Understanding Your English Language Arts School-Awarded Mark & Diploma Examination Mark
Expectations
The grade 12 year is exciting and distracting at the same time. Unfortunately, more and more students fail to understand the academic importance of this year until it is too late to salvage their grades, and therefore return for the infamous “upgrading.” However, most students who return for upgrading do not raise their grades significantly. So do your best the first time around! Here are some guidelines for our class:
• Please be proactive if you are having problems. Visit our class website or make an appointment for individualized help as necessary.
• Absences & Lates: You may miss an assignment, quiz or exam and will not be able to retake it without a parent note.
• Work Habits: Do your best, pay attention in class, and take notes. Students who fail to complete assignments will be warned and parents will be notified. Late assignments will not be accepted for full marks. Late marks may be given at my discretion.
• Work Quality: All submitted work must meet the requirements of the assignment in both content and format. Work may not be evaluated if it does not exhibit proper requirements and quality.
• Don’t waste energy on the “I’m never going to use this, so why do I have to do it” argument. The course is a requirement for graduation, so save the energy and do the work!
Year at a Glance
Unit I Rebels and Non-Conformists (3 weeks)
In this unit we will be covering the elements of a short story and poetry. Basic note-taking skills, outlines, and writing from an outline will be taught. The writing at this point is prescriptive. The five-paragraph essay will be covered. In an effort to prepare for the Diploma exam, students will be doing readings and multiple-choice questions.
Unit II Survival (2 weeks)
During this unit we will be studying communication through pictures and video. We will be concentrating on how to respond in writing when given a picture. Students will demonstrate the effective use of a controlling idea while further developing their "voice".
Unit III Adversity/ Man’s Inhumanity (3 weeks)
We will be studying a short novel. There will be an oral component to this unit. The writing aspect will address applying questions to specific literature with insight into character choices and motives. This will help ready students for the personal response portion of the Diploma exam.
Unit IV War Literature (3 weeks)
During this unit we will be reading a selection of non-fiction prose that will include essays, memoirs, poems, and articles. The writing portion will concentrate on the business letter and speech writing one of which will appear on the diploma examination.
Unit V Different Worlds (4 weeks)
We will be studying a novel to gain greater understanding into how a longer work is constructed. We will also study the author and the context of the story. Writing will concentrate on critical responses in preparation for the diploma examination.
Unit VI Heroes (3 weeks)
During this unit we will focus on oral reading and presentation skills. The writing portion of this unit will focus on improving student communication through personal responses and literary exploration essays. In addition to this literature unit, students are also working on separate vocabulary and proofreading units.
Unit VII The Road Ahead (1 week)
Diploma Exam Preparation
