ENG4C – English for College Grade 12

Course Type: College Preparation

Credit: 1.0

Ontario Curriculum: ENG4C Grade 12: English – College

ENG4C Prerequisite: ENG3C, English, Grade 11, College Preparation

ENG4C course emphasizes the consolidation of literacy, communication, and critical and creative thinking skills necessary for success in academic and daily life. Students in ENG4C will analyse a variety of informational and graphic texts, as well as literary texts from various countries and cultures, and create oral, written, and media texts in a variety of forms for practical and academic purposes. In ENG4C an important focus will be on using language with precision and clarity and developing greater control in writing. The course is intended to prepare students for college or the workplace.

ENG4C Course Outline

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS
We grow up thinking of reading and writing as two of the classic ‘three Rs”, and once we learn how
to do them well, many assume that there’s no need to think more of them. However, there are
nuances to both. This course explores what writers have known for centuries: there are many,
many ways to write and read a text.

UNIT 1: Short Stories
In this unit, students will explore the narrative voice through a variety of short stories, both fiction
and nonfiction. Narration, narrative voice and narrative time will engage students in how a story is
conveyed to an audience in literary, creative, and factual formats. Contemplating narrative
components like plot, theme and characterization will be conducted by students by completing
various writing tasks. The unit will conclude with students writing their own personal memoir.

UNIT 2: Ways of Reading and Writing: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption
In this unit, students will focus their explorations on one novella, Rita Hayworth and the
Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King, and practice your comprehension skills, while also
continuing to view the text and reflecting on the real-life prison information provided at the start
of the unit.

UNIT 3: Ways of Reading: Indian Horse
In this unit, students will focus their explorations on the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese.
Students will read the novel and practice your comprehension skills, while also continuing to view
the text and reflecting on the themes presented in this course.

UNIT 4: Motivation
In this unit, students will explore the elements of motivation and resilience. While looking at
podcasts and videos, students will connect these ideas to the protagonists in our novel studies.

UNIT 5: Culminating Activity
Students will create a final project that will incorporate all themes and ideas of our course
together. Students will create the following products: an introductory business letter, promotional
materials, a research report, and an oral presentation.

Oral Communication:
By the end of this course, students will:
● Listen to Understand: listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety
of situations for a variety of purposes
● Communicate: use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with
different audiences for a variety of purposes
● Reflect on Skills and Strategies: 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:
● Read for Meaning: read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary,
informational, and graphic texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning
● Understand Form and Style: recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic
elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning
● Read With Fluency: use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently
● Reflect on Skills and Strategies: reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for
improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading.

Writing:
By the end of this course, students will:
● Develop and Organize Content: generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to
write for an intended purpose and audience
● Use Knowledge of Form and Style: draft and revise their writing, using a variety of literary,
informational, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and
audience
● Apply Knowledge of Conventions: 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 Skills and Strategies: 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.

Media Studies:
By the end of this course, students will:
● Understand Media Texts: demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts
● Understand Media Forms, Conventions, and Techniques: identify some media forms and
explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create
meaning
● Create Media Texts: create a variety of media texts for different purposes and adiences,
using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques
● Reflect on Skills and Strategies: 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

In this course, students will experience the following activities.

Presentations with embedded videos are utilized to outline concepts, explain theory with the use
of examples and practice questions, and incorporate multi-media opportunities for students to
learn more (e.g. online simulations, quizzes, etc.).

End of unit conversations and Poodlls are opportunities for students to express their ideas,
problem solving, and thought processes with a teacher who provides timely feedback.

Reflection is an opportunity for students to look back at concepts and theories with new eyes, to
relate theory to practice, and to align learning with their own values and beliefs.

Discussions with the instructor are facilitated through video conferencing, discussing the concepts
and skills being studied. This enables two-way communication between the student and the
instructor, to share ideas and ask questions in dialogue. This also helps to build a relationship
between the student and instructor.

Instructor demonstrations (research skills, etc.) are opportunities for the instructor to lead a
student through a concept or skill through video conferencing, videos, or emailing with the
student.

Discussion forums are an opportunity for students to summarize and share their ideas and
perspectives with their peers, which deepens understanding through expression. It also provides
an opportunity for peer-to-peer feedback.

Practical extension and application of knowledge are integrated throughout the course. The goal
is to help students make connections between what they learn in the classroom and how they
understand and relate to the world around them and their own lives. Learning becomes a dynamic
opportunity for students to be more aware that their learning is all around them and enable them
to create more meaning in their lives.

Individual activities/assignments assessments are completed individually at a student’s own pace
and are intended to expand and consolidate the learning in each lesson. Individual activities allow
the teacher to accommodate interests and needs and to assess the progress of individual students.
For this reason, students are encouraged to discuss IEPs (Individual Education Plans) with their
teacher and to ask to modify assessments if they have a unique interest that they feel could be
pursued in the assessment. The teacher plays an important role in supporting these activities by
providing ongoing feedback to students, both orally and in writing.

Research is an opportunity to apply inquiry skills to a practical problem or question. Students
perform research to gather information, evaluate quality sources, analyze findings, evaluate their
analysis, and synthesize their findings into conclusions. Throughout, students apply both creative
thinking and critical thinking. New questions are also developed to further learning.

Writing as a learning tool helps students to think critically about course material while grasping,
organizing, and integrating prior knowledge with new concepts. Good communication skills are
important both in and out of the classroom.

Brainstorming, charts, and graphs are a great way for students to synthesize their knowledge of
subject matter visually through graphic organizers, pictures, and texts.

Readings are an opportunity for students to gain insight from a variety of texts online and further
develop literacy skills. Students may print out the reading material to use it to highlight, take notes,
and have with them when a computer is not available.

Articles are examples of concepts and theories being discussed in the public realm and with
respect to current events. They are snapshots not only of why theories/concepts/applications are
relevant but also provide a window into the broader context of subject matter knowledge and
understanding. Students learn through reading and analysis that the subject matter is deeply
related to, and intertwined with, society and the diverse perspectives of lived experience.

Oral presentations in an online environment are opportunities for students to present live or
record presentations, expressing their ideas and understanding orally.

Reflective/comparative analysis and evaluation of written work is very important in this course.
Concepts and skills are modelled in examples (exemplars), which students can refer to and utilize
to self-evaluate their own work. A variety of texts are shared, and students are encouraged to
make comparisons with different texts, real life situations, and their own writing.

Journals provide an opportunity for students to self-reflect on the subject matter and see their
growth over time. It supports students to express their thoughts and skills learned in a personal
way.

As summarized in Growing Success 2010, the primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. Information gathered through assessment helps teachers to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses in their achievement of the curriculum expectations in each course. This information also serves to guide teachers in adapting curriculum and instructional approaches to students’ needs and in assessing the overall effectiveness of programs and classroom practices. As part of assessment, teachers provide students with descriptive feedback that guides their efforts towards improvement.

Evaluation refers to the process of judging the quality of student work on the basis of established criteria, and assigning a value to represent that quality. All curriculum expectations must be accounted for in instruction, but evaluation focuses on students’ achievement of the overall expectations. A students’ achievement of the overall expectations is evaluated on the basis of his or her achievement of related specific expectations. Teachers will use their professional judgement to determine which specific expectations should be used to evaluate achievement of overall expectations, and which ones will be covered in instruction and assessment but not necessarily evaluated.

In order to ensure that assessment and evaluation are valid and reliable, and that they lead to the improvement of student learning, teachers must use assessment and evaluation strategies that:

● Address both what students learn and how well they learn;
● Are based both on the categories of knowledge and skills and on the achievement level descriptions given in the achievement chart
● Are varied in nature, administered over a period of time, and designed to provide opportunities for students to demonstrate the full range of their learning;
● Are appropriate for the learning activities used, the purposes of instruction, and the needs and experiences of the students;
● Are fair to all students;
● Accommodate students with special education needs, consistent with the strategies outlined in their Individual Education Plan;
● Accommodate the needs of students who are learning the language of instruction;
● Ensure that each student is given clear directions for improvement;
● Promote students’ ability to assess their own learning and to set specific goals
● Include the use of samples of students’ work that provide evidence of their achievement;
● Are communicated clearly to students and parents at the beginning of the school year and at other appropriate points throughout the school year.

The final grade will be determined as follows:

❑ 70% of the grade will be based on evaluation conducted throughout the course. This
portion of the grade should 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 a final evaluation administered at or towards the end of
the course. This evaluation will be based on evidence from one or a combination of the
following: an examination, a performance, and/or another method of evaluation suitable to
the course content. The final evaluation allows the student an opportunity to demonstrate
comprehensive achievement of the overall expectations for the course.

(Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation and Reporting in Ontario Schools. Ontario
Ministry of Education Publication, 2010 p.41)

All students can succeed. Some students are able, with certain accommodations, to participate in the regular course curriculum and to demonstrate learning independently. Accommodations allow access to the course without any changes to the knowledge and skills the student is expected to demonstrate. The accommodations required to facilitate the student’s learning can be identified by the teacher, but recommendations from a School Board generated Individual Education Plan (IEP) if available can also be consulted. Instruction based on principles of universal design and differentiated instruction focuses on the provision of accommodations to meet the diverse needs of learners.

Examples of accommodations (but not limited to) include:

• Adjustment and or extension of time required to complete assignments or summative tasks
• Providing alternative assignments or summative tasks
• Use of scribes and/or other assistive technologies
• Simplifying the language of instruction

To learn more go to our Individual Education Plan (IEP) page.

To learn more about this course including tests and exams please visit our FAQ page