction and meaningful assessments. Throughout this course the teacher will continually observe and assess the students’ readiness to learn, their interests, and their preferred learning styles and individual learning needs

Teachers will use differentiated instructional approaches such as:

• adjusting the method or pace of instruction
• using a variety of resources
• allowing a wide choice of topics
• adjusting the learning environment
• scaffolding instruction

During this course, the teacher will provide multiple opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and skills and consolidate and reflect upon their learning.

Planning the Program for Students with Special Educational Needs

The teacher in this course is the key educator of students with special education needs. The teacher has a responsibility to help all students learn, and will work collaboratively with the guidance counselor, where appropriate, to achieve this goal. In planning this course, the teacher will pay particular attention to the following guidelines:

• All students have the ability to succeed
• Each student has his or her own unique patterns of learning
• Successful instructional practices are founded on evidence-based research, tempered by experience
• Universal design and differentiated instruction are effective and interconnected means of meeting the learning or productivity needs of any group of students
• Online teachers are the key educators for a student’s literacy and numeracy development
• Online teachers need the support of the larger school community to create a learning environment that supports students with special education needs
• Fairness is not sameness

The teacher will use the following strategies:

Students with Special Educational Needs

Planning the Program for Students with English as a Second Language

In planning this course for students with linguistic backgrounds other than English, the teacher will create a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment that nurtures the students’ self-confidence while they are receiving course instruction. Most English language learners who have developed oral proficiency in everyday English will nevertheless require instructional scaffolding to meet curriculum expectations. The teacher will adapt the instructional program in order to facilitate the success of these students in their classes. Appropriate adaptations and strategies for this course will include:

Students with English as Second Language

Supporting First Nations, Métis and Inuit Students

Kanata Academy will promote active and engaged citizenship, which includes greater awareness of the distinct place and role of Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, and Inuit) peoples in our shared heritage and in the future in Ontario. Kanata Academy will:

• increase the focus in school strategic planning to promote the voluntary, confidential self-identification of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students as a means to enhance the success and well-being of Aboriginal students and to help close the achievement gap
• continue to identify and share practices and resources to help improve First Nation, Métis, and Inuit student achievement and close the achievement gap
• increase the training in our schools to respond to the learning and cultural needs of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students
• provide quality programs, services, and resources at our schools to support First Nation, Métis, and Inuit student
• provide quality programs, services, and resources at our schools who support First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students to help create learning opportunities that support improved academic achievement and identify building
• provide curriculum links that facilitates learning about contemporary and traditional First National, Métis, and Inuit cultures, histories, and perspectives among all students
• develop awareness among teachers of the learning styles of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students and employ instructional methods designed to enhance the learning of all First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students
• implement targeted learning strategies for effective oral communication and mastery of reading and writing
• implement strategies for developing critical and creative thinking
• provide access to a variety of accurate and reliable Aboriginal resources such as periodicals, books, software, and resources in other media, including materials in the main Aboriginal languages in schools with First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students
• provide a supportive and safe environment for all First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students

The Role of Information and Communication Technology

ICT tools will be integrated into this course for whole-class instruction and for the design of curriculum units that contain varied approaches to learning in order to meet diverse needs and interests of the students in this class. At the beginning of this class, all students will be made aware of issues related to Internet privacy, safety, and responsible use, as well as of the potential for abuse of this technology, particularly when it is used to promote hatred. ICT used in this course will include:

Information and Communication Technology

Environmental Education Connections

Although there are no specific environmental connections in this course, teachers will develop an environmental understanding fostered through the learning context (e.g., problems and examples related to environmental issues such as climate change, habitat destruction, population growth, energy conservation, and waste management). Students will be encouraged to explore a range of environmental concerns using issue-based analysis and some of the following strategies:

• Community Connections
• Simulation
• Problem Solving
• Cooperative Learning

Healthy Relationships in the learning Environment

At Kanata Academy, every student is entitled to learn in a safe, respectful and caring environment, free from violence and harassment. The teacher will create a safe and supportive environment in the class by cultivating positive relationships between students and between the teacher and their students. The teacher will use the following strategies:

• Using inclusive language during instruction
• Developing a learning environment where all students feel safe
• Promotion of diversity and inclusivity in the classroom
• Getting students involved within their school community
• Making community connections
• Peer Reflection
• Group discussions

Equity and Inclusive Education in the Learning Environment

At Kanata Academy we embrace multiculturalism, human rights and diversity as fundamental values. Bullying, hate propaganda and cyber bullying, racism, religious intolerance, homophobia and gender-based violence are still evident in our communities and, unfortunately, in our schools. At Kanata Academy we address the needs of a rapidly changing and increasingly complex society by ensuring that our policies evolve with changing societal needs.

Kanata Academy will:

• create and support a positive safe online learning climate that fosters and promotes equity, inclusive education, diversity
• develop and implement an equity and inclusive education policy
• will share effective practices and resources and promote and participate in collaborative learning opportunities
• seek out community partners to support school efforts by providing resources and professional learning opportunities

Ethics in the Learning Environment

At Kanata Academy teachers provide varied opportunities for students to learn about ethical issues and to explore the role of ethics in decision making.

The following strategies will be used to develop students’ understanding of ethics:

• Making community connections
• Model ethical behavior
• Inclusive practice
• Foster positive relationships with others

Financial Literacy Connections

There is a growing recognition that the education system has a vital role to play in preparing young people to take their place as informed, engaged, and knowledgeable citizens in the global economy.
Because making informed decisions about economic and financial matters has become an increasingly complex undertaking in the modern world, where appropriate, the teacher will give students the opportunity to build knowledge and skills.

Strategies that will be used will include:

• Community connections
• Simulation
• Problem Solving
• Inquiry-based learning
• Cross-curricular connections
• Critical literacy skills
• Setting financial goals
• Developing intra-personal skills

Literacy, Mathematical Literacy, and Inquiry Skills

At Kanata Academy it is the responsibility of all of our teachers to explicitly teach literacy and inquiry skills. The following skills will be developed in each course delivered at Kanata Academy:

• Extract information
• Analyze various types of digital representations, including graphs, charts, diagrams, etc.
• Use appropriate and correct terminology, including that related to the concepts of disciplinary thinking
• Making community connections
• Peer reflecting
• Simulation
• Setting financial goals
• Cross-curricular connections
• Foster use of proper terminology
• Inquiry and research skills
• Helps students to develop a language for literacy, inquiry and numeracy skills

Cooperative Education

Cooperative education programs allow students to earn secondary school credits while completing a work placement in the community. These programs compliment students’ academic programs and are valuable for all students, whatever their post-secondary destination.
Cooperative education courses may be earned using this course as one of the related courses.

Experiential Learning

Central to the philosophy at Kanata Academy is the focus on experiential learning. Planned learning experiences in the community, including job shadowing, field trips, and hands-on experiences will provide our students with opportunities to see the relevance of their classroom learning in a work setting, make connections between school and work, and explore a career of interest as they plan their pathways through secondary school and make postsecondary plans.

Health and Safety in the Learning Environment

As part of every course, students must be made aware that health and safety in their learning environment are the responsibility of all participants – at home, at school, and in the workplace. Teachers will model safe practices at all times when communicating with students online.

The Role of the School Library

Although Kanata Academy does not have an official school library, students are encouraged to use e-books, local libraries, GALE resource archives and Curriculum Video Digital resources to develop important research and inquiry skills.

Promotion of Careers

The knowledge and skills students acquire in this course will be useful in helping students recognize the value of their education and applications to the world outside of school and identify possible careers, essential skills and work habits required to succeed. Students will learn how to connect their learning in asking questions and finding answers to employable skills.

During this course the teacher will:

• ensure that all students develop the knowledge and skills they need to make informed education and career/life choices;
• Provide learning environment and online school-wide opportunities for this learning; and;
• Engage parents and the broader community in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the program, to support students in their learning
• Use the four-step inquiry process linked to the four areas of learning
  • Knowing yourself – Who am I ?
  • Exploring opportunities – What are my opportunities?
  • Making decisions and setting goals – Who do I want to become?
  • Achieving goals and making transitions – What is my plan for achieving my goals?

The teacher will support students in this course in education and career/life planning by providing them with learning opportunities, filtered through the lens of the four inquiry questions, that allow them to apply subject-specific knowledge and skills to work-related situations; explore subject-related education and career/life options; and become competent, self-directed planners.