Orchard Park Secondary School
English Department
Course Outline
Course:
Prerequisite:
Ministry Guideline:
Grade / Level:
Credit Value:
OLC4O – Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course
Previously eligible to write the OSSLT
The Ontario Curriculum – English
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/english.html
Grade 12, Open
One (1) Credit over the course of One (1) Semester
Course Summary
To participate fully in the society and workplace of the twenty-first century, today’s students will need to be able to use language
skillfully and confidently. The Ontario curriculum recognizes the central importance of reading and writing skills in learning
across the curriculum and in everyday life, and prepares students for the literacy demands they will face in their postsecondary
endeavours. To ensure that they have the essential competencies in reading and writing that they will need to succeed at school, at
work, and in daily life, students in Ontario must demonstrate those skills as a requirement for graduation.
Core Content and Sequence
The course is divided into three strands: Building Reading Skills; Building Writing Skills; and Understanding and Assessing
Growth in Literacy. These three strands are assessed using the four categories of the Achievement Chart: Knowledge and
Understanding, Thinking and Inquiry, Communication and Application.
Strand
Reading
Writing
Activities
Tests, quizzes
Summaries
Responses
Reading comprehension activities, including questions and reading logs
Writing Exercises and all Polished Writing Assignments
News Story
Opinion Paragraphs
Argument
35%
35%
TERM
Semester End
Weight
Portfolio
Final Exam (In the format of the Literacy Test)
FINAL SUMMATIVE
70 %
10 %
20 %
30 %
Weighting of Assignments and Evaluation
 Seventy per cent of the grade will be based on evaluations conducted through the course, which include projects,
quizzes, tests, discussions, questions based on readings, polished writing assignments etc.
 Thirty per cent of the grade will be based on portfolio of polished reading and writing activities demonstrative of the
student’s skill and achievement in the course and on a final examination.
Reporting on Learning Skills
The provincial report card provides a record of the learning skills you demonstrated in this course under the following categories:
Responsibility, Organization, Independent Work, Collaboration, and Self-Regulation . Your performance in each of these
skills will be reported separately except in cases where a specific learning skill is one of the expectations of the course. It should
be noted that better application of the Learning Skills often corresponds to better academic achievement.
Assessment and Evaluation
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. Formative evaluation refers to the gathering of information over
time in order to provide an evaluation. Although Formative Assessments are not assigned a formal grade, it is essential that the
student completes all work so as to provide evidence of learning, areas that require improvement, and the aptitude required to
complete summative work. Summative evaluation occurs towards the end of a period of instruction and is assigned a formal
grade.
Text(s) and Other Essential Material
 Refer to course text handout and cost list distributed by your teacher
Home/School Communication
Your teacher may be contacted at (905) 573-3550 during regular school hours, or by email if available (check with your teacher).
The parent will be contacted by the teacher as needed to improve the educational opportunities of the student. Please refer to the
student agenda, or school website, for reporting dates and other important event dates at Orchard Park Secondary School.
Course Expectations
 It is the student’s responsibility to keep an organized and up-to-date loose-leaf notebook, containing all handouts and
notes that are given throughout the semester. Notebook and text book must be brought to class everyday.
 Good attendance and punctuality are essential to success. It is each student’s responsibility to catch up with missed class
work and assignments due to absence. If a test is missed due to illness it must be written the first day upon return.
 Sufficient notice of dates for tests and due dates for assignments will be given.
 Late Policy: Advance notice MUST be made to your instructor if it is foreseeable that an assignment will not be
submitted on time. If a student does not hand in an assignment on the assigned due date, a student has until the
assignments are handed back to hand it in for assessment. However, once assignments have been handed back, it may be
handed in for feedback (assessment) but no mark will be given.
 Rewrites: At the teacher’s discretion, a student may have the privilege of a rewrite providing that the original
assignment is handed in before the assigned due date. A student has up to one week of receiving the assessed assignment
to complete and hand in a rewrite.
For information about the Orchard Park Homework Policy, please refer to the student agenda.
I hope you enjoy this course!
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