| ENGLISH |
Words bring news of the world to us, just as we use words to bring news of ourselves to the world. The skillful use of English in all its forms, whether it be a letter, a story, an essay, or even a conversation with a friend is essential to understanding our culture and our place within it. A play by Shakespeare and yesterday’s newspaper are the same in that both help us know what it means to be a person. When we can speak, read, write and listen well, not only do we understand ourselves better, but also we add important threads to the fabric of good relations and strong communities.
It is the goal of London’s English department to offer in all classes a rich and varied learning experience. Integrated classrooms, teaching methods, exercises, and assignments are designed to address the talents and interests of a wide range of students. At the same time, each student contributes to the classroom community by bringing with him/her a repertoire of books that have been read and considered suitable to share.
English 9 (108)
The exploration of students’ reactions to literature is the focus of English 9. Writing, reading, speaking, listening, viewing, and representing skills are developed through individual and cooperative activities. Both popular and classic works, chosen at times by teachers and at times by students, are studied through independent reading, small group, and class study. Focusing on personal responses, and multi-paragraph compositions, students begin to actively apply the tools of critical and creative thinking to short stories, novels, poems, and plays. Students are encouraged in activities ranging from literary analysis to creative writing. Writing skills are further developed, especially paragraph forms.
English Language Arts 10 (208) (EN 10)
The exploration of students’ reactions to literature is the focus of English 10. Students continue to explore writing, reading, speaking, listening skills and representing skills through individual and cooperative activities. Both popular and classic works, chosen at times by teachers and at times by students, are studied through independent reading, small group, and class study. Students will continue to actively apply the tools of critical and creative thinking to short stories, novels, poems, and plays. Students build on the skills they have begun to develop in Humanities 8 and English 9. Students will take their study of literature into the realm of literary analysis and essay writing. The Provincial Language Arts Exam determines 20% of the final mark.
English 11 (308) (EN 11)
English 12 (408) (EN 12) - Prerequisite: English 11
English 11 and 12 students will continue to refine their talents, writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills developed in Grade 8, Grade 9, and Grade 10 English courses. As students enter the graduation programme, however, there will be greater emphasis on more formal levels of spoken and written communication, especially explanatory writing. Though students, through an independent reading programme, will still be encouraged to explore personal interests and concerns through a wide range of literature, students will be asked to critically examine and apply the concepts and elements in literature. In Grade 11, students’ abilities for critical analysis will be extended and will continue, in Grade 12, with logical analysis, explanation, and argumentative thinking. The Provincial Exam for Grade 12 students determines 40 % of the final mark.
Communication 12 (473) (COM 12) - Prerequisite: An acceptable Language Arts 11 course
This challenging course extends the core skills developed in a Language Arts 11 course and is intended for those students who plan to enter the work force or pursue vocational training. Communications 12 is not acceptable for entry to universities and some post-secondary institutions. Literature study emphasizes poetry, short stories, novels, non-fiction, and drama. Assignments emphasize business, technical and personal writing formats, such as, reports, letters, notes, and some resumes. Evaluation is based on tests, compositions, and assignments. The provincial examination determines 40% of the final mark.
Creative Writing 12 (442) (WR 12) - Prerequisite: English 11
This course encourages students to explore personal themes and issues in a variety of genres. Focus will include experimentation using a variety of voices and styles within short fiction, poetry, autobiography and drama. Students will learn about themselves and their environment through the use of the creative process in writing. Enjoyment, appreciation and imagination are the key elements to this course.
Students will receive credit for Writing 12.
English Literature 12 (401) (LIT 12) - Prerequisite: English 12 or concurrently
In Literature 12, students explore poetry, drama and fiction written by major writers from various periods in history. This course is for anyone who wishes to know more about the rich diversity of literature, in English, as well as how literature reflects who we are as human beings. A strong knowledge of literature is useful in studying many university subjects. Extensive reading is required and a provincial examination determines 40% of the final mark.
Media and Culture 11 (620) (YMCU 11) Locally Developed
Explore how the media influences our culture and compare different forms (newspapers, magazines, computer, video, television, film, radio), and genres (commercials, docudramas, infotainment, etc.). Be media literate; learn how to decode the message. As a Distributed Learning Course, XMCU 11 will allow you to read input from experts through e-mail forums, contact people working in the media via RichNet and be in electronic contact with other students across Richmond. This course will be offered via the school districts Wide Area Network, RichNet. Students can take the course in school or, if they have access to a modem, from home.
|
Our School