Toronto District School Board
Northern Secondary School
Grade 12 English Course of Study
Assistant Curriculum Leaders: Dara.Siegel@tdsb.on.ca
Revised: September 2022
Developed from: The Ontario Curriculum: Grades 11 and 12 English, Ministry of Education (Revised 2007)
Course Title: English, Grade 12 Credit Value: 1.0 Credit(s)
Course Type: University Preparation Prerequisites: ENG3U1
Course Code: ENG4U1
Units | Texts | Duration |
Novel Study: Postcolonial or Postmodern | One of the following texts: What We All Long For - Dionne Brand Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe Oryx & Crake – Margaret Atwood In the Skin of a Lion - Michael Ondaatje | 3-4 weeks |
Essay Writing Analysis: | Study and analysis of various essay forms | 1-2 weeks |
Drama Study: Shakespearean Tragedy or Modern Play | King Lear, The Tempest – William Shakespeare or Angels in America – Tony Kushner | 2-3 weeks |
Independent Novel Study: | Choice of Novel – as outlined by instructor | Ongoing |
Literature Study: | Book clubs/short stories/ poetry- various sources | 1-2 week |
Goals & Course Details
This English course will provide students with an opportunity to further develop their critical thinking, communication and literacy skills. Students will study a range of challenging texts and genres from a variety of countries, cultures and historical periods. Throughout the quadmester, they will experiment with writing personal, literary, analytic, comparative, and argumentative pieces. An important focus will be on understanding academic language and using it coherently in written and oral discussion. There will be opportunities for students to apply key concepts in the analysis of media works. The Independent Study Unit (ISU) will allow students to further develop their analytical and research skills.
The primary purpose of assessment and evaluation is to improve student learning. Assessment is the process of gathering information from assignments, demonstrations, projects, performances, and tests that accurately reflects how well a student is achieving the curriculum expectations in a course. As part of assessment, teachers provide students with feedback that guides their efforts towards improvement.
Determining a report card grade will continue to rely on “teachers’ professional judgement and
interpretation of evidence and should reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement,
with special consideration given to more recent evidence” as stated in Growing Success (p.39)
Detailed information on Ministry of Education assessment, evaluation, and reporting policy is provided in Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario's Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/growSuccess.pdf
The achievement chart addresses the four strands of the English course (Reading, Writing, Oral, Media) and provides a standard, province-wide method for teachers to use in assessing and evaluating their students’ achievement. Ministry curriculum documents provide detailed description of student achievement levels.
In this course, the following strands of study form the basis of reporting, according to the weightings shown:
Category | Description | Weighting |
Reading & Literature Studies | Knowledge & Understanding of meaning, form, style & strategies | 30% |
Writing | Organization, Form, Style, Use of Conventions & Writing Process | 30% |
Oral Communication | Listening & Communicating effectively | 20% |
Media Studies | Understanding & Creating media texts | 20% |
Students are expected to submit only their own original work on evaluations done in class or out of class. Plagiarism is the representation of the ideas or writings of another as one's own. Cases of academic dishonesty (cheating and/or plagiarism) will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, but each case will involve an investigation, communication with the student and their parent/guardian, and a mark of zero for the plagiarized work.
Learning Skills are skills and habits are essential to success in school and the workplace. The Learning Skills evaluated are: Responsibility, Organization, Independent Work, Collaboration, Initiative, and Self-Regulation. Teachers report achievement using letter symbols: E = Excellent, G = Good, S = Satisfactory, N = Needs Improvement.
Learning Skills clearly affect levels of achievement, but are not part of the evaluation of achievement and are not included in the final course mark.
The course teacher is available by email: