English Department
Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
2012
Course Code: OLC 4O1
Course Name: Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course
Level: Grade 12 Open
Instructor: Ms. Hayward
Period: 1
Room Number: Portable 5
Introduction:
Welcome to the Grade 12 Literacy Course! This course is designed to give you an opportunity to
improve your reading and writing skills, as a foundation for building and refining literacy skills required
in post secondary destinations. Students who are successful in this course will meet the provincial
literacy requirement for graduation and achieve a grade 12 credit. A variety of reading material
(including informational, narrative and graphic texts) will be read and students will produce a portfolio
containing a record of their reading experiences. As well, students will produce a variety of writing
forms including summaries, information paragraphs, opinion pieces, and news reports that will be
contained in the portfolio.
Outcomes:
In this course, you will develop your ability to:
1. Read informational, graphic and narrative texts with reasonable accuracy and efficiency
2. Improve fluency in reading
3. Understand both directly and indirectly stated ideas and information
4. Make connections between written text and your own experience and knowledge
5. Write competently for a variety of school and other purposes
6. State and support main ideas
7. Organize your writing in a clear and coherent manner
8. Use conventions of Canadian English
9. Orally share ideas and information with others
Expectations:
1. You are expected to attend class on time and to be in proper school uniform.
2. You are expected to abide by the rules of the Notre Dame Student Handbook.
3. You will need a separate binder for class material and class notes. This will act as your
portfolio which is mandatory for this course!
4. You will bring your binder, reading materials and necessary writing materials to class
each day.
5. You will be expected to contribute to any class discussions and group activities in a
positive, polite manner. Everyone is entitled to his/her own feelings – treat others the way you
would like to be treated.
6. No food/drink is permitted during class. You may bring in a water bottle only.
EffortsBreakdown
will be made to meet the individual learning
needs of students in order
Resources:
Course
to ensure these expectations are being met.
Unit One: Goals and Graphics
Unit Two: Reading Narrative Texts and Writing Summaries
The course will use a variety of resources. If a
resource is lent out to a student, the student
accepts full responsibility to return it in the
same condition or will be responsible for paying
a replacement fee for the resource.
Unit Three: FYI
Evaluation Structure::
Unit Four: Writing News Reports
Knowledge/Understanding
Thinking
Communication
Application
Unit Five: Prove your Point
Unit Six: Culminating Task
25%
25%
25%
25%
The above is reflected both in the term work
(worth 70% of the final mark) and the
culminating assignment (worth 30% of the final
mark).
Evaluation Policy
Students will be assessed & evaluated according to the work produced & skills displayed. Methods of providing
feedback will include assessing work in process & evaluating completed assignments, tests, co-operative learning
activities, simulations and presentations. Peer & self-evaluations will also be utilized.
Student marks will be determined by evaluating process & product according to 4 categories & 4 levels. Please see the
chart below for specific skills and key words used to determine student competency in the different categories.
Level
Category
Knowledge/Understanding

Knowledge of facts & terms
Understanding of concepts & relationships

Thinking


Critical thinking skills
Creative thinking skills
Inquiry Skills

Communication


Communication of ideas and information
Use of symbols & visuals
Oral & written communication

Level 1:
50-59%
Level 2:
60-69%
Level 3:
70-79%
Level 4:
80-100%
-Limited
display of
knowledge,
skills and
ability to
apply
concepts
-Some
success in
displaying
knowledge,
skills and
application
of concepts
-Considerable
display of
knowledge
skills and
ability to apply
concepts
-Thorough
understanding
of concepts and
ability to
communicate,
think creatively
and apply
concepts
Application




Applications in familiar contexts
Transfer of concepts to new contexts
Making logical conclusions and predictions
Use of technology
Making connections

Feedback will also be provided for student learning skills. Skills such as working independently, team work,
organization, work habits and homework, self regulation and initiative are assessed independently. Student
achievement will be conducted through the use of a rubric indicating specific criteria to be achieved to receive each of
the following letter grades:
E –Excellent
Other Evaluation Issues




G – Good
S – Satisfactory
N - Needs Improvement
LATE ASSIGNMENTS. Assignments submitted after the Primary Due Date established by the teacher will be accepted with a
penalty of 5% off for the first day late and 2% for subsequent days to a maximum of 10%. This four day Penalty Zone is the
maximum time allowed for submissions. The fourth day after the assignment is due is considered the Closure Date upon which
no further assignments will be accepted. If the teacher returns the marked assignments within the four day penalty zone, the
date of return is considered the closure date.
INCOMPLETE ASSSIGNMENTS Assignments will be graded according to the extent with which they meet the criteria
established in the rubric or evaluation structure.
MISSED TESTS Tests missed with a legitimate reason will be written within a few days of the student returning from the
absence. Student eligibility to write the test and the date of writing will be at the discretion of the teacher in consultation with
the department head.
PLAGIARISM in any form reflects academic dishonesty and will result in a mark of zero for the assignment in question