Course Profile Literacy Skills:
Unit 2: You Are Here
Time: 25 hours
Unit Developers:
Gail Sajo, Cathy Costello
Development Date:
July 2000
Activity 1 | Activity 2
| Activity 3 | Activity 4
Students develop an understanding of their place in youth culture by reading and studying a range of magazines, newspaper articles, opinion pieces, and popular fiction in order to understand and interpret these texts. Students strengthen their skill in reading specific text clues, including headlines, leads, the Five W’s (who, what, where, when, why – and how), titles, subtitles, and accompanying visual/graphic information. Students will explore various elements of graphical and environmental text with a view to making inferences, drawing conclusions and making judgements based on the information presented in such sources brochures, posters advertisements and informational displays. They will examine samples of text found in such public environments as malls, youth centers, recreational facilities and main streets, using a variety of strategies for interpretations and understanding. Based on their readings, students write opinion pieces such as a media critique, assess information to develop summaries, and complete a short research report which will demonstrate their understanding of the writing process. The emphasis on writing skills focuses on strengthening a variety of sentence types, organizing sentences into unified paragraphs, and ultimately creating coherent exposition.
Strand(s): Reading Skills, Writing Skills
Overall Expectations:
REV. 01, REV.02, REV.03, REV.04, WRV.01, WRV.02,
WRV.03, WRV.04, WRV.05.
Specific Expectations:
RE1.01, RE1.02, RE1.03, RE1.04, RE1.05, RE2.02,
RE2.05, RE3.01, RE3.02, RE4.01, RE4.02, RE4.03, RE4.04, WR1.01, WR1.02, WR1.03,
WR1.04, WR2.01, WR2.02, WR2.03, WR3.01, WR.3.02, WR3.03, WR4.01, WR4.02,
WR4.03, WR4.04, WR4.05, WR5.01, WR5.02, WR5.03, WR5.04.
|
Activity 1 |
Decoding Context Clues in Print and Graphic Text |
375 minutes |
|
Activity 2 |
Decoding Context Clues from Visual Text |
375 minutes |
|
Activity 3 |
Making Inferences/Drawing Conclusions from Linear and Non-Linear Text |
375 minutes |
|
Activity 4 |
Creating a Zine (Culminating Activity) |
375 minutes |
· The teacher gathers resources to be used for specific reading activities focusing on skimming, scanning, finding context clues, making inferences, making judgments, and evaluating information. These samples may be obtained from newspapers, magazines, visual text sources such as advertisements, maps, listing guides, brochures, music jacket covers, and so on. The emphasis is on traditional and non-traditional reading sources.
· The teacher schedules Library/Resource Centre time as well as computer access for Activities 2, 3, and 4.
· Students have met some of the expectations of the Grade 10 Ontario English Curriculum.
· Students have demonstrated capability in setting personal learning goals, capacity in maintaining a Record of Learning, and a baseline reading ability as determined in Unit 1.
This unit draws upon a wide range of teaching/learning strategies. Although much of the unit relies on teacher-guided instruction, the students have ample opportunity for self-direction, co-operative collaborative learning, and responding to whole group activities.
Teacher-guided instruction refers to:
· assisting students to understand the unit focus
· setting direction for individual growth and competency with basic literacy skills within the unit
· empowering students to monitor their own reading and writing progress
· providing informational texts that model expectations of the unit
Co-operative, collaborative learning refers to:
· brainstorming and other idea-generating processes
· reading activities such as read-aloud, pre and post reading discussions
· writing activities such as peer-editing and other feedback processes
Self-directed, individual learning refers to:
· monitoring reading comprehension, vocabulary, and critical thinking tasks
· sorting, classifying, summarizing, and reporting research information
· practising competency in the writing process, from concept mapping to self-editing, to publishing, to self-evaluating and diagnosing.
Assessment and evaluation in this unit include:
Diagnostic
· a checklist of expectations for the unit focus (Students may self-assess what they can do under headings “always”, “sometimes”, “never”, or similar headings.)
· a reading progress graph/checklist that focusses on improving reading speed with skimming and scanning, comprehension, and critical thinking skills development
Formative
· Record of Learning and Portfolio of Written Responses as described in Unit 1
· checklists for editing, peer and self-evaluation of writing process (Appendix A)
· rubrics for reading components of unit (see the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner)
· rubrics and checklists for writing components of unit (see the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner, Elements 10 Teacher’s Guide, SightLines/ResourceLines 10 Teacher’s Guide, for samples) for individual assignments including news writing, Meeting Place collage, summary, and report
Summative
·
end of unit rubrics, checklists, and peer
editing, feedback for zine project, including final copies of news writing
activity,
Aker, Don and David Hodgkinson. Language and
Writing 10.
Andersen, N., et al. Literature and Media 10.
Archer, Lynn, Cathy Costello, and Debbie Harvey. Reading and Writing for Success. Toronto: Harcourt Canada Ltd., 1998. ISBN 0-7747-0197-8
Barry, James. Global Reading Safari Teacher’s
Guide. Scarborough: Nelson Thomson Learning, 1994.
ISBN 0-17-603988-0
Block, Francesca Lia and Hillary Carlip. Zine
Scene: Do It Yourself Guide to Zines. Girl Press, 1998.
ISBN 0-96-597543-6
Carpenter, Donna, Bill Smart, and Chris M. Worsnop. Media Images and Issues. Toronto: Addison-Wesley, 1989. ISBN 0-201-19207-1
Costello, Catherine, Ted Palmer, and Mary Lou Smitheram. Contacts: Teaching Communication Across The Curriculum. Toronto: OSSTF, 1997. ISBN 0-920-930-84-0
Crane, Mary, Barbara Fullerton, and Amanda Joseph.
SightLines 10. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 2000.
ISBN 0-13-082171-3
Davies, Richard, Glen Kirkland, and Jeff Siamon. Crossroads
10. Toronto: Gage Publishing, 2000.
ISBN 0-7715-1332-1
Dawe, Robert, Barry Duncan, and Wendy Mathieu. ResourceLines 9/10. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1999. ISBN 0-13-012922-4
Duncan, Barry. Mass Media and Popular Culture.
Version 2. Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1996.
ISBN 7747-0170-6.
Duncan, Barry, Sue Harper, Douglas Hilker, and Andrea Mozarowski. Transformations. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2000. ISBN 0-7747-0168-4
Fry, Edward B. Reading Drills (Introductory, Middle, Advanced). Lincolnwood, Ill: NTC/Contemporary Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-8092-0360-XE
Fry, Edward B. Skimming and Scanning.
Lincolnwood, Ill: Jamestown Publishing, 2000.
ISBN 0-8092-0363-4E
Hilker, Douglas and Sue Harper. Elements of
English 10. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2000.
ISBN 0-7747-0594-9
Jamestown Comprehension Skills Series with Writing Activities: Introductory, Middle, Advanced. Third Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: NTC/Contemporary Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-8092-0154-2
Jamestown’s Signature Reading Series.
Lincolnwood, Ill: NTC/Contemporary Publishing, 2000.
ISBN 0-8092-0304-9E
Kalmar, Veronika. Start Your Own Zine. Little Brown & Company (Canada), 1997. ISBN 0-78-688217-4
Kirn, Elaine and Pamela Hartmann. Interactions
1: A Reading Skills Book. McGraw-Hill, 1996.
ISBN 0-07-114370-X
Literacy Skills Test Preparation Workbook: A Preparation Guide for the Grade 10 Test of Reading and Writing Skills. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2000. ISBN 0-03-998819-8
Ontario Ministry of Education and Training. Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner, Version 2.0. Toronto, 2000.
Parsons, L. Response Journals. Markham: Pembroke Publishers Limited, l990. ISBN 0-921217-41-2
Phenix, Jo and Irene Scott Dunne. Spelling Instruction That Makes Sense. Markham: Pembroke Publishers, 1991. ISBN 0-921217-68-4
Sebranek, Patrick, Dave Kemper, and Verne Meyer. Write Source 2000. Scarborough: Nelson Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-17-618700-6
Smith, Nia Banton. Be A Better Reader Level A, C. New Jersey: Globe Fearon Educational Publisher, 1997. ISBN 0-8359-1916-1; 0-8359-1922-6
Time: 375 minutes
In this introductory unit activity, students practise techniques of skimming for meaning, scanning for detail, reading context clues, and increasing vocabulary. Students continue the ongoing process of writing in their Portfolio of Written Responses. They also deconstruct and create a news story, and further develop their understanding of the unique features of newspapers, magazines, tabloids, and other print media texts.
Strand(s): Reading Skills, Writing Skills
Overall Expectations
REV.02 - demonstrate an understanding of the elements of a variety of contemporary texts, with a focus on short plays, short stories, novels, poetry, and newspaper and magazines articles and opinion pieces;
REV.04 - use a variety of strategies to understand words encountered in texts;
WRV.01 - investigate information and ideas for written work, using a variety of print and electronic sources;
WRV.03 - organize information, ideas, and supporting details in written work.
Specific Expectations
RE1.02 - use and assess strategies before, during, and after reading to understand a variety of contemporary texts, with an emphasis on setting a purpose for reading, making predictions about content, skimming and scanning, using prior knowledge to understand text, predicting and confirming while reading, discussing main ideas and supporting details, rereading sections, and summarizing key points;
RE2.05 - use knowledge of the elements of newspaper and magazine articles and opinion pieces with an emphasis on headlines, leads, the Five W’s (who, what, where, when, and why), titles, subtitles, and accompanying photographs, to understand and interpret these texts;
RE4.01 - preview vocabulary before reading;
RE 4.02 - use word-identification strategies while reading;
RE4.03 - use context to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words;
WR1.01- describe and use strategies to generate ideas and explore topics for writing;
WR 3.01 - construct complete sentences to present information and ideas, using a variety of sentence types.
· This activity assesses students’ abilities to use basic reading techniques to ensure comprehension and interpretation. Students operate at different paces and levels of understanding. (See Accommodations)
· The teacher prepares a reading progress chart to help students to monitor their reading development. (See models in Skimming and Scanning or Reading Drills or Appendix E.)
· The model for a typical daily class session during this unit includes:
· a warm-up (10 minutes) – reading practice – skimming, scanning, comprehension, vocabulary, critical thinking
· a major reading activity (20 minutes) – timed, independent, vocabulary building, reading for detail, focus exercises related to other unit activities;
· a major writing activity (20 minutes);
· brainstorming, researching, drafting, focus exercises in vocabulary, context clues relative to the unit activities;
· a major follow-up activity (15 minutes) – discussion, co-operative learning, editing/proofreading session, teacher interventions as needed;
· a cool-down activity (10 minutes) – writing to record learning and responses, e.g., sensory response, question of the day, homework start.
· The teacher provides students with opportunities to read widely on a regular basis in class time. Students practise timed readings for both skimming and scanning. Students maintain personal charts on reading speed and recall accuracy. (See Costello, Contacts, Chapter 8 for some general speed reading strategies, or individual resources provided as examples in Activities.) This is an ongoing, daily process. Daily warm-ups with specific reading passages provide students with continuity and opportunities for self-monitoring. Students maintain a writing record of reading in their Portfolio of Written Responses. The teacher monitors student progress frequently. Once a daily routine is in place, the reading strategy warm-up should take approximately 10 minutes, alternating with response portfolio writing.
Part A: What the News World Has to Offer
1. The teacher and students collect/contribute a wide range of print media products – newspapers, magazines, tabloids, comic books, CD jacket covers, flyers. Students browse these media products, noting similarities and differences in content, design, language choice, target audience. Teacher and class develop a T-chart or other graphic organizer for the products, focusing on form, purpose, content, and audience. The teacher reviews the key media concepts (see ResourceLines 9/10 or Mass Media and Popular Culture) as a starting point for discussion, and asks the following questions:
· How do you read a print text?
· What clues guide your reading, e.g., headlines, photos, graphs, colour?
· With which medium/form do you most easily identify? Why?
2. Students write point form notes about their attraction to a particular print media product. Their ideas will be incorporated into a Portfolio of Written Responses entry, and then into a more formal opinion piece over the next class.
3. The teacher reviews with the students what a sentence is, beginning with identification of sentences in the media product. Why are some sentences long, and others short? Focus on emphasis of story, vocabulary choice, and context clues that assist meaning. The teacher reviews with students the concept of topic, body, and concluding sentences in a paragraph.
4. Students begin to construct a personal dictionary including some of the specialized media terminology, which they have learned. An address book is a good vehicle for maintenance because it lists entries alphabetically. Students may use the personal dictionary to build vocabulary, understand word structures (roots and derivatives), develop synonyms, and practise constructing sentences with new words.
5. Homework: Students write a response in their Portfolio of Written Responses, giving a personal reaction to one of the media products presented in class. The response should be at least one paragraph long, with each sentence building on the next. Students aim for coherence in sentences, correct spelling, and punctuation.
6. A closer look at journal writing: For students, this is a critical point in their development as readers and writers. Reflective journals provide an opportunity to really think about something and learn from it. Students should be encouraged to ask and answer their own questions: What was interesting or provocative about this experience? How do I feel about a situation now? Why does this matter to me? Alternatively, students may focus on different outcomes or predictions that a future impact might have on them of a present situation. There are many types of personal journals. Students and teacher may decide on the most appropriate type for the unit of study or for the individual student: diary, dialogue journal, record of learning, portfolio of written responses, or a travel log. Students will encounter some of these types of journals in other units in the course.
Part B: Titles and Headlines
Students use text features, specifically headlines and subheadings, to decode information in the larger story. The students learn to recognize topic and main ideas using graphic organizers (concept map), to develop vocabulary definitions, and to recognize how particular words and phrases help communicate ideas, feelings, and information. Students develop awareness of the denotation and connotation of words. Depending on the headlines used, students may also investigate the use of literary devices such as hyperbole, irony, puns, alliteration, similes, and metaphors. The writing component for this activity requires students to develop a news story from a “Silly Headline.” Students begin to recognize the qualities of a news story, brainstorm possible directions for the story, and write an opening series of sentences for their story.
1. The teacher provides an appropriate reading sample for skimming and comprehension questions (e.g., “Meals on Wheels” in Fry’s Skimming and Scanning, or selection from Jamestown’s Reading Improvement Advanced Level). Review the qualities of skimming with the students: skimming is very fast reading intended to get the main idea rather than exhaustive details. You do not need to read all parts of the article to extract the general meaning. To begin, students read the entire first few paragraphs (identify topic, style, viewpoint), then read only key sentences of later paragraphs, picking out one or two important ideas, words, phrases, or numbers. They read the last one or two paragraphs as they frequently provide a summary of previous information. Students record reading speed on their Progress Chart (Appendix E).
2. The teacher provides copies of Silly Headlines. Students read headlines that have multiple meanings because they lack clarity, punctuation, or appropriate cause and effect. After the initial amusement has subsided, the teacher leads a whole class discussion on reasons for misunderstandings in the headlines, including the connotation and denotation of particular words in the headlines.
3. The teacher provides a variety of newspaper articles from local or national dailies, or newsmagazine articles, or non-fiction pre-developed articles (e.g., Be A Better Reader series, Signature Reading series or other Jamestown Publishing series, Interactions One: A Reading Skills Book). Students read the selected article and locate (possibly using a highlighter to indicate) what they believe to be the main idea. Each student exchanges with a partner to compare what has been highlighted, and whole class discussion follows about identifying the main idea especially in a news article. A mini-lesson on word order, vocabulary choice, misplaced modifiers, obscure meaning, misplaced text clues and cause and effect problems may emerge here, tying back to the Silly Headlines introduction.
4. On the theme of writing so that you are not misunderstood, the teacher reviews the topic “Writing Complete Sentences,” reminding students of the need to avoid sentence fragments, comma splices, run-on sentences, rambling or confusing sentences. Exercises in Write Source 2000, or Reading and Writing for Success are beneficial here.
5. Following the review, the teacher introduces the writing assignment for the week – a news story based on a Silly Headline or on an issue of personal, social, or community importance. Students begin working on the writing process, brainstorming possible images from the headlines, or ideas from their chosen issue. Each student selects one headline or idea with which to work and begins an early draft of the story from brainstorming and notes. The story will have a minimum of six sentences (each related to the 5 W’s) linked to each other with transitional devices. The teacher may teach or review transitional devices here, as required. This work will continue in subsequent classes.
6. Using the Silly Headlines presented to them as a model, students create two or three new Silly Headlines by playing with word order, meaning, and literary devices. Students may wish to use one of their own headlines as the source for their news story.
Silly Headlines
|
· Drunk gets nine months in violin case · Survivor of Siamese twins joins parents · Farmer Bill dies in house · Drunken drivers paid $1000 in ’84 · War dims hope for peace · Iraqi head seeks arms · British left waffles on Falkland Islands · Eye drops off shelf · Teacher strikes idle kids · Squad helps dog bite victim · Enraged cow injures farmer with ax · Cold wave linked to temperatures · Stolen painting found by tree · Two soviet ships collide, one dies |
· Safety Experts say school bus passengers should be belted · Shot off woman’s leg helps Nicklaus to 66 · Plane too close to ground, crash probe told · Miners refuse to work after death · Juvenile court to try shooting defendant · Two sisters reunited after eighteen years in checkout counter · Killer sentenced to die for second time in ten years · Something went wrong in jet crash, experts say · Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers · If strike isn’t settled quickly, it may last a while · Enfiels couple slain; police suspect homicide |
Part C: Following the Story
In this activity, students formally deconstruct a news story to discover the inverted pyramid structure and the Five W’s (who, what, where, when, why, and how). Students focus on predicting, locating context clues to assist meaning, assessing order in a news story by finding and summarizing key points. They write their own news stories based on the brainstorming session of the last class, and the knowledge acquired from the organizational patterns of the text. Students develop an idea of unity, coherence, presentation of logical and relevant details, and ordering in writing based on the news stories used in class.
1. As a warm-up activity, the teacher provides a skimming sample, e.g., “Nova Scotia Outdoors” in Skimming and Scanning (Fry, Jamestown’s Reading Improvement Advanced Level). Students read and respond to a few key comprehension questions. Students continue to record their progress on their chart (Appendix E).
2. The teacher introduces the inverted pyramid structure of the news story, along with the 5 W’s concept of story writing. The teacher may wish to begin this portion of the lesson with Rudyard Kipling’s poem:
I keep six honest serving men;
(They taught me all I knew.)
Their names are What and Why and When,
And How and Where and Who.
3. The teacher may use information from Reading and Writing for Success, ResourceLines 9/10, Mass Media and Popular Culture, or Toronto Star’s Newspapers in the Classroom to assist students’ understanding of the inverted pyramid and other news writing issues. The inverted pyramid is the term used to describe the style of news writing. The most current, key details are “packed” into the first few paragraphs, with subsequent paragraphs containing less recent and less important information. Further news story construction support may be found in Write Source 2000 (Nelson publishing) pp.167- 174. Sentence structure work in writing with compound subjects, unusual word orders, indefinite pronouns, and collective nouns may be of benefit here. Note: The teacher may wish to ask whether newspaper stories written in other languages use the same inverted pyramid structure.
4. The teacher hands out envelopes containing a short, cut up news story to small groups of students. The students read the individual sentences then attempt to order the story in its original sequence, paying attention to headlines, leads, context clues, and other ordering principles. In a follow-up whole class discussion, the teacher asks each group to read its version of the story, and assists the students in reconfiguring the original. Using an overhead of the original story, the teacher leads a discussion about why the pieces fit in the particular order. The teacher and students observe thought and sequence patterning, cause and effect structure, and the use of text features to assist meaning. They also confirm their understanding of the inverted pyramid structure.
5. Students continue to work on the story each began the previous day, paying attention to:
· creating a lead which grabs the reader’s attention and summarizing the main points in the story, e.g., who? what happened?;
· writing the body, using brainstorming and planning notes as a guide. Students fill in the facts and details, remembering that the further into a news story you go, the less significant the details are. (Another reason for this form is that in the newspaper business, available space guides an editor’s decision and if the story is too long, the last portion of it may be cut.)
· including quotations accurately and appropriately (a process which may give rise to an entire lesson);
· keeping sentences short and easy to read;
· keeping paragraphs to as few as one sentence, and no more than four.
6. Students complete a first draft of their news stories to be ready for revising and editing in the next class.
7. The teacher reviews the peer editing process with students. That is, each student will ask two other students in class to read the draft of the news story. Editors respond to the questions below, and underline or circle areas which the writer may need to re-work. The writer owns the writing and is responsible for making revisions, or for getting assistance in making them. Editors provide an informed and knowledgeable audience because they, too, have done the task. Editors sign or initial each draft that they read, and write two sentences, commenting on something which was done well, and possible improvements or revisions to be made. Alternatively, students may make all observations on the Ten Point Editing Checklist (Appendix A). Questions for the students include:
· Does the lead hook the readers into the story?
· Are there details missing or facts unclear?
· What is the headline for this story? Why?
Many checklists exist in teacher handbooks, such as those in ResourceLines 9/10, Reading and Writing for Success, Elements 10, and Write Source 2000, but the teacher may also distribute the Ten Point Editing Checklist. (See Appendix A.)
8. The teacher may wish at this point to do some re-teaching of the inverted pyramid structure, the writing process of the news story, or the concepts of unity and coherence in writing. Varied sentence structure, clear and concise sentences, and the avoidance of non-standard language and misplaced modifiers may also be focusses during the revision and editing process. The teacher and students may co-operatively construct a rubric for the news story, or may work with one from a current teacher’s guide approved for The Ontario Curriculum. (See Resources.) The teacher may do individual conferencing with students who have previously demonstrated serious gaps in their writing skills.
9. Scanning for Information – The Sports Section: The teacher uses stories from the newspaper’s sports section to provide a scanning activity for students. Students practise this method of quick reading to find scores of baseball or hockey games, winners of golf tournaments or tennis matches, etc. (Other scanning activities can be found in Interactions One or booklets from the Jamestown series.).
Scanning is a reading skill that zeroes in on a single bit of information, such as finding a particular television program in a program listing guide, or locating the right phone number in a directory. In these cases, the organizational patterns usually are alphabetical, numerical, categorical, or informational (with titles and subheadings). However, scanning is a very useful reading skill for finding information such as names, dates, or terms in subject textbooks or other materials.
Part D: Putting the Story Together
In this part of the activity, students complete and submit their news stories for formative assessment. Students continue to focus on skimming, scanning, and decoding context clues in their reading skills. Writing unified and coherent sentences, expressing main ideas, vocabulary choice, critical thinking skills, and considering the audience form the root of the culminating part of this activity.
1. Skimming for the main idea: The teacher provides students with a reading selection such as “Sharks: The Silent Savages” in the Jamestown series Skimming and Scanning. Students read the selection and answer accompanying comprehension questions. Students record their results on their Progress Chart.
2. Focus on Paragraphing: The teacher, in whole-class direct instruction, reviews the structure of a paragraph and the variations that are possible. Students are reminded that a paragraph is written to explain a main idea; the most important idea giving shape, purpose, and direction to the rest of the paragraph. The rest of the paragraph supports or explains the main idea housed in the topic sentence with appropriate and unified details. Newspaper articles usually begin with a topic sentence followed by supporting evidence and details. This is the typical pattern of most paragraphs. The teacher should explain and illustrate the fact that sometimes the topic sentence comes at the end of a paragraph and is used as a conclusion. If this is the case, then the order of the paragraph will probably move from least important detail to the most important.
3. Based on this review, students again share their draft news stories with the other members of the class, and in small groups discuss the progress of their work, especially their decisions about paragraphing. The students may continue to work as peer editors, providing positive and constructive feedback based on previously established rubrics.
4. Students finish and submit the good draft of their news story for assessment. This evaluation may be formative, as it will be returned to students with suggestions for further editing and inclusion in their zine to be constructed in Activity 4 of this unit.
5. As a check on students’ reading skills, especially their understanding of the concepts of the inverted pyramid, news story construction, comprehension, vocabulary, context clues, and the use of the 5W’s, the teacher may provide another news story for students to deconstruct to test their mastery. This task may be a summative evaluation piece.
6. The teacher reviews the writing process with students, co-creating a large process chart on paper that includes columns for prewriting, writing, revising, editing, and publishing. This chart will grow over time as the class focusses on specific points of writing along the way.
7. Students write a Portfolio of Written Responses entry following the submission of their news story. Students focus on their personal reaction to the news story and the writing process. This entry is essentially an anecdotal self-evaluation.
Diagnostic
· teacher observation, recording students’ reading speeds, techniques, comprehension
Formative
· teacher assessment of students’ reading comprehension, vocabulary, critical thinking inventories
· teacher assessment of writing process for news story, modelling assessment for students, developing benchmarks with students
· peer editing using Ten Point Editing Checklist (Appendix A) for first draft of news story
Summative
· deconstruction of a news story to demonstrate mastery (Part D, Strategy 5)
· Ten Point Editing Checklist (Appendix A) – optional
· news story using rubric
· See The Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner, Teacher Companion for full accommodations list.
· Use direct instruction and modelling to encourage the use of a variety of reading, pre-writing, and organizational strategies.
· Allow additional time for submission of writing and assist the students with chunking the writing assignment.
· Encourage writing partners for brainstorming, editing, and proofreading. Encourage the use of spelling and grammar check in word processing programs.
Abeles, Joan, et al. Great Beginnings: Using the Newspaper in the Classroom. Toronto: Canadian Daily Newspaper Publishers Association, 1989.
Andersen, Neil, et al. Literature and Media 10:Teacher’s Guide. Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2000. ISBN 0-17-618722-7
Aker, Don and David Hodgkinson. Language and Writing 10: Teacher’s Guide. Toronto: Nelson Thomson Learning, 2000. ISBN 0-17-618721-9
Archer, Lynn, Cathy Costello, and Debbie Harvey. Reading and Writing for Success. Toronto: Harcourt Canada Ltd., 1998. ISBN 0-7747-0197-8
Costello, Catherine, Ted Palmer, and Mary Lou Smitheram. Contacts: Teaching Communication Across The Curriculum. Toronto: OSSTF, 1997. ISBN 0-920-930-84-0
Crane, Mary, Barbara Fullerton, and Amanda Joseph. SightLines 10 Teacher’s Guide. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2000. ISBN 0-13-028778-4
Duncan, Barry. Mass Media and Popular Culture
Version 2. Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1996.
ISBN 7747-0170-6
Dawe, Robert, Barry Duncan, and Wendy Mathieu. ResourceLines 9/10. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1999. ISBN 0-13-012922-4
Fry, Edward B. Skimming and Scanning (Advanced). Jamestown’s Reading Improvement Series. Lincolnwood, Ill: Jamestown Publishers, 2000. ISBN0-8092-0363-4E
Hilker, Douglas and Sue Harper. Elements of
English 10. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2000.
ISBN 0-7747-0594-9
Hilker, Douglas and Sue Harper. Elements of English 10: Teacher’s Guide. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2000. ISBN 0-7747-1462-X
Hunter, Judith, et al. Crossroads 10: Teacher’s Guide. Toronto: Gage, 2000. ISBN 0-7715-1333-X
Kirn, Elain and Pamela Hartmann. Interactions One: A Reading Skills Book. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1996. ISBN 0-07-034917-7
Sebranek, Patrick, Dave Kemper, and Verne Meyer. Write
Source 2000. Scarborough: Nelson, 2000.
ISBN 0-17-618700-6
Signature Reading Series. Lincolnwood, Ill: Jamestown Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0-8092-0304-9E
Smith, Nia Banton. Be A Better Reader (Level A, B, C). New Jersey: Globe Fearon Educational Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-8359-1922-6
Time: 375 minutes
In this activity, students begin to focus on writing paragraphs that reflect their awareness of the role of popular culture on their personal styles, including the concepts of icons, trends, and language. Each student develops a Meeting Place collage and begins to develop techniques for summary writing. The introductory part of this activity asks students to discuss what is important about their culture, who their mentors in life are, and how they continue to achieve their stepping stones. Reading tasks broaden to include visuals and text: photographs, advertising images, billboards, art and media pieces, as well as the traditional non-fiction and fiction print materials.
Strand(s): Reading Skills, Writing Skills
Overall Expectations
REV.01 - demonstrate an understanding of a variety of contemporary texts;
REV.03 - explain the use of specific elements of style in a variety of contemporary texts;
REV.04 - use a variety of strategies to understand words encountered in texts;
WRV.02 - demonstrate an understanding of the forms of writing appropriate for specific purposes and audiences, with an emphasis on using the forms to communicate information clearly and accurately;
WRV.03 - organize information, ideas, and supporting details in written work;
Specific Expectations
RE1.01 - read a variety of self-selected and teacher-assigned contemporary texts for different purposes, with an emphasis on locating important information, identifying main ideas and supporting details, extending personal knowledge, and responding imaginatively;
RE1.03 - use knowledge of the organization of texts to locate relevant information;
RE2.02 - use knowledge of the elements of the short story, with an emphasis on events, character, setting, and theme, to understand and interpret short stories;
RE2.05 - use knowledge of the elements of newspaper and magazine articles and opinion pieces, with an emphasis on headlines, leads, the Five W’s;
RE3.01 - describe how particular words and phrases in a text help communicate ideas, feelings, and information effectively;
RE4.03 - use context to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words;
WR1.02 - make research plans based on information needs;
WR2.01 - demonstrate an understanding of form in written work, with an emphasis on narratives, summaries, reports, letters, and short essays;
WR3.02 - organize sentences about a topic into coherent and unified paragraphs;
WR4.02 - revise the organization of drafts to improve clarity of thought and expression;
WR5.04 - edit and proofread written work, identifying and correcting errors according to the requirements of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation listed below:
Grammar and Usage: identify the rules of subject-verb and pronoun agreement and apply them correctly;
Grammar and Usage: identify and use correctly the principal parts of irregular verbs;
Spelling: identify and apply a wide variety of spelling patterns, rules, and strategies to recognize and correct spelling errors;
Spelling: spell correctly specialized vocabulary, unfamiliar words, and words that deviate from regular spelling patterns;
Punctuation: identify the use of effective punctuation when reading and use punctuation correctly when writing.
· The teacher provides fiction and non-fiction reading samples for ongoing work in skimming, scanning, reading context clues, developing vocabulary, and comprehension skills.
· The teacher and students collect magazine ads, cartoons, community brochures, photos of local community meeting places, and copies of The Billboard Hot 100 hit music chart (or the teacher may ask students to obtain copies of this chart from CD stores).
· The teacher establishes the parameters of work in researching the Meeting Place collage for students, including the number of people in a group, the meeting place under question, the resources needed in order to carry out the project, and appropriate Internet sites as demanded by the project.
· Information gathered through early portions of this activity provides the focus for teaching and learning strategies. The teacher’s focus is on interventions, competencies, and group composition in planning the teaching moments.
· The teacher gathers chart paper, markers, and highlighters to facilitate activities.
· The teacher develops assessment and evaluation strategies for this section of the unit, including checklists, and rubrics. A rubric builder and good examples may be found in the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner, Elements 10 Teacher’s Guide, ResourceLines 9/10 Teacher’s Guide, or others.
· The students consolidate reading and writing skills as begun in Activity 1, and move beyond diagnostic writing competency. The focus here is on writing in longer sentences, developing transitions between sentences, unity, coherence, and developing sensory experiences into word experiences.
· Students have awareness of, and access to, elements of their own (teen) culture whatever their country of origin.
· Students know, understand, and practise the school’s policy on appropriate and ethical use of the Internet.
Part A: What the ‘Real’ World Has to Offer
1. The teacher provides diverse and varied opportunities for students to examine the ‘real’ world as seen through cultural and personal icons, trends, and language. The teacher distributes images such as photographs from teen magazines, or asks students to describe or find, and list billboards, advertisements, icons, trends or current expressions (possibly from graffiti) which catch their attention or are part of their language. Working in small groups, students attempt to decode or deconstruct the elements of these pieces in order to “read” the entire message. (See Andersen, Dawe, or Duncan’s Mass Media and Popular Culture for suggestions and techniques, or non-fiction pieces such as “Market Savvy Teens” in Crossroads 10.) In whole class discussion, the teacher and students summarize some of the key elements of “teen culture” to demonstrate the unit theme, You Are Here.
2. The teacher assists students as they begin construction of a survey about the important meeting places in their community. (See strategies in Dawe, ResourceLines 9/10 p. 288.) The survey will gather information about the elements that teens find important in their own culture and in their community’s image: Where do people meet? Why are these locations popular? What conclusions may be drawn from this information? How do students read their environments? Eventually, students write a summary about teen culture and how it is revealed through teen meeting places based on information collected from this survey. With the teacher, students may decide who their audience will be. Will they survey teens only? Teens and some parents? Teens and a variety of adults about their perceptions?
3. Students work in collaborative groups on survey topics and questions for a reasonable length of time, e.g., 30 minutes. The teacher invites each group to report, listing suggested issues or questions on the board. In a whole class discussion, the teacher helps students to evaluate the suggested topics/issues and questions, and to develop the final survey form. The teacher reinforces the need for clarity in language usage, especially in presenting questions to people. Consider the following tips in creating the survey:
· Keep questions or statements short, with one central idea clearly stated.
· Ensure that instructions for responding are precise and easy to understand.
· Do not imply the intended answer in any questions.
· Choose exact terms for response (not rarely, generally, or often, but ranges of numbers, for example).
· Design the format so that it is complete, easy to read, and attractive.
· Field-test survey items for their accuracy in obtaining a clear response.
· Try to distribute the survey to a “random” sample of people about whom you are trying to learn. A “restricted” sample will yield unreliable results.
4. Through the shaping of the survey, the teacher helps students to focus on combining sentences by using key words, structuring a series of words or phrases, compound subjects and verbs, and using compound and complex sentences. The students’ ability to write consistently in readable, precise sentences will help them to put together paragraphs and longer pieces of writing. (See Archer, Dawe, or Sebranek for support in developing these writing activities.)
5. Lessons on marks of punctuation such as the ellipsis, comma, semi-colon, and colon may emerge naturally here.
6. In writing, students consider the appeal of their own favourite meeting place. Why is the place of special interest? How often do they frequent that meeting place? What alternative meeting places might they consider? What is the culture of the meeting place – the typical people who are there, their habits, topics of discussion, manner of dress, food and drink preferences? They may also wish to describe or draw the important features of the meeting place. Discussion prior to or following this writing assignment presents a real opportunity to address issues of bias, diversity, opportunity, and inclusion entry.
Part B: How We ‘Read’ the Real World
1. Scanning activity: The teacher acquires copies of The Billboard Hot 100 hit record chart which contains a lot of information about ranking records in order of popularity. Song titles followed by the name of the singer, record label and catalogue number, and time on the chart are all included. The teacher designs a series of questions to help students practise scanning the chart:
· Which song is number 3 this week?
· For how long has it been on the chart?
· Which song is on a particular label? And so on.
A good example of this type of scanning activity may be found in Fry, Skimming and Scanning.
2. The teacher provides samples of non-linear text images. (See articles in such texts as Mass Media and Popular Culture, on topics such as malls, fast food restaurants, parks, and arenas.) Local facilities as seen in photographed images or line drawings provide context and detail clues. The students’ task here is to read for detail, colour, sensory experiences, attitudes, and inference. There are many potential lessons here that focus on the language, purpose, and tone of the image. Comic books also provide clues to culture mapping and may provide a good opportunity to observe style and content of comics from other cultures and languages. (See, for example, “Frame by Frame: The Narrative Art of Comics,” in Elements 10, 280.)
3. The students work in small groups, choosing one or two members to gather information about local meeting places from the places themselves and from the local chamber of commerce, tourist bureau, and so on. Placemats, menus, business cards, and flyers are all suitable material, if available. Students should also check ads in the Yellow Pages, and newspaper advertising sections for information. The teacher must ensure that only one student visits each location to collect materials so that businesses are not losing large quantities of key materials.
4. Other students in the group use their survey to collect data from their chosen target population(s). Information from Strategy 2 and from the survey will be shared and used to develop a summary.
5. Students begin to incorporate their experiences in reading visual images, their survey results, and their additional information into development of a Meeting Place collage that visually investigates a thesis addressing these questions:
· What is important to me about my meeting place?
· Why do I go to this place?
· What does this place state about my culture?
The concept of the Meeting Place collage incorporates visual information about the students’ preferred meeting place, but also expresses in writing a series of statements about the student’s interests, self-image, value set, and ability to draw conclusions. The collage along with the summary writing and appropriate headlines, individual statements, and collected quotes provide a major component of the student’s zine in Activity 4. The actual assignment is based on a technique called the Verbal-Visual Essay found later in this activity and in Appendix C which may be distributed to students at this point.
6. The teacher will incorporate mini-lessons on the paragraph, focusing on one specific topic that can be developed as description, narration, explanation, or opinion. The parts of the paragraph are formally addressed here: topic, body, and conclusion. (See Aker, Archer, or Sebranek for assistance.) Details from the senses, memory, and imagination help the paragraph to take shape. Students are encouraged to choose one of these paragraph approaches for their summary.
7. The teacher helps students to understand the format of a summary through examples and comparison exercises using highlighters to trace words and sentences from the original piece in the summary. (See writing support materials on the EQAO website, and Harcourt Canada’s Literacy Skills Test Preparation Workbook for assistance, as well as Appendix B.)
8. Students practise by summarizing the events of the class in their Portfolio of Written Responses, recalling the key ideas and the most important details. To assist their understanding, students may assume that they are writing the class summary for an absent peer. (See appendices to Unit 2 for procedure for The Summary and Literacy Skills Test Preparation.)
Part C: How We Interpret the ‘Real’ World
In this activity, students explore the process of decoding clues from their selected “meeting places,” including descriptive detail. They also decode information on general websites, and continue work on the summary and Meeting Place collage.
1. Scanning a Web Page activity: Conducting research on the Web can be very intimidating. When you begin with a general subject, you find a website that includes links that explore specific topics. To assist students, the teacher downloads and photocopies a general website, one with text and photo images, and develops a set of scanning questions that investigate various navigational points and links. (See Jamestown: Skimming and Scanning for assistance here.) Questions may include: If you want to find information about…, where would you click? Which link would you click on to…? How can you find out about…? Students use the questions to scan the website map.
2. The teacher selects a sample from a work such as Interactions One, “Advertising: The Selling of a Product” to give students more practice with reading skills such as pre-reading, predicting meaning from context, recognizing main idea patterns, understanding detail, and follow-up discussion questions. Students may use these strategies for their own work on decoding or reading meeting place photos and information.
3. The teacher provides an opportunity for further practice with reading skills, especially skimming for main ideas, and inferring, and with writing skills, especially opinion writing supported by fact, and summarizing information. Suggested texts are “Smart Shopping” from Interactions One, “Structuring Your Web Site” in Elements 10, or “My Body” in SightLines 10. Any of the “Media Works” selections in SightLines 10 also provides ample material for interpretation.
4. Students begin writing their summaries based on information they have collected about their selected meeting place. This will become the second polished piece to be submitted for formative assessment, and then later reconstructed as a portion of their zine. Including Strategies 5 and 6, this is, minimally, a two-day activity which permits time for drafting the summary, peer editing, revising, and polishing.
5. The teacher provides a lesson and exemplars to demonstrate the use of transition words that show location, time, comparison, contrast, emphasis, summary, clarification, or additional information to help bridge ideas from sentence to sentence, and paragraph to paragraph. Students write a descriptive paragraph comparing two meeting places as a Portfolio of Written Responses entry. They use some of the techniques from the lesson in their entry.
6. Students reflect on their proposed meeting places in their Record of Learning and take time to map out their projects.
Part D: Meeting Place Collage
1. The teacher selects a short fiction or non-fiction narrative such as “Something to Cheer About” in Be a Better Reader, Level A to introduce students to the concept of conflict, context clues to assist meaning, comprehension, inference, and connections to real life. This short warm-up sets the stage for drawing inferences from images in advertising, and the conflict which may exist in ads between reality and associated meanings.
2. Scanning for information: Magazine Ads. It is important for a consumer to examine products and to understand the psychology of advertising, as this is one of the most aggressive informational texts we read and students are likely to be subjected to subtle and overt forms of advertising in their meeting places. The teacher and students gather/contribute/select several magazine advertisements for students to scan. The teacher provides questions that allow students to scan and analyse the information:
· What product is advertised?
· Who is the intended audience for the ad? Why might it appeal to that audience?
· Who are the characters in the ads? What images do they convey?
· What does the ad lead the reader to think about the product?
· What misinformation may exist in the ad?
3. The students work towards completion of their Meeting Place collage and the summary of their investigations into their own meeting places. This activity will take a major part of at least two classes. They may now wish to consider the conflict between reality and associated meanings in their chosen meeting place, e.g., the cinnamon buns and hot chocolate at the donut shop which are “as good as the treats from grandma’s kitchen”.
4. Using student samples (with permission, and perhaps anonymously) the teacher leads an examination of the differences among narrative, expository, and descriptive approaches to the summary paragraph. Students may elect to change their approach. Further teacher focus is on use of varied language and synonyms in writing.
5. In a third class, students share their final version of the assignment with peers, inviting feedback and assessment. The teacher provides a comment form for students to use as they do a “gallery walk,” perusing the finished products. The teacher develops and provides a checklist and formative rubric for students for this portion of the assignment. This checklist or rubric could be co-designed with the students and may be used for self-, peer, or teacher assessment.
6. Students may write a Portfolio of Written Responses entry reflecting on the work they have seen during their “gallery walk” or a Record of Learning entry to record some of the reading and writing techniques which they have consolidated through the Meeting Place collage task.
Formative
· teacher assessment of students’ reading comprehension, vocabulary, critical thinking inventories using observational checklist;
· checklist and/or rubric for elements of Meeting Place collage task to be used for self, peer, or teacher assessment;
· Record of Learning submitted to teacher for formative assessment.
Summative
· rubric for summary writing, and for Meeting Place collage to be completed either separately or at end of unit as part of zine.
· See The Ontario Curriculum Planner, Teacher Companion for full accommodations list.
· Provide frequent opportunities for conferencing and feedback on the student’s draft writing.
· See teaching/learning strategies for ideas of multiple intelligence work.
· Provide graphic organizers to structure the reading content.
Andersen, Neil, et al. Literature and Media 10.
Scarborough: Nelson Publishing, 2000.
ISBN 0-17-618719-7
Archer, Lynn, Cathy Costello, and Debbie Harvey. Reading and Writing for Success. Toronto: Harcourt Canada Ltd., 1998. ISBN 0-7747-0197-8
Barry, James. Global Reading Safari Teacher’s
Guide. Scarborough: Nelson Thomson Learning, 1994.
ISBN 0-17-603988-0
Crane, Mary, Barbara Fullerton, and Amanda Joseph.
SightLines 10. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2000.
ISBN 0-13-082171-3
Davies, Richard, Glen Kirkland, and Jeff Siamon. Crossroads
10. Toronto: Gage, 2000.
ISBN 0-7715-1332-1
Dawe, Robert, Barry Duncan, and Wendy Mathieu. ResourceLines 9/10. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1999. ISBN 0-13-012922-4
Duncan, Barry. Mass Media and Popular Culture.Version
2. Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1996.
ISBN 7747-0170-6
Duncan, Barry, Sue Harper, Douglas Hilker, and Andrea Mozarowski. Transformations. Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1996. ISBN 0-7747-0168-4
Fry, Edward B. Skimming and Scanning.
Lincolnwood, Ill: Jamestown Publishers, 2000.
ISBN 0-8092-0363-4E
Hilker, Douglas and Sue Harper. Elements of
English 10. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2000.
ISBN 0-7747-0594-9
The Jamestown Comprehension Skills Series with Writing Activities. Third Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: NTC/Contemporary Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-8092-0154-2
Jamestown Signature Reading Series.
Lincolnwood, Ill: NTC/Contemporary Publishing, 2000.
ISBN 0-8092-0304-9E
Kirn, Elaine and Pamela Hartmann. Interactions One: A Reading Skills Book. Toronto: McGraw- Hill, 1996. ISBN 0-07-034917-7
Literacy Skills Test Preparation Workbook: A Preparation Guide for the Grade 10 Test of Reading and Writing Skills. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2000. ISBN 0-03-998819-8
Sebranek, Patrick, Dave Kemper, and Verne Meyer. Write Source 2000. Scarborough: Nelson Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-17-618700-6
Smith, Nia Banton. Be A Better Reader Level A, C. New Jersey: Globe Fearon Educational Publisher, 1997. ISBN 0-8359-1916-1; 0-8359-1922-6
Time: 375 minutes
Students begin work on developing a short report in the form of a media critique investigating linear and non-linear text forms, e.g. billboard, advertisement, pamphlet, brochure, map, or sign. The report task includes a research component using the Internet, visual representations such as magazines, newspapers, and journals, as well as instruction on the report template. Further exercises in paragraphing, punctuation, and writing coherent sentences focus the writing. Reading includes exercises in reinforcing the key media concepts, drawing inferences, making judgments, and drawing conclusions.
Strand(s): Reading Skills, Writing Skills
Overall Expectations
REV.02 - demonstrate an understanding of the elements of a variety of contemporary texts, with a focus on short plays, short stories, novels, poetry, and newspaper and magazine articles and opinion pieces;
REV.03 - explain the use of specific elements of style in a variety of contemporary texts;
WRV.01 - investigate information and ideas for written work, using a variety of print and electronic sources;
WRV.02 - demonstrate an understanding of the forms of writing appropriate for specific purposes and audiences, with an emphasis on using the forms to communicate information clearly and accurately;
WRV.03 - organize information, ideas, and supporting details in written work;
WRV.04 - revise drafts of written work, collaboratively and independently, with an emphasis on improving content, clarity, and coherence;
WRV.05 - edit, proofread, and publish written work, using correctly the grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation conventions of standard Canadian English, as specified for this course, with the support of print and electronic resources when appropriate.
Specific Expectations
RE1.01 - read a variety of self-selected and teacher-assigned contemporary texts for different purposes, with an emphasis on locating important information, identifying main ideas and supporting details, extending personal knowledge, and responding imaginatively;
RE1.02 - use and assess strategies before, during, and after reading to understand a variety of contemporary texts, with an emphasis on setting a purpose for reading, making predictions about content, skimming and scanning, using prior knowledge to understand text, predicting and confirming while reading, discussing main ideas and supporting details, rereading sections, and summarizing key points;
RE1.04 - make inferences, draw conclusions, and make judgements based on implicit and explicit information in texts;
RE3.01 - describe how particular words and phrases in a text help communicate ideas, feelings, and information effectively;
RE3.02 - explain how authors use simile, metaphor, personification, and foreshadowing to communicate thoughts, feelings, and information;
RE4.02 - use word-identification strategies while reading;
RE4.03 - use context to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words;
WR1.02 - make research plans based on information needs;
WR1.03 - locate and record information from a variety of print and electronic sources;
WR1.04 - assess information to determine its relevance, sufficiency, and accuracy;
WR2.01 - demonstrate an understanding of form in written work, with an emphasis on narratives, summaries, reports, letters, and short essays;
WR2.02 - describe the form, purpose, and intended audience for each piece of writing;
WR3.01 - construct complete sentences to present information and ideas, using a variety of sentence types;
WR3.02 - organize sentences about a topic into coherent and unified paragraphs;
WR 3.03 - organize paragraphs into coherent and unified narratives, reports, letters, and short essays;
WR4.01 - revise drafts to strengthen the content
WR4.02 - revise the organization of drafts to improve clarity of thought and expression;
WR4.03 - revise drafts to improve coherence;
WR4.04 - revise drafts to ensure consistent use of the appropriate person and level of language to suit the form, purpose, and audience;
WR5.01 - incorporate information from research into written work by using quotation marks and consistent documentation;
WR5.02 - describe and use strategies to edit, proofread, and correct written work.
· The teacher prepares a report template, a lesson to model or demonstrate the writing of a report, and exemplars for students to use as models.
· The teacher collects signs, billboard images, record cover jackets, advertisements, mall maps, and other non-linear text. Students are encouraged to do the same.
· The teacher may wish to draw on the expertise of an art teacher or senior art student to provide further information or be a guest resource person for Part A, Strategy 2.
· An activity overview reacquaints the students with the goals of this section of the unit, the time allocated for each section and the assessment/evaluation components.
· The teacher prepares a checklist for students to track their completion of each component of the activity, and monitors the individual progress of the students’ development of their reading and writing skills.
· Students consistently demonstrate improvement toward mastery of their reading and writing skills as established and monitored through Unit 1, and earlier components of Unit 2.
· Students demonstrate growing proficiency in using computers for researching, data management, word processing, editing, and desktop publishing.
· Students develop confidence in their ability to record, articulate, and assess information that is relevant to their learning.
· Students continue to take ownership for the materials they study. Students are encouraged to bring in images, non-linear and linear text as samples to further their breadth and depth of study.
· Students read magazines, novels, and informational texts both for recreation and for necessity, and can conduct significant discussion surrounding the messages these media texts provide.
Part A: Reading Environmental Print
1. Skimming activity: The teacher supplies copies of a newspaper or magazine article, with vocabulary, comprehension, analysis, and critical thinking questions such as those in The Jamestown Skimming and Scanning Series. Students skim the article and respond to the questions.
2. To heighten their awareness of visual text, students investigate a variety of media images, for example any of the “Media Works” lessons in SightLines 10. Students consider the following questions as they “read” visual text:
· What is the medium used?
· What message is communicated? In your opinion, is there more than one message in the image?
· Explain how colour, blank space, or the combination of linear and non-linear text contributes to the communication of the message. (See Planning Notes above.)
3. Based on this reading activity, students focus on research for developing a short report to be included in their zine in the next activity. The report focusses on the theme, image, message or genre of a chosen media text.
4. The teacher hands out the Report Template and, in a shared writing activity, helps students to draft a template based on the reading exercise in Strategy 2. (See Appendix C and Literacy Skills Test Preparation Workbook.)
5. Students brainstorm in partners, select an individual focus, and begin organizing research direction for their reports. They spend time recording their ideas and thoughts about the process they will follow in their Record of Learning.
6. Students practise expository paragraph writing, with the punctuation focus on the dash, parenthesis, hyphen, quotation marks, italics, and apostrophe.
Part B: Researching the Art of Persuasion
1. Teacher and students may find/contribute/select a number of posters, CD jacket covers, or other images. A good source here is Literature and Media 10 (Nelson) or SightLines 10 (Prentice Hall). Review techniques of representing in, for example, ResourceLines 9/10 (Chapter 5), or “ Analyzing Visual and Media Works” in Unit 4 of Elements 10. Use mini-lessons to help students navigate through fairly dense material on designing and experimenting with non-linear formats such as ‘Information Illustrations’, ‘Drawings and Paintings’, ‘Posters’, ‘Collages’, ‘Leaflets’, ‘Computer Graphics’, ‘Multimedia Presentations’, ‘Advertisements’, and so on. A careful investigation of some of these communication forms assists students both in preparation of the current research and report writing, as well as for the culminating activity for the unit, the zine construction. Through teacher-guided discussion and collaborative, co-operative tasks, students understand the particular qualities of these non-linear forms and how an audience ‘reads’ the messages through content and subtle subtext.
2. The teacher helps students to consolidate an understanding of writing persuasive paragraphs and writing with style through short exercises using models/exemplars from newspaper editorials, magazine columns, or anthologies (e.g., Write Source 2000 p. 130). The focus on mechanics through this part of the unit is on capitalization, plurals, abbreviations, and correct use of numbers.
3. Students begin the research process including planning, identifying and gathering information, evaluating the information, organizing and documenting information. (See ResourceLines 9/10, or Reading and Writing for Success.) Students select from a variety of images as suggested by the teacher and begin to develop a short research piece on the impact of the image. Language and Writing 10 (Nelson) offers an excellent section (Unit 8) on report writing, as does the Literacy Skills Test Preparation Workbook (Harcourt Canada).
Part C: Research Report
1. The teacher asks students to consider the basic requirements of this assignment:
· What is the purpose?
· Who is your audience?
· How will the format work?
· What are the evaluation criteria and deadlines?
The teacher helps students to understand the basic requirements, then assists students in developing a KWL chart (Know, Want to Know, Learned), brainstorming ideas, and mapping the process.
2. Students spend the next two classes retrieving information for their report through a variety of means such as books, the Internet, non-print resources, first-hand observations, interviews, and questionnaires with which they are familiar. This process provides students with several opportunities to demonstrate their ability to navigate resources, a necessary skill for later units in this course.
3. Students evaluate information for relevance, accuracy, reliability, and objectivity as they develop their report. This is a good opportunity for teacher intervention on the use and abuse of Internet sources. A website may look and sound authoritative, with fabulous layout and graphics, but the information may be flawed or biased. To evaluate a website, students must consider:
· Who is the author and how authoritative are his/her credentials?
· Who is the sponsoring or hosting organization and what objectives does the organization have?
· What is the origin of the source, e.g., there may be a bias toward the home country in the links, data, and points of view presented?
4. Students complete their note taking and documenting of their sources.
5. Using the report template provided by the teacher (Appendix D), students develop a short report on their chosen image. Students work through the reading and writing process as outlined earlier in this unit, developing expertise in scanning information, making inferences from the reading, judging the validity of the information presented, supporting peers in information gathering and sorting, and the process of editing, proofreading, and assessment with substantial teacher support.
6. Students continue to monitor their progress with reading speed and comprehension, as well as through self and teacher-monitored Record of Learning.
Formative
· teacher observation checklist of research process
· teacher assessment of report writing process, using a checklist or rubric
· teacher assessment of student Record of Learning
· peer assessment of editing, proofreading process
Summative
· research report rubric (to be evaluated now or with zine)
· reading comprehension, vocabulary, critical thinking formal assessment
· See approaches outlined in Teaching/Learning Strategies.
· See the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner, Teacher Companion for a full schedule of accommodations.
· Concentrate on teaching one skill at a time and evaluate accordingly.
· Explore and share prior knowledge of topic to provide context and background for reading and writing.
· Provide extra time to complete assignments. This is very important given the rigour of this activity.
Aker, Don and David Hodgkinson. Language and Writing
10. Scarborough: Nelson, 2000.
ISBN 0-17-618720-0
Andersen, Neil, et al. Literature and Media 10. Scarborough: Nelson, 2000. ISBN 0-17-618719-7
Archer, Lynn, Cathy Costello, and Debbie Harvey. Reading and Writing for Success. Toronto: Harcourt Canada Ltd., 1998. ISBN 0-7747-0197-8
Crane, Mary, Barbara Fullerton, and Amanda Joseph.
SightLines 10. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2000.
ISBN 0-13-082171-3
Duncan, Barry. Mass Media and Popular Culture
Version 2. Toronto: Harcourt Brace, 1996.
ISBN 0-7747-0170-6
Dawe, Robert, Barry Duncan, and Wendy Mathieu. ResourceLines 9/10. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1999. ISBN 0-13-012922-4
Fry, Edward. Skimming and Scanning.
Lincolnwood, Ill: Jamestown Publishers, 2000.
ISBN 0-8092-0363-4E
Literacy Skills Test Preparation Workbook: A Preparation Guide for the Grade 10 Test of Reading and Writing Skills. Toronto: Harcourt Canada, 2000. ISBN 0-03-998819-8
Sebranek, Patrick, Dave Kemper, and Verne Meyer. Write Source 2000. Scarborough: Nelson Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-17-618700-6
Time: 375 minutes
In this activity, students begin to develop a zine. A zine is a personal magazine that may investigate the writer’s point of view on a number of issues, or it may be thematic and singularly focused. Traditionally, the zine is a handcrafted collection of an individual’s writings on an issue, and includes personal artwork either in the form of pictures, photos, graphic images, scanned images, and other indicators of the personal flair of the zine’s creator. While it is not a newspaper, it may hold opinions on current events or personal styles. The zine culture, at one time underground and exclusive, has found enormous popularity among young people who create, write, design, and market their product. Zines are like trading cards with appeal to many different types of people – from the conservative to the avant garde, from the sports enthusiast to the classical musician, from the reluctant reader to the most articulate teen. Zines provide a venue for expression that is both private and public. The students in this course have an opportunity to create either their own fully developed zine, or to participate in the creation of a collective zine depending on their proficiency, creativity, and industry. The final product may be anywhere from four to twelve pages, again depending on the energy and co-operation of the creator(s). Typically, the zine is photocopied and dispersed to friends, other zine enthusiasts, or marketed through less than conventional outlets. The whole activity includes final products from the previous three weeks as well as other polished works the students develop over this week.
Strand(s): Reading Skills, Writing Skills
Overall Expectations
REV.01- demonstrate an understanding of a variety of contemporary texts;
REV.03 - explain the use of specific elements of style in a variety of contemporary texts;
WRV.02 - demonstrate an understanding of the forms of writing appropriate for specific purposes and audiences, with an emphasis on using the forms to communicate information clearly and accurately;
WRV.04 - revise drafts of written work, collaboratively and independently, with an emphasis on improving content, clarity, and coherence;
WRV.05 - edit, proofread, and publish written work, using correctly the grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation conventions of standard Canadian English, as specified for this course, with the support of print and electronic resources when appropriate.
Specific Expectations
RE1.04 - make inferences, draw conclusions, and make judgements based on implicit and explicit information in texts;
RE1.05 - compare their own interpretations of texts with those of others;
RE3.01 - describe how particular words and phrases in a text help communicate ideas, feelings, and information effectively;
RE 4.04 - use print and electronic dictionaries, thesauri, and reference texts to clarify the meaning and pronunciation of antonyms, synonyms, homophones, homonyms, specialized language, and commonly confused words;
WR1.01 - describe and use strategies to generate ideas and explore topics for writing;
WR1.02 - make research plans based on information needs;
WR1.03 - locate and record information from a variety of print and electronic sources;
WR1.04 - assess information to determine its relevance, sufficiency, and accuracy;
WR2.03 - use the appropriate person and level of language for a specific form, purpose, and audience;
WR3.01 - construct complete sentences to present information and ideas, using a variety of sentence types;
WR3.02 - organize sentences about a topic into coherent and unified paragraphs;
WR 3.03 - organize paragraphs into coherent and unified narratives, reports, letters, and short essays;
WR4.01 - revise drafts to strengthen the content;
WR4.02 - revise the organization of drafts to improve clarity of thought and expression;
WR4.03 - revise drafts to improve coherence;
WR4.04 - revise drafts to ensure consistent use of the appropriate person and level of language to suit the form, purpose, and audience;
WR4.05 - use print and electronic dictionaries, thesauri, and reference texts to select precise and appropriate vocabulary and find alternative phrasings for awkward constructions;
WR5.02 - describe and use strategies to edit, proofread, and correct written work;
WR5.03 - identify and use appropriate and effective techniques and formats to publish written work;
WR5.04 - edit and proofread written work, identifying and correcting errors according to the requirements of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation listed below:
Grammar and Usage: identify the rules of subject-verb and pronoun agreement and apply them correctly;
Grammar and Usage: identify and use correctly the principal parts of irregular verbs;
Spelling: identify and apply a wide variety of spelling patterns, rules, and strategies to recognize and correct spelling errors;
Spelling: spell correctly specialized vocabulary, unfamiliar words, and words that deviate from regular spelling patterns;
Punctuation: identify the use of effective punctuation when reading and use punctuation correctly when writing.
· The teacher develops an Activity Overview that establishes the activity focus, timelines, related activities, and the rubrics and checklists used for the activity.
· The teacher provides a range of exemplars of zines for students. Samples may come from known student work already available, or by visiting appropriate websites which may be pre-selected by the teacher. Books on creating zines are available at major bookstores.
· The teacher provides discussion and charting materials for the first part of this activity.
· The teacher arranges for student access to computers as required. The teacher and students provide resource materials to help students construct the zine (e.g., markers, magazines for photos, images, and headline letters, gel pens, construction paper or newsprint).
· Since expectations for this unit have been addressed previously, this culminating activity provides consolidation for students.
· Students know, understand, and practise the school policy on appropriate and ethical use of the Internet.
· Students have some skills in word processing, designing, and desktop publishing.
· Students demonstrate competency in skimming, scanning, comprehension, and critical thinking as well as in sentence writing, paragraph construction, summary and report writing.
· Students understand and use correct punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure, and have developed awareness of some of the literary devices listed in the specific expectations.
· Students show sensitivity to issues of bias.
Part A: Examining Zines
1. The teacher presents several zines to groups of no more than four students. Students deconstruct the information and presentation of material in these publications and develop a set of guidelines that govern the creation, construction, and distribution of the zine. For example, they may discover the number of pages, the number and types of pictures or illustrations, the number of “articles,” the presence or absence of “advertising” – basically the structural pieces or skeleton of the zine. Students may also wish to examine zine sites (pre-selected by the teacher) on the Internet. The teacher distributes the Activity Overview which details the work which students will undertake for about a week (five or more classes).
2. Working in their groups, students then consider the following elements of zine creation:
· a topic or theme statement around which the zine focusses – sports, music, the arts, recreation, body image, intellectual pursuits, the essence of ‘cool,’ and so on;
· the articles inherent in the zine – music reviews, personal writings, summaries of issues, reports on popular culture figures, icons and trends, personal reactions to music charts, newsworthy items with a twist;
· the ‘look’ of the zine – photo images, drawings, graphs, charts, colour, personalization by the author
· bias as a form of self-expression (sensitivity required here in choice of sample zines)
· reasons for popularity of this communication form – including non-standard language and syntax choices, unconventional spellings, and avant garde structure
3. To close this portion of the activity, each group develops a chart of the elements found in their sample zine. This template becomes part of the checklist and rubric for the culminating activity.
Part B: Researching, Creating, and Drafting Student Zines.
1. Students decide on the focus of their zine. The teacher assists students in decisions about the length of their zine. For some students, a four-page product is conceivable; for others, a one-page effort is more reasonable. The class may decide to share the load and produce one large zine with many individual contributions, drawing on the strengths and talents of different class members. Regardless, each student is responsible for completing the project according to the decision that is made.
2. Students develop a ‘dummy master’ of the zine (perhaps using newsprint paper), indicating the graphics, style elements, and information to be positioned in the final version. Students may elect to do text portions using a computer word-processing program, and choosing a particular font and type size to achieve their zine style. Students may also wish to examine zine websites for ideas about content and design. Teacher intervention here ensures that the final products demonstrate the students’ best work.
3. The ‘dummy master’ organizational model is assessed by the teacher before work continues on the project, using a rubric co-created with students based on Part A, Strategy 3. The teacher provides interventions in the form of re-teaching of skills to individuals or small groups as indicated by the review of this draft. The rubric may be amended at this point, based on the knowledge students gained during this draft stage, and to include “Application” of language and media conventions, the writing process, and technology.
4. Students gather, select, and assess relevant, appropriate materials to include in their zine. Among the necessary components are the formative assessments completed earlier in this unit, i.e., the news story, the summary, the Meeting Place collage, and the research report. As well, students may choose to adapt and include Record of Learning entries, personal insights into the music industry, trend watching, personal heroes, music reviews, and photos or drawings that are relevant to their zine’s theme.
5. The assembly of this product takes time. Students may need assistance and encouragement to take creative risks in the development of their zine. The overall structure for the zine is established by the student’s proficiency and/or desire to use computer technology. Students are encouraged to use the computer to word process their written pieces for a “professional” look. As problems arise, the teacher intervenes on an individual or whole class needs basis.
6. Each student prepares a revised draft for a specified date for peer editing, formative assessment and feedback before committing the final glue to paper.
Part C: The Zine Completed
1. Students use the feedback from the formative assessment to determine their final product. Editing and final proofreading are completed and the zine checked against the criteria of the checklist and rubric developed earlier in the unit.
2. The final product is collected, evaluated by the teacher (using the rubric), and shared within the class. A gallery walk, with zines displayed around the room, on board or bulletin board ledges, allows all students an opportunity to browse and read the zines of their choice. A carousel or storefront presentation (with one-third of the class presenting their zines at various ‘stations’ around the room, and two-thirds acting as audience) allows the creators to explain their products in a little more depth. Either of these methods is a good way to share the final products. When students share their zines, they are not obliged to display the teacher’s evaluative rubric unless they wish to do so.
3. Students use a Record of Learning entry to reflect on the activities of the unit, the successes and frustrations with component assignments, and how they have added to and improved their reading and writing skills. The Records of Learning at this point also provide a diagnostic tool for the next unit of study.
Diagnostic
· teacher observation of Record of Learning; student checklist
Formative
· checklist of zine elements
· assessment rubric for zine draft (may be co-created by teacher and students)
· assessment of ‘dummy master’ template using rubric
· self and peer assessment, writing response
Summative
· rubric for final zine product
· See the Ontario Curriculum Unit Planner, Teacher Companion for full list of accommodations
· Negotiate the required length and appropriate deadlines for assignment.
· Clarify questions for the student and encourage student to rephrase questions in student’s own words.
Archer, Lynn, Cathy Costello, and Debbie Harvey. Reading and Writing for Success. Toronto: Harcourt Canada Ltd., 1998. ISBN 0-7747-0197-8
Barry, James. Global Reading Safari Teacher’s
Guide. Scarborough: Nelson Thomson Learning, 1994.
ISBN 0-17-603988-0
Block, Francesca Lia and Hillary Carlip. Zine
Scene: Do It Yourself Guide to Zines. Girl Press, 1998.
ISBN 0-96-597543-6
Dawe, Robert, Barry Duncan, and Wendy Mathieu. ResourceLines 9/10. Scarborough: Prentice Hall, 1999. ISBN 0-13-012922-4
Kalmar, Veronika. Start Your Own Zine. Little Brown & Company (Canada), 1997. ISBN 0-78-688217-4
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A Ten Point Editing Checklist |
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I noticed/I suggest… |
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The ideas are clearly stated. |
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The purpose is clear. |
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The message is clear. |
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The beginning, middle, and end are clearly defined and are unified. |
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Details (and quotations) support the main idea. |
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Word choice is accurate and colourful. |
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The level of language choice is appropriate for the subject and audience. |
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The sentences have varied beginnings and are of varying lengths. |
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The sentences move logically from one to another. |
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Grammar, punctuation, and spelling rules are followed. |
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Other helpful comments: Signed: |
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A summary is a concise version of an original text, which retells the key ideas and the most important supporting details. It is always much shorter than the original work. In a summary, you can:
· combine information from two or three sentences into one sentence;
· omit added explanations or examples;
· remove repeated words;
· write one sentence to state the main idea of each paragraph;
· add your own words to link sentences smoothly;
· substitute one word for several.
How to write a summary:
· Read the whole selection first. Then ask yourself, “What are the main points?”
· Find the topic sentence in the first paragraph and highlight it. Then highlight other important detail words or phrases
· Condense the highlighted information into one sentence.
· Read remaining paragraphs in the same way, condensing information into one or two sentences per paragraph.
· Check transitions within sentences to ensure smooth reading.
· Reread original to ensure you did not miss anything important.
· Share with a partner to recheck, change, add, or further delete as necessary.
The Meeting Place Collage incorporates a visual component as well as a written summary, explanation, and headlines about a specifically chosen meeting place. The meeting place may be real or imaginary, but must reflect at least five pieces of selected research that have helped the student to reach logical conclusions about the meeting place. The assignment works in four parts: the collection of information from non-linear and linear text; the sorting, classifying, and recording of the information; the packaging of the information into a thematically-linked visual and written presentation (representing techniques of summary and critical analysis); and an evaluative, reflective written response.
The Visual Part:
· Select a topical theme for your meeting place, such as The Park, The Arena, The Mall, Main Street, The Donut Shop, or brainstorm with the class other possibilities. Remember that the meeting place may be within your community, or it may be an imaginary place (consider cartoon places or other fictional locations). Be aware that you must find at least five pieces of information about the meeting place to make the collage work.
· Select five real, tangible statements about the meeting place from a number of resources, including brochures, maps, Internet sites, newspaper or magazine clippings. These may be wholly developed stories or descriptive headlines, or image fragments whose figures of speech have enticed you (alliteration, puns, metaphors, or similes).
· Create five more statements from your own experience with this meeting place that further develop the statements you selected above. These statements should enhance the audience’s understanding of the powerful impact the meeting place has on you.
· Find or create five visual representations of the meeting place which support your ideas, and help to develop your argument concerning the importance of the meeting place to you (and your culture). These visuals may be photographs you take, or images cut from an existing bank of images, or from brochures, maps, magazines, newspapers, logos, charts, graphs, etc.
· Arrange all of these elements into a visually appealing two- or three-dimensional piece of work. Be careful to remain focused on the intent of the project, which is to investigate the role and appeal of your meeting place by interpreting and assessing implied and overt information and messages.
The Written Part:
· Focus on the summary writing lesson completed earlier in this activity.
· The written portion will have at least five components to it:
· an introduction that indicates your intention for the collage;
· a series of two or three supporting statements for your introduction;
· at least one (or as many as three) body paragraph(s) which clearly direct(s) your discussion, and include(s) examples from your visuals and statements;
· an explanation as to why you have chosen your visuals and statements to represent your meeting place;
· a list of locations (works cited) from which you developed your written and visual representation.
Adapted from the concept of James Barry’s Verbal/Visual Essay as described in Global Reading Safari Teacher’s Guide.
(See Resources.)
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Introduction: · Introduce the topic and classify it or put it in a category. · In two or three sentences, give the reader a “map” of topic intention. |
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First Sub-topic: · Define your topic and give some general or background information about it. · Make several key points with information from research. · Write a transitional sentence or question. |
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Second Sub-topic: · State further general information in a logical topic sentence. · Make key points from research. · Write a transitional sentence. |
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Third Sub-topic: · State further general/specific information in a topic sentence. · Make key points from research. · Write a transitional sentence. |
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Conclusion: · Restate some of your key points. · Write an emphatic concluding sentence. |
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